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Angola president: We need more dialogue
The president of oil-rich Angola on Tuesday denied his country was a dictatorship but admitted there was a need for more social dialogue after a series of unprecedented anti-government protests.
“There is no basis whatsoever to the claim that Angola is ruled by a dictatorial regime that doesn’t recognise citizens’ rights or freedoms,” Jose Eduardo dos Santos told parliament during his annual State of the Nation address.
“There is no dictatorship here whatsoever,” the president, who has been in power for 32 years, added. “On the contrary, in the country there is a new democracy which is lively, dynamic and participatory and which is being consolidated every day.”
On foreign policy, Dos Santos, whose government has been outspoken about western interventions in Africa, such as Libya and Ivory Coast, said: “We will never allow interference from foreign entities or governments in our internal affairs.”
Africa’s second-longest-serving president said the country would hold general elections in the third quarter of 2012, but did not say whether he would be standing again.
Dos Santos can govern up to 10 more years under a constitution ratified last year. His ruling MPLA won 82 percent of the vote in 2008, the first election that didn’t plunge Angola back into violence.
In what appeared to be a direct appeal to the growing number of young people who have been protesting against his government in recent months, Dos Santos said it was only “in peace” and “together” that they would “resolve the problems of the Angolan people”.
He acknowledged “some misunderstandings” and the need for more “dialogue and listening so that subjects are dealt with appropriately and the right solutions are found”.
He also pledged to double the number of university bursaries in 2012.
A programme started in 2008 brought water to 80 percent of people in rural areas, as testimony to the government’s commitment to eradicating hunger and reducing poverty.
During 2012 there would be a focus on micro and small businesses and a push to create more jobs in manufacturing and textiles, he said.
The country’s mining sector grew by 11.8 percent from 2008 to 2011, and mining would be further expanded for metals such as copper and manganese.
The economy would only grow by 3.7 percent this year, due largely to a fall in production by the British oil company BP, but would see expansion of 12 percent in 2012, he said.
By 2013, Dos Santos said, Angola’s three railways, which were destroyed during the country’s 27-year civil war, would again be operational and next year would see the completion of the first phase of Luanda’s new international airport.
The president also said the country would have a new port, which was to be built just north of the capital at Barra do Dande, and that plans were underway to build a deep-water port in the oil-rich enclave of Cabinda.
The president faces mounting criticism for his long and often autocratic rule, and his failure to spread the oil wealth in Africa’s second-largest petroleum producer.
Anti-government protests started in March, growing steadily from small numbers to a crowd of 700 on Saturday, forcing the authorities to beef up security.
Opposition parties who attended Tuesday’s event said the president told them nothing new and that he had merely used the platform as a pre-election campaign opportunity.
“It was only his second time in parliament and he did not engage with the parliamentarians,” said opposition UNITA MP Jaka Jamba, who regretted that Dos Santos left immediately after the address.
Copyright 2011 AFP. All rights reserved