Angola news: Parliament gives ‘green light’ to government to execute State Budget from Jan 2019

The Parliament has given ‘green light’ for the government of Angola to execute, from January 2019, the State Budget (OGE), estimated at 11.3 billion kwanzas, with votes against the opposition party UNITA and CASA-CE and abstention of the FNLA and PRS, who called for the "house of laws" the freedom and power to fully supervise the actions of the Government.

The 2019 State Budget, based on a USD 68 reference to the price of a barrel of oil, is anchored in the macroeconomic stabilization program, which is a means to increase domestic production, make entrepreneurs stronger and competitive, promote exports outside the oil sector and replace imports.

Macroeconomic stabilization is one of the major objectives to be achieved within the National Development Plan for the period 2018-2022 (PND), which becomes the main document for planning and guiding the entire Government's action.

The 2019 State Budget comes with an annexed amendment, in the expectation of a barrel of oil at USD 68, that is, there is a possibility to be rectified in the coming months, with the price of a barrel of oil being a central variable in this budget.

More than the increase in funding in the social sector, legislators understand that efficiency will be needed in their implementation otherwise these increases will not be reflected in community life.

In its explanation of vote, UNITA, the largest opposition party in Angola, said it voted against the document, because the 2019 State Budget Law continues to grant excessive powers to the President of the Republic to borrow loans that compel the country, without a consult to monitor the fate of these loans.

Adalberto da Costa Júnior made it clear that these are not small volumes. "Those loans are in addition to the State Budget of a country like Mozambique, used in a discretionary manner, in the shadow of the Constitution."

The budget for education decreased from 12.12 in 2018 to 11.26 percent in 2019.

This Friday's plenary, which had as its single point the overall final approval of the 2019 State Budget, was chaired by the  Speaker of the National Assembly, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos.

With inputs from agency.