2010-04-13
LUANDA (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch urged the Angolan government on Tuesday to step up its fight against corruption and mismanagement, noting that most of the population still lived in poverty.

In a 31-page report, the New York-based group said, despite undertakings to eradicate graft, the government of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos had yet to show it was prepared to take action.

"The government needs to take strong action to combat the corruption and secrecy that undermine Angolans' rights," Arvind Ganesan, director of the New York-based group's Business and Human Rights Program, said in a statement.

"Here is a nation with a wealth of resources while its people live in poverty."

Angola ranks with Nigeria as Africa's biggest oil producer.

The report said the publication of oil revenue figures and calls last year by dos Santos for "zero tolerance" of corruption showed the government's willingness to improve transparency.

"However, given that the president and ruling party have been in power for more than three decades, including the entire period in which oil-fuelled corruption has been rampant, sceptics will wait to see whether meaningful action will accompany these statements," HRW said.

A spokesman for dos Santos was not immediately available for comment.

About $2.4 billion went missing from the central bank between 1999 and 2002, HRW said.

In 2004, the group accused the Angolan government of siphoning off billions of dollars in oil revenues. The government dismissed the report at the time, saying it was an attempt to tarnish its image after the end of the 27-year civil war in 2002.

Angola is ranked among the world's 18 most corrupt countries, according to Transparency International's 2009 corruption index.

Its gross domestic product increased by more than 400 percent in the past six years, yet millions of Angolans had limited access to basic social services, HRW said.

A $1.4 billion loan obtained by Angola from the International Monetary Fund in November, after years of wrangling, offered hope for greater transparency, HRW added.

The African country relied on oil exports and loans from China to rebuild after the civil war.

"This (loan) may be an opportunity for the Chinese government to address problems with transparency and accountability," HRW said.

"The Chinese government and Chinese companies have invested billions in oil-for-infrastructure deals while remaining relatively silent on governance in Angola and elsewhere."