Luanda - The Angolan Government on Friday reaffirmed that it settled all debts with former national workers in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) and fully complied with the payment of agreed financial compensation.
The Ministry of Public Administration, Labour and Social Security (MAPTSS) clarified, at a press conference, that a financial compensation corresponding four billion, seven hundred and eighty million, nine hundred and five thousand, eight hundred kwanzas was paid to beneficiaries based on Understanding Agreement between the parties.
The director of the Legal and Exchange Office of the Ministry of Public Administration, Labour and Social Security (MAPTSS), David Kinjica, said that there is opportunism on the part of the accusers.
“Many of the members of these associations had unrealistic expectations and much higher than what was legitimate. That's why they created wings among the members of the association, leading some dissatisfied people to file a lawsuit in court”, explained the official.
According to the official, the Angolan Government was acquitted, in 2017, at the District Court of Luanda, under Case No. 2089-15-C, after documenting proof of full compliance with contractual obligations.
“We have a clear conscience that we did our part and those who deserved it, in respect for the rights enshrined in the Constitution, received the due financial compensation,” he said.
David Kinjica advanced that, since the Angolan government has complied with its obligations under this agreement, it reserves the right to suspend the Retirement Pensions of beneficiaries who continue to complain about the lack of compliance with the signed agreement.
The suspension of payment of Retirement Pensions, he said, will be until the publication of the sentence of the appeal presented to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the director of the Legal and Litigation Office of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), Wilson Santos, pointed out that in some of the cases presented, there is a tendency towards fraud.
“In some cases we had to file criminal reports because of the intention to defraud the Angolan State. We have simply attended to the processes that, eventually, are in the terms of the agreement signed”, he clarified.
The superior labour inspector, Mário Príncipe, added that MAPTSS has no debt to any of these workers.
“At the moment we are trying to consolidate and deal with their insertion for the benefit of the retirement”, he concluded.
Between 1981 and 1985, an agreement was signed between the then Governments of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the People's Republic of Angola for some Angolan workers to work temporarily in German companies, a total of 1,646.
This agreement was in force for approximately eight years, without any constraint. With the end of the contract, most workers returned to the country, while a minority remained in Germany and other European countries.
In February 2011, after several demanding movements, a Final Understanding Agreement was signed that covered 2,162 former workers from the former Czechoslovakia and the extinct GDR.
The Executive closed the compensation payment process in March 2017.LIL/VM/DOJ
