USAID/OTI Angola Field Report
May 2003
Program Description
The OTI program in Angola was initiated in February 2003 to support the renewed opportunity for a lasting peace and increased democracy following the end of 40 years of violent conflict. OTI is providing support in three areas: strengthened civil society advocacy capacity; strengthening media; and local-level engagement between citizens and authorities to address community problems. OTI's implementing partner is Creative Associates and the FY 2003 budget is approximately $2.5 million.
Country Situation
In a preparatory meeting of MPLA party leadership for the MPLA's party Congress scheduled for December, Presidente Jose Eduardo dos Santos publicly and surprisingly emphasized the party in power's commitment to economic reform and increased transparency. He also emphasized the need for the MPLA to reform itself internally and adopt more democratic practices, including admission of independents to party events and secret balloting for internal votes for party leadership. Although follow through on these commitments remains to be seen, this speech was important given that it came from Angola's highest level of leadership. The event coincided with the end of an IMF delegation to Luanda which pressed the issue of transparency and economic reforms as critical for IMF assistance.
Angola's opposition has also shown some signs of revitalization. A UNITA party Congress appears increasingly likely to happen in June 2003; the Congress will determine key leadership for Angola's most important opposition party and help shape UNITA's future as a viable political opposition. Meanwhile, reflecting internal differences, the FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola) party postponed for another six months its party Congress. Members of opposition parties have also been increasingly vocal in demands that the government act promptly to establish a date for national elections.
In early May, the Bush administration, deeming that the UNITA movement no longer poses a threat to U.S. foreign policy, revoked Executive Orders 12865, 13069, and 13098, effectively lifting longstanding sanctions against UNITA party members. The primary benefit to UNITA resulting from this action is that it can now carry out transactions with U.S. financial institutions.
Angola continues to experience massive movement of people relocating both from within and outside Angola. An estimated 90,000 Angolan refugees currently living in Zambia began to repatriate as part of a pilot program coordinated by the governments of Angola and Zambia and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Initial repatriation activities will be assessed to help planning for the future. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also reported that, though serious problems still exist, the humanitarian situation continues to improve. However, donors and members of the opposition, among others, continue to emphasize that the Angolan government must do more to facilitate reintegration of displaced populations - especially ex-combatants and their families, and promote reconciliation and healing.
Trials for some of the high-ranking officials indicted in the ongoing Angolagate scandal involving secret "oil-for-arms" deals are underway in France. Media reports have focused on assertions by a key defendant of involvement by high-ranking Angolan officials, including President Dos Santos. The scandal has brought more international attention to the work of international NGOs, such as Global Witness, which advocates for greater transparency in the oil sector. Opposition parties are reinforcing longstanding demands for the establishment of a Parliamentary Investigative Commission.
International Press Freedom day on May 3 was marked by analysis regarding the state of Angolan media. Most agree that there have been some slight improvements in Luanda but not elsewhere in the country. Journalism continues to be a profession assumed at considerable risk in Angola. Graca Campos, director of one of Angola's weekly newspapers, for example, is currently under investigation by the Attorney General's office in relation to a high-profile story published in January about Angola's richest men which, ironically, at the time of its publication also led to an investigation by that same office of some of the persons named in the article.
OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
Program development staff continued networking with local organizations and developing new grants in Luanda and in the provinces of Benguela, Huila and Huambo during May. Following OTI's strategy development workshop which took place in April, staff were able explain to potential partners the goals and objectives of OTI's program. Detailed criteria for grant worthiness were also developed and refined to reflect OTI's stated goal and objectives. Five grants were finalized in May, all to Angolan NGOs, with a number of other new grants pending.
Grants approved in May included:
- National Counseling Center, for a six-month project promoting citizen engagement with local authorities to defend citizen rights and to promote participatory governance at local levels (grant will be implemented in Benguela, Huila, Huambo and Luanda provinces);
- Okutiuka, based in Benguela province, for work in Cubal municipality (Cubal is a site where large numbers of ex-combatants are being resettled) at the community level to help ensure that ex-combatants and IDPs are successfully reintegrated into their new communities and that communities work together to help ensure this;
- COIEPA (Inter-Ecclesiastic Committee for Peace in Angola), to help support COIEPA's annual two-day national planning session (COIEPA is emerging as a key civil society advocacy group, and is conceived as an inter-faith consortium which focuses on reconciliation);
- National Journalists Syndicate (SJP) to provide computers, UPS and printer to each of the SJP's 15 regional offices; and
- Leonardo Sikufinde Shalom Angola Association (ALSSA), an advocacy-focused NGO based in Huila province, for a workshop that will bring together advocates from five provinces with policy makers from Luanda to discuss poverty reduction strategies and help stimulate the development of a national agenda to address some of Angola's social problems.
B. Grants Activity Summary
| Media Strengthening |
$37,200 |
1 |
| Civil Society Advocacy Capacity |
$75,937 |
2 |
| Citizen Engagement with Local Authorities |
$126,874 |
2 |
| TOTAL (May 2003) |
$240,011 |
5 |
| TOTAL (FY 2003) |
$240,011 |
5 |
NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES
OTI will continue to travel to provinces and develop new grants during June. OTI staff will also focus on exploring possibilities to link OTI activities to other USAID-funded humanitarian and developmental relief activities, particularly in Bie, Huambo and Benguela provinces.
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