The chairman of the Board of Directors of the Angolan National Diamond Company (ENDIAMA EP), Ganga Júnior, expressed his expectations on Friday that, next year, Angola will be among the three largest diamond producers in the world.
Ganga Júnior, who made these statements to Jornal de Angola, on the sidelines of the inauguration of the orphanage “Lar Casa Mãe”, in Lubango, expanded and equipped with funding from ENDIAMA, said that it is “very close” to the objective.
“We are moving towards achieving this objective. We hope that, next year, we will already be in this place”, he said.
The chairman of the Board of Directors of ENDIAMA added that the results of diamond exploration in the 2017/2022 five-year period were “very positive”, despite the economic and financial crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The official said that, over the last five years, the results are quite encouraging. “The five-year results are quite positive”.
Social responsability
ENDIAMA spent 8.5 million dollars in the rehabilitation of the orphanage “Lar Casa Mãe Otchio”, which opened yesterday in Lubango, in works carried out by the Empresa de Engenharia e Construção OMATAPALO over a period of one year, consisting of the rehabilitation and equipping of nine classrooms for 280 students, as well as six dormitories for 200 people (three for boys and the same number for girls).
A refectory for 80 people was also rehabilitated, as well as a chapel, one of the reference spaces that indicates the nature of the orphanage.
The works allowed the creation of training areas in metalwork, carpentry, mechanical workshop, electricity, computers, hairdressing, sewing, bakery and pastry.
The chairman of ENDIAMA’s Board of Directors said that the sponsorship is within the scope of the company’s social responsibilities and that, given the value used, the work exceeded expectations.
“We liked it. It was a very good project. I think it can even serve as an example for other locations: the work done is proof that, if we want to work well, we actually solve big problems”, he added.
When comparing the before and after, the person in charge recalled that, two years ago, there was only rubble at the place of the home. “Today, everything has changed and there is an excellent perspective. I think that the children who come here will find conditions to graduate and will know how to do things for an easier insertion in the market”.
He clarified that in addition to the diamond exploration areas, ENDIAMA, within the scope of its social responsibilities, expanded its action to give a social dimension to economic activity, with social programs covering, in addition to the diamond provinces of Lunda-Norte de Lunda- Sul, Bié, Huambo, Malanje, Cuanza-Sul and Huíla.
The governor of Huíla, Nuno Mahapi Dala, guaranteed a continuous work to remove children from and on the streets of the province. “The objective is not to have street children anymore. It is with this objective that we are going to work so that the removal of children from the streets is increasingly a fact in Lubango and throughout the province”, he said.
