Angola: Parliament Begins Debate on Local Self-Government

On Thursday, the Angolan National Assembly (Parliament) is set to begin the fifth ordinary plenary meeting of the second legislative session, during which it will debate the first package of draft laws on local self-governments.

Related:

Namibia: +200 Street Angolan Children Helped

The deputies will discuss and vote on the proposals for the Statute of remuneration of the members of the bodies and services of local entities, the Institutionalisation of local entities, and the draft Organic Law of the municipal guard, promoted by the Executive.

They will also evaluate the legislative proposal for the effective institutionalisation of local entities, the initiative of which is the responsibility of the parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita) party. This is an issue at the heart of the political differences between Unita and the ruling Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), so the analysis in Parliament should be marked by these positions.

The Conference of Presidents of Parliamentary Groups, headed by the Speaker of the House, Carolina Cerqueira, called on 10 May for the "observance of ethics and decorum in the exercise of parliamentary action, always maintaining a spirit of peace and harmony".

In his message, he reiterated the need to guarantee an atmosphere of debate that allows the objectives expected of the representative body of all Angolans to be achieved.

The purpose of these regulations is to establish the bases for the creation of these local power entities, as well as the transitional measures between the currently existing local state administration and the autarkic power, characterised by its autonomy, decision-making capacity and execution.

The fifth ordinary plenary meeting will also debate the bill amending the Law on Anti-Doping in Sport in general, while the proposal to amend the Law on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters, as well as the Law on the Prevention and Fight against Terrorism, will go to a final overall vote.

A final vote will also be taken on the bill to amend the Law on the Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering, the Financing of Terrorism and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and on the initiative related to changes in the Angolan Penal Code.

On the latter, on 9 May, the MPs agreed on a maximum sentence of eight years in prison for sexual crimes against minors, as well as a minimum sentence of three years, so that rapists cannot apply for bail, they explained.

The issue was the subject of intense discussion among MPs, who went as far as proposing a maximum of 25 years for this type of crime.