Corruption in Angola

Overview of the index of perception of corruption, 2007

Corruption in Angola is a pervasive phenomenon, hindering economic growth and government-sponsored liberalization programs.^[1]

1970s and 1980s

The Soviet press, despite the close relationship between Angola and the USSR, accused the ruling MPLA party of clientelism, corruption, and nepotism, accusing the government of illicitly accumulating US$1 billion. Ogonek said that "corruption has flourished on a scale which is unprecedented even in Africa... the ruling party in Angola... being pro-communist by nature, was ready to sacrifice everything and everybody."^[2]

1990s

Main article: 1990s in Angola

Political corruption
Corruption Perceptions Index, 2010
Concepts
Bribery · Cronyism · Economics of corruption Electoral fraud · Nepotism · Slush fund
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In April 1999 Gustavo Costa, a journalist for Expresso, wrote an article entitled Corruption Makes Victims, accusing José Leitāo, the chief presidential advisor, of embezzling government revenue. Police arrested Costa and charged him with difamação and injúria. The Angolan Supreme Court found him guilty, sentencing him to eight-months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and fined him $2,000.^[3] Rafael Marques, a journalist and human rights activist, wrote "The Lipstick of Dictatorship," an article criticizing corruption in the Angolan government and President José Eduardo dos Santos, on July 3.^[4][5]

The National Criminal Investigation Division (DNIC) questioned him on October 13 for several hours before releasing him. Later that day Morais gave an interview with Radio Ecclésia and repeated his criticism of the dos Santos government. Twenty armed members of the Rapid Intervention Police arrested him along with Aguiar dos Santos, the publisher of Agora, and Antonio José Freitas, Agora staff reporter, on charges of defamation on October 16, 1999. Marques said dos Santos bore responsibility for the "destruction of the country... for the promotion of incompetence, embezzlement and corruption as political and social values."^[4][5]

In May 1999 the World Bank threatened to cut off aid to Angola if the government did not take serious steps to counter corruption, beginning with an audit of the petroleum and diamonds industries, Angola's primary sources of income.^[6]

2000s

Main article: 2000s in Angola

In 2002 the International Monetary Fund found the Angolan government could not account for more than US$900 million in 2006 due to "extensive corruption". Bestos de Almeida, spokesman for the Angolan Finance Ministry, denied any financial inconsistency existed.^[7] Transparency International's (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2003 found the governments of Angola and Zimbabwe the most corrupt in Southern Africa. On a scale of 0 to 10 with 0 the most corrupt and 10 the most transparent, TI rated Angola 1.8 and Zimbabwe 2.3, some of the highest corruption ratings in the world.^[8]

In 2004, Human Rights Watch found the government could not account for US$4 billion spent between 1997 and 2002.^[9] Transparency International ranked Angola 142 out of 163 countries in the Corruption Perception Index just after Venezuela and before the Republic of the Congo with a 2.2 rating.^[10] The Heritage Foundation gave a 47.1% "free" rating in its Index of Economic Freedom in 2008..^[11] An International Human Rights Watch official described Angola as having an ongoing corruption problem. Transparency International ranked Angola 1.9 in their 2010 corruption perception index, making Angola the fourth most corrupt country in Southern Africa and one of the top 12 world wide.

See also

	Angola portal
	Africa portal

• Angolagate
• Economy of Angola
• Fowler Report
• Rafael Marques

References

1. ^ Gates, Henry Louis; Anthony Appiah (1999). Page Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. pp. 624. 
2. ^ Light, Margot (1993). Troubled Friendships: Moscow's Third World Ventures. pp. 77. 
3. ^ James, W. Martin (2004). Historical Dictionary of Angola. pp. 41. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Marques gets six months for defaming president". Committee to Protect Journalists. http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2000/Angola_Marques_00/Angola_Marques_00.html. Retrieved 2008-01-21. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Views of the Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Eighty-third session, Communication No. 1128/2002". Open Society Institute via United Nations Human Rights Committee. http://www.unhchr.ch/TBS/doc.nsf/e121f32fbc58faafc1256a2a0027ba24/7fcd3e33e47034b1c1256ff0004c2c5b?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2008-01-21. 
6. ^ Vines, Alex (1999). Angola Unravels: The Rise and Fall of the Lusaka Peace Process. Human Rights Watch. pp. 93. 
7. ^ Justin Pearce (2002-10-18). "IMF: Angola's 'missing millions'". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2338669.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-21. 
8. ^ "ZIMBABWE: Corruption increasing, Transparency International". IRIN Africa. 2003. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=46595. Retrieved 2007-12-20. 
9. ^ "Angola: New OPEC Member Should Tackle Corruption Not Critics". Human Rights Watch. 2006. http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/12/15/angola14859.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-21. 
10. ^ J. Graf Lambsdorff (2006). "Corruption Perceptions Index 2006". Transparency International. http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2006. Retrieved 2008-01-21. 
11. ^ "Index of Economic Freedom". The Heritage Foundation. 2008. http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/country.cfm?id=Angola. Retrieved 2008-01-21. 

External links

• Red Pepper, 16 April 2010, Contracts to corrupt
• Maka: Anti-Corruption Watchdog