The statement was made when the minister visited the current city of Icolo e Bengo, where he inspected facilities that will support regional government and municipal services when the area officially becomes a district in the January 2025.
The process of creating new territories, including Moxico Leste and Cuando, anticipates a whole group of administrative infrastructures and public services. According to the minister, a commission to introduce the new areas was created, coordinated to ensure the development of the administration of the new territorial units.
“As announced by the President of the Republic, this commission has the intention to effectively install the regional governments of Icolo and Bengo, Cuando and Moxico Leste in the future,” said Dionísio da Fonseca. A in addition to the creation of new areas, the Government’s plan covers the restructuring of administrative units at municipal and general levels in several regions of the country.
“The responsibility for starting the process to establish the new territorial units will be with the regional governments, who have the task of changing the local infrastructures in their municipalities”, said the minister.
The survey or “radiography” of support infrastructures in the areas that will be the new provinces of Moxico Leste and Cuando will begin in November.
This process includes the assessment of existing buildings and the identification of needs for the construction or expansion of administrative facilities. The aim is to ensure that these areas are prepared to offer the necessary services to citizens from the beginning of next year.
Better organization of the area Last Saturday, the Government took a decisive step towards the creation of the new province of Icolo and Bengo, with a visit by the Minister of Territorial Administration, Dionisio da Fonseca, to the area that will be part of the administration at the time coming end
During the study, ongoing activities were carried out to modify and prepare the site, assessing the existing infrastructure and finalizing the boundaries between Icolo and Bengo and the Luanda area.
The aim is to better organize the area and ensure that future facilities meet the administrative and social needs of the local population. One of the main topics addressed was the delimitation of the borders between the provinces of Luanda and Icolo and Bengo, with the intention of promoting more effective territorial management.
In addition, the minister highlighted the need for investments in reforms and changes to existing structures, as envisaged in the 2025 budget, to support the proper functioning of the sector soil
The other most important thing was the distribution of regional services, which should be distributed among the seven municipalities in the new province, considering the economic potential of each place.
The importance of developing road infrastructure to move and transport goods was also discussed, especially between Dr. Antônio Agostinho Neto and the production areas.
The minister confirmed that strategic planning aims to make Icolo and Bengo work as a region from January 2025, with a structure and services that promote sustainable development and meet the needs of the people.
Preparing for local development
The creation of new areas is seen by the Government as a strategy to improve administrative management and bring development to the farthest places, strengthening the State’s presence in every region of the country.
“The decentralization we are implementing aims to bring the Government closer to communities, ensuring that public services meet the needs of the local population more efficiently”, said Dionisio da Fonseca.
Cacuaco evaluates infrastructures and parameters for a new DPA
During the visit to the resources and future territorial limits of the city of Cacuaco, the city administrator Auxílio Jacob highlighted the importance of geographic and infrastructure assessment in the context of the new Political-Administrative Department.
The delegation, led by the Minister of Territorial Administration, Dionísio da Fonseca, visited several strategic areas, such as Funda, Kifangondo and Sequele, future areas in the region of Icolo and Bengo.
“We think it was a valuable exercise, because it gave local workers the opportunity to understand what the new Political-Administrative Department represents”, said Auxílio Jacob, at a time when the minister ordered the authorities to define a location for the headquarters of the new commune of Kifangondo, which will be promoted from a neighborhood to a budget administration unit.
According to Auxílio Jacob, the city of Cacuaco will provide substantial infrastructure to the new land, including 30 schools, three maternal and child health centers and several roads.
Cacuaco’s administration has also made improvements to road infrastructure, such as the EN-110 national road, with pothole filling services while they await the intervention of the Central Government for a complete upgrade.
Work continues at Funda, with completion set for the end of the year, ensuring that the new administrations of the Icolo and Bengo region in the future will be fully prepared to serve the population.
Concentration of efforts
The deputy governor of Luanda for the economic sector, Jorge Mingués, said that with the reorganization, Luanda will cede territory and population, which, according to him, will bring benefits and challenges to both sectors.
“Yes, of course, Luanda will lose land to icolo and bengo, just as it will also lose population”, said the former governor, acknowledging that the measure will allow “concentration efforts”, enabling management in areas with greater population density.
The department will add seven new towns to Icolo and Bengo and increase Luanda from nine to 16 municipalities, bringing public services closer to citizens. Regarding transfer projects that were previously exclusive to Luanda, such as the tertiary roads and drainage program, Jorge Mingués said that the transition will be gradual and that these projects will initially remain under Luanda’s management.
“These projects will continue with the Luanda region until they are regulated by a contractual addenda for the new province”, he explained. The former governor also said that, economically, Luanda will lose sources of income, such as the 30 and Saturday markets, which will contribute to the new province.
He said the department will reduce administrative pressure and allow for a more focused focus on the needs of citizens. “Today we traveled through the two regions, almost without feeling the change,” said Mingués, highlighting the interdependence between Luanda and icolo and Bengo and the continuity of ongoing projects to build infrastructure and guarantee basic services in transition areas.
