Mbanza Congo, Angola, Aug. 28, 2024 (Lusa) - The governor of Angola's northern province of Zaire on Wednesday asked for the president's support in resolving the "disgrace" of smuggling, especially of fuel, in that Angolan region bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRCongo).
Adriano Mendes de Carvalho presented the socio-economic situation and Zaire's main challenges during a meeting with João Lourenço, who on Wednesday paid a visit of a few hours to the capital of that province, the historic city of Mbanza Congo, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Among the problems identified by the governor, he highlighted fuel smuggling, ‘the cancer of the province’ which, he said, can be solved.
‘We can't go on like this. It sounds like a lie, but the smugglers are strong. There will be no development if we continue on this path of smuggling, nobody will come here and want to wait three or four hours in a queue for fuel and then be told that the fuel has run out," he lamented.
Adriano Mendes de Carvalho said that ‘lorries and lorries of fuel enter Zaire every day and after an hour and a half the pump has run out of fuel’.
‘Comrade President, we want to ask for your support, and that of the appropriate authorities, to see how we can work on this situation, which has been a great, great misfortune for us,’ the governor appealed to João Lourenço.
He also said that it was essential to quickly acquire ‘scanners’ to inspect ‘what is actually going on in these lorries’, pointing out ‘a caricature case’ of a supposed (religious) mother who was taking some children.
He also asked for support to ‘turn the city of Mbanza Congo into a great open-air museum, thus taking advantage of the great historical potential of Congo culture’, in order to receive more visitors.
The governor said that the existing airport would soon be decommissioned as part of the redevelopment of the historic centre of Mbanza Congo, with a number of construction projects being prepared.
He considered that the province has tourism potential and can contribute to the diversification of the economy in various places, although ‘the state of the roads complicates’ development.
The provincial government wants to boost historical and cultural tourism, with an emphasis on the city of Mbanza Congo, and also promote tourism along the coast and river Congo, despite the lack of quality hotel infrastructure, as Adriano Mendes de Carvalho recognised.
Zaire has one of the largest oil and gas production centres in Angola, in Soyo, which contributes significantly to Angola's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and other mineral resources such as phosphate, copper, gold, lead, zinc, etc. are being prospected.
More than 60% of the population practice subsistence farming and it is estimated that there are more than 1.2 million hectares of arable land, of which only 5% is being used, the governor pointed out, adding that there is also an abundance of fisheries and salt, which are underused.
Adriano Mendes de Carvalho also pointed to difficulties in the public's access to basic services, including drinking water, electricity, communication routes, health, basic sanitation and transport.
He also advocated the construction of a new road between Soyo and Mbanza Congo’ to “unite the coast and the interior”.
The project portfolio of the Integrated Municipal Intervention Plan (PIIM) in this province is made up of 97 evaluated projects, of which 42 have been completed and 21 are underway, with an execution level of around 60%, but there are six contracts that are going to be cancelled due to non-compliance by the contractors, he said.
In Zaire province , in addition to this morning's meeting with the provincial government, João Lourenço will also visit the construction site of the Zaire general hospital, on the outskirts of Mbanza Kongo..
RCR/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
