Angola’s development priorities in the spotlight during African Development Bank Group delegation visit | African Development Bank

Angola’s social and economic progress was in the spotlight when a delegation of eight executive directors from the African Development Bank Group recently departed on an official mission to the country. The four-day tour provided them with a unique opportunity to gain a first-hand insight into the bank’s impact and performance in Angola.

During the visit, which took place March 6-10, 2023, the executive directors engaged in constructive discussions with representatives from key government departments such as planning, agriculture and finance. They met with Vera Daves da Sousa, the finance minister and governor of the African Development Bank for Angola, and discussed the sweeping reforms that have been implemented in Angola over the past five years, including the adoption of a flexible exchange rate regime, the introduction of – value added tax (VAT) and the enactment of fiscal responsibility and anti-corruption laws. The executive directors praised Angola’s efforts to reduce public debt-to-GDP, which has been achieved at an impressive pace.

They met with representatives from key ministries, including Economy and Planning, Agriculture, Fisheries and Higher Education, Science and Technology, and gained valuable insights from private sector actors at a meeting hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, BFA (Bank of Fomento Angola) , Standard Bank, the Industrial Association of Angola, the Association of agro-pastoralists, the Angola Development Bank and the Association of the Bank in Angola. They also consulted the African Development Bank country office team, where they heard presentations on the country’s macroeconomic and fiscal situation and the African Development Bank’s activities in Angola. The governor of the National Bank of Angola, José de Lima Massano, highlighted the country’s successes in stabilizing the exchange rate and transforming financial regulatory processes and systems.

Angola is making strides in STEM education

Executive Director for Mauritius, Gerard Bussier, who led the delegation, spoke about the importance of the African Development Bank’s support to the education sector in the field of science and technology. During a visit to CAZENGA Secondary School Number 3114 in Luanda, the principals heard compelling testimonials from students who had directly benefited from the transformational education project. The project has funded state-of-the-art biology, physics and chemistry laboratories for the school, as well as scholarships for more than 800 students, including 610 scholarships for girls in Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Angola has low school dropout rates and only one in ten students go to university. This project has focused its intervention at the high school level, although some girls have since achieved higher degrees funded under the project. João Luis Ngimbi, Executive Director for Angola, praised the initiative and had some words of advice for the students. “You should strive and study to improve your living conditions. You should always think that in life you have time for everything, and we should always have time to study,” Ngimbi said.

Fishing project increases the income of the inhabitants of the province of Zaire

The Executive Directors also visited the Nzeto Municipality in Zaire Province, northern Angola, to visit the Fisheries Support Project. The Nzeto center is part of the Bank’s fisheries sector support project and processes up to 90 tonnes of fish per week, through filleting, drying and salting, depending on weather conditions. About half of the production is exported to neighboring countries (Congo Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo). In addition to a tour of the freezing and drying facilities, they met with the boat maintenance team and other users of the center. They listened to the challenges of fishermen, women processors and merchants. Lisa da Cunha, a boat owner, said the availability of freezing and processing facilities had boosted trade with neighboring Congos and significantly increased fishermen’s incomes. While highlighting the richness of the region’s fish stocks, da Cunha also spoke of the challenges faced in entering markets and prices in the fish market.

Fishermen representatives explained the importance of investing in a pier to improve access to fish and improve safety at work. On the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8, the day the Executive Directors visited, they distributed training certificates to female fishmongers who had completed fish processing and conservation training as part of the project. In Cabinda, the executive directors visited the Agricultural Value Chain Development Project of the Province of Cabinda (CPAVCDP), which aims to improve the production, conservation, storage, transformation and marketing of raw material value chain infrastructure. They also visited the Women’s Fishing Association.

Science and technology park to transform research and innovation in Angola

A highlight of the Executive Directors’ visit was their attendance at a groundbreaking ceremony for Luanda’s proposed Science and Technology Park, funded by the African Development Bank, as part of the Science and Technology Development Project. The Science and Technology Development Project (PDCT) is carried out by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESCTI). Construction of the park is expected to take 30 months. The Angolan Minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Maria do Rosário Bragança, presided over the ceremony highlighting the stages of construction and its impact on Angolan society. “The Luanda Science and Technology Park could usher in a new era of scientific research in Angola and its importance can also contribute to the development of the country’s economy,” said the minister.

In a meeting with Secretary of State for Forestry of the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. André de Jesus Moda, acknowledged that “the country [Angola] has major challenges in the sector, financial problems, dependence on rainwater to make agriculture and little knowledge in the transformation of products from the field.” Moda also mentioned infrastructure development plans prepared by the government, such as the Planagrão, the construction of the Cafu canal for water redistribution to farmers and the construction of the sector development plan. Pietro Toigo, country manager of the African Development Bank, noted that the mission enabled executive directors to not only verify the implementation of bank-funded programs but also gain an overview of the country’s economic framework .

“The government’s commitment to implementing bold strategies and policies to improve the macroeconomic environment is reflected in the level of sectoral reforms that have taken place in the economy. The investments made by the government with the support of development partners and especially the African Development Bank have created a new context to improve the living conditions of Angolans,” said Toigo.