Regional Experts Explore Angola’s 3 Years Under João Lourenço

For Transparency International, actions speak louder than words so although the non-governmental organisation applauds President João Lourenço's anti-corruption intentions — in their eyes, Angola should already be in a new era after his three years in office.

Mokgabo Kupe, Transparency International’s regional adviser for Southern Africa, shared her thoughts on the country’s current situation, "I think what is important right now is to move from rhetoric to reality. It is important to increase the number of investigations and the number of prosecutions. There has been a talk that some of the investigations are targeted so I think there should be more transparency in that area really."

Kupe also believes it is necessary to garner support for a reform agenda in light of the President's recent silence, "The level of caution can be attributed to the fact that the party system is so complex. You cannot do away with everyone at the same time, I don't think that's necessarily strategic. He is trying to play a very careful game. I think a reform agenda does require you to have certain persons on your side. So I think the quietness could come from observation and trying to see what the best next move would be."

President Lourenço has made significant anti-corruption strides albeit with various legal proceedings against regime linked former leaders and businessmen dragging on.

Said Djinnit, former United Nations special envoy for the Great Lakes region warns that maintaining territorial cohesion could pose a challenge in the head of state's two years left to go in office, "Getting the country together. There are always weaknesses within all our countries, especially in times of reforms. There are people who might not be happy with the reforms. I think it is important to pay attention to the internal cohesion of the country and the internal stability. And the economy of Angola relies a lot on the oil industry. It's important for Angola to diversify the economy so there is definitely a big challenge to the President and his government in terms of diversifying and strengthening the economy."

A huge undertaking, even more urgent amidst a pandemic.