Note: This document may not always reflect the actual appropriations determined by Congress. Final budget allocations for USAID's programs are not determined until after passage of an appropriations bill and preparation of the Operating Year Budget (OYB).
ANGOLA
FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999 Actuals Estimate Request Child Survival and Disease.......... $3,500,000 $4,700,000 $2,000,000 Development Assistance.............. $8,999,677 $8,300,000 $11,000,000 Economic Support Funds............. $5,500,000 $10,000,000 $2,000,000 P.L. 480 Title II........................... $33,005,000 $31,208,000 ---
Introduction
Angola is in the throes of a complex and delicate transition from war to peace. U.S. national interests in Angola lie in the consolidation of peace, a successful democratic transition, the promotion of U.S. economic interests and Angola's meaningful economic integration into the region. Currently, the U.S. gets nearly 7% of its petroleum from Angola; this level is expected to increase to 15% within ten years. Angola is the United States' second largest investment site in sub-Saharan Africa, with over $4 billion invested to date. Angola's external debt burden was $11.5 billion in 1995, close to three times its gross domestic product. With increased stability, the country will play a more significant role in the southern Africa economy, which is expected to be an engine of future growth for the continent. If the peace process does not succeed, large quantities of food assistance and/or expensive peacekeeping interventions may be required again as a humanitarian response to a continuing man-made disaster.
The Development Challenge
With the signing of the Lusaka Protocol in 1994, Angola emerged from over 20 years of fighting with 500,000 dead, 3.5 million internally displaced persons, and more than 300,000 refugees in neighboring countries. Most of the country's infrastructure was destroyed, millions of land mines were laid, and the economy largely collapsed. Civil society ceased to exist. As a consequence, most Angolans were politically disenfranchised and economically marginalized. As the peace process is finalized, the focus of donor investment is gradually shifting to rehabilitation, reconstruction, and development. Many Angolans who resettled and received food, agricultural inputs, and training are now on the path to rebuilding their lives. However, many still remain displaced, or are refugees outside Angola. Virtually all non-security related organizations function poorly, with the health, education and judicial systems the most striking institutional casualties. Angola's nascent democracy remains fragile and imperfect.
While 1997 saw progress on the emergency/humanitarian front, democracy and governance has been slower and more problematic. There is still concern about the will of the Angolan Government to make key macroeconomic reforms and to use its own resources for development. There is also concern about corruption and the lack of transparency and accountability. While a joint Government of National Unity and Reconciliation (GURN) was sworn in during 1996, it has severely limited capacity. The nature of U.S. development assistance, food aid and economic support funds in the future will be tied to continuing peace as well as a demonstration of the GURN's commitment to instituting key reforms and assuming greater responsibility for its own destiny. The challenge facing USAID is to save lives with humanitarian assistance, to build democratic institutions and indigenous capacity, and to help Angolans return to normal productive lives.
Other Donors
The United Nations plays a critical role in Angola's peace process and assistance programs through its Observation Mission to Angola and its peacekeeping activities. The European Union (EU) focuses on health and agriculture in the central highlands of Angola. The World Bank recently shifted from stalled infrastructure projects to capacity building in the Ministry of Social Reintegration. In the 1996/1997 period, the United States became the largest bilateral donor to Angola, providing $191 million of
assistance over the two-year period. Other major donors include the World Food Program, France, and Portugal.
FY 1999 Program
USAID will: (a) assist war-affected Angolans through support for resettlement, reconstruction, and local self-reliance; (b) increase employment and other economic opportunities in the rural areas; and (c) help build a more open society and responsive political institutions. USAID will help war-affected Angolans rebuild their lives, primarily through the rehabilitation of community and rural infrastructure and the provision of improved agricultural seed stock. In addition, USAID will study the possibility of employment and income generating activities to help stabilize communities and build sustainability into the transition process. Finally, USAID will help build the foundations of a civil society through developing the capacities of indigenous non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations, human rights organizations, and the media. Women will continue to participate actively in all aspects of the program.
U.S. private voluntary organizations including Catholic Relief Services, CARE, Save the Children, World Vision, and the World Food Program, will implement food-assistance programs in response to emergency conditions. Food aid, in the form of seed rations for one or two planting seasons and limited food for work will be provided for internally displaced people without access to farm land. USAID will continue to provide seeds, tools and basic resettlement kits to internally displaced people and aid to the victims of war. Beyond food aid, USAID is using development resources to strengthen agricultural research capacity and to disseminate adapted or improved cassava, maize, peanut, bean, and sweet potato seed that will increase yields and are more resistant to pests. The 1999 imported seed requirements will be met with these improved seeds to create marketable surpluses.
In 1998, USAID will initiate new child survival activities to address the most prevalent causes of child mortality in Angola. These will be funded by emergency and development resources and will include support for immunizations and primary health care. Also, because virtually all areas of Angola face shortages of potable water, health infrastructure, medicines and medical staff, USAID and other donors are working on addressing these constraints. USAID will assist war and land mine victims through prosthetics and other mobility aids as required.
USAID's efforts to build more democratic institutions and practices in Angola will be focused at the community level and will reinforce other development activities with similar communities. Assistance to the electoral process will be a major effort if municipal elections are held in 1999. In addition, USAID will support efforts to increase the role and participation of women in political organizations.
ANGOLA
FY 1999 PROGRAM SUMMARY(in Thousands of Dollars)
USAID Strategic Objectives Economic Growth & Agriculture
Population & Health
Environment
Democracy Human Capacity Development
Humanitarian Assistance
TOTALS S.O. 1 Increased Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Food Crop Self Reliance of War-torn Angolan Communities
- DA
- CSD
- ESF
5,500
---
1,000
---
2,000
---
500
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
6,000
2,000
1,000S.O. 2 Strengthened Democratic and Political Institutions
- DA
- ESF
---
---
---
---
---
---
5,000
1,000
---
---
---
---
5,000
1,000Totals
- DA
- CSD
- ESF
5,500
---
1,000
---
2,000
---
500
---
---
5,000
---
1,000
---
---
---
---
---
---
11,000
2,000
2,000
USAID Representative, James Anderson
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: ANGOLA
TITLE NUMBER: Increased Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Food-crop Self-reliance of War-torn Angolan Communities, 654-SO01
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1999, $2,000,000 CSD; $6,000,000 DA; $1,000,000 ESF
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1996; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 1999
Purpose: This program seeks to reduce the need for humanitarian food aid and reduce infant mortality in selected provinces of Angola. Specific objectives are to rebuild rural and village infrastructure in areas where internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees and demobilized soldiers will be concentrated; to disseminate improved seeds and planting materials to farmers; and to create employment and income-generating opportunities in stable rural areas. The integrated program will also provide assistance to war-affected children and victims of land mine accidents.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: Through its private voluntary organization (PVO) and United Nations agency partners, USAID has been a major contributor to emergency and humanitarian relief, resettlement, and rehabilitation activities in Angola. CARE has rehabilitated 764 kilometers of roads and completed 741 food for work infrastructure projects. Humanitarian demining organizations, including the Mines Advisory Group, Greenfields, and the Halo Trust have demined or surveyed hundreds of kilometers of roads and opened up thousands of hectares of agricultural land. Save the Children has resettled 60,000 IDPs on demined or surveyed land, and CARE, Catholic Relief Services, and World Vision have resettled an additional 84,000 people. A major step toward food security was achieved when World Vision, with USAID support, developed a cassava strain which is disease resistant, and boasts a yield double that of the traditional variety in Angola. Christian Children's Fund, with USAID funding, has set up a structure with the Catholic Church to reintegrate child soldiers into their home communities. All 8,000 National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) underage soldiers have been officially demobilized as of October 1997. The leadership and assistance that USAID and the State Department provided to the all-important quartering and demobilization processes was essential to ensuring that the political and military provisions of the 1994 Lusaka Protocol were fully implemented.
Description: USAID will fund activities in four areas: food crop self-reliance; community infrastructure rehabilitation; child survival; and direct assistance to victims of war through a prosthetics factory, a rehabilitation center for land mine victims as well as a targeted program of assistance to children victimized by the war. Agricultural assistance will increase the quantity and variety of food, and priority will be given to the central plateau and particular resettlement areas. USAID will continue agricultural infrastructure rehabilitation; complete the effort to provide food, seeds and basic tools for resettling displaced people; and extend improved and adapted seeds and plant material to farmers. Community revitalization will rebuild the key service-delivery mechanisms to respond to the needs of village and outlying residents. Child survival assistance will be programmed according to the needs of selected provinces to address malaria, diarrheal diseases, acute respiratory infections (especially pneumonia) mother/child health, nutrition and immunization.
Beginning in 1999, USAID will explore potential employment and income-generating activities in stable communities. The launch of these activities will mark the completion of the current strategic objective, at which time a new one will be defined, leading to future activities in agricultural processing, marketing and other employment-generating initiatives, building on the food self-reliance achieved over the preceding three years. However, this program will likely continue to be a mixed one with elements of humanitarian relief and transition assistance - depending on the pace of attaining stability in different parts of Angola.
Host Country and Other Donors: The Government of National Unity and Reconciliation (GURN) contributed 33% of the total cost for a joint demobilization support effort which USAID helped finance in FY 1996. Other major donors to the resettlement and rehabilitation effort are the European Union, the Netherlands and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), soon to be joined by the World Bank with a $20 million Emergency Social Recovery Program. There are periodic food aid meetings called by United Nations Humanitarian Coordination Office, bi-weekly meetings of the Technical Working Group on Demobilization of the Joint Peace Commission, periodic demobilization support meetings called by UNDP, and periodic seed and tool committee meetings called by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. USAID has developed close working relations with the U.S. oil companies operating in Angola and hopes to collaborate with them on more effective programming of their large corporate social responsibility funds.
Beneficiaries: The beneficiaries of USAID resettlement and rehabilitation programs include 330,000 refugees, 40,000 demobilized soldiers and their 100,000 family members, 3,000 war-affected children and 2,500 victims of land mines.
Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: Key U.S. and international organizations involved in implementation of the program include Africare, Christian Children's Fund, Catholic Relief Services, CARE, International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Save the Children, World Food Program, World Vision, Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation and others.
Major Results Indicators: Baseline Target Angola Regional Rehabilitation Project: Prosthetics fitted 0 (1996) 1,070 (2000) Mobility aids produced 0 (1996) 500 (2000) Wheelchairs produced 0 (1996) 240 (2000) Number of Food for Work infrastructure projects completed 171 (1996) 1,500 (1999) Kilometers of roads maintained 764 (1996) 1,500 (1999) Resettlement Activities: Emergency relief beneficiaries reduced 815,000 (1996) 100,000 (1999) IDPs resettled 215,000 (1996) 715,000 (1999) Child soldiers assisted with reintegration 97 (1996) 3,000 (1999)Seeds of Freedom Project: Ratio of improved seed to total imported seed < 5% (1996) > 40% (1999) PVOs participating in the Seeds of Freedom Activity 5 (1996) TBD
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
TITLE NUMBER: Increased National Reconciliation through Strengthened Democratic and Political Institutions, 654-SO02
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1999; $5,000,000 DA; $1,000,000 ESF
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1996; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2000
Purpose: To strengthen civil society and political institutions with a focus on non-governmental organizations (NGOs), human rights organizations, community-based organizations, women's groups, the media, and the smaller political parties, and to support the electoral processes leading up to the municipal elections scheduled for 1999 or 2000.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: The United States is a major player in the quest for a durable peace and the development of a culture of tolerance and respect for human rights in Angola. This is demonstrated by its active involvement in the peace treaty negotiations, continued support for humanitarian relief and the United Nations Observation Mission in Angola operation, and the continued application of diplomatic efforts to ensure the Government of National Unity and Reconciliation (GURN) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) meet their commitments under the Lusaka Protocol. USAID was the first donor to put in place a broad-gauge democracy and governance program in Angola, and the first to focus on lower-level democratic institution building.
World Learning, a U.S. PVO, has trained 224 trainers (60% of them women) and 185 journalists in human rights promotion. Many of the participants in these training efforts are now working with their own communities to increase understanding of the rights and freedoms entrenched in the constitution, the legal codes and the international human rights conventions to which Angola is a signatory. In November 1997, as a result of this training, public prosecutors in Bie and Huila Provinces released over 100 prisoners on the grounds that the time they had already spent in jail exceeded the maximum statutory incarceration.
USAID and the Swedish Embassy co-funded a "National Seminar on Violence Against Women," in collaboration with the GURN Ministry of Women in late 1997. In addition, the 1997 USAID-funded study of the constraints to women's participation in development in Angola serves as an important diagnostic document and has catalyzed awareness and increased networking on women's issues in Angola. The National Democratic Institute produced a radio program entitled the "Voices of Reconciliation" which continues to be broadcast on both government and UNITA radio stations. Through this program, and the Voice of America's daily half-hour broadcast, Angolans are exposed to uncensored news and open debates on citizens' rights and responsibilities, democratic concepts, reconciliation models and human rights. The International Republican Institute (IRI) has trained 110 members of parliament (about half of the total) who have acknowledged that their capacity to understand and debate issues improved significantly. IRI has also trained 1,200 political party activists in communication, public opinion surveying, strategic planning, party organization, finance and constituent relations. One political party, the National Liberation Front of Angola, adopted new operating and organizational policies as a result of the training.
The Angolan parliament has recently organized an effort to develop a new constitution. USAID, with the assistance of World Learning and IRI, organized a constitutional development study tour to North America and Europe for UNITA and one other political party participating in the development of the new constitution.
Description: In 1999, USAID will be implementing activities in five general areas: (1) development of local NGOs and their relations with the government and the private sector; (2) improving local government and constituent relations; (3) support to human rights and media organizations; (4) development of community-based and other democratic organizations; and (5) election preparation, in
particular on women's participation. Rather than implement new isolated stand-alone activities in conflict management and resolution, USAID has and will continue to build these concerns into each of the above activities. The U.S. organization, PACT, will be completing its program to strengthen the capacity of 45 local NGOs, including developing and implementing non-traditional fund-raising strategies.
USAID will build upon past efforts to improve local government and constituent relations by making institutions more responsive to the needs of citizens. In addition, USAID will translate the successful efforts of its work with human rights organizations and a media strengthening program to support for broader engagement in demanding better governance. USAID will broaden its democratic institution-building program, targeting lower-level and micro-democratic organizations, to create a more participatory political environment. If municipal elections are held during the period, USAID will fund activities to ensure that they are free and fair, more participatory, and that women are increasingly represented as office-seekers.
Host Country and Other Donors: The GURN is currently inactive in, but generally supportive of, donor efforts in civil society strengthening. The United Nations Development Program has an activity designed to lead to the decentralization of public administration over three to four years. The Portuguese, French, Swedes and the European Union are all involved in parliamentary strengthening and study visits, and the Netherlands and the World Bank are collaborating with USAID on indigenous NGO strengthening. USAID is collaborating with Sweden on women's rights, protection and equitable access issues.
Beneficiaries: All Angolans will benefit from successful implementation of this objective. Angolans, particularly women, active in civil society organizations which are involved in institutional strengthening programs will benefit directly.
Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: The principal implementing agencies are U.S. organizations including PACT, World Learning, the National Democratic Institute, IRI, and Creative Associates. Voice of America and the International Foundation for Election Support are also key partners.
Major Results Indicators: Baseline Target NGO Strengthening Project NGOs with increased management and administrative capacity 0 (1996) 45 (1999) NGO public information campaigns begun 0 (1996) 10 (1999) NGOs with long-term partnerships with business, GURN or other NGOs 0 (1996) 6 (1999) Increased domestic funding of local NGOs TBD TBD Increased number of funding sources for local NGOs TBD TBD Other Activities Human Rights Organizations with improved technical capacity to implement programs 0 (1996) 3 (1999) Media Groups strengthened 0 (1996) TBD Journalists trained 63 (1996) 300 (1999) Women office-seekers TBD 100 (1999)
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