Water Supply Is Luanda Governor's Priority for 2001

Luanda, Angola
Luanda's provincial governor, Anibal Rocha, has said that his administration has identified water and electricity supply and improvement of the population's living conditions as its priorities for 2001.

Addressing the new year compliments ceremony Wednesday in the Angolan capital, he defended the government's national programmes to stop the exodus of the population into the city.

For this inflow to be stopped, he said, there is need to improve the basic conditions in other provinces in order to keep the populations within their villages.

Luanda currently hosts about 272,049 displaced people, 61,681 of whom live in the high density Cazenga area.

Rocha also said that technical units have been established to encourage self-help construction groups and stop unruly construction.

Meanwhile, he revealed that 19 million US dollars had been collected for the "Luanda-Sul" urbanisation programme, raising the total amount to 128 million dollars.

The governor deplored the lack of consciousness among some institutions towards the reintegration of physically disabled persons.

He also pledged his administration's intention to establish new or revive small and medium industries so as to create employment for the population.

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