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A
healthy approach to reform
PROVINCE
OF BENGO
Health, water and energy are the main priorities, for which investment
is urgently required
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Mendes:
investors
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 ecovery
from the effects of civil war poses a major challenge for the
government of Bengo,
a province to the east of the Angolan capital, Luanda.
Provincial governor Isalino Mendes is quite open
about the difficulties facing his government. “The number
of refugees and homeless people in Bengo is very high, and they
don’t have the financial resources to pay the price of basic
products,” he says.
“Our social conditions are far from ideal since we still
have many problems in several areas such as our infrastructure,
hospitals and schools, which are in need of reconstruction and
improvement.
Health priority
“We
still have many children who are outside the education system,”
he adds. “But at the moment our priority is the health of our
population. Our hospitals are in a poor state and we lack qualified
staff. In some municipalities there isn’t even a doctor and
we lack basic medicines.” Bengo
is one of the youngest provinces in Angola and was not created until
1980. Its late start, says Mr Mendes, is why it needs substantial
investment in order to compete with other more established parts
of Angola.
The province’s location, not far from Luanda, is both an advantage
and a disadvantage. On the plus side it is a short distance from
the capital, a market of some four million people, and also the
site of the most important port in Angola.
There is, however, a downside to its proximity, as Mr Mendes points
out: “Business executives prefer to invest in Luanda rather
than here because of our problems with electricity supply.”
The provincial capital, Caxito, has only some diesel-fuelled power
stations and the absence of sufficient power deters investors from
setting up business. “Investors are interested but they’re
waiting for a solution to the energy problem,” says Mr Mendes.
The war exacerbated Bengo’s
difficulties. The Mabubas dam, which used to supply electricity
to the province, was destroyed, although the government plans
to rebuild it.
With three major rivers running across Bengo, water is considered
one of its most important assets, which could be harnessed with
the province’s rich soils to develop agriculture.
A
dam is under construction at Kapanda. When complete, it will create
50,000 hectares of good farming land in an area once abandoned
because it was constantly under floodwater. Similarly, another
dam being built at Kiminha will provide a further 45,000 hectares
of fertile land. Mr Mendes
says investment is vital for the future. “We want to create
in Bengo all the necessary conditions for foreign firms to invest,
mainly in the areas of energy, water, reconstruction of infrastructure,
commerce and industry because we can create employment with all
these. The level of unemployment is very high in Bengo.”
The provincial government offers incentives to investors. “We
facilitate the acquisition of land and in many cases we don’t
charge for it,” says Mr Mendes. Equipment brought in by investors
is also exempt from customs duties, providing it is deemed to
contribute to Bengo’s development.
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