Cambulo – The governor of Angola’s northeast Lunda Norte province, Ernesto Muangala, Tuesday here delivered 154 diamond exploration permits to 154 artisan miners of Cambulo and Lucapa municipalities, as part of the central Government’s policy to reduce hunger, poverty and unemployment in the country.

 
According to the governor’s statement at the delivery ceremony, "the activities of artisan mining will be developed only with non-mechanised exploration methods".

Ernesto Muangala stressed that the State should not be the only entrepreneur that’s why the Government welcomes business initiatives and forms partnerships in order to create jobs within the communities.

"Now with the help of the "BUE" - Small Business Startup Loan Office – Angolan citizens have the opportunity to setup their own businesses and provide employment to others," the governor said.

 
Pedro Catembo Matrosse, one of the beneficiaries, pledged to do everything to ensure that his production helps sustain his family and contributes to the national income increase.

 
So far, 1,000 permits have been delivered to artisan diamond miners in the municipalities of Kuango, Lucapa, and in several communes, by the National Diamond Company (Endiama), in compliance with the guidelines handed down by the Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, to produce wealth and reduce poverty in the country.

 
Artisan diamond exploration is an important activity and it will be developed in the areas thought to be inefficient for industrial mining.