The document was approved with 141 votes in favor of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), 48 against of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), of the Wide Convergence of Salvation) of Angola – Electoral Coalition (CASA-CE) and independent deputies, the members of the Social Renewal Party and an independent deputy abstained.
The OGE for the 2021 financial year with fixed revenues and expenses estimated at 14.7 billion kwanzas (19.3 billion euros), was prepared with the reference price of 39 dollars a barrel of oil, reflecting an increase 9.9% compared to the revised OGE in force.
In the explanation of vote, the UNITA parliamentary group said that it voted against because the OGE for 2021 does not clearly present an economic policy strategy to promote the real growth of the Gross Domestic Product in the oil sector, based in objectives, whose goals remain unattainable, as the macroeconomic scenario of this budget “brings a trivial tide of uncertainties”.
According to the second vice-president of the parliamentary group of the largest Angolan opposition party, Navita Ngola, the vote was not favorable also because of the registration of projects in the OGE with small amounts, which would later be changed in the context of budgetary execution.
“We understand this exercise as an act of predisposition to theft and diversion of money. We believe that feasible and priority projects must be registered that contribute to the relaunch of the economy in an effective and efficient way ”, he said.
In turn, the CASA-CE parliamentary group considered that the OGE for the 2021 economic year is shown to be incapable and inadequate “to reduce the condition of extreme poverty and misery in which a good number of Angolans are immersed”.
According to Deputy Manuel Fernandes, the theory that a large part of this OGE’s allocation privileged the social sector, “in fact, more than the percentages expressed in this legal diploma should benefit from concrete projects to improve the quality of services to be provided that reflected in the lives of the most disadvantaged citizens ”.
“CASA-CE’s vote against is based on the fact that the OGE for 2021 sin in terms of non-financial data, and the information contained therein is not sufficiently clear and comprehensive in relation to what the applicability of public money will be”, he said .
For his part, Benedito Daniel, from PRS, said that he abstained from understanding that the debate on the OGE proposal is an opportunity for the active participation of citizens in governance and in the management of the public and common good, which he considered not to have checked.
“This requires an attitude of open dialogue by the executive, so that there is a joint exercise between the executive, the legislature and the citizen, to build consensus, taking into account that we depart or have different options regarding priorities,” he said.
On the other hand, MPLA deputy Paulo Pombolo said that approving the OGE for 2021 means, among others, reinforcing the diversification of the economy, reviving the national productive sector, supporting the working class, maintaining and creating new jobs, especially for young people.
“In view of the reduction in revenues resulting from the drop in the price of a barrel of oil, the main source of tax revenue, and aggravated by the emergence of the pandemic covid-19, the OGE for 2021 is realistic, prudent and will contribute to the expected revenues to the expenses foreseen in this budget ”, he said.
Paulo Pombolo criticized the opposition parties that voted against the OGE proposal, noting that there is no record in the National Assembly of the opposition’s favorable votes regarding the State Budget.
“By voting against the opposition, you are saying no, to improving health, education, work, access to water and energy, to respond even to the pressures caused by the pandemic and to deny that the executive creates the conditions for the acquisition of vaccines as soon as available ”, he stressed.
Speaking to the press, Finance Minister Vera Daves said that the execution of the OGE for the next year “is a challenge that everyone should use, join efforts, be committed to, focus on, to ensure that the expectations they are meeting be created now with your approval are not compromised ”.
“More important now is to ensure that everything we project comes to fruition, both on the revenue side and on the expenditure side, and that any expenditure that is carried out is in accordance with the law, respecting good public procurement practices, so that the end result is the effective improvement of the social and economic conditions of life of all Angolans ”, he said.
