Situation in Angola is dire: Oshima

The humanitarian situation in Angola is dire and needs donors to be very generous, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordination, Kenzo Oshima has said. Meanwhile, ahead of a donor conference to provide assistance for Angola's recovery, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos told a party rally that he was replacing Flavio Fernandes, the governor of Malanje province, who had been accused of obstructionism by aid workers. In a statement released on Friday at the end of his fact-finding visit to Angola, Oshima said: "The UN and its partners have significantly expanded their operations since the Memorandum of Understanding of 4 April [which ended a decades-long civil war], but much more needs to be done. UN agencies and partners are currently overstretched and require urgent funding. "Up to 3 million people, including those in Family Reception Areas, newly accessible locations and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps will require some form of assistance in the months ahead - one quarter of Angola's population. Many of these people need urgent assistance: food, health services, medicines - and I call upon the donor community to be generous in its response to these needs." He would brief donors in Geneva and again in New York and, after consultations with the government, would present the revised consolidated appeal for Angola. "By doing so, I hope that we can help the people of Angola consolidate peace and national reconciliation and move into normalcy which will allow for the reconstruction and development of Angola," Oshima said. The Angolan government agreed that it had the primary responsibility for meeting the needs of its people and that the UN and the international community played a role in complementing these efforts. "There is an expectation in the international community that the government will build on its current efforts to systematically increase spending in the social sector and assume a greater share of the burden in meeting the needs of its people. In addition, the effectiveness of the work of the UN and its partners will benefit from practical steps by the government, including facilitating customs clearances, visa issues and immediate infrastructure repair," Oshima said. He said the quartering of UNITA troops had been a success and commended the Angolan people on the success of the ceasefire. Oshima also "saluted" the efforts of organisations throughout Angola "who are working tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of people". Meanwhile, the pending replacement of Fernandes provides a glimmer of hope for the aid workers who leveled complaints against him, and Luis Paulinho dos Santos, governor of Bie province. Earlier this year it was alleged they were not repairing air strips satisfactorily which was hampering aid deliveries, and were impounding aid workers' vehicles. Erica Hazelaar, former programme manager for Oxfam in Malanje told IRIN that it was difficult to predict what impact a new governor would have but said: "In past experiences, the governor wasn't really co-operative, maybe a little obstructionist. Not just to Oxfam but to other organisations too." Hazelaar said problems encountered were poor road and runway repairs, and poor support to the hospital which had no electricity and drugs. "These are things that can be improved upon," she said. For a previous story on the governors