It was with sadness and a sense of collective loss that we learned of the passing of Engineer Manuel Resende de Oliveira, one of the founders of PROGEST and a leading figure in Angolan engineering, known for his technical excellence, professional ethics, and, above all, his Angolan spirit.
We have lost a friend, a colleague, a competitor, and an inspiration for the causes he championed. 

Thank you for everything, Mr. Resende.

SOAPRO.

Message from Eng. Domingos Guimarães, one of the founders of SOAPRO and a contemporary of Eng. Manuel Resende de Oliveira.

“Although I did not know him personally, I was deeply moved when Zé Luis Guerra Marques invited me in April 1989—while I was still at LEA—to join Progest’s technical staff, which I believe was a joint idea of Valério and Resende de Oliveira. 
While he headed the Public Works and Bridges Company in the years leading up to Angola’s independence, and having witnessed the exodus of countless professionals who left Angola just before our November 11th, he continued to dedicate his full commitment to the country as the outstanding engineer that he was.
Construction was underway in the Golfe neighborhood, facing immense challenges due to the turbulent times and political instability of the era; he had already been sworn in by the President of the Republic, Dr. Agostinho Neto, as Minister of Public Works immediately after being granted Angolan citizenship. He was a citizen born in Portugal who wholeheartedly embraced the values of an upright citizen and was deeply committed to the cause of the Angolan people. He mobilized construction professionals in the early days of independence, fostering a spirit of unity that motivated everyone to overcome the challenges of those difficult times.
Notably in 1986, when Angola faced immense financial difficulties in meeting its commitments to expatriates, he played a key role in fostering hope that better times were ahead, and thus led an entire team at the Ministry of Construction in the project to redevelop the shantytowns on the outskirts of Luanda, building infrastructure, roads, sanitation systems, schools, and daycare centers…
Throughout the country, he mobilized the few remaining officials in the provinces, appointing them as representatives to carry out directives issued by the single-party government that ruled Angola. He was a zealous adherent to these directives, and he was not known to have any personal financial interests. He was the first Portuguese national, after independence, to be granted Angolan citizenship by the then-Founder of the Nation.
In the late 1980s, he founded the Empresa de Projetos with his brothers, Valério and José Guerra Marques—by then having withdrawn from all political activity—which focused on project design and construction supervision.
He stood out for his technical and professional dedication, free from material and financial interests, leading a life without luxuries or ostentation. He always maintained a constructive attitude and was committed to the country’s reconstruction.
His enlightened spirit—and consequently his critical stance toward many controversial and non-technical decisions—was an inspiration to many of us, especially to those who share the highest purpose an engineer can have: improving the quality of life for all of us.”
R.I.P.

Domingos Guimarães
SOAPRO