Donors still need convincing for reconstruction funding

The international community should stop discriminating against Angola and instead help it hold a donor conference, a senior government official said on Wednesday. But western diplomats said the oil-rich country should first prove its commitment to reform. Speaking on his arrival in Luanda after attending a UN general assembly in New York, foreign minister Joao Miranda told state media he hoped foreign governments would be sensitive to Angola's need for a donor conference as it tried to reconstruct after a devastating 27-year civil war. The international community was practicing "discrimination" in terms of the financial support it offered Angola, he told state-run Jornal de Angola. "In identical [post-conflict] situations, the international community has had one attitude relative to some countries and another in relation to Angola," Miranda was quoted as saying. But western diplomats said Angola's priority should be to gain the approval of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "The basic line coming out of everybody is that there needs to be progress with the IMF," one western diplomat told IRIN. "Historically, people have seen an IMF Staff Monitored Programme (SMP) as a benchmark for progress. I'm not sure everyone agrees, but it doesn't matter. Ultimately we need real measurable reform; progress that has to be certified by the IMF," the diplomat said. Despite its oil riches - Angola is sub-Saharan Africa's second largest oil producer after Nigeria - the vast majority of its 13 million people live in abject poverty. The country's long civil war finally ended in April 2002 and although the government has taken steps to improve social services, most Angolans are yet to see the dividends of peace. One child in four is likely to die before their fifth birthday, around half the population has no access to clean, safe drinking water and almost half Angola's children do not go to school. The government has also been plagued by allegations of corruption and mismanagement. But the IMF has said that significant progress has been made and, during a recent assessment visit, said an SMP could be achieved by the year-end. Sources stressed that Angola could not underestimate the massive humanitarian aid that had already been provided by foreign governments. One Western envoy said it made no sense to compare the post-war context in Angola with others. "For example, Afghanistan, which recently had a donor conference, doesn't have natural resources in such abundance as Angola," the diplomat said. "In the past there have been questions raised about how that money is being spent." Ultimately it would be up to Angola, and not the international community, to decide when to hold a donor conference, he noted. "But most international donors have said it will be successful if we can convince taxpayers in our own countries that Angola is on the right track with regard to finances and organisation," the diplomat added.