USAID/OTI Angola Field Report
July 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 increasing local-level engagement between citizens and authorities in order to address community problems. OTI's implementing partner is Creative Associates and the FY 2003 budget is approximately $2.8 million.
Country Situation
Following UNITA's successful party congress in June and a meeting of the Council of the Republic in early July, Angola moved further toward democratic elections. The government has said that the elections will likely be held in 2005, as it will take at least 18 months to prepare for them, and also stated that it will cost an estimated $370 million dollars to carry out the elections. The former Executive Director for the 1992 Electoral Commission said that the National Electoral Commission should be re-established and priority given to the creation and training of national observer groups, which would help to guarantee the credibility of the elections. In the meantime, the ruling MPLA has stated that it will also hold a party congress in December of 2003.
In economic developments, the World Bank has provided $55 million to Angola for the Social Action Fund. The funds will be targeted to social infrastructure projects identified by local communities. While the project is planned to eventually expand to all 18 provinces of Angola, the program will initially focus on the war-affected provinces such as Huambo and Kuito. The program will attempt to restore much needed community infrastructure and give communities and local government greater control over resources. In addition to health, education remains a fundamental priority, given that 45% of school-age children in Angola do not go to school. In a report released at the end of July, the United Nations Children's Fund notes that in the Cubal area of Benguela province alone over 9,000 children are not attending school due to lack of schools and teachers.
In other economic news, the laws governing the Accounts Court, or Tribunal de Contas, have been changed to allow for all government contracts above $350,000 to be audited. Previously, only government contracts above $500,000 were audited. Further, the court will now have a Vice-President in addition to the President, and will increase in size from seven to nine members. It is hoped that these changes will contribute positively to the process of economic reform, a process that is vital to strengthening Angola's institutional framework to combat corruption and misuse of resources.
July was an active month for Angolan civil society. In early July, a number of civil society groups, including the Open Society Institute, held a conference to discuss a possible solution to the ongoing conflict in Angola's Cabinda oil enclave. Later in the month, the Open Society Institute and the International Crisis Group sponsored a small conference on strategies for the reconstruction of Angola.
OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
During the month of July, implementation started on several OTI grants. The National Counseling Center, a key Angolan human rights NGO, held an important conference on the state of human rights in Angola, at which government officials, civil society representatives, members of parliament and opposition leaders attended discussions aimed at defining strategies for reducing human rights violations in Angola. Bismas da Acacias continued to implement its human rights trainings for women market vendors. And, with support from OTI grant, a group of journalists in Huila province have produced the first edition of a local bulletin on human rights, citizenship, women's and children's rights, and democracy, called "Cidadania e Direito." In the month of July, OTI staff made trips to Benguela and Huambo provinces in order to assess the feasibility of OTI support for small-scale community reconstruction, and to identify potential sites and activities to assist communities that are in the process of phasing out their long-term dependency on humanitarian assistance. The numerous challenges faced by these communities include governmental structures that are only now being re-established and ongoing dependence on food-aid on the part of a large portion of the population.
New OTI grants approved in July included:
- Sindacato dos Journalistas Angolanos (Syndicate of Angolan Journalists/SJA)—OTI has provided a grant of $16,800 to the SJA to purchase and distribute newspapers to provincial cities and towns in Angola. Currently newspapers have very limited circulation outside Luanda and people have little access to media aside from the national radio station. The grant provides for SJA to sell newspapers at a subsidized price in the provinces, and will also allow SJA to gauge the market for media in the provinces in order to plan for future media efforts.
- National Counseling Center (NCC)—OTI will support the establishment of four human rights protection centers in Luanda, Huambo, Huila, and Uige provinces. The centers will facilitate access to justice, better understanding of human rights, and greater communication between the authorities and communities.
- Asociacâo para o Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Comunitario (Association for the Support of Community Development/AADC)—OTI will provide funds for the completion of schools in the Cubal area of Benguela province. The Cubal lies in the western part of Benguela province and was particularly hard hit by the war. AADC, a local community development-oriented NGO, will put roofs, doors and windows on schools that have been partially constructed under a World Food Program food-for-work scheme. Cubal has been identified as an area in which lack of education infrastructure is particularly acute.
B. Grants Activity Summary
| Media Strengthening |
$ 16,872 |
1 |
| Civil Society Advocacy Capacity |
$ 91,000 |
1 |
| Citizen Engagement with Local Authorities |
$ 27,481 |
1 |
| TOTAL (August 2003) |
$135,353 |
3 |
| TOTAL (FY 2003) |
$ 569,399 |
9 |
NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES
OTI will continue to travel to provinces and develop new grants during August. OTI staff will also focus on exploring possibilities to link OTI activities to other USAID-funded humanitarian and developmental relief activities, particularly in Bie, Huila, Huambo, and Benguela provinces.
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