Angola article in the Boston Globe

Oil wealth helping few of Angola's poor
Vast reserves cannot undo legacy of war, corruption

By John Donnelly, Globe Staff December 11, 2005

...Because of wars, dictatorships, and thieves, Angola and other oil-rich African nations have failed so far to turn their natural wealth into better lives for their citizens.

Angola's history is particularly bleak. During a quarter-century of war, the national oil company acted as a national bank, disbursing millions to ministries and ministers. One nongovernmental group, London-based Global Witness, says $8.4 billion in public money from 1997 to 2001 remains unaccounted for.

Angola's situation, in particular, is ripe for change. Its relatively small population of 13 million means that the oil wealth per person is far greater than that of Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, which has more than 135 million people. Angola's infrastructure is in such bad shape from the war, which ended in 2002, that basic improvements will help win the hearts of many. And it will have the cash, reaping as much as $10 billion this year in oil revenues, which would be $4 billion above projections.

Just five years ago, Angola produced 700,000 barrels of oil a day. Today the figure is at 1.3 million barrels, and in two years it could be 2 million, thanks to a series of deep-water offshore discoveries.

President José Eduardo Dos Santos, who may next year call the country's first elections since 1992, is making almost all the decisions on rebuilding. Government outsiders, from the World Bank to activists in the country, are rarely listened to.

Kinsukulu Landu Kama, the coordinator of an organization that promotes openness in the government, held up a draft of a letter to a senior government official, demanding a meeting.

''They won't meet with us," Kama said. ''We want full disclosure of the oil money. We are trying to find out how the money is being used, but they won't tell us anything."

''I've been traveling around the country for the last three months, and I couldn't believe what I saw," said dos Anjos, putting down his espresso and raising his hands in excitement. ''There are the Chinese building roads, bridges, houses. Former generals in the army are actively looking for farms. Everyone is looking for farms!"

He stood to hug a friend. ''Do you know who that is?" he whispered, sitting down. It was an Angolan oilman. ''BP," he said, referring to the man's affiliation with the oil giant. ''They're doing great."
Dos Anjos, though, was more interested in his own plan. He hopes to start a 345,000-acre eucalyptus timber plantation in the interior highlands.

But Dos Anjos became defensive when the discussion turned to the country's overall economic prospects and, in particular, the fruitless negotiations between the government and the International Monetary Fund. The government wants an IMF seal of approval that the country's economics are sound so that it can attract investors, while the IMF wants more openness in the country's oil business.

''Even if we have a lot of corruption in this country, we pay back all the loans we get from overseas, so give us a chance," Dos Anjos said. ''If the IMF closes the doors on us, other guys will open the doors."

The others already are. Last year, the Chinese export bank extended a $2 billion line of credit, in exchange for 10,000 barrels of oil a day. Angolan officials are now wrapping up a $2.25 billion loan from a French bank that will allow the country to restructure debt payments with lower interest.
The Chinese loan is funding projects around the country, including housing developments, roads, railways, and hospitals.

But Luis Bernardino, director of the Luanda Pediatric Hospital, said that while the country needs hospitals, it needs small health clinics even more....