Angola's Education Ministry (MED) will embark on actions to improve the management of the higher education subsystem in the country until 2015, through a plan approved in December 2006 by the Cabinet Council.

Between 2001 and 2006 thousands of families were forcibly evicted from various neighbourhoods in the Angolan capital of Luanda. These forced evictions(2) were typically carried out without prior notification or consultation, without due process and with recourse to excessive use of force.

Fear of stigmatisation in Angola is keeping people living with HIV/AIDS in hiding. Caregivers are more than willing to help but are having a hard time finding patients to take care of. "People prefer to keep silent and to die in silence," Ambrósio Cabral, coordinator of Angola's Red Cross HIV/AIDS programme, told IRIN/PlusNews.

The government of Angola, which yesterday joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), should publicly account for how it spends the country’s massive oil wealth instead of harassing citizens who criticize corruption, Human Rights Watch said today (15 December 2006).

Job Purpose: To be responsible for strategic development and effective management of the Concern Angola country programme in line with Concern Worldwide organisational and country specific strategies, policies and procedures.

The reinforcement of South-South co-operation ties, based on their diversification is part of the Angolan Government's plans to be presented during the Africa-South America Summit in Abuja, Nigeria, from November 30 to December 01. This information was revealed this Wednesday (29 November 2006) to the press at Luanda's "4 de Fevereiro" International Airport by the Prime Minister's Assistant Minister, Aguinaldo Jaime, who will represent the Angolan Head of State, José Eduardo dos Santos, in this forum.

As Angolans prepare to vote next year in the country’s first elections since 1992, the government’s new press law promises much-needed reforms but still fails to protect freedom of the press adequately, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today (16 November 2006).

Having destroyed large part of its human and natural resources during the country's fifty years of wars is it possible for Angola to become the China of the African continent. Well, that is the assumption of Credit Guarantee, South Africa's largest insurer of company debtors.

I just want to congratulate my fellow Angolan Rafael Marques for his wisdom and deep understanding of the Angolan situation. This speech is crystal clear about the current situation. Sadly, due to foreign interest in natural resources, I do not foresee a bright future for Angolans. Unfortunately, this is the reality. Leaders with vision like that of Rafael Marques are not welcome and usually crucified at the first opportunity. I even respect Rafael for being so forward and still going to Angola or living in Angola. Long life my brother, Angola needs people like you.

The civil war in Angola ended in 2002. In this speech, given at Harvard University, Rafael Marques argues that the peace agreement signed in April 2002 has failed to promote democratic values or engage citizens in public affairs. Elections that the government promised the people since 1999 have not materialized. Instead, Angola is undergoing a process of commercialization as a substitute to democratization, writes Marques.

It is a privilege for me to be here at Harvard, a center of intellectual and scientific excellence. I am here simply as a student to have a conversation and share some ideas about Angola.

I am also in the US to learn from you about the merits of an open-minded and uncompromised debate about democracy, international relations and solidarity.

Currently, preparations are being made for the registration of voters in Angola, as a major leap forward towards the holding of elections in 2007, 2008 or 2009. There have been hints of elections ever since 1999.

These elections would be the second ever held in the country. The only other ones, the 1992 general elections, led to war breaking out again.

What is at stake at the moment is whether holding elections could be a measure of democratization for Angola or not? That is the first of several questions to be asked.

After a devastating 27-year conflict, a military peace deal signed in April 2002 has not been fostering the promotion of democratic values in society and engaging citizens in public affairs. Angola has been described as a “state without citizens.” Despite recent promises of increased transparency, accountability and democratization, little has yet been accomplished to bridge the gap between the rulers and the ruled. The underlying causes of this situation are many and interlinked. Political power is highly centralized and some would argue that historically this power was further consolidated through the control of resource flows by three institutions – the Presidency, the National Bank and SONANGOL, the national oil company.

The reality is of opportunity, but for whom? For those who hold power and sway, it means dividends from the privatization of the state, according to the hierarchy in the regime. For outsiders, it means a rush to promote their economic interests, cut new deals or explore new market opportunities.

This prompts the second question. What does the present situation mean for the majority of Angolans? Put in a different way, is the country just open for business or is there some scope for democracy as well?

What are the prospects of change, defining a new future for Angola? This is the third question I shall try to elaborate on as part of this conversation.

Electoral Democracy

The first indication of democracy in the country would be the establishment of checks and balances in the state institutions, as well as their openness to public scrutiny. This is essential for the process of nation-building,

To demonstrate the absurd contradictions of the system, justice is still administered through the former colonial Portuguese Penal Code of 1886. Portugal itself has reformed the Penal Code a number of times since then.

Many of the state institutions have not been altered to fit the new political system. For instance, the office of the Attorney-General is still governed by a one-party Marxist-Leninist law (cf Law 5/90, of 5 April) to safeguard not democracy but the “socialist legality”. This office is, by law, under the presidency and the President of the Republic gives direct instructions to the Attorney-General, which must be complied with in accordance with article 5, clause 2, of law 5/90.

Unfortunately, this situation, which is unconstitutional, cannot be challenged in court. The Constitutional Court, which is required to safeguard the Constitution, has not been established since 1992. Three members of the Constitutional Court are supposed to be elected by a two-thirds majority of Members of Parliament(article 135, clause 1b). The ruling MPLA does not have such a two-thirds majority and has found it risky to bring up the issue because it might wake up the opposition.

So far, the judges of the Supreme Court, appointed by the President of the Republic, perform the duties of the Constitutional Court in violation of the Constitution. The vice-president of the Supreme Court, Mr. Caetano de Sousa, is also currently the head of the National Electoral Commission, appointed by the President of the Republic.

On July 22, 2005, the Supreme Court decided that the President has been performing interim duties since 1992, the year he failed to win in the polls. Back then the second round of the presidential elections never took place because war broke out again. As such, none of his periods as President count. So, after 25 uninterrupted years in power, he can run again for three more consecutive periods.

Another important aspect to take into account is the effectively subordinate role of the National Electoral Commission, which also includes opposition members, in relation to the Inter-Ministerial Commission for Elections, all of whose members come from the MPLA government.

And why does the opposition not rally behind the issue? As I speak, the 220 parliamentarians, whose constitutional mandates expired 10 years ago, are lavishing upon themselves luxury cars of their own choice from a special budget of over US$16.5 million which they granted to themselves.

Moreover, some of the main opposition parties represented in Parliament, like UNITA, PRS and PLD, also hold ministerial portfolios in the government and the due privileges. That’s how the patronage system works. The political opposition becomes part of the problem and not of the solution.

Along with the control of the judicial power by the political powers comes control of the State media, which comprises the only radio and TV broadcasters with national coverage and the only daily newspaper in the country. The Minister of Information, from the MPLA, also heads the National Radio of Angola. I worked for the state media, and I can say from experience that there was more room for some innocuous criticism 12 years ago than there is today. These media outlets only reproduce the orders of the political establishment.

The six privately owned weekly newspapers, as critical as they are, remain ineffective in expressing the thoughts and wishes of the majority. They circulate almost exclusively in the capital, Luanda, at an average price of US$2.50 for a 24-page tabloid, which is too expensive for the average citizen. Altogether these papers only print up to 25,000 copies per week, while there are over four million people living in the capital alone.

Both the judiciary and the media are fundamental to the exercise of democracy, one by upholding the rule of the law and the other to serve as a vehicle for freedom of expression. But they are, in fact, instruments of partisanship.

Moreover, the regime has produced a state class, in which figures of the ruling MPLA accumulate wealth rapidly by robbing the state coffers. That’s how the President’s family, without a record of labour, has amassed a vast fortune and is a major shareholder in the telecommunications, banking, mining and other most profitable enterprises. Other high-ranking families of the regime are also entitled to such fortunes.

These brief examples illustrate that the time of peace is being used neither for serious institutional reform nor to establish a proper transitional platform to a fully fledged democracy. To put it simply, there are no functioning institutions for the formal democratic participation of citizens.

How can elections change this state of affairs? The absence of a transitional mechanism, to mitigate abuses of power, leaves little room for peaceful change and risks a showdown between the government and the people for lack of alternative and buffer institutions.

The Power of Oil

Any change will put at risk not just the ruling party, but the business interests of the state class, who are the partners for foreign governments and enterprises in oil, diamonds, construction, etc. Foreign interests fight for privileged access to the state class.

The interests of the Presidential family in remaining in power, to safeguard their business interests, coincide, for instance, with the US policy to ensure stability and safeguard a continuous flow of Angolan oil into the US. By 2007, Angola’s oil output is forecast to surpass 2 million barrels a day and continue to increase until 2010.

The international view of Angola has been narrowed down to business interests. Angola is undergoing a process of commercialization as a substitute to democratization.

International pressure has mainly been self-serving and the call for good governance has focused more on issues of transparency and an improved climate for foreign investment than on poverty alleviation and democratization. Countries with a strategic interest in Angolan oil, especially China, have been willing to provide Angola with concessional, oil-backed loans, which carry no conditions on improved governance.

In the past, the US led Western countries in fomenting guerrilla warfare in the country in the name of a global fight against communism while, at the same time, allowing Cuban soldiers to guard Chevron oil facilities. Then it switched sides to annihilate the guerrillas in the name of helping to achieve peace and democracy.

Such international leverage in the country’s affairs has robbed the people of external solidarity in the fight for change. Reality shows that it is all about access to the country’s natural resources and profitable dealings. In 2005 Angola could boast the highest rate of growth in Gross Domestic Product in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) area (if not all of Africa), according to IMF figures. In stark contrast, Angola has some of the worst poverty levels in Africa. Last year Angola was ranked 160 out of 177 countries on the UNDP Human Development Index. According to the statistics, 67% of the population lives below the poverty line. Of those living in rural areas, 90% are estimated to live below the poverty line. Illiteracy and infant and maternal mortality rates are very high. The shares of the government budget allocated to health (4.4% in 2006) and education (3.8%) are lower than average in the SADC area and have declined steadily since 2004. In general, there has been a bias against spending on initiatives to improve broad-based primary education and primary health care.

In principle, elections will not provide people with alternative choices because the political opposition is either incorporated into the system, tamed or too marginal to have the resources and the ability to make itself known to a wider audience. This explains why the pressure for elections from civic organizations and society at large has gone quiet.

Thus the holding of elections will by no means be a measure for democracy. The regime has already prepared itself for an eventual alternative, which it calls an agenda of national consensus. From time to time, when pressure mounts, it takes it out of its pocket to lure people into an idea of broad dialogue to give a new direction to the country.

For there to be a space for democracy, Angolans have to find a more balanced and sustainable way of dealing with the openness to foreign investors, which is used as an international public relations tool to re-legitimize the regime and dodge the pressing need for dialogue on the country’s situation.

We must be forceful in explaining that one issue must not obscure the other. We must have them both, and democracy should be a priority to establish the rule of law that turns the institutions of state into the safe keepers of transparency, fair competition and greater safety for foreign investments. Currently, businesses have to rely on powerful individuals for protection, but sooner or later this will come to an end.

Prospects of Change

As a citizen, I always wonder why my political leaders always prefer to take the most difficult and treacherous routes of war, violence, corruption and denial to govern the country?

My country is drifting towards a political dead end. The growing detachment between the rulers and the ruled, in the formation of the state class, can only lead to profound resentment and an unpredictable outcome.

Dialogue and compassion are not new ideas, but that’s what Angolans have always needed most from their rulers, and been denied.

There must be the political will by the regime to open up and allow the establishment of a “state of citizens” as the best option to avoid the perils of anarchy, for its own good and because time is running out.

Thank you to the Harvard Law School Human Rights Program and its co-sponsors. And thanks to the Northcote Parkinson Fund for sponsoring my trip here as part of the Civil Courage Prize.

• Rafael Marques de Morais, an Angolan journalist and a human rights activist, is the winner of the 2006 Civil Courage Prize.

• Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

The president of UNITA, the country's main opposition party, Isaias Samakuva, last weekend urged the militants and members of his organisation to collaborate with the government in the improvement of the social conditions of the populations. Speaking at the end of the fourth UNITA Parliamentary Gathering, which took place at Quibaxi village, Dembos municipality of the north-central Bengo Province, Isaias Samakuva pointed the bad state of the roads as the main obstacle which hinders the development of this region.

I agree that this is a problem not only in Angola but in all of Africa. Poverty is the one major issue that has to be addressed. I agree that the business community that controls the oil and other resources that Africa provides should and must take care of the people that provide the labour force. They must develop the country such that all enjoy the fruits of the land. Merely raping the continent will only lead to all the anti-social problems that one sees prevalent in all parts of Africa.

The international community must play an integral role in empowering the people of the continent so that they could control their own destinies.

Education is the most crucial component of the formula for success. Health care is next in line that is needed to stem the growing pandemic of HIV and AIDS. Full employment will definitely add to the growth of the economies.

Another phenomenon is the idea of the African Renaissance that is being touted by the S.A. leadership. One has to be very skeptical of this idea. Remember that Africa is a continent filled with people of all stripes, colours and religions and one cannot forget that all are part and parcel of the success of the continent. If the African Renaissance were to succeed then one will only ‘Balkanize’ Africa once again for more exploitation by the external forces.

Hopefully some of these ideas have been uttered by others but I felt that I should also add to the list.

Manuel Paulo argues that Angola has unparalleled opportunities, “but it also faces major constraints and challenges, which if not properly managed could have extremely damaging consequences, indeed, cancelling out the opportunities available.” He points out that for a successful consolidation of long-term sustainable peace to exist in Angola, the economy would need to be diversified first.

The rhetoric in Angola has been that the coming of peace brings with it the opportunity to create a strong economy and society in which the entire population will share the benefits of Angola's huge mineral wealth. Indeed, Norway, Chile and Botswana provide evidence where sustainable development has been built on the basis of mineral wealth. In Angola, however, oil companies tend to voluntarily invest large sums of money into social investment programmes, with little developmental impact on the country, and it appears that the primary purpose of these programmes having more to do with public relations motives than any real commitment to meaningful advances for the local greater populace.

The country has unparalleled opportunities, but it also faces major constraints and challenges, which if not properly managed could have extremely damaging consequences, indeed, cancelling out the opportunities available. Firstly, to ensure implementation of a rigorous application of modern procurement system which would limit opportunities for corruption, there must be a capable workforce as well as an operational legal system. Secondly, there should be efforts to boost development in the country as a whole. Failure to improve the business climate outside the oil sector will continue to result in large-scale urban unemployment. Such a situation would worsen urban poverty and allow frustration to simmer, especially among the youth. The latter nowadays turn to alcohol to contain their frustration at not being able to find a job. Lack of jobs for the youth may well be an ingredient for violence or indeed criminal activities to thrive.

It is safe to say that a promising future for Angola and Angolans will require the development of an independent judicial system, a neutral civil service and strong state institutions, which will require more than the current superficial social investment programmes from the international oil companies. Oil on its own will not lead to increasing Angolan economic and social indicators from its current levels. Sustainable employment creation in Angola can only come from broad-based economic development that goes beyond an oil sector, which provides very few direct jobs. In the medium term, large numbers of jobs will only be generated by large government public works programmes aimed at rebuilding the country’s shattered infrastructure, and in the agriculture sector.

International oil companies currently investing in the Angolan oil industry are required to engage in a process known as Angolanisation, a process common to most developing oil producing countries. This process requires foreign oil companies operating in Angola to staff their local operations mainly with Angolans, ostensibly to benefit to a greater number of Angolans. However, the beneficiaries of Angolanisation are predominantly foreign educated Angolans because ordinary Angolans who attend local state schools are unable to compete on an equal level with Angolans who were trained abroad. In addition, most international oil companies operating in Angola have admitted that there is a fierce competition for skilled Angolans amongst international oil companies, let alone the state. This means that competent workers from already fragile and under-performing state institutions are lost to international oil companies - placing the government in a disadvantaged position when trying to attract qualified personnel for its already weak public administration. International oil companies are also in a stronger position to attract well-educated Angolans due to high remuneration, and better working conditions they offer. The government on the other hand, is unable to pay the sort of salary, training and benefits that international oil companies are offering.

This is a short-sighted strategy since the Angolan authorities should see diversification of the economy as a decisive factor in the successful consolidation of a long-term sustainable peace. Additionally, failure to revive the non-oil economy (that provides jobs and sources of income for ordinary Angolans) will result in popular discontentment and continuing high levels of social inequality a potential source for future popular discontent. This situation is seemingly not of concern to international oil companies, because their goal is the formal one of presenting acceptable statistics to the government on their compliance with the process of Angolanisation.

It is well known that the oil industry is not an engine for job creation. The industry is capital-intensive and after half a century of oil production in Angola, the industry employs only about 19,000 Angolans. Only 50 percent of engineers are Angolans and in certain types of technical jobs such as drilling and well servicing the proportion is even lower, which is low by any industry standards (IPEDEX 2003). The government should establish a more supportive regulatory framework and a fund that permits improvements in education and training, and allows apprenticeship schemes and many other economic activities independent of government to thrive as a way to diversify the economy. Subsequently, the country’s substantial oil earnings could be a major source of investment in a National Training Fund to the necessary human resources to unlock other sectors of the economy that generate more jobs than the oil industry.

Nevertheless, many would argue that, oil funds are not an easy – nor necessarily an appropriate – solution to the problem of diversifying the Angolan economy. However, the proposed National Training Fund would require the government of Angola to set up a legal framework to govern it, in order to avoid the problems the Venezuela Oil Fund experienced. In order to address possible allegations and suspicions of cronyism and patronage, the government should open its books to a leading external auditory firm to monitor the Fund management of the resources.

One way to fund the Oil Fund would be to make it compulsory for international oil companies to pay a quota for each expatriate they have in the country. The quota is a way to encourage oil companies to recruit locally, and the quota would vary from exploration to production phase. The benefit of such an initiative is that all spectra of Angolan society would have a stake in the development of Angola, and international oil companies would not be accused of creating another elite in Angola under the Angolanisation programme. The government would also be able to address the lack of human capacity to effectively manage the revenue generated by the country’s resources. This will be a way of facilitating addressing Angola’s severe shortage of professional personnel.

Oil Funds have been into place in Norway, and Kuwait for decades. Colombia, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, and Chad have also embraced such funds. These funds have several purposes such as keeping money out of the economy to avoid ‘Dutch Disease’ and other problems associated with large inflows of money into an economy that cannot absorb it; or saving revenues for future generations. However, in the case of Angola a National Training Fund financed by oil revenue could be used as a mechanism to introduce a comprehensive Angolanisation Programme that goes beyond the oil industry.

This paper has shown that there are constructive ways in which international oil companies could contribute to Angola’s development not by creating another elite within its Angolan workforce or instituting systems of patronage. Instead, all efforts should be direct towards ensuring that the wealth the oil industry brings benefits all Angolans. The National Training Fund proposed above could be decisive to address the weak capacity and lack of professionals for the oil industry, and help Angola to diversify its economy.

• Manuel Paulo is a PhD Candidate at Middlesex University Business School, Fellow on Angola at Chatham House.
• Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Human rights organisations have become increasingly concerned that Angolan government pressure to enforce a peace deal it brokered with oil-rich Cabinda's splintered secessionist movement may stoke political tensions. According to Vegard Bye, Head of the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in the capital, Luanda, "the government has made it clear that it would crack down on those who don't accept the peace deal."

Angola on Tuesday (October 3) launched a voter-education programme ahead of its first post-war polls due next year with the prime minister warning against foreigners being registered for the key election. "We have to be careful that those who do not fulfil the conditions required by law to vote are not registered," Prime Minister Fernando da Piedade Dias Dos Santos said, kicking off the campaign in the oil-rich nation.

Although Angola is benefiting from a post-war economic boom, far more needs to be done to ensure the benefits are felt by all Angolans, warn humanitarian workers. The 27-year conflict killed one million people and took a massive toll on human development.

The repatriation of Angolan refugees is creating food shortages in and around the Zambian camps they have lived in for decades. "The repatriation of Angolan refugees has affected us so much.They were very hardworking farmers and we used to buy cheap beans, rice, cassava, sweet potatoes and maize [the staple crop] from them, but now we have nowhere to run to for cheap foods."

Angola`s Minister of Social Welfare João Baptista Kussumua has called on international donors and partners to redouble efforts for the success of the voluntary and organised repatriation of 15,000 out of the 20,000 Angolan refugees living in neighbouring Zambia.

The Finance / Administration Officer reports to the Country Representative and the Programme Co-ordinator in Copenhagen. She/He is responsible for the financial administration of the project/programme and supervises the local administrative and logistics staff. In case of absence she/he has to substitute the Country Representative.

Angola's soaring economic growth from its diamonds and oil exports comes with worsening human rights and health, two separate reports warn. Alleged problems are said to include security companies' "profoundly sadistic" human-rights violations in Angola's diamond-rich eastern region, reports the Financial Times.