SU 22-cover:Layout 1 · Anabela Fonseca, Mateus de Brito, Fernando Roberto, Francisco de Lemos...

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ISSUE 22 – SU

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Universo

INSIDE:oil and gas news

SUMMER 2009

PhoenixrisingTen-pagereport on Huambo

As old as T-RexThe amazing welwitschia

OurFatherAngola welcomes Benedict XVI

SU_22-cover:Layout 1 18/5/09 11:28

SUMMER 2009 3

CONTENTS

Sonangol News40

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Universo is the international magazine of Sonangol

Board MembersManuel Vicente (President),

Anabela Fonseca, Mateus de Brito, Fernando Roberto, Francisco de Lemos

Sonangol Department for Communication & Image

DirectorJoão Rosa Santos

Corporate Communications Assistants

Nadiejda Santos, Lúcio Santos, Cristina Novaes, José Mota,

Beatriz Silva, Paula Almeida, Sandra Teixeira, Marta Sousa

Publisher Sheila O’Callaghan

EditorAlex Bellos

Art DirectorDavid Gould

Sub EditorRon Gribble

Advertising DesignBernd Wojtczack

Circulation ManagerMatthew Alexander

Group PresidentJohn Charles Gasser

Project ConsultantNathalie MacCarthy

Universo is produced by Impact Media Custom Publishing. The views expressed inthe publication are not necessarily those ofSonangol or the publishers. Reproduction inwhole or in part without prior permission isprohibited.

This magazine is distributed to a closed circulation. To receive a free copy: [email protected]

Circulation: 17,000

53 Chandos Place, London WC2N 4HSTel + 44 20 7812 6400Fax +44 20 7812 [email protected]

Cover: Ciro Fusco/epa/Corbis

8

4 Letter from the editor

5 Readers’ letters

6 Angola news briefingLuanda hosts first housing forum; Emirates is latest airline to fly to Angola; state bank issues treasury bonds in kwanzas; Cuban President RaúlCastro makes official visit to Luanda; traffic laws introduced to reduce accidents on the roads;US grants Angola $120m credit facility; business parks plannedfor all 18 provinces

7 Figured outA snapshot of Angola in numbers

8 Huambo in bloomIn a ten-page feature we look at reconstruction work in Huambo, Angola’s second city, and see how far it has come since the end of thecivil war. Residents like IdalinaChimuanga, pictured below, talk about their hopes for the future

18 The day the Pope came to AngolaBenedict XVI flew in to Luanda on the first African trip of his Papacy. Louise Redvers was there

24 Gold, chocolate and oilNicholas Wadhams on Ghana’spreparations to be Africa’s newestoil producer

28 Old man of the desertThe welwitschia, which lives in the Namibe desert, is one of thestrangest plants in the world

34 G-forceAn interview with Angolan R&B singing sensation Paul G,nominated for a top award

38 Sonangol news briefingAngolan Oil Minister José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos conducts his first meeting as president of Opec; Sonangol and Portuguese bank CGD setup investment bank joint venture during first Angolanstate visit in Lisbon; Sonangolamong the bidders for a contract in Iraq; São Tomé and Príncipe deal close; helping those hit by floods; new laboratory opens at Sonils

40 Full steam aheadExcerpts from Sonangol chief executive Manuel Vicente’s annual speech to journalists

44 Refine timeFocus on the $8 billion project for a refinery in Lobito, which will make Angola self-sufficient in refined petrol products. Wespeak to Anabela Fonseca, who is in charge of the projectand the only woman on Sonangol’s board

50 The Big PictureA map of the four railway lines in Angola with details of plans to restore them to their former glory. It is hopedthat the Angolan lines will eventually be connected to the networks of neighbouringcountries

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SU22.contents.pp2-3:SU21 18/5/09 11:33

SUMMER 2009 5

READERS’ LETTERS

We welcome your opinions. If you would like to have a letter published, please email

[email protected]. Letters maybe edited for length.

Flying highDear SirI was interested to read your feature on Angola’sbooming aviation industry. I have recently movedto Luanda and have never seen such an in-de-mand route for business travellers. It is good newsthat even more airlines are now flying to Luandaand this should bring down the cost of flights.

When TAAG returns to flying in Europe, thiswill also increase the competition and benefittravellers. The upgrade of the airport is also muchneeded and very welcome.

Henrique Almeida,

Luanda

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4 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

OVERVIEW

Most foreigners working in Angolaonly know one city: Luanda. It is where the international

planes land, where the multinational companies are largely based and whereabout a quarter of the country’s 13 millionpeople live.

Luanda’s position as a safe havenduring the civil war meant that its popula-tion rocketed. Hundreds of thousands ofAngolans fled there from areas inlandbeset by fighting.

In this issue of Universo, however, weshow that Angola is much more than justthe capital. Over ten pages we print a special report on Huambo – the nation’ssecond city. Huambo was caught up insome of the worst fighting of the war. Nowthere is peace, the city is reviving.

Huambo may receive less attentionand financial support than Luanda, but ithas advantages over the capital and inmany ways is a much nicer place to live in.Situated in the central highlands, it has aless harsh climate and it is a lot lesscrowded. It is a city of parks, tree-linedstreets and open spaces.

Much of Huambo’s future success willdepend on its transport links. The city issurrounded by fertile land that used to bea centre of agriculture – and hopefully willbe again in the years to come. Already the

rebuilding of the road network means thatHuambo is only five hours by car from Luanda – less than half the time than thejourney used to take.

Huambo is also a stop on theBenguela Railway, which once connectedthe Angolan Atlantic coast to what is nowthe Democratic Republic of Congo. In theinside back pages we print a map of thefour railways in Angola with details of therenovation work that is being done onthem. In the next few years more than athousand kilometres of track are due tocome into use.

South of Huambo, near the borderwith Namibia, the landscape becomeshotter and more arid. The desert here ishome to a remarkable inhabitant: the welwitschia, one of the world’s most fascinating plants. It is believed that thewelwitschia may live for up to 2,000 years.The resilience and peculiar beauty of theplant has made it a national symbol.

Since our last issue appeared, two significant events have taken place. First,the Pope visited Angola. Our reporterLouise Redvers was there and witnessedextraordinary scenes including a Massthat was seen by about a million people.Angola has the highest percentage ofCatholics than of any country in Africa, a result of Portuguese colonisation.

Secondly, Angola’s President José Eduardo dos Santos made his first statevisit to Portugal. During the visit, the presidents of both countries announcedthe creation of a development bank jointly funded by Sonangol and the Portuguese state-run Caixa Geral de Depósitos.

Despite the global economic down-turn, Sonangol is continuing with itsmajor investments in Angola – such as the new refinery in Lobito. We interview Anabela Fonseca, the only woman on Sonangol’s board, who is in charge of therefinery project. We also include extractsfrom Sonangol chief Manuel Vicente’s annual speech to journalists. When askedwhether the financial crisis will have anyimpact on the company’s activities, hewas bullish. Referring to investments inthe refinery project, in the expansion ofthe fuel distribution network and in stock,he replied: “These investments will not slow down. On the contrary, they will be increased.”

Angola currently has only one refinery, in Luanda. The decision to buildthe second one in Lobito reinforces thepoint that regeneration is happening on alarge scale in the rest of the country too.

[email protected]

Hinterland to the foreLetter from the editor

Alex Bellos

Eye-popping picturesDear SirI very much enjoyed the articleabout Angolan postage stampsfeatured in the last edition ofUniverso, as I did the reports onLuanda’s art scene and the Fundação Sindika Dokolo published in the previous edition. These are stories thatmany people do not knowabout until brought to their attention by your magazine.

Total has been present in Angola for many years and webelieve it is very important tosupport the country culturallyas well as economically. Thatwas one of the reasons why, inconjunction with the TotalFoundation for Biodiversity, wesponsored the Os Abismos exhi-bition of underwater photogra-phy at Luanda’s Natural HistoryMuseum this year. The photo-graphs remind us of the hiddenbeauty in the oceans around us.

I hope that your readers wereable to enjoy the exhibition andI look forward to reading aboutthe next cultural event in yourpages.I can see inside your mind: the

glass squid, which lives in thedeep oceans of the Southern

hemisphere, can grow to about20cm in length. The image was in

the Os Abismos exhibition.

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André Teixeira,

Communication Division,

Total E&P Angola

SU22.editor-letters.pp4-5:SU22 18/5/09 11:32 Page 4

Strong alliesCuban President Raúl Castro visited Angola in February to underline thestrong co-operation between the two countries. Castro, who took over fromhis ailing brother Fidel nearly three years ago, held talks with PresidentJosé Eduardo dos Santos and attended a special session of the NationalAssembly. Cuba’s relationship with Angola began in 1976 soon after libera-tion from the Portuguese and they were strong allies during the civil war,sending thousands of troops to support the ruling MPLA. Over the last 30years, more than 10,000 Cuban doctors and health workers, as well as16,500 teachers, have come to Angola, while more than 18,000 Angolanshave studied on the Caribbean island.

More than 700 people attended the first nationalhousing forum at Luanda’s Palácio dos Congres-sos. Opening the event, President José Eduardodos Santos acknowledged Angola’s lack of housing and said it was one of his government’sbiggest challenges. He reaffirmed his electionpledge to build a million homes in the next fouryears. President dos Santos said the problems ofpeople living in crowded and disorganised urbanareas could lead long-term to social instability and that everything possible must be done to helpprovide better housing. The event was attendedby MPs, ministers, regional and traditional authori-ties, civil-society members, banks and construc-tion companies. There were presentations anddiscussions about all topics, from building morehousing, particularly for low-income families, tofinding ways to reduce high construction costs.

Driving forceNew countrywide business parks are being created,

giving all 18 provinces logistic hubs to drive develop-

ment and investments. Angola Business Park is a $700

million scheme by the Drago Group. The first park will be

called Lunda Norte Business Park and built in the city of

Dundo over the next two years. Developments in Luanda

and Huambo will follow next.

SUMMER 2009 7

the number of years ofpeace celebrated in Angolaon April 4, 2009

reduction of imports of bottledwater and juices aimed for by Coca-Cola which will invest in bottling theproducts in Angola instead

weight of a marlin fish caught during the Lobito Big Game Fishingtournament

60 per cent

460.3kg

the value of the credit line fromGermany to Angola – confirmedafter President José Eduardo dosSantos visited Germany in March

$1.7bn

amount of bilateral trade betweenChina and Angola in 2007, an increase from $10 billion in 2000

$72bn

Figuredout

6 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

Angola news briefing

In creditThe United States has granted Angola a $120

million credit facility to be used for importing

US products and services, ranging from oil sector

requirements to farming equipment. The arrangement

will be used in short-and-medium term private

sector transactions. “This credit facility will provide

Angola’s private sector expedited access to top-quality

American goods and services, including sectors

beyond oil and gas,” said US Ambassador to

Angola Dan Mozena. “This is especially timely as

Angola continues its massive reconstruction

programme so that more Angolans can share in

the country’s tremendous natural wealth.”

The UK also extended credit to Angola worth $70

million through its Export Credits Guarantee

Department. Pat Phillips, the British Ambassador

to Angola, said the investments would be directed

into “capital projects” across the private sector to

help the country diversify its economy away from

diamonds and oil.

Figuredout

7

The name is bondFor the first time, the National

Bank of Angola is to issue treasury

bonds in kwanzas in a bid to create

longer-term stability in the national

currency. The authorisation was given at

a meeting of the government’s cabinet.

Finance Minister Severim de Morais

said: “It is a tool of budgetary, monetary

and fiscal policy to reduce the effects of

the economic and financial crisis.” The

kwanza-dollar exchange rate has been

steady for over a year at around 75

kwanzas to the dollar.

Belt upNew traffic laws have been introduced

in Angola to get tough with bad drivers

and make the country’s roads safer. There

are fines of more than $1,000 for a variety of

offences including speeding, not wearing a

seatbelt and using mobile phones while

driving. The speed limit for cars within

Luanda will be 60kmph, and 50kmph for

buses and lorries. Pedestrian crossings must

be observed and yellow boxes painted on

the roads at junctions cannot be blocked.

Traffic police are also cracking down on

poorly maintained vehicles, and checking

indicator lights and rear-view mirrors.

Blue skiesMore airlines are flying to Angola. The newest arrival is Emirates, whichis launching a three-times-a-week direct service between Dubai and Luanda. The flights will leave Dubai on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, returning the same day from Luanda.

KLM is hoping to be the next inter-national airline to fly to Luanda. Negotiations for a Luanda to Amster-dam service are at an advanced stage.Lufthansa has also expressed an inter-est in increasing its flight frequency.Angola’s national airline TAAG remainsblacklisted from flying in Europe be-cause of safety concerns, but it hopesthe ban will be lifted by July. Egyptand Nigeria have also had discussionsabout air links.

Wind powerMillion homes

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3 per centGovernment’s predicted growth ratefor the Angolan economy in 2009

Angola could start producing electricityfrom wind power, according to João Baptista Borges, Deputy Minister of Energy. He made the announcement during a visit to Angola by Dutch Econ-omy Minister Maria van der Hoeven. Thepair discussed the development andmodernisation of the energy sector.

Holland already has vast experience ofwind power, and there is a plan to estab-lish technical contracts between the nations in order to carry out studies andevaluations. At the same meeting, Borgessaid the Angolan government hoped by2010 to have electricity in all urban areas,in 60 per cent of peri-urban areas and in30 per cent of rural areas.

Forever comrades: Castro and dos Santos

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HUAMBO

SUMMER 2009 9SUMMER 2009 98 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

HUAMBO INBLOOM

Louise Redvers reports on the renaissance of Angola’s second city ➔

Park life: Huambo is famousfor its open spaces

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SUMMER 2009 1110 SONANGOL UNIVERSO

HUAMBO

With its public parks, open-fronted villas and pavementcafés, Huambo feels more

European than African. Add the Mediterranean climate and the tree-linedstreets and you can see why the Portuguesecalled the city Nova Lisboa (New Lisbon)after their own capital.

Located in the country’s lush centralhighlands, among hundreds of thousandsof hectares of rich agricultural land andconnected to the coast by the Benguela railway, Huambo was once a wealthy and successful city and was even tipped to replace Luanda as the country’s capital.

Decades of war, however, stuntedHuambo’s ambitions of greatness. The citywas a major flashpoint between the rulingMPLA and the rebel group Unita and it sawsome of the worst fighting in the country.Its beautiful buildings were devastated, thecountryside peppered with landmines, andhundreds of thousands of people weredriven from their homes.

But today after almost a decade ofpeace with a stable political and economicoutlook, Huambo is getting the chance toshine once more. The quirky 1950s Portuguese architecture is being restored,the bullet holes are being filled in and

painted over, and there are ambitious plansfor new residential, hotel and office-blockschemes.

People who fled during the worst of thefighting in the 1990s are slowly returning totheir homeland and there is a new buzzabout the city. “Huambo has a lot of poten-tial,” says Licínio Assis, Angolan boardmember of the Portuguese real estate firmGrupo Imocom which is behind a numberof construction and business schemes in the city, including a 40-apartment residential and shopping complex and awater- bottling plant.

Well designed“There is a lot of money going to Huambo,and it’s becoming a real alternative to Luanda in terms of business and investment. We have to stop thinking justabout Luanda; there is more to Angola than Luanda,” says Assis.

What Huambo lacks in services, itmore than makes up for in space andgreenery. “Huambo was properly designedby architects,” says Assis. “Luanda, on theother hand, just sort of happened. The Portuguese arrived, settled and built things,but Huambo was planned first and that’swhy it’s so well designed.” �

City centre: Huambo’s main squareand (below) its green lungs

There is a lot of money going toHuambo. We have to stop thinking just about Luanda; there is more to Angolathan Luanda“

”Licínio Assis, Grupo Imocom real estate

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HUAMBO

With all the rehabilitation and development, this city inthe next five years will be completely new“ ”

Deolindo Henrique Barbosa,Huambo Deputy Governor

Gregório de Jesus Tchikola, 30, grew upin Huambo but left in 1993 when the fight-ing was at its worst. Now he is back hometeaching English at the Fisk LanguageSchool. “There’s a lot of development here.It’s starting to look like a very attractive cityagain – like a phoenix rising from the ashesready for a new beginning,” he explains.

“Huambo is not just in the centre ofthe country, it’s the heart of the country.Huambo has potential; it has everything –life, young people, education and many in-tellectuals. Huambo is like a springboardfor development.”

Transport linksA major part of this springboard is the improved transport links. A new roadmeans the driving time between Huamboand Luanda is now around five hours, downfrom 12, and a tarmac link betweenLubango and Huambo is set to be finishedby 2010, opening the city to fast connec-tions with the coast and onwards to theborder with Namibia.

The Benguela railway that previouslyran through Huambo to the port of Lobitois also being renovated (see page 50) with aplan for it to continue on across the borderinto Zambia, and there are plans to build adry port along the line near Huambo to beserviced by this railway line.

In a recent interview, Huambo’sDeputy Governor Deolindo HenriqueBarbosa said he wanted Huambo “to be oneof the most important transportation axesin the country”. He added: “I believe with allthe rehabilitation and development, thiscity in five years will be completely new.”

Take a walk through the city centretoday and it’s hard not to believe him. Giantbillboards advertising new residential andhotel complexes beam down over manicured public squares, and colonialgovernment buildings are being returned totheir former glory.

There are still many bullet-markedbuildings, but week by week and month bymonth, these are being restored or replacedwith new structures. Thanks to the �

eacher Fidele Poutou camefrom Cabinda to Huambo in1996 to help with French and

English interpreting for the UN peacekeeping force. Thirteenyears later, he’s still here andvery much counts the city ashis home.

“Huambo is called thesecond city of Angola,but for me it’s thefirst,” he says. “Theclimate is good andwe have goodschools and univer-sities. It’s very cosmopolitan and ithas this Europeanbut also internationalfeeling. It’s differentto the rest of thecountry; we don’t

have the problems here that you have in Luanda with the traffic, theovercrowding and the noise.

“Even when it rains here, it’s not a problem. The city is well designed and it’s not too full, so after heavy rain, the next day it’s OK again, notlike in Luanda where rain always

causes chaos.”Poutou, 39, says he remembers the

Huambo from the war and has seena dramatic change in recent years.“When I first came here, the citywas in a bad way. Many buildingswere destroyed and there weremany problems, but in the lastthree to four years we’ve reallyseen some development. You’reseeing big businesses cominghere, wanting to invest and to

share in the development oppor-tunities. There is a lot of new

construction, of new houses and offices and hotels.

“Quite a few people are comingback here from Luanda, some fromother places in Angola and fromabroad because they are hearing it’s agood place to live.”

The married father-of-one, whoteaches English and French to pre-uni-versity students, says he has noticed achange in people’s feelings too. “I’mseeing in my students a new can-doattitude. They want to learn Englishand French because they want to workand make changes to their lives.

When I first came here, peoplenever talked about the future. Theyweren’t able to think beyond the pres-ent, but now it’s all about the future.It’s not just the physical structureswhich are changing in Huambo; it’s thementalities of the people too.”

“It’s a good place to live”

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HUAMBO

pleasant climate and clean wide pavements, everyone in Huambo – with theexception of those brave enough to use themotorbike taxis– seems to walk.

“I walk everywhere,” says ManoelPires, a Brazilian who runs the languageschool where Tchikola teaches. “You justdon’t need a car here unless you want toleave the city. It’s so nice, and not like Luanda where you’re stuck in traffic all thetime and can’t get anywhere.

“We started the school in Huambo because it was easier to do business here.We are seeing more and more studentsevery year. I think the fact that so manypeople want to learn English is a real reflec-tion that the city is developing and wantingto move forwards.”

While there are a number of expatriatebusinessmen like Pires in Huambo, thereare also plenty of Angolan businesses andthat number will grow further with therestoration of the industrial park at Caála,20 kilometres from the city centre. Theother big project is the rehabilitation of theGove Dam, which will eventually produceelectricity for Huambo and Bié provinces.These schemes will generate jobs in the construction phase and also offer long-term employment opportunities forpeople in Huambo.

New homesWith one million of the province’s 2.5 mil-lion population living within the city limits,there is increasing pressure on housing,

with haphazard townships stretching outfrom around the ordered centre. To help reduce this squeeze and improve livingconditions, 4,500 new homes are plannedand more than 1,500 hectares have beenearmarked for dedicated social housing.

Huambo is also developing its intellec-tual capacity and by the end of 2009 willhave five universities, including the country’s only faculty of agriculture andveterinary studies. The medical institute,which closed during the war, reopened thisyear and a new polytechnic is expected tostart taking students in the coming months.

There will be a focus on technicalcourses to train people in skills needed forlocal industries such as the railway, the hydroelectricity plant and general �

elsa Simão was born inHuambo and has no plansto leave. The 22-year-old

works in a clothes store next to thenew market but hopes to becomeone of the first students to studymedicine at the city’s newly openedmedical faculty.

“Huambo has seen a lot ofchanges in my lifetime,” she says.“During the war it was a very sadplace and everything was totallydestroyed. There were no cars, nopower, no water, nothing. But nowthat we have everything it’s a muchhappier place today.

“There are five universities herenow so it’s a good place to be astudent. I want to study medicineand I’m happy that I can do that inHuambo and don’t have to leave myfamily and travel to Luanda.”

Simão, who is married and has athree-year-old son, lives in theCidade Alta, the upper city. “This isa good place to live. There’s space,you’re free to walk around andthere’s not much crime. There’s amuch nicer atmosphere here. Wehave nightclubs now, cinemas,restaurants and the theatre. A lothas changed since the war. This isa city that has a future and we areall looking forward, not back to thepast. More and more people wholeft during the war years are coming back because they want to live here again.”

N“This is a city that has a future” Modern complex: The $450m

Lake Park development

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dalina Beatriz GreveldaChimuanga, known as Gigi, has runa restaurant in the city for 16 years

and also has a beauty salon and smallpension. She kept her restaurant openduring the hardest times of the warand today is one of the city’s best-known businesswomen. “I was born inHuambo, raised here and I will neverleave,” says the 43-year-old. “This ismy city and my home.”

Today, her restaurant buzzesthroughout the day but she remem-bers when business was not so brisk.“The business we did during the war

years was a business of survival,” shesays. “We had nothing sometimes andit was extremely hard. Huambo was avery sad place. During the war our citywas martyred and it was sacrificed,but the people of Huambo are marvel-lous for carrying on.

“But today the past is the past.We’re living in the present and theroad forward is one of development.People in Huambo are hard workers.Now we’re working to rehabilitate ourcity which is going to be beautiful likeit was before when it was called NovaLisboa.”

She says the biggest change hasbeen the new roads which mean manymore people are able to reachHuambo and to do business. Gigi,whose son and daughter aged 20 and25 are both at university in Luanda,says she believes Huambo will soonbe like the capital.

“It will take, say, four to five yearsbut I think Huambo will have the sameservices and businesses as Luanda,but with a better climate and withoutall the traffic. A lot of people are coming to start businesses and makemoney.”

“Our city is going to be beautiful”

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Green city construction. One of the new constructionprojects that will generate a significantnumber of jobs for the province is calledParque de Lago (Lake Park).

The $450 million staged developmentwill cover 150,000 square metres of landnext to the airport and, as well as apart-ments, eventually include a four-star hotel,office space, exhibition and conference fa-cilities, shops and local government build-ings. The company behind the project,Monte Adriano from Portugal, seesHuambo as a good investment opportunity.

“We believe Huambo is going to bevery important for Angola like it was for thePortuguese,” says Tiago Patrício, a memberof the board. “There are more and morepeople with purchasing power in Huamboand there are people outside the city whowant houses in Huambo for their familiesor for doing business there.”

Patrício says he has watched the citychange during regular business visits.“Each time I go to Huambo, I am struck bythe rate of development. Every time I amthere, I see something new. It’s growing soquickly.

“For example, when we opened a Toyota dealership we did not expect to sellmany cars. We didn’t think there was muchof a market for new cars in Huambo, but inthe first year we sold 120 4x4s. The demandwas so great, we had to move premises.”

Monte Adriano, like Grupo Imocom,was among the early investors in Huamboand today it is reaping the benefits.“Huambo is crucial for us,” says Assis ofGrupo Imocom. “It was the first place wecame to in Angola. Four years ago, the thengovernor António Paulo Kassoma, who isnow prime minister of Angola, was invitingpeople to invest in the province. We weregiven an opportunity, so we took it, andwe’re benefiting from that now.

“Of course, there’s always a risk involved in this kind of investment and ittakes time. It’s not an instant return on yourmoney, but in the long term we are absolutely sure that we are right to havegone to Huambo. We are coming acrosspeople all the time who want to leave Luanda to go and live in Huambo. As soonas more jobs and schools are there, we’regoing to see a real population explosion.” �

Huambo’s location in the central highlandsof Angola gives it a cooler, more European-style climate with more rain but plenty ofsunshine making for perfect growing conditions.

In Huambo’s heyday during the 1960s, itwas known as the “granary” of Angola anda major exporter of products such asbeans and maize. The legacy of war andlandmines still looms large in the province,however, and the majority of farming issubsistence and small scale.

It will take time to relaunch Huambo as a major agriculture exporter, but in themeantime the city is marketing itself as aneco-city. Home to the country’s Institute of Agricultural Research and Faculty of Agricultural Science, Huambo is the national leader in environmental matters.

It also has the Casa Ecologia, an environmental study and education venue,and the park in the city centre with its Estufa Fria (greenhouse) which is to be redeveloped and expanded to become abase for researching and preserving indigenous plants.

In another reinforcement of its ecological importance, the province hasbeen chosen by the government to pilot a project aimed at reducing landdegradation.

The scheme, in partnership with theGlobal Environment Facility and with inputfrom the United Nations, aims to reduceunsustainable agriculture, stop deforesta-tion, prevent overgrazing and promote bet-ter environmental practices, particularlyamong subsistence farmers.

Urban growth: the EstufaFria, a blue greenhouse

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Full house: Angolans pack the Coqueirosstadium in Luanda to hear the Pope

The most Catholic country in Africa, Angola went wild when the Pontiff came to town. Louise Redvers reports

The day the Popecame to Angola

PAPAL VISIT

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PAPAL VISIT

The first people began to arrive outside Luanda’s airport justafter 6am and among those caught up in the excitement wasAdriana Julião. Dressed in a colourful sarong, headscarf and

white T-shirt, she clutched a poster of Pope Benedict XVI in onehand, and a flag bearing his face in the other.

“I got here at 6.20am,” said the 24-year-old, “I wanted to makesure I was at the front so I would be able to see the Pope when hecomes past. The fact that the Pope has come to Angola to visit usmeans so much and it brings so much happiness.”

Within a few hours, Adriana and her friends were joined by thousands of people in lines four deep stretched back along themain road leading up to the airport. Singing, playing guitars, chant-ing, clapping and dancing, the crowds, mostly women, carried banners saying “Welcome Pope Benedict” and “Bless Us.”

Sister Isabel Benjamin, 43, stood smiling as she waited for thePope’s plane to touch down. “People here are very happy to receivethe Pope,” she said. “It is like people are experiencing a God amongus. Before, Angola was a war country, but now we are experiencingpeace and the Pope coming here really is a very exciting momentfor us. I hope he will bring us a lasting peace.”

Igor Ribas, 25, told Universo he had got up at 5am to be thereat the airport to see the Pope. “We are all very happy Pope Benedictis coming here,” he said, slightly breathless from singing. “John PaulII came here in 1992 but the country was very different then, wewere at war. Now we are at peace and it is important Benedict canbe here to see how we are doing.”

By the time the Pope’s Vatican plane touched down on Angolansoil, there were more than 30,000 people waiting to greet him. Hewas given a red-carpet welcome at Luanda’s Fourth of February Airport and greeted in person by President José Eduardo dos Santosand First Lady Ana Paula dos Santos, together with a large group of senior church leaders and Angolan politicians. A huge roar wentup as the plane came into sight overhead, but it was nothing com-

pared to the frenzy as the 82–year-old Pontiff drove past the gath-ered crowds in his white Mercedes Popemobile, which had beenspecially imported weeks before.

Human chains of Girl and Boy Scouts struggled to contain theexcited people, some breaking free and running alongside thePope’s motorcade as it drove into town.

Later that day Benedict met dos Santos at the PresidentialPalace in Luanda’s Cidade Alta, this time for a private meeting last-ing 45 minutes, and afterwards he attended a reception with localpoliticians and international diplomats.

Security checksIn a nationally televised speech that evening, the Pope called onAfrica to show “a determination born from the conversion of heartsto excise corruption once and for all. Armed with integrity, magna-nimity and compassion, you can transform this continent, freeingyour people from the scourges of greed, violence and unrest,” hesaid. He also called for “respect and promotion of human rights,transparent governance, an independent judiciary, a free press, acivil service of integrity and a properly functioning network ofschools and hospitals.”

Saturday morning began with more crowds gathering early tosee Pope Benedict arrive to hold Mass at the Church of São Paulo.The city’s largest in terms of capacity, holding up to 1,700 people,the church is run by a community of Salesians and was extensivelyrenovated for the occasion. Roads and pavements in the area weredug up and relaid, graffiti scrubbed from walls, new trees plantedand gardens tidied and the previously tatty apartment blocks in theapproach road spruced up with a new lick of paint.

The Mass was by invitation only, but all guests underwentstrict security checks, having their bags scanned by metal detectorsbefore being allowed to enter. Outside, around the back of thechurch, thousands in white Pope Benedict T-shirts and caps gath-ered around radio sets and a giant television screen to watch theMass from the street and join in with the singing.

Benedict used this Mass to condemn the problem of childrenbeing accused of witchcraft and he called on Catholics to help bringpeople back to the true faith. He said: “It is up to you, brothers andsisters, following in the footsteps of those heroic and holy heraldsof God, to offer the risen Christ to your fellow citizens. So many ofthem are living in fear of spirits, of malign and threatening �

Doing the Lord’s work: scenes from Pope’s tour

Church and state: Benedict XVI and dos Santos

An estimated 55 per cent of Angolans are Catholic – whichmakes it the country in Africa withthe highest percentage of Catholicsin the population. As such, it was anobvious choice for the first visit ofPope Benedict to Africa since he be-came Pontiff in 2005 at the age of 78.

An experienced pianist, he alsospeaks many languages and madehis public addresses in Angola in fluent Portuguese.

Most of his comments made in Angola were well received.He called for an end to African wars, greed and corruption, and a fairer distribution of wealth among the continent’s poorestpeople.

In 1491, Angola was the first in Sub-Saharan country to receive Catholic missionaries. The country was visited by JohnPaul II in 1992 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of this eventduring a brief lull in the civil war.

Pope spoke in Portuguese

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As the Mass finished and the throngs dispersed, peoplehummed and danced their way out of the site, their faces brightand smiling. One worshipper, Maria da Conceição de Silva Lemos,said the Mass was “beautiful” and an “inspiration”. The 73-year-oldfrom Luanda said it had taken her two hours to reach the serviceand it was likely to take even longer to get home, but she added:“Of course it was worth it to see the Pope.”

Maria Pelinganga, 46, said: “It’s a great blessing for us to havethe Pope coming to our country. Today has been indescribable.”

Following the stadium tragedy, security at Cimangola was tightand anyone seen to be pushing was pulled from the crowd. Thesun, however, was the biggest enemy, as it beat down on the masseswho had no shade except for hand-held umbrellas. There were reports of as many as 400 people needing medical aid for sun-related illnesses and two people were taken to hospital.

Pope Benedict was seen at times to wipe the sweat from hisbrow, but he left smiling and headed onwards to meet members ofthe women’s group Promaica (Promotion of Angolan Women in theCatholic Church) at Santo António Church in Cazenga. Here hegave an address, was sung to and presented with gifts and later meta number of the women.

On the Monday morning, which the government declared atthe last minute a half-day holiday, thousands once again took tothe streets to watch Benedict make his final journey to the airportto head back to the Vatican. Before he climbed into his car for thelast time, the Pontiff stepped out on the road to shake hands withsome of the gathered nuns and smiled and waved at the cheeringlines behind them.

There was a short address at Luanda airport by both Benedictand dos Santos, with the President thanking the Pope for visitinghis country and giving the people “a unique and privileged moment”.

Dos Santos added: “It was exciting to see all the manifestationsof faith, devotion and human warmth that were shown to you bythe Angolan people. And on their behalf I am grateful that the Vatican has never lacked words of appreciation, cherish, hope andencouragement for the Angolan nation.” �

powers. In their bewilderment they end up even condemning streetchildren and the elderly as alleged sorcerers.”

Later that afternoon, Benedict visited Luanda’s CoqueirosFootball Stadium where he was greeted by 30,000 young peoplewho packed the seats and pitch area for the meeting. As the Popemobile entered the stadium through the main gate, there werescreams and cheers, and as he slowly made his way around the athletic track, the crowd surged to one side, everyone desperate toget a closer look.

The event had the atmosphere of a pop concert and there wasdancing, singing, and cheering with regular chants of the catchyradio and television advert for the Pope’s visit, “Papa, Amigo, Angola está contigo” (Pope, my friend, Angola is with you).

Stadium tragedySilva Francisco, 17, Célia Dolga, 32, and Sónia Martins, 23, came allthe way from Lunda Norte in the North of Angola to see the Pope.“We just really wanted to be here,” Sónia explained, “It was impor-tant for us to see the Pope so we travelled to Luanda, and it has definitely been worth it.”

Denis Júlio, 29, a driver who lives on the outskirts of Luanda,and part of a church group attending the stadium event, added:“The Catholic Church has done a lot for young people in Angola,first through the war, particularly helping those who lost their parents, and now in peace time the church continues to help. Todayis the day for young people to be here and see their Pope.”

Inside the stadium spirits were high and the crowd boisterous,with people pushing to get past and long queues at all the gates. Itlater emerged that tragically on the way into the stadium earlier inthe day two girls had been crushed to death and several otherteenagers injured.

Benedict opened his Sunday Mass outside the Cimangola cement factory by sending his condolences to the families of theyoung victims. The Mass on the northern fringes of Luanda washailed as the highlight of the Pontiff’s visit and was believed to havebeen attended by nearly one million people, although some reported as many as three million.

People started arriving while it was still dark, many coming byfoot along the dusty road to avoid the traffic queues, and by 9am asea of white Pope Benedict baseball caps stretched as far as the eyecould see. The Pope arrived just before 10am and the crowds partedto allow his car to pass through and make its way up to the giantsteel stage, which was decorated in red cloth flowers and surrounded by seats full of VIPs and choirs.

The service lasted nearly an hour and a half and included readings, hymns, prayers, Holy Communion and an address fromthe Pope, where he acknowledged Angola’s years of suffering andcalled for an end to all wars in Africa. The music ranged from traditional high Catholic to African folk songs and was beamed outfrom giant speaker towers set up throughout the crowd.

SUMMER 2009 23

PAPAL VISIT


Local tribute: Angolandancers welcome the Pontiff It was important for us to see the Pope... and it has

definitely been worth it“ ”Sónia Martins, who travelled 500km to Luanda from Lunda Norte

Angola gets world coverageNever before have so many journalists flown in to Angola for asingle media event. More than 120 foreign journalists arrived inLuanda – 70 flying with the Papal party and 50 independently. Including Angolans, the press pack numbered more than 200.Wherever the Popemobile went, not far behind came two yellowminibuses transporting the Vatican correspondents and behindthem, on foot, a pack of photographers and television crews.

TPA (Televisão Pública de Angola), RNA (Rádio Nacional de Angola) and Rádio Ecclésia broadcast speeches and crowdscenes live and had reporters stationed around the capital to give updates and colour about the event.

Three graces: Silva Francisco, Célia Dolgaand Sónia Martins, from Lunda Norte

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SUMMER 2009 25

GHANA

Early this year, Ghana witnessed the peaceful transfer ofpower from one elected president to another. Now, with thediscovery of a major oilfield off its shores, the country is

hoping to show that oil can be a blessing, and not the curse it hasbeen to so many developing countries.

So far, analysts say that Ghana has taken many encouragingsteps – promising transparency, seeking the advice of countries thatdid it right and planning to overhaul its regulatory framework – before oil starts flowing out of the Jubilee Field, estimated to hold1.2 billion barrels of light, sweet crude which has a consistency ona par with the best in the world.

“They have made all the right moves in reaching out and soforth,” says Monica Enfield, an analyst with PFC Energy in theUnited States. “On top of that, it is a very stable country, so as longas they don’t let oil overwhelm their economy they could probablydo it right.”

Ghana found that it was sitting on massive reserves of oil in2007, the 50th anniversary of its independence from the UnitedKingdom. In the time since that discovery, both the former presi-dent, John Kufuor, and his successor John Evans Atta Mills, havevowed not to let Ghana fall victim to the oil curse.

The oil curse is so called because many nations – includingEquatorial Guinea and Nigeria – do not profit from oil, but suffermore than they did before it was found. Economic studies haveshown that between 1970 and 1993, for example, resource-poorcountries grew four times faster than countries sitting on a wealthof resources.

Wary of the unrest in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, where rebels andbandits often attack oil wells because they believe they do not seeany of oil’s benefits, Mills has used almost every oil-related appear-ance he has made since his election in December 2008 to vow thatGhana will not fall victim to its oil.

“President Mills gave the assurance that the government willcontinue to co-operate with the oil-drilling companies in an open,honest and transparent manner,” said a government news releaseafter the president met recently with executives from Tullow Oiland Anadarko Petroleum, two companies involved in oil extractionin Ghana. “He, however, served a reminder that the governmentwill ensure that the oil and gas does not become a curse throughlack of respect for the environment and shady deals.”

Experts believe Ghana has a few distinct advantages that willseparate it from its neighbours. For one, its economy already has �


Ghana is preparing to become West Africa’s newest oil producer. Can it avoid the problems that have beset Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea? asks Nicholas Wadhams

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a couple of export pillars so oil money will not be a shock to the system. It is the world’s No. 2 exporter of cocoa and Africa’s second-biggest gold producer.

Robust mediaGhana also has a robust media and civil-society network to keep the government in line. Transparency groups are cautiouslyoptimistic about the president’s promise to make public all oil contracts that have and will be signed.

“Ghana has long been held up as a country in Africa that’sdone it right and people had assumed it would do so in the oil sector,” says Nicholas Shaxson, an oil analyst at the London-basedChatham House think-tank. “It’s when the oil money really startsflowing in that you’ll have a real test of it.”

The government has also maintained good relations with theoil companies, who so far say they are on track with plans to beginpumping oil out of Jubilee by the second half of 2010. The country

hopes to be producing 120,000 barrels per day by 2021.Tullow Oil’s exploration director Angus McCoss says his

company has benefited from low worldwide oil prices, which arepushing down the price for contractor services and keeping thecompany on track.

“The service companies are setting more realistic prices for theactivities that they provide to our industry, which is a good outcome for oil and gas exporters and producers. Our economicsfor these projects, particularly in Ghana, are robust,” says McCoss,who also reveals that a floating production storage and offloadingvessel is being fitted in Singapore.

The most exciting part for the oil companies is that for all ofJubilee’s riches, there is ample evidence that more oil will be foundalong Ghana’s coast, in a stretch of Cretaceous-era rock stretchingalong West Africa. In early March, Tullow and its partners, includingDallas-based Kosmos Energy, announced a “significant light-hy-drocarbon discovery” in the Tweneboa Field west of Jubilee.

“Kosmos is extremely excited about the opportunities for oilexploration in Ghana and has an active drilling programmeplanned for the next several years,” says W. Greg Dunlevy, KosmosEnergy’s executive vice-president and chief financial officer. “Kosmos continues to explore its existing assets in West Africa, including Ghana, and seeks new-venture opportunities throughoutthe region.”

The Ghanaian government’s big challenge will be whether itmaintains the balance between reaping the wealth from oil andmaking sure it is prepared for the deluge.

Human rights activists and local communities are urgingGhana to take things slowly, but time is not an advantage thatGhana has, particularly with the world in the grip of an economicdownturn. Ahead of the presidential election in December, the government ramped up spending on infrastructure, civil servantsalaries and other projects to please the country’s 24 million people, 20 per cent of whom are considered extremely poor.

That profligacy led President Mills’s government to declarethat Ghana was “broke.” Then, in March, the Standard & Poor’scredit agency cut its outlook on Ghana and the newly revampednational currency, the cedi, fell from parity with the US dollar to1.4 to the dollar.

Financial windfall“In 2009, it emerged that the 2008 deficit is likely to be in the regionof 15 per cent of GDP, which is massive,” says Remy Salters, a creditanalyst at Standard & Poor’s. “It’s not often around the world thatyou find fiscal deficits of that size.”

Salters estimates that Ghana spent $2.2 billion last year on importing oil – the country consumes 60,000 barrels a day – andPresident Mills will no doubt be eager to erase that expense. He willwant to add the income that oil will bring (an estimated $20 billionfrom Jubilee alone by 2030) as he seeks to meet the government’spromise of whittling the deficit to 3 per cent in four years.

In the rush to get oil pumping, Ghana’s government may beunder pressure to overlook questions that its own civil societygroups would like to have answered. One of the big ones is the fateof the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) which ownsa small stake in the Jubilee Field and regulates the oil industry, adual responsibility that some believe is a conflict of interest.

That points to the larger fact that because Ghana has neverhad any oil to export, its regulatory framework is fairly weak. Goldmining in Ghana has ignited tensions between the government andindigenous groups who argue that they do not profit.

Regular Ghanaians may not see the financial windfall they are hoping oil will bring. Almost all of Ghana’s oil is far offshore,meaning that jobs will be limited to highly qualified workers in theoil sector. The industries that would spring up to support thoseworkers will also be limited.

The American branch of Oxfam recently issued a report,Ghana’s Big Test, which urged the country to stop issuing licencesuntil it can make sure oil benefits all the country. “There is prece-dence for countries to try to pace the growth of the sector so thattheir institutional and legal framework can catch up,” it said. �

Golden JubileeOil discoveries in Ghana

Oil fields1. Jubilee 2. Tweneboa

The service companies are setting more realistic pricesfor the activities that they provide our industry, which is a goodoutcome for oil and gas exporters and producers“ ”Angus McCoss, Tullow Oil

Independence Arch, Accra

President John Atta Mills

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SUMMER 2009 29

Old man ofthe desertThe Welwitschia mirabilis survives in the harsh climate of the Angolan desert and canlive for up to 2,000 years. Igor Cusack reports


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WELWITSCHIA

Angolans are very proud of the wonderful plant, and inmany ways welwitschia could be considered the nationalplant of Angola, just as the shamrock is in Ireland or thethistle in Scotland“

”

When the Austrian naturalist DrFrederic Welwitsch was on a botanical expedition near

Cabo Negro in Angola in 1859, he spotted amost peculiar looking plant inhabiting anelevated sandy plateau.

The same plant was also found 500miles to the south in Namibia the followingyear by the British explorer and artistThomas Baines. The locals called the plantTumboa or Tumbo and so the plant was fora while called Tumboa bainesii, but the accepted name has come to be Welwitschiamirabilis.

The welwitschia is a fascinating plant.By measuring the speed of growth of itsgiant leaves, and by carbon dating, it hasbeen estimated that it can live for morethan 500 years – with some estimates extending to 2,000 years.

Not only does this plant live for manycenturies, but it appears to be the only living example of a group of plants whichhave survived on Earth for many millions ofyears. Fossils of their ancient relatives some112 to 114 million years old have beenfound in the rocks of the Araripe Basin ofnorthern Brazil. Before the Atlantic openedup, as the continents drifted apart, this areawould have been close to where the modern day welwitschia grows in Angola.

The plantlooks like an

ugly mess ofleaves. In fact, the

welwitschia has only

two leaves, but they became split and tattered at the extremities as the centuriespassed by.

The welwitschia is endemic only in thesouth of Angola and in Namibia, growingmainly in dry watercourses and gravelplains. It is a dioecious species, meaningthat it has separate male and female plants.The females are recognised by their largercones, which bear the seeds. The maleshave smaller and more numerous cones. Itis thought that only when it reaches a century old is the welwitschia ready to reproduce.

The leaves are greenish-grey, toughand woody and are arranged in flowing rollsaround a central point, enabling the plantto effectively conserve water. It is thoughtthat the plants are able to extract moisturefrom the thick fogs, generated by the coldBenguela current out in the ocean, whichenvelop this coastal region.

Eaten by bugsThe seeds germinate during the infrequentrains and those seedlings that survive rapidly grow a great taproot which pushesdown into the desert sands. Various insectshave been recorded on the female plant –among others the tan cotton stainer (Odon-topus sexpunctatis), a yellow-orange andblack bug which feeds on seeds in develop-

ing cones of the welwitschia, and the orange-coloured assassin bug.

If you cannot manage a visit to theNamibe region of Angola, a good place to

see this plant is at the Berlin-DahlemBotanical Gardens in Germany which

are well-known for the successfulcultivation of welwitschia from seedto flower. The gardens have seedsoriginating from Angola, providedby the Botanic Garden in Coimbra,

Portugal, and others from Namibia.By looking at the growing plants,

the Swiss botanist Dr Beat Ernst Leuenberger, who is a senior curator at

Berlin-Dahlem, was able to describe twosubspecies of the plant, differentiated onthe basis of male cone characters.

Angolans are very proud of the wonderful plant, and in many ways welwitschia could be considered the na-tional plant of Angola, just as the shamrock

is in Ireland or the thistle in Scotland. Welwitschia, being such a sturdy, long-liv-ing plant of ancient origins, makes an excellent national cultural emblem. Chil-dren are taught about the plant at school.

The Angolan novelist Ondjaki writes inhis novel Os da Minha Rua about a youngboy, Ndalu, who when visiting the Namibedesert with his parents declares that �

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New Leaf: Curtis’s BotanicalMagazine in 1863 carried

these first illustrations of therecently discovered plant



WELWITSCHIA

“ostriches run very quickly there … and thefamous Welwitschia mirabilis, [is] the mostbeautiful plant of all the deserts of theworld”. September 3 is commemorated asWelwitschia Mirabilis Day, marking thesupposed date on which Dr Welwitsch firstfound the plant.

Stamp of approvalIn 1959, during the colonial period, a fineset of Angolan postage stamps showingwelwitschia was issued on the centenary ofits discovery. Since then, at regular inter-vals, Angola has portrayed the plant on itsstamps. For example, in 1991 some stampsmarking the African Year of Tourism in-clude one showing a lovely group of wel-witschia plants growing in a very red desert.Another set, this time celebrating theAfrican Basketball Championship in 1999,shows a most peculiar stamp with a wel-witschia holding a basketball in the air!

If welwitschia is the national plant ofAngola, Namibia also makes a claim. It hasincluded it on its national crest and encour-ages tourists to see it in its national parks.A fine ten-shilling colonial stamp from 1931shows a strangely well-preserved plant.

In Angola, various attempts have been

made to associate different commercialproducts with welwitschia’s fame andlongevity. In May 2006, the Portuguesecompany Wayfield, which in recent yearshas been promoting drinks in Angola,launched a tonic water called Welwitschia.In December 2007, a brand of sports equip-ment also called Welwitschia was launchedin Luanda by the Angolan businessman An-tónio Justino.

What happened to Dr Welwitsch afterhis great discovery? Local myths and folk-tales tell of the poor doctor having beeneaten by the plant or perhaps he was bittenby a snake lurking in the giant leaves.

What we do know is that he came toEngland and is buried in Kensal GreenCemetery, West London, where he is listedamong other famous scientists. He gave hisname to the marvellous plant thought of bysome as ugly and by others as beautiful, butcertainly an amazing and wonderful sym-bol for any nation. �

Dr Igor Cusack is Visiting Lecturer in the

Department of Portuguese Studies at the

University of Birmingham and would like to

thank all those on the H-Luso-Africa list who

provided him with material for this article

Sparkling symbol: The planthas given its name to a brand oftonic water and has featured onAngolan stamps

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SUMMER 2009 35

Paul G is arguably Angola’s biggest popstar. Toned and trim and dressed inthe latest designer gear, he certainly

looks the part. When he arrives for our interview on the Marginal in his ToyotaLand Cruiser, the excited car parking boysshout his name in recognition.

It is a busy time for this 33-year-old: hehas been nominated for a Kora Award, theAfrican equivalent of the Grammy Awards;he is working with former Fugees memberWyclef Jean; he has his debut album Transition to promote and his own company to run; and he also heads a project for street kids. Paul now lives mostlyin the United States, but we meet while heis back home seeing his family for a holidayduring an African concert tour.

“It’s always good to be back among thepeople who love you, especially when youspend quite a while out of the country,” he says. “And in this little time in Angola Ican see some improvements – it’s reallyoverwhelming.”

Paul started out as a member of An-golan hip-hop posse SSP but then moved tothe US to work on a solo career. His music isslickly produced R&B sung in English thatwould not be out of place on the dancefloors of Europe or America.

The singer is passionate about howAngola is developing post-conflict and howthe music scene is also evolving. “You know,for a country that was in a civil war for over30 years it’s really running quite fast. Othercountries would not be able to do whatwe’re doing. You can see that people are ina rush to grow and the government is tryingto keep up with that.”

Musically there is a rush too, he says.“We grew up very, very fast in terms of music here, from traditional music tomixing it with the new types of sounds. I’mtalking about mixing kuduro with sembaand then zouk.

“When SSP started out, we were in a war situation, under fire and that type of thing, and people looked at us as crazyguys. But now they are really starting to understand the role of the musician in our culture. People used to look at us asdreamers, but now they recognise what weare doing.”

Top spotPeople are definitely recognising Paul G.Freaking Me Out, the signature track fromTransition, enjoyed a spell at the top spot ofAfrica’s MTV Base video charts, and Paulhas been nominated in the category forbest artist from Southern Africa in the KoraAwards, which will be announced in December. “Yes, it’s been a good year,” hesays. “I am the only Angolan represented atthe Koras, so it’s good to be there for mycountry.”

Paul grew up in Alvalade in central Luanda, but lived for four years in Brazilwith his father and is now based in Maryland in America. “I decided to move tothe States to take it to a whole new level,singing in English, just to let the peopleknow that there is a country called Angola –that we exist and we’re here.”

I ask Paul how Angolans reacted to hisdecision to sing in English. “Well, in the beginning I was kinda afraid because, youknow, people have been hearing me �

G-forceLouise Redvers meets Paul G, an Angolan singer withan international outlook


PAUL G

I am theonly Angolanrepresented atthe Koras, soit’s good to bethere for mycountry

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SUMMER 2009 37

PAUL G

singing in Portuguese which is my language, but they received it very well.They all keep telling me that I’ve got to putour flag over there, and I am just starting totake this as a responsibility.”

Paul explains that he is trying to makea uniquely Angolan R&B sound and doesnot want to copy American artists. The ideais R&B with Angolan vibes. “If people listento my album, they will definitely under-stand that I am African and that I am tryingto make a new sound.”

He cites his main inspiration as theneo-soul R&B singer Maxwell: “He’s got thattype of vibe and I like it,” and further back,Michael Jackson – “He’s one of the original,you’ve got to go with that,” he adds.

Last December at the Fullblast Festivalin Luanda, Paul met Wyclef Jean, the acclaimed multimillion-record-sellingmusic star. “Someone played my CD toWyclef and he told people it could be abomb in the States,” says Paul. “Then I wasin my studio at home trying to come upwith some new ideas when, all of a sudden,he phoned me and said: ‘You’ve got to comedown here. I’ve heard your tracks; we’ve gotto do something…’

“So just now we’ve been working on atrack here in Luanda. We are mixing kudurowith R&B and his vibes, and you knowWyclef is all open wide and into new stuff.It’s quite a big experience for me becausehe is the top producer. He is the king of

creating new sounds, so it’s been amazingfor me.”

But it is not all bling and big names forPaul. While back in Angola, he has beenbusy with his production company MagicFingaz, which is signing up-and-comingAngolan stars. He has also been working onDança Futura, his project with street children in Luanda. The idea, he explains,is to give young people, many of whomwere orphaned by the civil war, a chance toget some education and learn new skills.“It’s about trying to get these kids off thestreets because, if they stay there, they aregoing to get into bad ways.”

Tough realityI ask Paul what it is like to come from hiscomfortable lifestyle in America to thesometimes tough reality of Luanda wherepoverty stares you in the face at every streetcorner. “It’s difficult. You come here fromthe States and you see that the people andthe country are struggling and it hurts.

“You tell yourself it is because of thewar, but you have to get up and go to workbecause if you just sit down and blame thison the war you’re not going to get anywhere. You’re just going to stay in thesame place, just blaming, blaming, blam-ing. You have to stand up, grab the keys anddo your thing.”

Although Paul’s parents separatedwhen he was younger, he says his familysupport has been invaluable. “My motheralways backed me up, my stepfather too.They always told me: ‘Whatever you do,make sure you just do good things. We don’t


PAUL G

care what you want to become, a doctor ora singer, just do good things.’

“Even when we were at war back in1992, my mother used to tell me the samething: ‘We’re looking at you like the key toour dreams. You can do whatever youwant...’ Now, whenever I do anything, I amproud to think that I am actually support-ing my family because that’s exactly what Ihave been doing. It’s just beautiful.”

Paul says he cannot always make ithome as much as he would like but hemade sure he was in Luanda in September2008 for the landmark election, the first tobe held in Angola for 16 years.

“I came home to vote,” he tells me. “Itwas good because I was contributing to

something that will change our country forever. It gave me a sense of responsibility,and that sort of sense of helping and push-ing the country to another level is exactlywhy I decided to come and play my part.”

While we are chatting, a few curioushotel guests wander over to stare. He smilesat them but is unfazed and keeps on talking. What is it like being recognised allthe time, I ask. “It’s good,” he says. “Actually,here in Angola people look at me like a wayto their dreams. There was this kid who toldme exactly that: ‘You for me are like adream come true,’ he said. ‘I am looking atyou and I want to be having what you’rehaving...’”

All this chat about Angola and we have

hardly had a chance to discuss Paul’s music.I ask him about Transition, which he describes as an album of “love stories” and“love experiences” and “love experiencesthat go bad”. Paul has split from his wifeBruna Tatiana, herself a successful Angolankizomba singer and 2003 Big Brother Africacontestant.

We meet as Paul is nearing the end of his African tour which includes stops inNamibia, Kenya and Nigeria, as well asmost provinces of Angola. He says he ishappy to be home to spend some time with his family at their new home in theNova Vida housing complex in Luanda Sul.He also tells me he is hoping to open arestaurant outside Luanda near the slaverymuseum. “I have the land and I want tomake it like a resort where people can goand chill out and enjoy some live music,”he says.

Paul G is thinking big – both in and outof the studio. �

Paul GReal name

Age

Home life

Jobs

Albums

Awards

Favourite food

Favourite place in Angola

Ideal Saturday morning

Love life

Paulo Jorge Marques João

33

Grew up in Alvalade, Luanda. Spentfour years in Brazil; now based inMaryland in the US, but with a familyhome in Nova Vida, Luanda Sul

At 16 became a professional skate-boarder in Brazil before coming backto Luanda and joining SSP

With SSP: 99% of Love, Odisseia, Alfaand The best of SSP. Solo: Transition

Nominated for Kora Award for bestartist in Southern Africa

Funge

Lobito

Waking up late, going to the gym and then hitting the studio

Was married to Angolan singer andBig Brother Africa contestant BrunaTatiana, but now says “I don’t havetime in my life right now, I’m toobusy…”

King of sound: Wyclef Jean, ex-Fugees, is working with Paul G

We are mixing kuduro with R&Band his vibes, and you know Wyclef isall open wide and into new stuff“ ”

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SUMMER 2009 39

Flood aidInternational oil companies have

been helping the tens of thousands

of people affected by heavy rain and

flooding in the south of Angola. Total

donated 30 tons of items including 500

blankets, 500 mosquito nets, 250 tents,

food products and water-cleansing kits.

Exxon Mobil also made a donation of

$75,000 to help the government support

affected families. The flooding, which

began in February, has claimed more than

25 lives and destroyed around 150,000

hectares of farmland. Cunene and Kuando

Kubango are the worst-hit provinces.

Deep blueThe seventh annual Deep Water

Angola Summit attracted hun-

dreds of people to the Talatona Con-

vention Centre in Luanda. The theme of

the conference was sustainability in

deepwater development. Organised by

EnergyWise, the event featured stands

from major oil and service companies

and various seminars and presenta-

tions. Oil Minister José Maria Botelho

de Vasconcelos and Adão Gaspar

Pereira do Nascimento, Secretary of

State for Higher Education, took part.

Among those presenting were Schlum-

berger, StatoilHydro, Acergy and

Maersk Oil. The theme of the next sum-

mit in December is “harnessing deep-

water potential for Angola’s future.”

On your marksSonangol celebrated its 33rd an-

niversary in February with a fun run

for staff and families through the centre of

Luanda. Administration board president

Manuel Vicente used the day to officially

open Sonangol’s new central laboratory

based at Sonils (Sonangol Integrated Lo-

gistic Services). The lab features state-of-

the-art equipment and technology and

carries out the testing work for products at

Luanda’s refinery.

NEWSSonangol news briefing

Halfway through

Angola’s year-long

presidency of Opec,

Sonangol has been active both

internationally and domestically.

The company is involved in

investing with Portuguese

banks, as chief executive

Manuel Vicente said in his

annual address to the press,

and is also continuing with

major infrastructure projects

at home.

One of these projects is

the refinery in Lobito, which

we feature in this issue of

Universo. The $8 billion refinery

is needed so that Angola can be

self-sufficient in refined

petroleum products. The

refinery project is being led by

Anabela Fonseca, the first

woman on Sonangol’s adminis-

tration board.

José Maria Botelho de

Vasconcelos, Angola’s Oil

Minister and current Opec head,

chaired his first meeting of the

oil-producing nations’ club in

which it was agreed that the

countries should keep to their

quotas in the hope that the price

of a barrel of oil increases from

its current low price. ➔

Angolan Oil Minister José MariaBotelho de Vasconcelos conducted hisfirst meeting as president of the Organ-ization of Petroleum Exporting Coun-tries (Opec) in March when oil priceswere continuing to hover between $40and $50 a barrel, putting pressure onthe industry at home and abroad.

At the meeting, held at Opec HQ in

Vienna, the members agreed to keepexisting output targets in an attempt toplacate producing countries, but alsoin the hope that the lower productionrates might stabilise prices. Vasconce-los told journalists afterwards: “Thetrend in oil prices is positive and wehope that it continues until we reach$70 to $75 per barrel.”

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Sonangol is close to signing a deal withSão Tomé and Príncipe to help startpumping oil from the coast of the tinyAfrican island. Its Prime MinisterJoaquim Rafael Branco met AngolanPresident José Eduardo dos Santos inLuanda in February. A key exporter ofcocoa, São Tomé and Príncipe recentlydiscovered enormous oil reserves in theGulf of Guinea and had been lookingfor a partner to tap into these reserves.

Island treasure

Sonangol and Portugal’s state-run bankCaixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) have setup a new bank to finance infrastructureprojects in Angola. The agreement tocreate Banco de Fomento e Desenvolvi-mento de Angola (BFDA) was signedwhen Angolan President José Eduardodos Santos visited Lisbon in March. Although he had visited the former colo-nial power before, this was the first statevisit of the Angolan leader to Portugal. Sonangol and CGD both pledged to in-vest $500 million in the bank to financeprojects in the transport, telecommuni-cations and energy sectors. The bank,with headquarters in Luanda and abranch in Lisbon, is set to start workingin the second half of 2009. Sonangol willappoint the chief executive for the firstthree years. President dos Santos described the creation of the bank as “an important instrument from the cre-ation of partnerships between the stateinstitutions of Angola and Portugal.”

Portuguese prime minister JoséSócrates, pictured with dos Santos, said:

“If there is a step which helps build astrategic partnership between Portugaland Angola, that step is the creation ofthis bank which will finance and providea boost to the strategic economicco-operation.” Portugal also doubled itscredit line for exports to Angola to €1billion and launched a new €500 millioncommercial line to help Portuguesecompanies finance infrastructureprojects in Angola.

Strategic bank

Gulf ambitionSonangol is among international oil companies which have qualified to takepart in a second round of bidding for oiland gas contracts in Iraq. According to Associated Press, the Iraqi Oil Ministrysaid nine firms had been selected from the38 who showed interest.

The companies chosen include Russia’stwo state-owned Rosneft and Tatneft; theUK’s Cairn Energy; Japan Oil, Gas andMetals; Oil India; Kazakhstan’s state-owned KazMunaiGas; PetroVietnam; Sonangol; and Pakistan Petroleum.

Iraq holds the world’s third-largestknown oil reserves of at least 115 billionbarrels.

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SUMMER 2009 41

NEWS


Sonangol is expecting a productive year, despite the global financial crisis and the lowprice of oil, said chief executive Manuel Vicente at his annual press conference.

Manuel Vicente: During 2008 we managedto reach the level of producing 2 millionbarrels per day [bpd], which had been projected for a long time. Sonangol consol-idated its own production of 200,000 bpd,and at this moment it has operations ofabout 65,000 bpd. We consolidated ourentry into the refining business, in line withour vision to transform ourselves into anintegrated and competitive company.

We started the preliminary works ofthe Lobito refinery announced last year andthe construction of the liquefied natural gas plant in Soyo. We continued to implement the master plan of our fuel retail network, as well as the expansionplan for fuel storage. We maintained ourcommitment to valuing our workforcethrough specific training and capacity-building programmes.

Last year, we also increased the statutory capital of the company, whichtoday is pegged at 500 billion kwanzas ($6.6billion). The accounting is not totally closedor audited yet, but the following figures givean idea.

In terms of main results, we had salesof $26.6 billion. Our earnings before interest and tax were $4.8 billion. Our profit

was around $2.9 billion. Compared to 2007,this was an increase in sales of 53 per cent;earnings before interest and tax increasedby 36 per cent and our profit increased by30 per cent.

In terms of financial performance,there are two important indicators worthmentioning. One is profitability over owncapital, rated at 27 per cent, while the profitability of invested capital is rated at 33per cent. It is important to highlight thisamount so that we can clear some opinionsthat have been voiced about Sonangol’s investment overseas.

In terms of delivery, in 2007 we paiddividends of $210 million to the state. Sonangol is a state-owned company; thestate is the sole shareholder and, in theframework of profit-sharing, this was theshare owed to the state. We paid taxes of$2.2 billion. Concessionary revenues wereabout $20 billion.

We still have challenges to fulfill. Someof these are short term, like moulding Sonangol P&P and Sonagás with the view ofincreasing efficiency in the production ofoil and gas, consolidating and expandingthe refining business, expanding the derivative distribution network, increasing

the storage capacity and starting our inter-vention in the petrochemical business. �

Full steamahead

Manuel Vicente: positive outlook

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NEWS

are also venturing into real estate – and wewill need to have our own office in Portugal.

Are you planning a subsidiary ofSonangol in Portugal?No. The investments made in Portugal arefinancial participations. The only actionbody we have there is an agency for themanagement of our interests, precisely inthe information area.

How can more Angolans benefitfrom Angola’s natural resources?The idea we have is to create conditions sothat more and more Angolan citizens canplay a part in the economy. Angolan enter-prise initiatives should be in the main sectors of national activity. Most of us werenot born rich. But there will not be an econ-omy and a consolidated society in Angola ifthe minority can’t take part in it. Until nowwe’ve seen things leaning towards foreignintervention. It’s necessary that little by little this trend be reversed. �

What do you think about the current price of oil and do you believe it will return to $75 a barrel,the level the Oil Minister has saidis most suitable for producers andconsumers?Manuel Vicente: I have been asked aboutoil prices, and we’ve been joking that it isthe business of fortune-tellers. Nobody cantell when the price will be $75 or $80 a barrel. As an oil company we would like tohave prices that cover our expenses andgive a comfortable profit margin. Today’sprice, $40 to $42 a barrel, requires somecare because many investments were projected with oil at a higher price. It is con-sensus that a price of around $75 a barrelwould be comfortable for the industry towork without bumps. When we will getthere remains an unknown. There havebeen two production cuts by Opec and abarrel of oil is still priced around $40.

Is there an impact with the price ofoil so low?There is definitely an impact. It is one thingto produce 50,000 barrels at $147 a barreland it is another to produce 50,000 at $42 abarrel. Companies had their own projec-tions and they were forced to reduce them.This does impact their accounting. Thereare some ongoing actions that are beingimplemented with the objective to soothethese effects and fundamentally they haveturned to the domestic market. What Angola is trying to do – and this is withinour strategy plan – is to increase the inter-nal financing capacity.

Will the current global financial crisis have any impact on Sonangol’s activities?At the present prices, at least where the Angolan oil industry is concerned, we haveno slowdown on planned investments. We

hope that prices will improve but there areno bumps so far. Therefore, all develop-ment plans that were programmed areunder way. Those areas that were to startproduction continue working at a speedyrhythm. We’ll also keep our fingers crossedthat prices improve. There are ongoing investments and these investments willcontinue. As to the challenges that I listed:in the refining area, in the expansion of thefuel distribution network and in the expansion of stock, these investments willnot slow down. On the contrary, they will be increased.

Is Sonangol still planning to enterthe Angolan stock exchange whichwas scheduled to open this year?There is a crisis and we are reconsideringour plans in terms of whether Sonangol willenter the stock market. At this moment, nobody is exempt from this crisis and themarkets currently are random and unsafe.We’ve seen giants falling like paper cards.Would you invest in a stock market rightnow? I’m convinced that in the face of thiscrisis in the world, the bodies organisingthe bourse in Angola are rethinking thismatter. Markets are very unstable. I thinkthere should be some prudence at a timelike this, but I’m not saying that the boursewill never be open.

Why were there no bidding roundsthis year?We did not carry out any bidding roundsbecause of the political calendar. We arewaiting for the calendar for this year to bedefined so that we can resume the process.In an industry like ours, a government atthe end of its mandate cannot issue con-cessions. This was the reason why we askedthe government to postpone the bids.

Is there any regret about joiningOpec in the light of the productioncuts which have been imposed?The decision to join Opec was taken by thestate, and we as state entities have to oblige.It is easy to question joining Opec now thatprices are at $40 a barrel. I think these questions should have been raised whenthe price was $147 a barrel. In times of crisisit is no use to seek the culprit. Let’s try

instead to find a solution to the problem.

There are often long queues atpetrol stations here – is there ashortage of fuel in the country?There is no scarcity of fuel but there is ashortage of petrol stations. Last year wesaid that there were fewer and fewer reselling points in the urban perimeter, andthis will continue as the urban perimeterevolves. The petrol station at the point ofthe Marginal will close and the pumps nextto Rádio Nacional de Angola, behind theeducation ministry, will go. We have beenfacing difficulties in replacing these outlets.Fortunately, last year good work was donewith the Luanda provincial governmentand there is a vast construction programmeof reselling points on the outskirts of Luanda. We live on fuel imports, and grow-ing demand has meant that the present refinery could not cope. The refinery is nowundergoing an extension and a slight modernisation so that we can stop import-

ing fuel. All these efforts will take time, butthere is enough fuel to sustain economicactivities. We need to increase and improvethe sales service and increase significantlythe stocking capacity throughout the coun-try to serve our customers.

Can you tell us about Sonangol’sinvestments in Portugal?In Portugal, Sonangol has investments inGalp and in Millennium BCP, and recentlywe signed a contract with Caixa Geral deDepósitos here in Angola for the restructur-ing of Totta Angola. Within a few days wewill announce another investment in thebanking sector, which is the government’sinvestment but Sonangol will be a subscriber (see page 39). Our investment inMillennium is not speculative – it is longterm. In the same way that the Portuguesehave investments in Angola, it is necessarythat Angolan enterprise initiatives have investments in Portugal. I’m talking aboutbanking and real estate – our investments

There will not be an economy and a consolidated society in Angola if the minority can’t take part in it“

”Pumping up the action

Manuel Vicente, Sonangol chief executive

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Refine timeWork has begun on a refinery in Lobito – an $8 billion project that will make Angolaself-sufficient in diesel and petrol.

SUMMER 2009 45

NEWS


Angola currently imports about 60per cent of its transport and heatingfuels– a frustrating irony consider-

ing the country’s vast offshore oil reserves. Angola needs to import significant

clean products because the country hasonly one refinery, in Luanda, which cannotsatisfy national demand. Now, however, Sonangol is building a second one. It ishoped that the new refinery in Lobito willeventually eliminate the need to import refined petroleum products such as diesel,petrol and paraffin.

A 200-hectare site near the port of Lobito has been chosen for the new refin-ery. Preliminary work has begun, includingthe clearance of landmines and the installa-tion of fencing around the perimeter. Therefinery will be linked directly to the port,where a new marine off-loading facility isbeing developed to facilitate the delivery ofthe building materials.

When the project is finished, tankerswill bring crude oil from offshore platformsand floating production, storage and off-loading vessels (FPSOs) to crude �

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NEWS

transfer stations. Refined products will inturn be piped to the existing Sonangol liquid-product terminals just south of thenew marine facilities, ready for local distribution. New roads are being built tothe refinery as well as a train line which willeventually link Lobito, in the southern halfof Angola, with Zambia to ensure good connections with the refinery.

The processing plant is being built bySonangol Sonaref and is headed by AnabelaFonseca, the first and only woman on Sonangol’s board. “The refinery has been along time in the gestation, but now I can saythings are really starting to happen and thesecond refinery is becoming a reality forAngola,” she says.

The idea for a second facility was firstsuggested in the 1990s when Total was running the Luanda refinery. “There was a feeling that Sonangol wanted its own

refinery,” says Fonseca. “We were exportingall this raw crude but not the finished product, and we had to import refined oilfor our own use. It didn’t make sense.”

Process problemsThe Luanda refinery is not able to processthe heavier bottom residues that wouldnormally be turned into useful products,and instead they have to be sold off at a lowprice. Oil drilled off Angola is typicallyheavy and/or acidic and needs substantialprocessing to maximise the production ofhigh-value clean products. Because of itsage and position on the edge of a congestedcity, the Luanda refinery suffers from anumber of problems which cannot bequickly or easily remedied.

The new Lobito plant will be able toprocess Angolan crude with a much higherdegree of efficiency and in a more

controlled environment. It will be able toproduce gasoil and coke as well as dieseland petrol.

When the idea of a second refinery wasfirst floated, Sonangol looked for a projectpartner. There was substantial interest frommany companies, including supermajorsalready present in Angola such as Chevronand Exxon Mobil. But despite this interestand a large of number of studies and assessments carried out, the years passedand no partnership was formed.

In 2006, Sonangol began negotiationswith Chinese state oil company Sinopecbut after a year of negotiations this alsofailed to bear fruit and Sonangol decided togo ahead alone.

In late 2008, Houston-based KBR,which had previously been working along-side Sonangol as technical advisor for theproject, was awarded the front-end engi-neering and design (FEED) contract. Therefinery will be built in two stages. The firstphase is expected to be completed by 2011and the final phase, which includes thedeep conversion coke and hydro-crackingunits, will come in 2013.

Site work for the new construction hasalready begun. A parking area is being built,temporary housing put up for constructionworkers and heavy-haul roads are being installed from Lobito to the site and from �

SUMMER 2009 47

Head of Sonaref. She lives in Luanda with her husband Carlos Fernando Fonseca,director of Sonils (Sonangol Integrated Logistic Services), and three children aged11, 17 and 20

1961 Born in Huambo, raised in Kuito

1979 Studied chemical engineering at Agostinho Neto University, Luanda

1982 First job at Ministry of Petroleum in the archives department, then in the refining section

1996 Joined Sonangol

2005 Appointed vice president and member of Sonangol board

“I am the first woman onSonangol’s board whichwas a big honour.Although the industry itselfcan be male-dominated, Ithink Sonangol is doingvery well to have morewomen in managementpositions”

Anabela Fonseca

Landmines have been clearedand construction work begun

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SUMMER 2009 49

NEWS


there to the port. The refinery will get itswater supply from the nearby CatumbelaRiver which runs through the Benguelaprovince to the Atlantic and the plan is touse some of the by-products from the processing, such as the coke, to power theplant.

As part of the planning process, Sonangol has commissioned an environ-mental, social and health impact assess-ment (ESHIA). The ESHIA will also look athow the refinery will fit in with the localcommunities and businesses.

“Lobito is a small city with just a fewthousand people living there,” says Fonseca. “The new refinery will definitelychange Lobito, but I also think it is a goodopportunity for it to grow because of all theinvestment. We have already begun studieson the environmental impact and the worries and questions that people have are

being taken care of. We are working underthe rules of the World Bank in this respect.”

Creating jobsShe believes that the refinery will be a pullfor people to move back from Luanda. “Youcan’t just tell people who crowded intoLuanda during the war years to go backhome to the provinces. But if you createjobs, housing, schools, hospitals and cine-mas, etc, you will not need to tell them toreturn to the provinces– they will.”

Sonangol estimates that as many as8,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created during the construction period andthe refinery, when up and running, will employ around 800 people. Not all the jobscreated, of course, will be for Angolans. International expertise will be needed toconstruct, set up and initially help to runthe refinery to the highest standards. At the

start of the operation, the venture is expected to be managed by an 85 per centAngolan workforce, but it is hoped this willrise to 100 per cent within ten years.

The projected cost of the refinery hasdoubled in the last few years from $4 billionto $8 billion, partly because of an increasein the prices of materials and building andconstruction services.

Fonseca says Sonangol also has plansto upgrade the Luanda refinery, which ithas owned outright since 2008, so that it toocan process the heavy residues. She says the Lobito and Luanda refineries willwork in partnership and the plan is to first supply the domestic market with high-quality products, and then look to export: “By the time the Luanda refinery isupgraded and the Lobito refinery is running, Angola will not need to import oilproducts,” she says. �

By the time the Luanda refinery is upgraded and theLobito refinery is running, Angola will not need to importoil products“ ”

From the bottom of the ocean to the petrol tank of your car

➔➔➔➔➔

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

Gasoline

Kerosene

Diesel

Fuel-Grade Diesel

Coke➔

REFINERY

Crude oil entering the refinery is separated into light and heavy components bytheir specific boiling ranges. The oil is then treated to remove contaminants,such as sulphur and nitrogen. Some of the heavier oils are “cracked” into lighterones. The various outputs are stored and then blended into the final productsready for shipment.

Anabela Fonseca, head of Sonaref

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SUMMER 2009 51

Cabinda

Uíge

Bengo

Luanda

Kwanza Norte

MalanjeKwanza Sul

Lunda Norte

Lunda Sul

Kuando Kubango

Huíla

Cunene

Namibe

Benguela

Huambo

Zaire

Bié


Benguela railwayThe British began construction of this railway in 1903 after thediscovery of copper reserves in Zambia and what is todayknown as the DRC.

The Benguela line was intended to serve as a transport routefor minerals across Angola to Lobito, and once linked up withthe central African rail system that served the mining regions ofthe DRC and Zambia.

Current services start in Lobito, run along the short coastalstrip to Benguela and then go inland as far as Cubal. The onlyother section in operation is the 20km stretch from Huambo toCaála.

There are plans to renovate the whole line from Lobito toLuau. However, the present renovation work is only taking placebetween Munhango and Luau. This is because of the problems oflandmines in the other areas.

The Angolan government is investing $1.8 billion for repairsand the building of 16 stations between Munhango and Luau, adistance of 408km. The China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corpo-ration is in charge of the project and it is hoped that when thework is finished in 2011, the line will transport more than 100tonnes of freight a day.

Luanda railwayThe service from the Angolan capital Luanda to Malanje stopped in 2001 be-cause of the war and severe flooding.Today, services run from Luanda toViana, a suburb in the east, and toDondo, located 180km further tothe east.

The reconstruction project

in Malanje province, implemented by Chinese company Mectec, is now in its final stages. A new station is due to be un-veiled, along with renovated trains which will serve the line. Therenovation of 112km of track linking Malanje with KwanzaNorte is now complete. Two trains will serve this route carryinggoods and an average of 1,000 travellers a day.

The overall renovation project between Luanda and thenorthern Malanje province has a budget of about $90 millionand is being hailed as a major logistical asset in the economicdevelopment of the rural Malanje region.

Moçâmedes railway Current services run from Namibe to Matala via Lubango. Renovation work includes the opening of a new train station in Menongue, which is due to be completed in October. Fifty new stations along the line from Namibe to Menongue will beconstructed.

The full renovation programme begun in 2006 is due to becompleted in 2010. Once completed, three trains are scheduledto serve this route. The renovation of the Namibe-Menongueroute has been welcomed as an essential boost for the economicand social development of the wider region. The isolation of therural Kuando Kubango, located approximately 900km from thenearest port, has been a major obstacle to current developmentinitiatives.

The line from Lubango to Chiange has been abandoned since2005, and there are no plans to renovate it.

Amboim railwayThis small line is derelict and there are no current proposals forits restoration.

Angola has four railway lines that run across the country from east to west. All of them suffered severe damage duringthe civil war, and today only parts of three of them are working. Reconstruction and maintenance work, however, isunder way and in the coming years more than 1,000km of track should come into use. The development of railways is

especially important to the agriculture industry, which is currently unable to benefit from proper access to national and international markets because of the poor infrastructure.

Angola is also considering establishing international rail links to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the north, Zambia in the west and Namibia in the south. The northern line would run through Bengo, Uíge, Zaire and Cabinda into Congo,linking up with the Pointe Noire-Brazzaville line of Chemin de Fer Congo-Océan. High-level talks have also taken place withNamibia about a route that would run from Oshikango on the border with Namibia to Chamutete, south of the Namibe-Menongue line. In addition, there are plans by the Zambian government to extend the Zambia railways line across its North-Western Province and link it to Angola’s Benguela railway line in order to access the port of Lobito on the Atlantic Ocean.

Lobito

BenguelaHuambo

Munhango

Luena

Luau

Porto Amboim Gabela

Dondo Malanje

Caxito

Luanda

Namibe

Lubango

Chiange

Matala

Kuvango

Menongue

Operational

Undergoing work

Derelict

ZAMBIA

DEMORATIC REPUPLICOF CONGO

NAMIBIA

CONGO

THE BIG PICTURE:

RAILWAYS

Moxico

Words by Nina HobsonIllustrations by David Atkinson

CaálaCubal

Benguela line train

Luanda line train

Chamutete

Oshikango

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SU 22-cover:Layout 1 · Anabela Fonseca, Mateus de Brito, Fernando Roberto, Francisco de Lemos...

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Transcript of SU 22-cover:Layout 1 · Anabela Fonseca, Mateus de Brito, Fernando Roberto, Francisco de Lemos...