The leader of UNITA accused the Angolan government on Sunday of being “corrupt” and “incompetent”, saying that the party founded by Jonas Savimbi has the mission to reverse this situation and end the drama “in the management of resources”.
Adalberto da Costa Junior was speaking at the opening of the 5th ordinary meeting of the permanent committee of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) in Luanda today, on the day the party commemorates the “Patriot’s Day” in honour of its founder, Jonas Savimbi, who died in combat on 22 February 2002.
The UNITA leader stressed that Savimbi continues “after his death to influence and inspire generations of young people” and that “despite the immense intoxication and propaganda against him, the number of those who consider him a true inspiration of Angolan patriotism grows daily”.
Adalberto da Costa Júnior said his political vision of Angola and the world “made him a target for those who saw him as an obstacle to easy profits and the unbridled exploitation of the country’s resources” and, 21 years after his death, “the country has not been democratised” despite the extraordinary accumulation of capital that should have served as levers promoting the country’s development.
As a result, Angola “continues to miss out on a success story”.
“All Angolans have understood that the lack of water and electricity, unemployment, exclusion, poverty and underdevelopment do not have Jonas Savimbi to blame, but an incompetent, corrupt and anti-democratic government,” criticised the political leader, recalling that the civil war ended 21 years ago.
“Let’s look around us, what Angola have we got? Is the suffering and misery over? Do we have energy and water? Has hunger ended? Do we have decent schools, do we have quality health care?” he questioned, receiving a “no” from the militants who gathered today at the Sovismo complex in Viana (Luanda).
Adalberto da Costa Júnior’s words are also a retort to recent statements by leaders of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), a party in the government since independence in 1975, attributing the country’s problems to its war past.
The UNITA leader also addressed the issue of national reconciliation, questioning the government about the “excluded” and “ignored” patriots, namely Savimbi and Holden Roberto, who headed the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), another Angolan nationalist movement, without the right to statues or street names.
“Is it so difficult? Is this the Angola we dreamed of? Is this the Angola that expresses openness? What does a reconciliation step of this kind cost,” Adalberto da Costa Júnior asked.
The politician noted that Angola has been at peace for 21 years but “is experiencing a drama in managing its resources,” with “astronomic” internal and external debt and the risk of mortgaging the future.
“The current regime has demonstrated its inability to govern this country for all its children,” he said, adding that it was up to UNITA to reverse the current situation and get Angola out of the doldrums.
It is impossible to develop a country if it does not have complete freedom, with its children leaving and using every opportunity to seek another country to live in, “even without conditions”, lamented the UNITA leader.
“This is not the dream of our founder,” he said, urging militants to use the day of reflection to “make a better Angola and better honour” Jonas Savimbi.
As for UNITA, he pointed out that the party, which turns 57 in March, is “well alive” and present throughout the country. He addressed words of comfort to Savimbi’s children and other relatives at the ceremony.
