Poor still waiting for benefits of peace

The guns in Angola may have fallen silent, but the broad consensus on the streets of this battered country is that two years of peace have done little to better the lives of ordinary citizens. Sunday marked the second anniversary of the signing of the peace accord between the ruling MPLA and its arch-foe, UNITA, which brought to an end one of Africa's longest and bloodiest civil conflicts. The celebrations that greeted the end of the war in April 2002 have faded, replaced with despondency and frustration among a vast proportion of Angolans, many of whom still live in abject poverty, say observers. "The situation is not getting worse, but there are no huge improvements," said one senior United Nations officer. "We're no longer in the emergency phase but, in terms of basic social services, there has been no major improvement in the country, for sure." Many Angolans complain that, so far at least, peace has only brought tangible benefit to the rich minority, and that life for poor people has not improved much, if at all. "It is very, very difficult to say that things are better. There are little things, but really, hardly anything has changed," said one woman, a teacher and a translator. "The conditions have been created to have a better life but things are being done at such a slow pace, we just can't see the improvement. What has been done is really just a drop in the ocean," she added. WAITING FOR THE PEACE DIVIDEND Former soldier Joao Francisco (not his real name) agrees. Pleased that he no longer has to fight, he nevertheless looks back to the early war years with nostalgia. He remembers a time when he had spare cash in his pocket, could afford holidays to Portugal and basic foodstuffs were subsidised by the authorities. Many combatants have been demobilised since the end of the war but, despite government plans to reintegrate them back into their communities, many are struggling to find work and feed their families. Once at the heart of the conflict, they feel cast aside during peacetime. "At least under Marxist rule, the government subsidised the poor," Francisco said. "They bought rice, eggs and milk for needy families, but now it's all imported - prices are going up every day, but wages are staying the same." The MPLA, which has been in power since independence in 1975, formaly abandoned Marxism-Lenninism in 1990 as it moved towards accepting multiparty democracy. For the working class in the capital, Luanda, it is the sheer economics of peace that are proving difficult to swallow. The oil-rich country is one of the most expensive in Africa, but salaries are woefully low, and failing to keep pace with the rising cost of living. The average inflation rate was around 77 percent in 2003. Over the next year, real GDP growth is expected to surge to double digits on the back of rising oil production, but inflation will rise to an average of 90 percent, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has predicted. The anticipated growth will be capital-intensive and import-dependent, "with few linkages to other sectors of the economy or much impact on employment", said the EIU. "Economic performance will remain well below potential, owing to a weak physical infrastructure, poor economic policy and corruption. The post-war peace dividend will thus be limited." GROWING FRUSTRATION Take 26-year-old Antonio Lopes (not his real name): educated and eager to better himself, he is desperate to return to university to study civil engineering. But with work scarce, and US $200 needed just for the entry fee, he is struggling to cobble together enough funds for the sign-up cost, never mind the ongoing tuition. "Before was better, because life was cheaper," he said. "The arms may have been laid down, but there is not yet real peace. Peace for me signifies harmony, love, work, education, and growth - but we don't have any of that. "I feel sad and also very frustrated because I am not able to think about my future. I don't know how I'll overcome these obstacles to live a good life," he noted. There is anger that a country, endowed with such immense natural resources and which should be so rich, is failing to provide the most basic education and health services to its people. Angola has one of the world's worst child mortality rates, 80 percent of homes do not have electricity, and half its people are without safe water, proper health care or education, according to United Nations figures. "We need more transparency; more clarity on the method of dividing things. We have petrol and diamonds, we're a very rich country, but our people are poor," Lopes said. "Can you imagine, when we have so little, how it feels to see these very expensive BMWs, Mercedes, 4x4s in the street? It makes us very sad, and more than a little angry," he added. A recent spate of civil disturbances over the government's plan to close some of the capital's markets shows that people now feel they can speak out; it also illustrates a growing discontent among ordinary Angolans. "People wouldn't dare demonstrate against the government in the past. In that way, it's a good sign, but it's not good in another way because it shows that people are not happy; it shows they are dissatisfied with the government," the teacher said. The most noticeable change since the end of the war is that people are free to travel, and roads and rail networks are beginning the slow process of reconstruction. Of the 4.5 million refugees who fled to neighbouring countries, as well as displaced persons scattered within the country's borders and demobilised soldiers, around 3.5 million have headed home. Others are plucking up the courage to travel for pleasure and see parts of their country that were previously cut off. "Now we can fly to Benguela or Huambo. It's not a problem – provided you have enough money for the air fare," said a driver for an oil company, who asked not to be named. But those benefits are reserved for a tiny middle class, rich enough to take planes and brave enough to travel. "Step outside the bubble of the well-to-do in central Luanda - it's a completely different picture," said one foreign observer. "If you have money already, then for sure you will have seen an improvement. But for most people, their roads are full of potholes; they have terrible hospitals; they have problems sending their kids to school. Life is still as difficult – if not more so." Nevertheless, Lopes feels upbeat about the long-term future – provided the government announces an election date soon. "Elections will offer us a solution, we hope, because this government doesn't listen when we tell it that it's doing badly. We hope that a new government will have more responsibility; more accountability," he said. The opposition is calling for elections in 2005, but the government is suggesting that 2006 would be a more feasible date. While there is some frustration at the glacial pace of change, there is also an understanding that after such a long war, creating a durable peace was and is a great achievement, and that the country cannot overcome its problems overnight.