ReliefWeb

Luanda - Angola needs at least 200 million US dollars ($ 1 = 165,092 Akz) to meet, by 2025, the provisions of the Ottawa Convention to make the country free of landmines.

This was said to the press on Thursday by the Social Welfare minister, Gonçalves Muandumba, as part of the National Demining Conference, taking place in Luanda on 22-23 June.

According to the official, this is a great challenge for the government for the remaining time, since this process was affected due to the economic crisis that is hitting the country.

He said that despite the less financially good situation, the government continued prioritizing resources so that the demining brigades could not stop their activity.

The official highlighted the role played by international non-governmental organizations in the demining process in the country, with emphasis on the efforts made in Huambo province with a view to making this region free of landmines in 2018.

Gonçalves Muadumba stressed that Angola has the most modern international concentration equipment in which some have been manufactured taking into account the soils and the type of landmines implanted in the country.

Asked about the current situation of demining in the country, the minister said that the overall data presented are quite encouraging that run in 50 percent of the country's execution 15 years after the peace, which shows that a great effort was made.

Deu como exemplo os caminhos-de-ferro em que a estimativa feita por muitos países era que seriam necessários 20 anos para serem desminados na sua totalidade, mas os três caminhos- de-ferro existentes no país já funcionam na sua plenitude.

Sublinhou que sem desminagem não há circulação nem desenvolvimento por isso o lema à conferência “ Angola livre de minas, rumo ao desenvolvimento”.

In 2002, it was estimated that 12 million landmines were implanted in the country and Angola was considered one of the most mined countries in the world at the time.

The conference is addressing issues such as the overall demining situation, the impact of landmine clearance on diversification of the economy, assistance and reintegration of mine victims.

Landmine risk education and prevention, funding of the national demining programme and compliance with the Ottawa Convention and the international dimension of the demining programme are other topics being discussed in the event.

Representatives from various international organizations are participating in the demining process in the country, sappers of the country's 18 provinces, cabinet officials, ecclesiastical entities and other individuals are participating in the conference.