I accepted the invitation made to me by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, not only because of the importance of this event taking into account previous experiences, but especially because of the suggestive nature of the motto of this 5th Edition of Expoindústria: «It is Possible to Walk Together» .
By João Lourenço
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in fact, our actions, our programs, our plans, can only achieve success if we effectively walk together.
The current context of the national manufacturing industry today offers us many challenges, opportunities but also constraints, which characterize the global and specific context of the national industry, at a time when Angola continues to mark very precise steps in its process of opening up to the outside world, seeking ways to diversify the economy by substituting imports, promoting exports and reducing the country’s dependence on the oil economy.
The Angolan Executive continues to make efforts to ensure the defense of the rights and guarantees of citizens and economic agents, effectively combating corruption and impunity, thus ensuring the defense of the rights and guarantees of all citizens and economic agents.
In order to achieve the objectives of growth and diversification of the economy, improvement of employment levels and, consequently, the progress and social well-being of citizens, the sustainable development of national industry is fundamental.
Despite the constraints caused by the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide, the national manufacturing industry has proved to be quite resilient.
The National Institute of Statistics of Angola highlights the positive change in production in the food sector, particularly in the milling of cereals and the manufacture of starches and starches, beverage production and tobacco processing.
From 2018 to 2022, the real GDP growth rate for the manufacturing industry registered an accumulated 7.7%, with greater emphasis on the year 2022, which grew by around 6%, surpassing the forecast in the OGE for that year.
In the same period, within the scope of private investment, more than two hundred new undertakings of great impact were approved and implemented in the domain of the manufacturing industry, distributed across the different provinces in the most varied subsectors of activity, contributing with more than ten thousand jobs, with greater emphasis on the food sector, a commitment by the Executive to increase industrial production with a view to guaranteeing self-sufficiency in essential consumer goods.
We need to continue to stimulate and boost domestic production to reduce prices, reduce imports, increase exports and address the competitiveness arising from the country’s adherence to the SADC Free Zone protocols, the African Continental Free Trade Area and to the Tripartite Free Trade Area.
Thus, we must all continue to make an organized, systematic and persistent effort to attract national and foreign private investment, in order to be on the right track and reach the level of industrialization established by SADC, fixing our eyes above all on the Continental Free Trade Area .
This task is not an easy one, as competition between countries to attract foreign direct investment is quite strong.
The effort that the country has been making in recent years to increase and improve infrastructure to support industries and the economy as a whole is notorious.
It considerably increased the supply of electricity from hydroelectric and photovoltaic production sources, consequently reducing production from thermal sources that are not only polluting as we know, but that increase the price of energy sold to consumers, whether domestic or business.
We are investing in the construction of transport lines for the energy produced in the lower Kwanza basin, in Capanda, in Laúca, in Cambambe and in the Soyo Combined Cycle, all of which are already interconnected through the national transport network to take this available capacity to the east, southeast and south of the country, with a view to having the provinces of Lunda Sul, Lunda Norte, Moxico, Cuando Cubango, Huíla, Cunene and Namibe connected to the national grid.
Important investments are also scheduled in the water sector throughout the country. For Luanda, the main industrial center in the country, we are hopeful that the Bita and Quilonga projects will alleviate the city’s situation, which has a large deficit in the production and distribution of the precious liquid to around ten million inhabitants and countless industries already installed and to the perspective ones.
The resilience shown by our industrialists even during the most difficult period of the pandemic proved to be fundamental for us to now see a sharp growth in our industrial production.
The textile sector, the food production sector, the extractive and transforming industry of granite and ornamental rocks, the salt refining sector and also the metalworking sector are perfect examples of the development of national productive value chains, from raw materials to the processed product.
With the start-up of the three textile factories, whose production tends to grow in the coming years as domestic production of the main raw material – cotton – also increases, we anticipate and encourage the growth of the clothing and fashion industry to satisfy basic needs. in clothing for the vast majority of our population.
Agricultural production has been growing year following year and brings with it the pressing need of the birth of agroindustry for the transformation of products from the countryside, their processing, packaging and creation of logistical centers for distribution to large supermarkets, the hotel chain and others.
The country needs more mills to transform the cereals that will be produced under PANAGRÃO, it needs slaughterhouses to slaughter the cattle whose supply will increase with the livestock promotion program, but it still needs a tanning industry to take advantage of the hides, currently wasted but which might open up the opportunity for the emergence of the footwear industry and a wide range of articles made from leather and hides.
The country needs shipyards to build fishing vessels of all sizes, we need fishing gear industries so that nets, hooks, are no longer imported if we want to see fish and other products from the sea reach affordable prices at the consumer’s table.
To accompany and complement the large investments that have been made in infrastructure and human capital in the health sector, we need to attract pharmaceutical multinationals to set up factories in Angola to produce the medicines and vaccines we consume and export the surplus .
Due to the employment opportunities it offers, we are also interested in attracting the light and heavy vehicle assembly industry, tractors and agricultural implements to Angola.
With the perspective that we have of the resumption of iron ore exploration and its transformation into steel, all those private investors who want to invest in the naval industry with shipyards for the construction and repair of vessels for the oil industry, fishing, for the merchant navy, for the war navy or even for recreational purposes.
We will continue with the structural reforms of Angolan society in all its aspects from the economic, financial, exchange rate and social areas, to security, justice, education and qualification of people, passing through the organization of the State and the territory and in all aspects that make Angola an increasingly attractive country for investment.
With public or public-private investment, we will continue to expand and improve the road network, we will continue to increase the supply of water and electricity, we will electrify the country, but as we believe it is possible and necessary to walk together, with private investment let’s industrialize the country.
Speech by the President of the Republic of Angola, João Lourenço, at the opening of Expo Indústria 2023
Note: Title responsibility of Folha 8.All opinion articles blame only and only their author, not binding Folha 8.
