This was said by specialist José Cerqueira during an interview on the State-run daily paper "Jornal de Angola" published in its Thursday's edition.

 

José Cerqueira stressed the importance of the mining centres saying that in the present phase of the oil crisis, the revival of the Angolan economy will bring improvements in all respects, as an advance in the lives of the citizens.

 

The specialist added that with the creation of the mining development centres, the country will attract high revenues and might become self-sufficient and greatly reduce imports.

 

In order to speed up the process of creation of the mining development centres, the university teacher added, there is need for a clearer separation of tasks, with the Government taking the responsibility of preparing the basic infrastructures like water, energy, telecommunication and road systems.

 

To José Cerqueira, in the process of creation of the centres, the business class is expected to come up with feasible projects, with the help of the citizens at large.

 

He said there plans to make this division speedier, mentioning the example of the Special Economic Zone in Viana.

 

Asked how he would define the concept of viable projects of entrepreneurs, the economist said entrepreneurs and investors are the ones who should define what kind of plant they intend to deploy in a particular area.

 

"I do not think this is a good philosophy for the Executive to have the task of assembling factories and then expect investors to come. We should not dismiss efforts, but should do things in stages and in an organized manner ," he noted.

 

With regard to the oil crisis in the international market, he said the country is learning a lot from it and now has a basis for dealing with similar problems in future, but he added he expects this to be over as soon as possible.

 

"Despite the difficulty in selling, we still have enough oil, but of course we will have to postpone the exploration of some reserves. Angola is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and cannot increase production at its will. As we cannot export, we should invest more in other raw materials than oil, in order to strengthen the chemical industry," he said.

 

When asked about the areas in the oil industry that need greater intervention, the economist pointed out that the chemical industry relies heavily on oil and the country has a lot of raw rare unexplored resources.

 

According to the expert, should this sector gain a greater momentum, the country could export, within a few years, other items.

 

"In my opinion, whenever a country has a raw material in large quantities, such as diamond and iron, these should be the focus of the Government's investment, " he said.

 

Regarding the exploitation of other minerals, he said he believes there is need for greater investment as well as visionary man, capable of seeing this sector as an opportunity to create jobs or economic development.

 

He emphasized that the centres represent a bet on the specialty, while recognizing that the Angolan population is more involved with the land, but he who comes to invest in the countryside or in mines have to bring a well organized program, so that the local population feels the benefits and welcomes investors positively.

 

"This type of measure would show that the investment also include the social responsibility component," he said.

 

José Cerqueira said that in the economic area, the Government must establish partnerships even in infrastructures in sectors such as energy and water, because until we gain a regular supply, the industry will be very difficult to hold.

 

"One of the solutions is for the Government to create partnerships and allow more private investment in these sectors. The Government should only have the task of investigating and monitoring the prices to be implemented, " he said.

 

With the creation of the centres , he said, the main beneficiaries will be the Angolan businessmen, as well as ordinary citizens, who have the possibility of striving in a broader labor market.

 

"There are more and new jobs for which they can compete. What is needed now is to accelerate this process in order to reduce significantly the unemployment rate, especially among young people, " he said.

 

On the other hand, he emphasized that the increase in mining represents a gain for many professions and sectors, a process that will induce a strong focus on education and training of national personnel, so as not to depend so much on foreign technicians, especially in this phase of the country's development.

 

"It is necessary that young people bet more on advanced vocational training, because when you make a mining project it involves a range of labor and machines which require specialized staff," he said.

 

He said the commitment to training is important as its gains would be reflected in the growth of the labor market and the diversity of this.

 

"Imagine what would happen if all these youths who now work in the street had manufacturing jobs! This is the great change that has to happen in our society with the emergence of centres, " he said.

 

With the implementation of the mining development centres, he said, the Angolan economy will get strengthened, thus reducing the heavy dependence on the oil sector, which is now the main source of export and fiscal revenues.

Source : allafrica.com