Joao Lourenco was re-elected President of Angola in elections this week, as the Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) party consolidated its decades-long grip on the southern African country. The result means the party, which led a 13-year independence war with the Portuguese army, will rule Angola for more than 50 years when the next elections come in 2027.
Angola’s oil production capacity, sometimes the largest in Africa this year but often lagging behind Nigeria’s, will remain controlled by one party. Lorenco’s MPLA won 51.07% of the vote against 44.05% of the main opposition party, while also gaining 56% of the 220 legislative seats, enough to remain responsible for guiding the country’s 9 billion barrels of crude oil reserves and 11 trillion cubic feet of wealth. Policy of natural gas reserves.
Angola’s oil wealth has not improved lives
However, wealth does not often flow across the country. The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, the policy centre at Oxford University, estimates the poverty rate in Angola to be 40 percent. More than half of Angola’s workforce is unemployed.
In addition to the effects of the devastating war that ended two decades ago, state captivity and mass theft – especially Isabel, daughter of former President José Eduardo dos Santos Isabel dos Santos was once Africa’s richest woman – deepening poverty and inequality in Angola.
Lourenco became president in 2017 with the approval of the late former president, although the new boss has gone against his predecessor once he took office. With his re-election, Angola’s vital oil sector is likely to continue to be challenged by opacities that make competition and efficiency difficult. “If a businessman or a company is not recommended by a prominent person or person, even the best project can get in the way,” the Commerce Department’s assessment said.
