Global watchdog group Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday called on Angola’s government to do more to fight corruption, saying Angolans did not benefit from the state’s immense oil riches.
“The government needs to take strong action to combat the corruption and secrecy that undermine Angolans’ rights,” said Arvind Ganesan, HRW’s business and human rights programme director, in a statement.
“Here is a nation with a wealth of resources while its people live in poverty.”
The 31-page report, Transparency and Accountability in Angola: An Update, said the government, led by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos for three decades, has not done enough to fight pervasive corruption and mismanagement.
Millions of Angolans had limited basic social services despite the country being sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest oil producer with a 400% increase in GDP over the past six years, HRW said.
Improved publication of oil revenue figures, recent calls by Dos Santos for “zero tolerance” on corruption, and plans for a new anti-graft law appeared to show a willingness to fight state graft, HRW said.
“However, given that the president and ruling party have been in power for more than three decades, including the entire period in which oil-fuelled corruption has been rampant, sceptics will wait to see whether meaningful action will accompany these statements,” it cautioned.
Evidence of graft
The report also detailed evidence of graft at the central bank, with the government unable to account for $2,4-billion during a previous governor’s term from 1999 to 2002.
“If the Angolan government is serious about transparency and reform, it should rigorously investigate government officials, publish audits of its expenditures, and act on president dos Santos’s pledge of ‘zero tolerance’ for corruption,” it said.
Angola ranks as the world’s 18th most corrupt state according to Transparency International’s 2009 graft index, and is 143 out of 182 countries in the United Nation’s human development index.
A recent International Monetary Fund standby loan, the first since the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002, offered hope for improvement if its provisions were enacted, HRW said.
“This [the loan] may be an opportunity for the Chinese government to address problems with transparency and accountability,” it said.
“The Chinese government and Chinese companies have invested billions in oil-for-infrastructure deals while remaining relatively silent on governance in Angola and elsewhere.” — Sapa-AFP