Angola’s first President remembered

Angolans paid homage to Agostinho Neto, Angola’s first President, on 17 September, through a variety of political, cultural and recreational events.

President José Eduardo dos Santos laid a wreath on the memorial to Agostinho Neto in Independence Square, where there were exhibitions on his life and work and young people recited poems by the doctor/statesman, commemorating   National Hero daylight hours.

Addressing a public meeting, Roberto de Almeida, president of the National Assembly, spoke of Neto’s life as a nationalist and of his contribution to the total liberation of Africa.

"On this day, 80 years after the day of Agostinho Neto’s birth, it is imperative that his exemplary history and legacy continue to be internalised, inspiring the struggle to consolidate peace and national reconciliation on the basis of tolerance, so as to enable us, under the leadership of President José Eduardo dos Santos, to advance on the road to development and well-being for the Angolan people,’ he said.

“Agostinho Neto,” he said, "was fully aware that independent Angola could not live in peace so long as there existed not very far from our borders regimes like the South African one, interested in continuing to dominate the territories they subjugated.’

A government statement reaffirmed the wish to remain true to the teachings and ideas of Agostinho Neto, founder of the nation, in this first year of peace.

SADC summit in Luanda

A meeting of the Southern African Development Community’s Council of Ministers took place in Luanda on 30 September, prior to the SADC summit due to open on 2 October.

Minister of Planning Ana Dias Lourenço, who chaired the meeting, said that assuming the chairmanship of the regional organisation would be an opportunity for Angola to carry through the tasks of reconciliation and reconstruction and development.

"Stability in Angola will contribute to regional stability, the indispensable precondition for the strategy of economic integration and sustainable development,’ she said.

The Minister said that the holding of the summit in the country was a source of great pride and satisfaction for the government, at a time when SADC was moving towards a process of economic integration.

Angola, she said "wants, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, to propose the establishment of cross-border trade and investment, seeking to guarantee better performance in the areas of production and services, technology and know-how’.

"SADC should become a system of convergent economic, social and political systems, thereby increasing competitiveness, democracy, good governance, respect for rules and laws, guaranteed human rights, the participation of civil society in the solution of problems, regional solidarity, peace and security,’ she added. 

Angola elected to UN Security Council

Angola was elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council on 27 September, receiving 181 votes, more than any of the other five countries elected for a two-year term.    The others were Chile, Germany, Pakistan and Spain.

The elected countries were nominated by their regional groups, and in January Angola will replace Mauritius as representative of Africa.

João Miranda, Minister of External relations, said that in the Security Council Angola would "give of its experience and modest knowledge’ to resolve many of the problems of humanity, particularly in the African continent’.

Speaking in New York, Ismael Martins, Angola’s representative to the United Nations, said his country would work for peace in Africa and the world.

"I think that the experience of the years of war, especially of how to get out of war, how to put an end to the conflict that lasted for many years in Angola, the importance of dialogue, the importance of the international community as a fundamental body in the search for peace, that will be our experience,’ he said.  "And we believe we will be an interlocutor always open to the ideas of others and contribute our own ideas, so that together we may create a better world for everyone.’

President dos Santos speaks of definitive peace

President José Eduardo dos Santos said in Luena, capital of Moxico Province, on 12 September that Angolans wanted no more peace agreements and short-term peace.  "We want definitive peace for Angola.’

Speaking at a mass rally, the President thanked the people of Moxico and the east for what they had done "regardless of the sacrifices, to guarantee territorial integrity, national unity and peace’.   It was in Luena, he said, that the final agreement had been signed that had brought peace for ever.

"We could not move about freely and we tried peace agreements many times that did not last long.   Everything that we repaired – bridges, roads and hospitals – was destroyed and had to be repaired over and over again, increasing everyone’s hardship,’ the President said.

"The war has ended,’ dos Santos said, "but now death is caused by hunger and disease.  Our target is to solve the problem of hunger, to end hunger and to create conditions for eliminating disease. We all have to roll up our sleeves.’

Efforts were being made by the government, he continued, to open up all the communication lines in the country, especially between the coast, where the ports were, and the provinces in the interior. Every province would soon have at least one road repair brigade.  "The equipment for the brigades has been acquired by central government.  It is arriving in Angola.  In October or November all this equipment will be in Angola and will start to be distributed to provincial governments,’ he said.

"Everything depends on us’, he said, adding that the government was ready to create the conditions for meeting the challenge.

"When there are problems,’ dos Santos continued, "we must be able, using tolerance, to discuss, talk, seek solutions and avoid the situations that disturb order and stability which have caused us such setbacks.’

The government, he said, was going to see to it that there was political stability and tranquillity so that people could now devote themselves to working.

The President had arrived in Luena that morning to chair a meeting of the standing commission of the Council of Ministers to approve development plans for the provinces of Moxico and Luanda Norte and Lunda Sul.

He earlier inaugurated a project aimed at providing employment for young people seeking their first jobs.  Financed by the Public Investment Programme, it provides basic training in bricklaying, agriculture, electricity, woodworking and plumbing.

The President had a meeting with the MPLA’s provincial committee, inaugurated a vocational training centre set up by the Ministry of Public Administration and Social Security, and visited a future teachers’ training institute.

Annan appoints Gambari to head new UN mission

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Ibrahim Gambari, UN Under-Secretary General for African Affairs, as provisional head of the new United Nations Mission in Angola, UNMA.  He announced this on 10 September during a meeting in New York with João Bernardo de Miranda, Minister of External Relations, to discuss the humanitarian situation in Angola.

João Miranda told the press that Gambari would be based in Luanda and chair meetings of the Joint Commission formed by the government and Unita until a UN representative for Angola was found.

This would in principle be a Portuguese-speaking person, so as to facilitate contacts between the parties involved in the process.

Dos Santos on radical change in situation

President José Eduardo dos Santos has spoken of the speed with which the undertakings assumed by the government and Unita have been carried out.

He was addressing a press conference in Luanda on 6 September after a mini-summit with the Presidents of Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville.

"There has been a radical change in the situation in Angola,’ he continued, adding that the major concern now was to solve all the problems of direct and indirect victims of the war.  This required substantial resources in terms of food, tools, training centres and the rehabilitation of facilities, among other things.   The government had been using its own resources and making a great effort to solve those problems, the President said.

"We think elections in Angola should he held in a climate of security and calm, so that Angolans can freely and consciously choose their leaders,’ he said.

Dos Santos once again appealed to the international community, asking it to be "more generous to Angola’ and to send more aid and contributions to solve the problems of war-affected people.

Colin Powell promises humanitarian aid

US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that his country will continue to give Angola humanitarian aid.   In Luanda on 5 September for a visit of a few hours, he was addressing a special meeting of the Joint Commission – government, Unita, UN and observers.

Minister of the Interior Fernando da Piedade dos Santos "Nandó’ said:   "In conditions of peace and stability Angolans have tasks to carry out for which the cooperation of the international community is absolutely necessary.’

These tasks included, among other things, mobilising resources for rebuilding the country and preparing for the next elections, so as to normalise national political life.

Unita secretary-general Paulo Lukamba "Gato’ said his party was fully prepared to contribute to democratisation, adding that "Unita is no longer an armed party and will do everything to ensure that peace is a fact in Angola’.

Colin Powell had been received earlier by President José Eduardo dos Santos.  He made no statement after the meeting.

"Sustainable development the responsibility of all’

Addressing the sustainable development summit in Johannesburg on 4 September, Minister of External Relations João Miranda said sustainable development was not just the responsibility of governments, but should be seen as a process of broad and active participation by the people and local communities.

He said Angola was taking significant steps in this respect, through a macroeconomic reform programme geared to stabilising the economy, creating jobs and improving the quality of life of the population.

João Miranda went on to say that Angola had adopted a package of legislation to protect the environment over the past decade, and was currently engaged in a far-reaching public survey of views on a proposed new law on land, land use and agricultural development.

The Minister said that Africa should be a priority in respect of economic development and benefit more fairly and equitably from technological progress, through the transfer of technology and assistance in implementing projects aimed at eliminating poverty and other social ills affecting African populations.

He recalled that African governments, through Nepad, had already taken important steps within the framework of regional cooperation, with a view to overcoming imbalances in development, and  it was now up to industrialised countries and international institutions to "commit themselves to the continent’s progress on the basis of practical action and non-discriminatory and fair criteria’.

Miranda stressed "the fundamental importance of strengthening international cooperation’, adding that it was imperative to establish partnerships between industrialised and developing countries and between the latter and economic and financial groups. 

Divisions within Unita delay agreement on Constitution

The problem of Unita’s reunification has delayed agreement in the National Assembly’s constitutional commission on the system of government in Angola, according to Bornito de Sousa, vice-chair of the commission and head of the MPLA’s parliamentary group.

"We want the new Constitution to have the support of the vast majority of the Angolan people,’ he said during a talk to officers of the Angolan Armed Forces on 3 September.

He said possible solutions were to be discussed with opposition parties, the largest of which was Unita.  However, Unita’s leadership crisis was delaying discussion of this and other issues on which the broadest possible consensus was being sought.

Bornito de Sousa said that the current Constitution provided for a semi-presidential system with a president and a prime minister, with the shortcoming that it did not define which of the two was responsible for the executive.  Apart from maintaining this system, he said, there could be a parliamentary system of government in which the president was solely responsible for the work of the executive, or a semi-presidential one in which a prime minister was head of government.

He explained the need for a new Constitution and the issues being discussed by the constitutional commission, which consisted of 44 deputies from all political parties with parliamentary seats.  The National Assembly had already agreed on 27 principles to be included in the Constitution.   A committee of experts had drafted parts of the text on which agreement had been reached, while issues on which there were differences were being negotiated.

He added that 100 articles had already been drafted, including ones on the economy, and three samples of the country’s symbols – the flag, national anthem and insignia – had been selected prior to definitive agreement on which ones to choose.

New oil strike

The national oil company, Sonangol, and Esso Exploration Angola announced a new deepwater oil strike in Block 15, 385 km northwest of Luanda, on 26 September.

A Sonangol statement said that the test well, named Reco-Reco, was drilled at a depth of 1,438 metres, to a total depth of 3,798 metres. Tests produced 2,640 barrels a day.

It was the thirteenth discovery made by Esso in Block 15.

The concessionaire in Block 15 is Sonangol, the operator Esso, with a 40 percent interest, while other companies involved are BP (26.67 percent), Agip (20 percent) and Statoil (13.33 percent).

Poverty reduction strategy

A report on a poverty reduction strategy prepared by the Ministry of Planning was presented in Luanda on 23 September to the Ministries of Planning and Social Assistance and representatives of non-governmental organisations.       Luís Fonseca, head of the working group, said that equilibrium and growth, allied with improved education and health, would help to reduce poverty, and that a healthy and educated population also contributed to national development.

Poverty, he said, could only be solved in the long term, through economic growth programmes that included the non-mining and oil sectors.  The government should therefore seek to establish partnerships with different institutions and  to solve the problems of the poorest people.       The policy, he continued, should also take into account gender factors and the role played by women.

Fonseca said the prolongation of the military conflict and precarious economic policies were the main causes of poverty in Angola.

Severim de Morais, Deputy Minister of Planning, said the programme of consultations with different sectors was aimed at achieving a consensus on a poverty reduction strategy among all strata and ensuring that it was widely accepted.  

Meetings with those who worked with the most vulnerable people – women, children and the physically handicapped – were very important, he stressed.

Government programme to give priority to social sector

The Council of Ministers, at a special meeting on 18 September, approved an Economic and Social Programme,   the   principal aims of which are to improve health and education services, rehabilitate facilities, promote national reconciliation and support demobilised soldiers and displaced persons.       Other aims are to make proper use of national human resources and strengthen state bodies institutionally.

Júlio Bessa, Minister of Finance, said at the end of the meeting, that combating HIV/Aids and other endemic diseases and providing social assistance were priorities.

With regard to income and price policy, the government plans to update public sector wages periodically and seek to reduce wage differentiations. The government also intends to guarantee economic growth, especially in the non-oil sector.

Taxation and budget policy is to be based on expanding the number of tax-payers.  The executive also wishes to ensure more rational and efficient management of public expenditure and is to grant taxation and financial incentives in accordance with economic activity. Ways and means are to be sought to solve the housing crisis.

Diamond mining companies to help develop Lunda Norte

The partners of the national mining company, Endiama, are to participate in the social and economic development of Lunda Norte Province.  This was announced on 16 September after a meeting between the local government and Endiama and its partners.

It was recommended that local labour should be recruited for future company projects and that agreement be reached with social security bodies in respect of workers’ pensions.

The provincial government said that diamond companies should pay for electric power supplied by the Luachimo hydro-electric station, in order to be able expand the distribution network.

The diamond companies agreed to take part in a programme of building public and social facilities, as a way of supporting community development.

Other decisions taken at the meeting, the first of its kind, were monitoring of diamond output statistics and measures to protect the environment by restoring soil and flora removed during mining.

The Endiama delegation was headed by Arnaldo de Sousa Calado, chairman of the company.  Also present were the directors of the Sociedade Mineira do Lucapa, the Sociedade de Desenvolvimento Mineira, the Chitotolo project and the Intertransporte Centre.

It was meanwhile announced that the Ministry of Energy and Water had allocated more than US$5 million for the rehabilitation and modernisation of the Luachimo hydro-electric plant.  The announcement was made by Minister of Energy and Water Luís Filipe da Silva at the end of a meeting of the standing commission of the Council of Ministers held in Moxico Province.  The work would start next year.

The Luachimo hydro-electric plant, built by the former Diamang company around 48 years ago, is currently operating with obsolete equipment.

Chevron Texaco seeks to end oil spills

The oil multinational Chevron Texaco, the main operator off the coast of Cabinda, started on 14 September to replace oil pipes that are more than 30 years old, in order to eliminate oil spills.  According to André Chilicuisa, production superintendent at the Malongo oilfield, the aim is to replace 17 miles of pipeline carrying oil from the Takula, Cocongo, Vuco, Kungulo and Fox production fields to the Malongo complex.

Barros André, Chevron Texaco public relations director at Malongo, said that as from  this year, the company was going to work to protect the environment and ensure the safety of workers and local communities.

Plans to reopen Kassinga iron mine

A delegation from the Ministry of Geology and Mines led by the Minister, Manuel Africano, went to the Kassinga iron mining complex in Jamba, Huíla Province, on 18 September to assess the requirements for reopening the mine, which has been closed for more than 15 years.       Experts from the Ministry spent two days assessing requirements.

The Ministry of Geology and Mines had already submitted a memorandum on the reopening of the mine to the Council of Ministers, which was awaiting approval.

Successful mining of iron ore at Jamba requires the rehabilitation of more than 450 km of railway line between there and Namibe Province.

Huge diamond mine to start work his year

A huge diamond mine, Camafuca Camazanbo, in Lunda Norte Province, is to start operations this year.  Covering an area of 162 hectares, it is about three times bigger than the Catoca project in Lunda Sul Province.

Investment in the first phase will be an estimated US$20 million.  During the same period, the Angolan state will earn around US$5 million in tax revenue.

An agreement was signed in Luanda on 10 September by Southern Era Resources (Canada), Comica (Angola), Minex (Israel) and the Angolan state diamond company, Endiama.

More than 100 direct jobs will be created, in addition to others resulting from the establishment of agricultural projects.

The contracts provide for the training of Angolan personnel, with a view to the gradual substitution of foreigners.

Distribution of farm animals in Kwanza Norte

More than 4,000 chickens for reproduction were distributed by the Kwanza Norte government to the municipalities of Samba Cajú, Kiculungo, Bolongongo and Ambaca, in an effort to improve the diet of the population.

Letino Cristóvão, provincial director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said in Ndalatando on 10 September that the animals were being distributed to peasants, churches and agricultural cooperatives.

They would also be distributing 150 goats, which were expected to arrive from Luanda the following week.   Another batch of chickens, he said, would be distributed in other municipalities when they arrived.

The recipients of the animals, he added, would repay part of their value a year later.  The distribution was being carried out by the provincial offices of his Ministry and the Ministry of Fisheries and the Environment.

European Union grants €30 million

The European Union has granted the Angolan government €30 million as part of an emergency programme and support for the peace process.

The humanitarian development aid will be used first and foremost for health, education, the resettlement of children, demining, transport and the return of displaced people to their home areas.

A financing agreement signed on 4 September by Armando Catete, Angola’s Ambassador to Belgium, and European Commission public health expert Juan Casanova Arasa will be implemented as from 31 December for a three-year period.

Schools built in Bié Province

Eighteen schools have been built in the municipality of Chitembo, Bié Province, during the past year.

Domingos Félix, head of the local education department, said this would make it possible to enrol 3,430 children in the next school year.

However, there were currently more than 10,000 children outside the school system, so that more schools would have to be built, he said.

Assistance for reception areas

The government has given assurances that difficulties in providing humanitarian assistance for reception areas for former Unita families would soon be overcome.  Júlio Bessa, Minister of Finance, said on 26 September that FAA general staff headquarters had been hiring private transport companies to take essential goods to centres before the start of the rainy reason.

"There have in fact been transport problems, he said, "but we think they can soon be overcome.’

The areas where the government had the greatest difficulties were those in Kuando Kubango Province and some in Moxico, owing to poor access routes and the bad state of airstrips

The Minister said there were absolutely no problems with buying the goods needed.  A great effort would be made to supply the neediest areas.  Otherwise, stocks of goods would remain in Luanda until December.

Unita teachers given jobs

Fifty-two general education teachers who were formerly members of Unita’s armed forces, were approved by the Ministry of Education, on 17 September, to teach in Andulo, Bié Province.

They had previously attended a 45-day seminar to bring them up to date on new teaching methods used in the country.

The new teachers praised the local government for employing them, enabling them to earn salaries and support their families.

Oil Institute has trained 2,493 technicians

The National Oil Institute in Sumbe, Kwanza Sul Province, has trained 2,493 basic and medium-level oil technicians since 1983.  According to Domingos Francisco, pedagogical director of the Institute, 109 technicians from Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Lesotho and Swaziland were trained there during the same period.

Courses given include drilling, production, geology and mechanics.  Domingos Francisco said the Institute was being re-structured to provide courses for higher-level technicians.

Opened on 15 September 1983, it was the first educational institution for the oil sector.  Current enrolment is 462 medium-level students and 37 in the basic vocational course.

48 former Unita arms caches destroyed in Kuando Kubango

Forty-eight enormous arms caches of Unita’s former military forces have so far been destroyed in Kuando Kubango Province.

Lieutenant Colonel Pedro Camelo of FAA told the Jornal de Angola on 15 September that despite difficult access to the areas where the caches were and problems of identifying people who knew of their existence, the regional technical group was continuing searches in the region.

Of the weapons so far found, he added, only a few 106mm artillery pieces had been kept for use by FAA, while the remainder of the weapons had been completely destroyed.

Resettlement plans

The government plans to resettle 55,000 displaced people in the provinces of Moxico, Luanda Sul and Lunda Norte by December.

According to a press release issued after a meeting of the standing commission of the Council of Ministers held in Moxico Province on 13 September, the government needed to increase support in food, clothing, medical care and agricultural kits.

It said that between May and August this year, around 450,000 people, the equivalent of 75,000 families, had returned to their home areas.

The standing commission, it said, had noted the importance to the rehabilitation of economic and social life of repairing the Malanje-Saurimo road, the Luena airstrip and Benguela Railway, and combating ravines caused by erosion.

World Bank promises help

Callisto Madavo, vice-president of the World Bank for Africa, said in Luanda on 11 September, that his institution would support the convening of an international conference on reconstruction and development in Angola.       Speaking to the press after a meeting with President José Eduardo dos Santos, he promised that the Bank would also support the social reintegration of former Unita soldiers and displaced people.

Madavo described relations between the World Bank and Angola as excellent and said a resident director for the Bank’s office in Angola would soon be appointed.

Fernando da Piedade "Nandó’, coordinator of the National Commission for the Social Reintegration of Demobilised and Displaced People, said after a meeting with Callisto Madavo that conditions were gradually improving in reception areas, mainly because of aid from the international community, though it was difficult to get aid to areas where there were no roads.

"We are working to normalise the process,’ he said, stressing the need for the international community to speed up assistance.

Nandó went on to say that the process of reintegrating former Unita soldiers, to include vocational training, would soon be starting.  The commission had already received some requests from the Ministry of Health for personnel from Unita, and others would soon be working in education and public works, while agriculture should absorb a large number.

Addressing a press conference at the end of his visit, Madavo said the World Bank would be financing three specific programmes in Angola this year, totalling US$120 million.  The programmes, he said, were related to financial management, the social fund and demobilisation.

Government efforts recognised

Erick de Mul, UN humanitarian coordinator in Angola, has recognised the efforts made by the government to solve the problems of displaced people and war victims, as well as in national reconstruction.

He was speaking on 10 September at the opening of a training seminar on a data base to plan, manage and monitor the return and resettlement of displaced persons.   The project, he said, was evidence of the government’s strong commitment to promoting national recovery through the return and resettlement of displaced persons and former Unita soldiers.

London-Luanda flights agreed

Angola Airlines, TAAG, and British Airways signed an agreement on 9 September under which there will be twice weekly flights between London and Luanda.  British Airways is due to start flights in November, and TAAG later on.

Mateus Neto, chairman of TAAG’s administrative board, said   British Airways would also provide TAAG with technical support and train pilots.

Civil society debates Land Law

The deadline for civil society contributions to the drafting of the Land Law may be extended beyond November, the original date, according to the commission coordinating the public survey.   In view of the interest shown by different strata of society and the contributions made, the original timeframe was completely insufficient.

Displaced need urgent aid

João Baptista Kussumua, Minister of Assistance and Social Reintegration, revealed in Luanda on 9 September that three million displaced people were in need of emergency humanitarian assistance.  Speaking at a meeting of the humanitarian coordination group aimed at agreeing on priorities and challenges, he acknowledged the gravity of the situation.  Existing mechanisms were being strengthened to ensure rapid and adequate assistance, including in regions that had only recently become accessible with the end of the war, he said.

"This cannot and should not be the sole responsibility of the government,’ he said.  "In view of the magnitude of the problem and the cost, international support is still essential and urgent.  Mustering assistance for Angola in the international community is not easy, because there are other emergency situations in the world, and there continues to be a certain perception that Angola is a country with resources and, in peacetime, should therefore assume sole responsibility for supporting the needy population.’

In view of the situation in the country, the Minister continued, the government favoured a new concept of action, based on sustainable community development projects, with regular evaluation of projects to ensure transparency and efficient management.  The new concept also involved selecting projects and NGOs in accordance with the government’s resettlement and community development strategy, he said, consulting authorities at all levels and communities on the projects to be implemented, and ensuring active cooperation with international partners.

Nutrition in reception centres

Ana Vaz da Conceição, head of the hygiene and epidemiology department of the National Directorate of Public Health, said on 5 September that the nutrition situation in reception areas for war-affected people had improved significantly over the past six months.

This, she said, was due to the distribution of medicines and equipment, as well as nutrients.

Speaking during a meeting of Ministry of Health officials and partners involved in health and nutrition, she said there was currently no malnutrition in Saba Matias, Kuando Kubango Province, Madimba, Zaire, and Ambuiva, Kwanza Sul.