As Lágrimas de Massano: Inflação e Desemprego

As notícias económicas neste início de 2024 são más para o povo angolano. A inflação e o desemprego, as duas...
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Exigências para Um Ensino de Qualidade

Conforme exposto em artigo recente de Rafael Marques no Maka Angola, são inúmeros os casos de escolas primárias em situação...
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Vergonhosa Toponímia Desonra Angola

No Bié, o MPLA – há 49 anos no poder – é omnipresente. A UNITA tem raízes no Bié, onde...
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Lei da Bufaria Generalizada

Acontecem coisas bizarras na política angolana. A mais recente diz respeito à proposta de Lei da Segurança Nacional. Esta legislação...
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Últimas notícias

Felon Appointed as Supreme Court Justice of Angola

The unprecedented appointment of a convicted criminal to the Angolan Supreme Court – in blatant contravention of the law – has sparked a formal complaint to the country’s Attorney-General to trigger a full investigation into the judicial appointment process as well as any improper interference by President João Lourenço. The Honorable Attorney General of the Republic of Angola Subject: Submission concerning the illegal acts perpetrated by the Superior Council of the Judiciary and the President of the Republic of Angola Rafael Marques de Morais, an Angolan national citizen bearer of ID Number [redacted], residing at [redacted], Luanda, based on the following facts, informs the Attorney General of the Republic that the appointment of Carlos Alberto Cavuquila as Justice of the Supreme Court is illegal, a threat to the constitutional order and rule of law, and, therefore, should be annulled. Cavuquila’s appointment is in clear violation of Article 41, paragraph 1, c) of […]

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President Lourenço: Where Does Angola Go from Here? 

The foundation of Angola’s future prosperity rests upon four pillars. Firstly, empowering and visionary leadership at the executive level, capable of bridging the numerous divides in Angola’s society to unite the country’s citizenry and institutions to work towards common prosperity. Secondly, the presence of strong legal institutions capable of upholding the rule of law. Thirdly, the economic emancipation and continued preservation of the populace’s economic freedom. Lastly, a well-crafted and well-defined blueprint to ensure access to freedom and justice for all.   The foundation of any prosperous nation-state is the presence of robust and fair leadership in its government combined with strong and well-functioning institutions. The aforementioned qualities give rise to a nation that is governed democratically and equitably, with branches of government working in symphony to uphold the rule of law and achieve common prosperity. In such a nation, all branches of government work together to foster a legal climate capable […]

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All the President’s Friends: Who Audits Angola’s Chief Auditor?

Yet more evidence has reached Maka Angola that the Angolan President’s vow to end corruption has continued to falter. Maka has already revealed at length how Exalgina Gambôa, the head of the Court of Accounts of Angola’s national audit office, had embezzled four million dollars from the court’s organizational budget to purchase luxury furnishings for her home. New information has come to light showing that the court cannot afford to send its accountants around the country to audit government spending in the provinces because their travel budget was spent on luxury flights for the three Gambôa offspring. President João Lourenço’s promise to tackle Angola’s kleptocratic culture of corruption has stuttered for a while. His campaign has so far failed not just on account of his narrow focus on the fortunes of his predecessor’s children but due to his inability to call out officials close to the current leadership for their […]

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Justice Capture in Angola

President Lourenço has weaponized the judicial system to mete out political retribution against his personal enemies, principally his predecessor’s family members and closest associates. The unequal application of justice gives every appearance of protection for some of the most notoriously corrupt public officials, in exchange for their allegiance. A few days ago, Angola’s Criminal Investigation Service arrested a young man, Flávio Caiongo, over a TikTok video. His crime? Calling our President Lourenço a “thief”. His TikTok was critical of the poor rule that plagues Angola, and has left so many of my fellow Angolans hungry. As I stand here, the authorities are still hunting down the other two people who took part in it. It’s ironic. Twenty-three years ago, Angola’s then President, José Eduardo dos Santos, put me in jail for calling his régime “corrupt”. When President Lourenço succeeded him in 2017, he promised change: an end to kleptocracy, respect […]

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US Oil Giant Chevron and Hazardous Pollution in Angola

Maka Angola has learned that the Angolan government has extended an exemption to its environmental protection policy to allow the US oil company Chevron to dump tons of hazardous oil waste directly into ocean shallows near the coast of Cabinda, its northern enclave. Marine experts describe the move as “an incomprehensible act” and are calling on President João Lourenço to enforce the law and ensure ALL foreign companies comply with the zero-discharge policy. A report on the dumping of oil-contaminated drill cuttings from offshore oil platforms along Angola’s northern coastline, seen by Maka Angola,says this practice, banned in most parts of the world, constitutes a major threat to marine life and ecosystems. The adverse impact of large amounts of pollutants on marine life, the eventual impact on coastlines and the potential hazard to human health, were fundamental reasons for the adoption of a zero-waste policy by Angola going back to […]

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Angola Elections 2022: What Next for the Opposition?

Attempts by Angola’s opposition parties to challenge the result of last month’s elections in the Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional) have faltered, with just a week remaining before the official swearing-in of the MPLA’s João Lourenço as President for a second term. The official election results announced by the National Electoral Commission (Comissão Nacional Eleitoral, CNE) declared victory for the MPLA with 51% of the vote, with UNITA second on 43% – an outcome that reflected voters’ appetite for change. So where does UNITA go from here and how best can it capitalize on the public mood? ——————————– Provided Angola’s Constitutional Court certifies the election result, the country’s next President will be sworn in on September 15th. In all likelihood, that will once again be the MPLA candidate, João Lourenço, who faces an uphill battle after the significant setbacks in this election for which many in the party blame him directly. […]

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Angola Elections 2022: Trouble Ahead?

Angola’s 2022 election seemed to go well. International observers dubbed the poll ‘free and fair’ and the official election organizer, the Comissão Nacional Eleitoral (CNE), declared the MPLA the victor with just over 51% of total votes cast. This official result was immediately challenged by the main opposition party, UNITA, amid allegations of inconsistencies in the count and procedural irregularities by the CNE itself. The situation risks undermining the all-too-recent gains in democratic freedoms and civil liberties, with opposition supporters taking to the streets to express their anger, feeling cheated of the change they desperately wanted. ————— When on August 29th the CNE announced the official election result, awarding victory to the ruling MPLA, it was immediately challenged by UNITA on the grounds of alleged inconsistencies between the certified polling station tallies and the final count given by the CNE. Initially, the main opposition, UNITA seemed to suggest the numbers […]

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Challenging Angola’s Election Result

The official result of the Angolan elections gave victory to the MPLA with 51.17% of the total votes cast; UNITA coming second with 43.95%. UNITA reacted to the announcement by issuing a public statement that, until judgement is forthcoming in the legal challenges it submitted, the party would not accept the results given by the National Electoral Commission (the CNE) and would petition the Constitutional Court to freeze the CNE result pending judgement. UNITA’s statement makes three laudable points. First: the party has chosen to follow legal and institutional procedures to press its case, in line with the stance of the United States and European Union, who praised the peaceful conduct of the elections and urged that any dispute be settled through due judicial process. The UNITA leadership has thus rejected calls by ‘Trump style’ militants in the party who wanted to mobilize their supporters to march on parliament and […]

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Devolution: Local Government Is the Way Forward

The situation in Angola’s is complex. The younger generation have shown the depth of their discontent with the lack of opportunity for study or employment. Young people in Angola see nothing to help them offered in politicians’ and technocrats’ speeches about the economy and they are desperate to change their lives for the better. This is why, in the election that just took place, the younger generation overwhelmingly voted for change, and they did so in an unparalleled peaceful and orderly manner. No good purpose could be served by creating a situation in which peace and tranquillity are abandoned for conflict and violence. Destructive behaviour now is not going to deliver employment or put food on the table. There has to be a political response that meets the aspirations of the younger generation, that eases the pain of a demographic that has shown it wants a radical change in politics, […]

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Angola Elections 2022: Tense Times as UNITA Rejects Election Results

After an uneasy night in several Angolan cities, the funeral ceremonies for former President José Eduardo dos Santos began on Saturday in the presence of foreign heads of state. A military guard of honour accompanied the flag-draped coffin, as the cortege proceeded from the Dos Santos mansion in the upper-class neighbourhood of Miramar, and along the sweep of the bay to the Square of the Republic, led by a group of women chorusing “Angola weeps for Zedu”. The outgoing MPLA President, João Lourenço did not attend but is expected to be at the formal funeral ceremony on Sunday when his predecessor’s remains will be placed inside a mausoleum within metres of the rocket-shaped monument to Angola’s first President Agostinho Neto. Lourenço who expected to be re-elected comfortably after the August 24 poll, is apparently now facing a divided party and nation, many of whom accuse the MPLA of resorting to […]

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