The president of UNITA, Angola’s main opposition party, pointed to siltation and the lack of barrier maintenance as the “root cause” of the Cavaco River overflow in Benguela province, criticizing the Government for a lack of planning.
Adalberto Costa Júnior, who visited Benguela on Tuesday and Wednesday to meet with families affected by the floods and deliver essential goods, criticized the Government’s lack of organization.
“In 2015, a similar tragedy occurred in this province, affecting Lobito and Catumbela. This time, a very large tragedy in Benguela. I hope for the lowest number of lives lost, but here it was perfectly possible to identify the reason,” he said, identifying river siltation and lack of barrier maintenance as the “basic reason.”
According to the president of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), who was accompanied by deputies and consulted hydraulic engineers, government action must be better organized.
Read more about this topic: Angola: death toll has risen to 19 in Benguela due to floods
“Understanding the cost of a silted river, it did not seem too expensive to us; it did not seem to be a matter of limited resources, but an organizational issue that must improve. We came with deputies, and the findings made will surely lead us to share with the administration… so that this does not repeat itself,” he stated.
At least 19 people died, some remain missing, and more than 3,600 are displaced following the floods on Sunday. The disaster was triggered by heavy rains that caused the Cavaco River to overflow after a protection dike ruptured.
Those affected are currently housed in camps, which were also visited this Wednesday by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, who is in the province to assess the aftermath of the rains.
Costa Júnior criticized the current “palliative interventions” being made to reinforce the river barriers following the drop in water levels.
Read more about this topic: Angola: death toll rises to eight after heavy rains in Benguela
“The immediate intervention should not be palliative, because it is being done in the same way that allowed the disaster; there is no proper compaction of the barrier, and under those conditions, it is not actually a solution,” he argued.
The UNITA leader concluded by stating that the tragedy could have been avoided with effective drainage and political will. “Those who govern must serve. And serving is protecting lives. State resources exist for this. We already know what to do. All that is missing is the will: open the coffers and act.”
