Opinion
All aboard the Luanda express
People complain about pensions that have not been paid for years, corrupt officials in hospitals and underpaid teachers. From Cabinda, the northern oil- producing enclave, you hear complaints about marginalization. People in the diamond-rich Lund provinces are asking where the money is going, and the government cracks down hard on any talk of secession.
If those political and business leaders do not pay attention to the rest of the passengers, we will again be late to our destination. Perhaps we will not get there at all. Angola has to modernize and diversify its economy. The first-class passengers must devolve some of their power to the rest of train. We should have an open conversation about politics and the economy.
The ownership of key private companies is still shrouded in secrecy. Activist Rafael Marques de Morais, one of the bolder voices in standard class, has exposed all kinds of conflicts of interest. Discussion, debate and protest on the train are lively. People from different carriages come together to celebrate our proud culture. Our differing musical traditions blare out from the compartments. We join each other in this mobile melée to dance, laugh and even cry.
Some of us dwell on the dreams of the nationalists of the 1950s and 1960s. In October, the Brazilian authorities issued an arrest warrant for General Bento dos Santos, who is accused of trafficking prostitutes. One of our respected columnists, Gustavo Costa, lamented that such a character could belong the MPLA, which had been started by such refined intellectuals as Mario Pinto de Andrade and Viriato da Cruz. Come and take a journey on our Angolan train, you will at least find that the ideals of these intellectuals are very much alive.
Copyright The Africa Report 2014
