Luanda – President João Lourenço delivers on Tuesday the State of the Nation Address, at the opening of the Parliamentary Year.
More than 400 guests are expected for the Solemn Opening Meeting of the 3rd Legislative Session of the 5th Legislature of the National Assembly.
João Lourenço will address Angolans, in compliance with article 118 of the Constitution of the Republic of Angola.
The Head of State is expected to talk about the policies recommended to sort out the nation's main issues, promote the well-being of Angolans and the country's development.
The program for the opening of the parliamentary year also includes a welcome message from the National Assembly Speaker, Carolina Cerqueira.
Brightening up the event will be the Kilandukilu Cultural Group, who will welcome the guests to the warm rhythm of the drum and marimba, as well as performing traditional dances.
Preview
In his State of the Nation Address, the President of the Republic presents the stage of development of society and it comes at a time when the country is still committed to attract foreign private investment to diversify its economy.
Speaking on Wednesday at the opening of the 3rd Extraordinary Meeting of the MPLA Central Committee, João Lourenço gave a glimpse of what the communication will be about, saying that the government remains committed to create a good business environment, promote the private sector of the economy and attract foreign private investment.
Lourenço said he is also involved in diversifying the economy, increasing the supply of goods and services produced domestically, increasing exports, creating as many jobs as possible and investing more in the social sector, such as education, health, vocational training, water and energy supply and social housing.
“In a few days' time, we'll be talking more about these issues and others of national interest in our State of the Nation address to the members of the National Assembly and to the whole nation,” the statesman said at the time.
In his speech on the State of the Nation for 2023, it is noteworthy that the President stated that, despite adverse international and domestic conditions, the nation remains determined to continue its structural transformation and journey towards economic growth and development.
The president underscored that government continues to work to ensure the sustainability of public finances, which are performing well in relation to the 2022 State Budget, with an overall positive fiscal balance of 1.02% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a result of revenue of 13.3 trillion Kwanzas and fiscal expenditure of 12.8 trillion Kwanzas.
It also had a positive primary balance of 5.3% of GDP and a non-oil primary balance of 9% of GDP.
As a result of the increase in capital expenditure linked to the completion of important projects, the revival of the GDP growth and the increase in expenditure on fuel subsidies due to the rise in the prices of petrol and diesel on the international markets, the non-oil primary deficit worsened to 8.8% of GDP, as opposed to the 5.3% of GDP initially forecast in the State Budget.
The Public Finance Sustainability Law sets the goal of consistently and systematically reducing the ratio of public debt to Gross Domestic Product to 60% or less in the long term.
In 2020, when the law was passed, this ratio was 139.6%, falling to 87.9% in 2021 and 69.9% in 2022.
“We have reduced the Debt-GDP ratio by around 70 percentage points in just two years, and we are making responsible and sustained public debt, directed towards wealth-generating public investment,” said the President in 2023.
That year, Net International Reserves stood at 14.1 billion US dollars.
He also highlighted the fact that the government continues to take measures to promote the broadening of the tax base so that the tax system is fairer and more balanced.
With the implementation of the Informal Economy Reconversion Program (PREI), 253,038 economic agents have already been formalized, with more than 5,700 financed by public instruments, including around 2,250 women, generating around 7,950 jobs, including around 2,700 women.
National Assembly
The National Assembly is the Parliament of the Republic of Angola, representative of all Angolans, which expresses the sovereign will of the people and exercises the legislative power of the state.
It is made up of 220 Members of Parliament elected by universal, free, equal, direct, secret and periodic suffrage, under the terms of the Constitution and the law, for a five-year term.
The legislature begins with the first legislative session of the National Assembly after the elections and ends with the first session of the newly elected assembly.
The Constitution, the Rules of Procedure and the Members' Statute define the powers, organization and operating rules of the National Assembly, the rights and duties of its members, and guarantee the separation of powers and interdependence with other sovereign bodies.
Each Legislature comprises five parliamentary years, with each legislative session beginning on October 15 and lasting one year, without prejudice to the breaks provided for by law. ART/TED/AMP
