Luanda - The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, arrived on Sunday in the city of Ondjiva, Cunene province, where he will lead the commemorations of the Peace and National Reconciliation Day, to be held on Monday.
4 April this year, marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Luena Memorandum of Understanding Complementary to the Lusaka Protocol, between the Government and UNITA, which put an end to 27 years of war in the country and made possible the beginning of the process of stabilization and development of Angola.
As part of the commemorations for the Day of Peace and National Reconciliation, the Angolan Head of State will inaugurate the Cunene River Water Transfer System, a project to combat drought in the region.
At a dinner on Saturday, as part of the commemorations of the date, the President said that "considering that only in peace countries develop and it becomes possible to solve the problems of the people, we decided to coincide the inauguration of this important project with April 4, the day of Peace and National Reconciliation.
He said there are also other projects of this type in the pipeline for the region, which will be executed as we are able to mobilise the necessary financial resources in the coming years.
The Cunene River Water Transfer System, the first of five structural projects to combat drought in the province, will directly benefit 235,000 families, 250,000 animals and the irrigation of 5,000 hectares of farmland.
The project includes a structure for collecting, pumping and pressurising water and an open-air canal over 160 kilometres long, costing 44.3 billion kwanzas.
The contract to build the canal was decided after a visit by the President of the Republic to the locality of Cacimbas in Ombala Yo Mungo, Ombadja municipality, in May 2019, at the time affected by a severe drought.
For Tuesday, the last day of the visit to Cunene province, the programme indicates that João Lourenço will preside, in Ondjiva, over a mass political act.
