The Angolan government is evaluating the benefits of Angola’s membership to several international organizations, with which it spends the US $ 100 million (83.5 million euros) annually, with no great value for the country, authorities said today.
The question was addressed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Angola, Téte António, and by the Secretary of State for Budget and Public Investment, Aia-Eza da Silva, in response to a deputy, during the discussion on the specialty of the General Budget proposal of State (OGE) 2021, on the reasons for Angola’s non-accession to the African Finance Corporation (AFC).
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Angola is not yet part of the institution, created in 2007, with a capital of around US $ 6.6 billion (5.5 billion euros), 55.3% coming from the private sector. and 44.7% from the Government of Nigeria.
“Membership in institutions like this, similar to the African Development Bank or African Eximbank, undergoes an assessment exercise, and we are doing this exercise with the Ministry of Finance, to assess the importance of our membership to many institutions international, ”he said.
The head of Angolan diplomacy underlined that the country adheres to many international organizations and when taking stock, of what was really sought compared to the costs, it does not always achieve positive results.
In turn, the Secretary of State for Budget and Public Investment considered that the Government is not obliged to join another international institution, other national and private organizations being able to do so.
Aia-Eza da Silva pointed out that “the dilemma” is that to participate in these organizations the required jewel “is expensive”.
“And we, as a country, today have already spent 100 million dollars in participation in international organizations,” said the Angolan government official, stressing that the matter has deserved a study by the authorities.
“What is the rationale for us to participate in so many international organizations, to spend this money a year? It is money that could serve us for other things. What do we look for from these organizations, apart from three or four where we have effectively obtained financing and private gains, we have no other great value to participate in so many organizations ”, he said.
In this sense, continued the Secretary of State for Budget and Public Investment, the cost-benefits of all proposals for participation in more international organizations are now evaluated.
“If it’s free, we participate, but if we have to pay – and today they all have to pay – we have to see [what] the cost-benefit in terms of participation,” he stressed.
AFC members include Nigeria, Benin, Cape Verde, Chad, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
