Luanda, ANGOLA, September 27 - Angolan President of Republic João Lourenço marked Saturday (26) the third year of his five-year in office, marked by the strong negative impact of Covid-19 on the Angolan economy, in particular, and on society in general.,

Santos, following the country's fourth General and Democratic Elections.

João Lourenço was invested in the position by the then Judge Counselor President of the Constitutional Court, Rui Ferreira, during a solemn ceremony in which he clearly and decisively outlined the main lines of his governance strategy.

"In order to meet the great expectations created around my election and the renewed confidence in the MPLA, I will govern accordingly with all the powers the Constitution and the strength of the votes of the citizens expressed at the polls", he said, at the time.  

At the beginning of the new political cycle, the third President of the Republic of Angola stated that the Constitution would be his "compass of guidance and the laws the criterion of decision", having, at the time, resumed the commitment to execute his electoral promises.

To this end, he promised to implement "public policies that meet the wishes of citizens and with inclusive governance, which calls for the participation of all Angolans, regardless of their place of birth, sex, mother tongue, religion, economic condition or social position. ".  

João Lourenço assumed the destiny of the nation in a very adverse macroeconomic scenario, with the urgent and unavoidable challenges of recovering and diversifying the national economy, as well as maintaining political stability.

The Head of State faced a difficult task, from a political, economic, social and even diplomatic point of view. The country he had just "inherited" was almost "rock bottom". It was therefore up to him to implement the main electoral promises: fighting corruption, strengthening the democratic and legal state, diversifying the economy and improving the living conditions of the population.  

From the outset, he assumed the commitment to govern for all Angolans, having affirmed that, during the mandate, the Executive would "seek to fix the inflation rate at acceptable and controllable limits".  

As for the five years of his mandate, he warned that he would adopt policies that would require the imposition of strict rules of exchange and fiscal policy, and would bet on strengthening the control systems for illegal acts that could discredit the financial and banking sector, inside and outside the country.  

According to the Angolan President, in his inauguration speech, credit to the economy would be in accordance with the needs of economic agents, with a focus on diversifying the economy, drastically reducing imports and investing in exports.

It was with these and other predictions that João Lourenço, born in Lobito, Benguela province, on March 5, 1954, began a historical mandate, "full" of obstacles, mainly imposed by strong economic groups that built monopolies with public funds.

After three years, the Head of State continues to stress his determination to combat the ills that have plagued the country, leading an tough fight against various figures involved in acts of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering and other financial crimes. It is important to note that the President marks the third year of office in a scenario of great economic difficulties and profound social problems, due to Covid-19 pandemic.  

This third year of João Lourenço's governance is essentially an almost total paralysis of the country's vital and strategic sectors, especially the economy.

This is a reality similar to that of dozens of States, including those in the First World, which are notoriously and unequivocally affected by the impact of Covid-19, whose numbers already point to more than 31.9 million infected and more than 978.000 dead.

Despite the setbacks, João Lourenço remains firm in fulfilling electoral promises and giving hope back to Angolans, despite the uncertainties brought by Covid-19, which has increased the unemployment rate, lowered industrial, agricultural production and public revenues .  

Within the framework of this event (26 September), ANGOP brings a balance of the main achievements of the Executive, carried out between 2017 and 2020, and projections of what may, eventually, be the last two years of the first term of the Angolan President.  

Get in touch with the texts, in this Special 3 Years of João Lourenço.

 

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