Huambo, ANGOLA, January 11 - The deputy governor of the central Huambo Province for political, social and economic issues, José Cornélio, said Friday that the local government this year will direct the actions in the Integrated Programme for Local Development and Poverty Alleviation to the municipalities with the highest multidimensional poverty index, as a way to reduce asymmetries. ,

 

According to the official - who was speaking in the end of the first ordinary session of the local government, led by governor Joana Lina – the selected municipalities are Cachiungo, Chicala-Cholohanga, Chinjenje, Londuimbali and Mungo, from the 11 that make up the Province of Huambo, in the central highlands of Angola.

He pointed out that 8 out of every 10 people living in these five municipalities are multidimensional poor (without access to education, health, employment and housing), which is a concern for the provincial authorities.

José Cornélio also mentioned that of the 11 indicators that influence the Multidimensional Poverty Index (IPM), the National Statistics Institute (INE) also points out, based on a recent study, the lack of clean water, sanitation and electricity from the public grid, as negative factors contributing to over 40% of the poverty of these municipalities.

 

The official, who was speaking as coordinator of the Technical Unit for Monitoring and Supervising the Integrated Programme for Local Development and Poverty Alleviation in this region, considered positive the level of implementation of the actions planned last year, with 60%  implementation rate.

However, José Cornélio said that municipal administrators should be cautious and prudent in the execution of  programmes, confronting the plans of other municipalities to achieve greater harmonization.

Integrated Program for Local Development and Poverty Alleviation, in line with the National Development Plan (PND), acts based on the articulation of various sectorial interventions, as reflected in Presidential Decree No. 36/19, of 31 January, which elects the municipality as the main territorial unit of implementation.

For the 2019financial year a total of 3.95 billion kwanzas was allocated to Huambo Province for sanitation, schools, rehabilitation of secondary and tertiary roads, construction of water and electricity supply systems, among others.

Huambo is host to 2.6 million inhabitants, mostly peasants, who make of the region’s farming potential their main source of income.

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