Lack of infrastructures limits performance of military courts

 Lobito - Military courts face numerous difficulties to operate, due to the lack of infrastructures that dignify their justice operators, ANGOP learnt on Friday.

This is one of the conclusions of the two-day 19th methodological and balance meeting of Military Jurisdiction Courts, held in Lobito City, central Benguela Province, under the slogan “Military Courts for a quick and efficient justice”.

 According to the document sent to ANGOP, the majority of the Military Courts function in rented facilities that the budgets of the Military Supreme Court have to bear.

It became clear that the military magistrates continue to defend the basic principles of the military structure, namely hierarchy and discipline. 

The participants, who came from the eighteen provinces of the country, also concluded that the military judicial magistrates should be especially careful with the social networks, being careful about sharing information from non-credible and unverifiable sources. 

The two-day event discussed topics such as information on the evolution of the world political and security situation, entry into force of the Angolan Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and its implication in the Armed Forces. 

The role of the Judge of Guarantees in military jurisdiction, application of the Amnesty Law in military cases, evidences in military criminal process and the Habeas Corpus as a measure of defence of individual freedom, were also among the various topics discussed at the 19th methodological meeting of the Courts of Military Jurisdiction.

Generals, senior and non-commissioned officers of the Angolan Armed Forces were present, with particular emphasis on General Cristo António Salvador Alberto, Venerable Counsellor- Judge and Presiding Judge of the Supreme Military Court (STM), who closed the forum.

“Eurobonds” issue portfolio represents 19% of the debt stock

 Luanda - Angola's portfolio of issues on the London stock market of international bonds, in the form of "Eurobonds", today represents around 19% of the debt stock, the Ministry of Finance has said.

Eurobonds are all securities issued in a market whose security currency is different from the issuing market currency, in this case the Kwanza.

 

The data were released by the Minister of Finance, Vera Daves, to the investors in the international financial market with present or future interest in Angolan bonds.

 

The ceremony took place during a roadshow held last week in Washington, USA, as part of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which ended on Sunday, April 16th.

 

The meeting was attended by around 60 representatives of various entities operating in the international financial market.

 

The Angolan minister of Finance, Vera Daves, addressed the main macroeconomic indicators and ongoing measures for public debt management, according to a note from the sector reached ANGOP on Monday (17).

 

“These are numbers that investors usually like to follow and hear firsthand from the portfolio holders”, said Vera Daves, stressing that verbal information is always better than just reading reports and statistics.

 

The 2023 General State Budget forecasts a public debt of around 45%.

 

At this event, Angola presented fiscal, monetary, exchange rate and real economy policies to investors in the international financial market with a present or future interest in Angolan securities.

 

The Angolan delegation, still within the framework of the meetings in Washington, held a meeting on Friday, 14th, with the Vice-president of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Sérgio Pimenta, and senior staff of the institution.

 

During the meeting, Angola asked for greater commitment from the IFC in financing projects and initiatives from the private sector.

 

According to the available data, currently the pipeline of projects includes some components of technical assistance and consultancy, as well as short and long term financing, involving local banks such as BNI, BFA, BMA, among others.

 

In terms of infrastructure, such as transport and telecommunications, there are possibilities for IFC to get involved in supporting, in technical terms, the structuring of public-private partnerships (PPP).

 

IFC's Vice President, Sérgio Pimenta, recognised the existing operational difficulties, ensuring greater involvement of the organisation in the opportunities that arise.

 

During the meeting, priorities were aligned with a focus on supporting the private sector, such as grain production, livestock, fisheries and the structuring of PPPs, with emphasis on the transport, energy and water sectors.

 

The IFC-International Finance Corporation- is the World Bank Group wing dedicated to supporting the private sector and has been operating in Angola since 2019.

Angola and Uganda to boost political and financial cooperation

 Luanda -Angola and Uganda plan to boost cooperation in political and diplomatic, financial, banking, education, health and oil sectors, the Angolan Foreign minister, Téte António, said Monday in Luanda.

The areas of technical, professional and scientific training and energy are also included in the plans to boost cooperation, with aim to develop economies of both countries, the Angolan minister said at the end of a meeting with a delegation from Uganda headed by the Ugandan minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Henry Oryem Okello.

Téte António added that strengthening cooperation relations is important, taking into account the enormous potential and opportunities that exist.

"We should increasingly work on the implementation of commitments already made for the deepening of our relations, through the development of concrete projects", said the Angolan minister, to whom conditions need to be created for the first meeting of the Angola-Uganda Bilateral Commission. 

The Angolan minister said the initiative will make it possible to identify new areas and establish the targets to be achieved, within the scope of this cooperation that is intended to be more dynamic and with reciprocal advantages.

Téte António recalled that recently on April 14, 2023, he received the letters from the resident ambassador of Uganda, in a clear demonstration of the willingness of this Executive to strengthen and boost the relations of friendship and cooperation with Angola.

The Ugandan minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Henry Oryem Okello, on his turn, highlighted the role of Angola and his country in the pacification of the Great Lakes region. 

Okello considered it important to strengthen the cooperation of economic diplomacy to attract investments to his country. 

On February 12, 2014, in the city of Kampala, Angola and Uganda signed four legal instruments, namely the agreements on the establishment of diplomatic relations, general economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation, the creation of the bilateral cooperation commission and a memorandum of understanding on political consultations between the respective ministerial departments.

US ambassador to Angola highlights women's contributions

 Luanda - The ambassador of the United States of America (USA) to Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, Tulinabo Mushingi, considered this week, in Luanda, vital the contributions of women in shaping the future of humanity.

The diplomat was speaking during the opening ceremony of the second Women, Peace and Security Conference that took place from 11 to 12 of the current month in Luanda held by the US Defence Department through United States Africa Command (AFRICOM).

On the occasion, Tulinabo Mushingi reiterated that throughout our past the contribution of women has been critical and it will be vital in shaping the future.

Thus, he considers that honouring women is a way to highlight all human rights, because women's rights are human rights.

To him, when women contribute effectively to the economy and without limitations on the types of work they can do or positions they can hold, we all prosper.

He also highlighted the fact that there is research showing that greater inclusion of women in decision making leads to better decisions.

The event aimed to promote prosperity, security, and good governance, which are three vital elements to a nation's future and the three pillars of the U.S. and Angola partnership, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary.

During the conference U.S. and Angolan military and civilian experts addressed topics such as Peace and Security Agenda for Women: Background and Key Terms, Leadership and Change Management in Support of Women, Peace and Security, Women in Midia and Strategic Message, Women in the Armed Forces: Facing Reality; National Action Plans and Defense Organizations.

This conference was held in partnership with the Military Affairs Office of the President of the Republic, as well as the Ministry of National Defence and Homeland Veterans, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Social Action, Family and Women´s Promotion.

Ambassador highlights president’s contribution to DRC pacification

 Luanda - The Ambassador of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic to Angola, Hamdi El Jalil Aali, highlighted Monday in Luanda the role that has been played by the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, towards the pacification of the conflict plaguing the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Hamdi El Jalil Aali was received by the Foreign minister, Téte António, with whom he reviewed the cooperation between the two countries.

On the occasion, the diplomat highlighted the role of João Lourenço, as the African Union (AU)’s appointed mediator.

The meeting focused on the increase of bilateral cooperation, including the possibility of exchanging visits between delegations of the two countries at the highest level.

During the audience, the two individuals also addressed peace and security issues in Africa.

With a surface area of 266,000 km², the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic borders Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. Its population is estimated at over 500,000 inhabitants.

Central Bank fines reach AKz 215.6 million

 Luanda - The National Bank of Angola (BNA) applied 35 sanction processes to banking and non-banking financial institutions (IFB's/IFNB's), in the first quarter, which resulted in fines totalling 215, 9 million kwanzas.

According to a statement issued by the BNA's Department for Regulation and Organisation of the Financial System, the infractions were detected in the period between January 1 and March 31 2023, ANGOP has learnt.

 Of the total of the sanctioning processes, 22 were applied to banking financial institutions and 13 in non-banking financial institutions.

Of the 13 cases applied to non financial institutions, two culminated in the revocation of licenses to carry out financial activity and another focused on a manager with relevant functions. 

The infractions detected in banking financial institutions include breaches of the norms and procedures for carrying out foreign exchange operations, failure in complying with norms for preventing and combating money laundering and financing terrorism. 

Commercial banks were also found guilty of violations such as non-compliance with the rules on consumer protection for financial products and services, the granting of credit to the real sector of the economy, the rules on special registration with the supervisory body, as well as the duty to report accounting and financial information. 

In the case of non-banking financial institutions, the Central Bank detected breaches such as non-compliance with the duty to report quarterly balance sheets, the regulatory deadline for reporting the report and accounts and lack of rules to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorism financing. 

April 13, the BNA made it public the opening of proceedings to punish some banking financial institutions namely Millennium Atlântico (BMA), Sol and Comércio e Indústria (BCI). 

The BNA said it found breaches of consumer protection standards for financial products and services, lack of internal control and to prevent and combat money laundering in these commercial banks.

Over 1,000 MPs to participate in IPU General Assembly in Angola

 Luanda – At least 1,400 parliamentarians from 172 countries are expected to take part in the 147th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), to be held in October in the Angolan capital, Luanda.

The information was disclosed  to the press on Monday by the president of the National IPU Follow-up Group, Idalina Valente, at the end of a meeting of the event Organizing Committee chaired by the National Assembly Speaker , Carolina Cerqueira.

The organizing committee comprises three working sub-commissions, namely the sub-commission of organization, documentation, assurance, communication and press, the sub-commission of finance, logistics, protocol and transport, the sub-commission of events, as well as an executive secretariat that will support these sub-commissions. 

Idalina Valente, who is also spokeswoman for the event, emphasised the fact that this is the second time that a Portuguese-speaking country is organising this meeting, after the one held 63 years ago in Brazil.

The politician said the General Assembly is to elect a new IPU president that is to come from the African Group, adding that a candidate from the sub-Saharan Africa has been identified, although no name was disclosed. 

"So we are going to elect an African to preside over the organisation for the next three years, which has not happened for some time", the MP said.

Ms Valente said it is going to be a big challenge for the country to host about 1,400 MPs from all the member parliaments of the IPU. 

"There are about 172 countries, plus some observer members, which means that, in fact, between now and October we have a big job to do in several aspects, but we will certainly benefit from this great work that we are going to do," she explained.

Theme on the benefits of peace

Idalina Valente said the host country has the possibility to choose the main theme of the event.

The MP added that, in negotiations with the IPU secretariat, the theme has not yet been defined and that the proposal made by the IPU secretariat and the host country itself, would like it to be a theme related to the benefits of peace and the achievement of sustainable development goals.

According to the spokeswoman, the country has the great challenge of creating the technical, material and human conditions to ensure the smooth running of an event of this nature, from press equipment, photography, information and communication technologies, among others. 

Ms Valente also stressed the fact that the country has sufficient capacity to accommodate the delegates in three, four and five star hotels and that it will have to make sure that these hotels are fully operational. 

The spokeswoman informed also that in June, the Angolan National Assembly Speaker, as coordinator of the event, will send the invitation letters to the 172 members of the organisation and about 43 observers to be present at the great event.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), founded in June 1889 by Frédéric Passy and William Randal Cremer, is the international organisation of parliaments.  

As such, it is the only organisation that represents the legislative branch of governments on a global scale. Unlike other international organisations, it is not intergovernmental but an institution for the promotion of cooperation among parliaments.  

It works under the United Nations system, and its fundamental purpose is to achieve peace, cooperation among peoples and the consolidation of representative institutions through political dialogue.  

It is considered the pioneer international political organisation, it has more than 170 affiliated national parliaments and 12 associated regional parliamentary assemblies. 

Today, the IPU is the main parliamentary interlocutor of the United Nations and brings the voice of parliaments to the decision-making processes of the United Nations by regularly presenting its resolutions in the General Assembly, making statements, participating in debates and organising parliamentary meetings on the main issues on the UN agenda. 

In recognition of this important role, in 2002 the United Nations granted it permanent observer status.