Unresolved issues pose risk to new democracy, warn NGOs

Although Angola is benefitting 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. Since the end of the civil war in 2002, Angola has undergone a massive petrol-driven boom. The economy rocketed by 18 percent last year and more growth is expected as oil production continues to rise from its current 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) to around two million bpd by 2007.

The UN, donors and NGOs have closed the humanitarian chapter and are focusing efforts on longer term development including capacity building in public administration and supporting the growth of private Angolan businesses.

But they say this stage of the country's evolution presents a new set of challenges.

"Humanitarian solutions are kind of easy – you put food or resources in the hands of international NGOs or UN agencies in order to save lives," said Allan Cain, who heads the NGO Development Workshop.

"But in this phase of the post-conflict period, it is far more complex. The skills needed are very different. The real problems in this phase lie in the fact so much has been eroded during all those years of war," he added. "It's a time when Angola needs a lot of help – not necessarily financial, but smart help. Even with the oil wealth there is such a huge backlog of destruction."

Without real efforts made to redistribute wealth more equitably and provide people with access to education and employment, some warn the country could face tensions in the future.

"I believe Angola won't go back to war. But there are lots of conflict risks. Issues that took Angola to war in the sixties and fuelled it for all these years haven’t been resolved, things like land, regional disparity, massive poverty," said Cain.

"Those problems are all papered over now because people are so exhausted by war. But the problems that provoked violence and conflict haven't been resolved," he added.

Pierre-Francois Pirlot, UN Development Programme's resident representative in Luanda agreed. "This is a potentially explosive situation in the medium or long term. The battle needs to be fought on many fronts at the same time which is normal after a war. But it needs to be approached systematically."

But the government says ordinary Angolans are starting to feel the benefits of changes.

"What is trickling down to people, and in the next couple of years person on the street will see, is big state investment projects," said a senior state official. "Things like new roads, hospitals, schools, airports, the infrastructure as a whole."

Donor funds to Angola have slowed since the end of the conflict, but NGO workers insist there remains a lot of work for them to do.

Angola, sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest oil producer after Nigeria, has been busy disbursing a multi-billion dollar oil-backed credit facility from China, mainly on its infrastructure. Besides bilateral deals, there is no shortage of private money being invested in the country by Angolans and foreigners alike, as entrepreneurs eye it for its wealth of opportunities, particularly in the oil sector.

Reconstruction efforts have been massive and are increasingly visible in the capital, Luanda, where the city's horizon is marked by cranes and buildings under construction. While developments outside the capital have been markedly slower in coming, there are mega-projects to rebuild roads and railways across the territory.

Despite ongoing allegations of massive corruption and mismanagement of funds by the country's leaders, some say ordinary Angolans are starting to feel small improvements in their lives.

But critics say not enough has trickled down, and not quickly enough, with most of the population still living in dire poverty and Angola one of the lowest scorers on the UN’s Human Development Index.

With the country likely to hold its first elections since 1992 next year, there is no doubt that the government is out to impress the electorate with palpable developments they can feel.

But for these to be positive and long-lasting, observers say more money needs to be spent on consolidating the health and education sectors as the backbone of sustainable growth.

"Education and health are the key," said Pirlot. "We know from experience you need to invest heavily in these during the period immediately after war - between 12 to 15 percent of budget on each."

Questions are also being raised over the long-term sense behind some of the large-scale projects underway. "There's an obsession with bricks and water and not enough attention on systems," said a western diplomat. "They're building more schools and health posts but not necessarily putting money into training (teachers and nurses). Basically, there's not enough forward thinking."

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