The country is studying the possibility of changes to the current National Statistical System Law

The Angolan Executive is analysing the possibility of making a number of changes to the current Statistical System Law in force in the country, essentially the Fical Regime Applicable to the Petroleum Sector (see box opposite). The aim is to find a solution to increase transparency in the extractive sector.

The information was given to Jornal de Angola on Monday in Luanda by Tatiana Alvarenga, an official from the International Secretariat of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).

According to her, the issue is being discussed between the ministries of Finance and Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas.

For Tatiana Alvarenga, these changes are particularly relevant, “due to the pre-assessment of the first transparency report that will be approved in October”.

On the other hand, Tatiana Alvarenga stressed that “simple gaps were identified in the reports, related to the disclosure of coordinates, information on how mining licences are granted”, and assured that these gaps “are already being resolved”.

She also emphasised that there are issues that will take a little longer to resolve, highlighting, for example, the disclosure of contracts in the extractive sector. “We are identifying what the priorities are in order to fulfil the requirements demanded by the EITI,” she said.

In Tatiana Alvarenga’s words, “the next step is to have a second, more complete EITI report that covers all the gaps identified in the first one”.

The visit by the EITI’s Regional Director for Lusophone Africa, Gilbert Makore, who is in the country to pre-validate the first transparency report on the Angolan extractive sector, ends today.

For seven days, Gilbert Makore held strategic meetings with government authorities, companies in the sector and civil society organisations, namely the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, the National Agency for Oil, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG), the National Agency for Mineral Resources (ANRM), SONANGOL EP, ENDIAMA, SODIAM and other key partners.

For the organisation, reporting in accordance with the EITI Standard will help ensure that crucial information about Angola’s extractive sector is made public, including beneficial owners and contracts relating to extractive companies, as well as the management of state-owned companies and sector revenues.”

The EITI, dedicated to transparency and accountability in the extractive industry, has long argued that “the disclosures required as part of the implementation of the EITI can help to identify corruption risks, deficiencies in administration and areas of revenue loss and, ultimately, this information can support decision-making and the formulation of improvements, as well as promoting public debate in Angola”.

About the Law

The Tax Regime Applicable to the Petroleum Sector, as set out in article 11 of Law no. 3/11, of 14 January – Angola’s National Statistical System Law, prohibits the disclosure of tax and non-tax information, broken down by taxpayer, and its sharing with other entities and/or public disclosure is prevented.

The initiative organised by Economia & Mercado magazine will include association leaders, farmers, government officials and businesspeople from the financial and technological sectors who will discuss how to deal with the country’s insufficient cereal production and how to guarantee food security for Angolans.

Maize and rice are currently the basis of the diet of most Angolans, but cereal production in Angola is far below demand, and in order to meet the needs of the national market it needs to reach an average annual production of 10 million tonnes of maize compared to the three million tonnes recorded in the 2022-2023 campaign.

According to a note sent to JA Online, the event will be opened by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, António Francisco de Assis, and will include two round tables – “The Goals and Challenges of Cereal Production in Angola” and “PLANAGRÃO, Agricultural Insurance and Financing Agriculture”.

The debates will feature a number of personalities, including the director of Angola’s National Grain Institute, Maria Garção, the president of the Agro-Livestock Association of Angola, Wanderley Ribeiro, and the PCA of the Development Bank of Angola, João Salvador Quintas.

Nádia Dembene

Journalist