20100906
reuters

LUANDA (Reuters) - Angola's ruling MPLA party brushed aside reports of corruption involving senior government officials earlier this year as a smear campaign aimed at hurting the party ahead of general elections in 2012.

The party's powerful Political Bureau said in a statement on Monday the campaign was spearheaded by Angolan nationals hired by local and foreign organisations to "tarnish everything the executive power does" ahead of the vote.

"Their goal is to defeat the MPLA and hand over power to those that have always served their interests," the MPLA said in a statement without specifying any names.

The statement comes after an Angolan journalist and rights activist accused President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and his inner circle of taking control of the economy by grabbing stakes in firms ranging from the oil to the banking sectors.

In his report, "The Angolan Presidency -- The Epicentre of Corruption," Rafael Marques points the finger at deals led by Minister of State Manuel Vieira Dias Junior and Manuel Vicente, chief executive of state-run oil firm Sonangol.

Both officials have repeatedly denied the report's allegations, which were published on Marques' anti-corruption website www.makaangola.com.

"It is complete rubbish," Vieira Dias Junior recently told Reuters.