SADC Essay competition winners receive award

 Luanda – Southern African Development Community (SADC) announced the three Angolan winners of the 23rd edition of 2022 Secondary School Essay Competition on Friday.

The SADC Secretariat has allocated USD 1000 as prize money for national winners of the competition as follows: USD 500 for first prize, USD 300 for the second prize and USD 200 for the third prize winner.

The top three winners of 2022 Southern African Development Community (SADC) recently announced are:

In the first place was the student Casimira Pimenta in Angola’s Huambo province from the Secondary School Joaquim Kapango (12th grade), Irina Sardinha from the  Commercial high Institute of Luanda (12th grade), and Ecliseaste Ricardo from Polytechnic Institute of Benguela (12th grade).

The competition takes place in two phases, with Irina Sardinha, second ranked in Angola, obtaining 10th place in the regional contest.

In 2022, under the theme: How SADC can increase production capacity in the face of Covid-19´´, 33 newsrooms competed across the country and the top three went to the regional competition.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Secretary of State for Pre-school and Primary Education, Pacheco Francisco, said he was pleased and called for more efforts by the sector in order to evolve and win better places.

To him, the creation of the competition, in 1999, helps young people to deepen their knowledge about the region and create proposals for mitigation, as well as stimulating reflection on the resilience of different sectors.

The ceremony also served to launch the 2023 edition, with the theme: How SADC can promote industrialisation for inclusive, resilient and sustainable economic growth.

The SADC Secondary Schools Essay Competition is a regional competition for students from schools and member countries to provide new opportunities for further knowledge.

SADC currently has 16 member countries.

They are Angola, South Africa, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritius, Eswatini, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Seychelles and Comoros.

SIC opens inquiry into alleged involvement of its staff in drug trafficking

 Luanda - Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) announced on Friday that it opened an investigation into the alleged involvement of its members in drug trafficking.

Confirming the information in a press note, SIC stated that the investigation resulted from complaints circulated on social media concerning the existence of an alleged cocaine trafficking network, made up of its staff and senior officials.

According to this body, assigned to the Ministry of the Interior, the investigation was immediately opened, after the tipoff, to check the veracity of the information.

In a press release,  SIC reiterated its committed to fight against drug trafficking throughout the national territory, particularly in border zones.

The source points out that the operational work, carried out in cooperation with other defence and security bodies, has produced satisfactory results.

It adds that the operation led to the seizure of large quantities of drugs at Luanda Port and at “4 Fevereiro” International Airport.

New political-administrative division poses challenges to government - minister

 Ndalatando - Angola’s minister of Territorial Administration Dionísio da Fonseca has considered the implementation of the new political-administrative division of the country as one of the challenges posed to the government.

Speaking Thursday in Lucala, northern Cuanza Norte province, Dionísio da Fonseca pointed mainly to the creation of the conditions for the effective delivery of services to the population.

At the end of his 48-hour visit to the province of Cuanza Norte, the minister said the government's project for the new political-administrative division of the country is focused on improving the quality and bringing closer  basic social services to citizens.

“Once in place, citizens will no longer have to travel long distances to meet their needs,” he concluded.

He underlined that the Executive is working toward mobilisation of financial resources to ensure that the citizen has education, health, identity card and other services close to him.

He says he understands society's skepticism towards this proposal, but advises citizens to think about a long-term project, rather than the immediate one.

The proposal for a new politico-administrative division of the country provides for the division of the provinces of Moxico and Cuando Cubango, raising to 20 territories at the provincial level, rather than the current 18.

It also provides for the elevation of communes and districts to the rank of municipalities, raising to 581 municipalities, instead of the current 164.

New cabotage terminal kicks off in April

Luanda - The new north cabotage terminal at the Port of Luanda will start operating from the second quarter of this year, with new equipment and technological means that will provide greater comfort and safety in the freight transport.

The works, that started more than two years ago, are at 60% of physical execution and, at this point, the assembly of equipment and technological means is already concluded.

The assessment results from a visit paid by the minister of Transport Ricardo D´Abreu this week to verify the degree of technical execution, as well as the estimated conclusion of the works.

Among other terminals advantages, the construction of the cabotage pier and pier bridge that will connect the provinces of Luanda, Zaire and Cabinda by sea, promoting the transport of people and goods in this corridor of the country, stands out.

The overall design of the project results from multidisciplinary work with solutions suited to the effectiveness required for each situation, in a technical-economic relationship.

The minister also visited the closed circuit television operations center at the Port of Luanda, recently installed, which has provided greater control and security to the entire area of port jurisdiction.

The official visited the Maritime Passenger Terminal (TMP) at the Port of Luanda, where he learnt about the operation of the X-ray equipment, the operation of the Luanda Bay car park, as well as the departures and arrivals process of passengers and goods.