Luanda, ANGOLA, September 10 - President João Lourenço said last Tuesday that the ongoing fight against corruption is being carried out with determination, a sense of justice and the necessary impartiality.,

Speaking at the opening of the extraordinary meeting of the Council of the Republic, the Head of State ruled out the idea that there are persecuted persons and protected ones in this fight.

He assured that the authorities will not retreat in the fight against corruption and impunity, in the accountability of presumed criminals and in the recovery of assets illegally acquired in the country, no matter where they are, in Angola or abroad.

“The fight against corruption in Angola is a fact of life and easy to see on a daily basis through the actions of citizens, the Public Ministry and the Courts throughout the country, not only to combat presumed criminal acts that have already been practiced, as well as to prevent them from happening today or tomorrow, if society is not very vigilant”, he assured.

To the President of the Republic, these objectives are achieved with work and patience, it is important to let the concerned authorities carry out their work and present the final result.

João Lourenço affirmed that the State is not sleeping, because "we are working hard and we are optimistic that we will be successful".

Local Elections

Regarding the local elections, the Angolan head of State said that the legal conditions to schedule and carry out the poll were not met, although he acknowledged that there was consensus on the need for the implantation of local governments.

He recalled that he took to the Council of the Republic of March 2018 the intention to carry out the local elections in 2020 and the Executive fulfilled the responsibility of exercising the legislative initiative that the Constitution confers on it, that is, drafting the law proposals and presenting them to the National Assembly for approval.

"We acknowledge all the effort made by the National Assembly to approve part of the municipal legislative package, but without necessarily pointing the blame, we agree that not everything is done, the work is not yet finished", he stressed.

In inviting the members of the Council of the Republic to reflect on the matter, João Lourenço stated that his understanding is that it is not possible in a democratic and law-abiding state to hold any kind of elections without legal support.