Eight executive directors of the African Development Bank Group have completed an official mission to Angola. The delegation held talks with representatives of key ministries including the planning, agriculture and finance ministries.

The executive directors met with the Governor of the National Bank of Angola, José de Lima Massano, who highlighted the country's successes in stabilizing the exchange rate and transforming financial regulatory processes and systems in the country.

The group met Secretary of State for Finance and Treasury Dr. Ottoniel dos Santos, who mentioned the need for the different ministerial departments to gather and analyze the guidelines left by the bank's executive directors and seek implementation strategies.

The directors also met private sector actors in the agricultural sector in a meeting hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, BFA (Bank of Fomento Angola), Standard Bank, Industrial Association of Angola, the association of agro-livestock producers, Angola Development Bank and the Association of the Bank in Angola. They met with the team of the bank's country office, where they heard presentations on the macroeconomic and fiscal situation of the country and the Bank's operations in Angola. The visit took place from 6-10 March.

Angola makes strides in STEM education

Executive director for Mauritius, Gerard Bussier, who led the delegation, spoke of the importance of the Bank's support to the science and technology teaching sector.

On a visit to CAZENGA Secondary School number 3114 in Luanda, the directors heard testimonies from students and experienced first-hand the impact of the transformational education project.

The project has funded state-of the art biology, physics and chemistry laboratories for the school as well scholarships for over 800 students, including 610 scholarships to girls in Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, (STEM).

Angola suffers from low school retention rates and only 1 in 10 students go to university. This project has focused its intervention at the secondary school level, although some girls have since gone on to earn higher degrees, funded under the project.

The directors interacted with students who have benefited from the scholarships funded by the project.

João Luis Ngimbi, executive director for Angola, praised the initiative and advised students: "You must strive and study for the better your living conditions, you should always think that in life you have time for everything and we should always have time to study."

Fisheries project boosts incomes for people of Zaire province

The executive directors visited the municipality of funded Nzeto in Zaire province, northern Angola to tour the Fisheries Support Project. The Nzeto centre is part of the Bank's Fisheries Sector Support Project and processes up to 90 tons of fish per week, through filleting, drying and salting, depending on weather conditions. About half of the production is exported to neighboring countries (Congo Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo).

In addition to touring the freezing and drying facilities, they interacted with the boat maintenance team and other users of the centre. They listened to the challenges of fishermen, women processors, and merchants.

Lisa da Cunha, a boat owner, said the availability of freezing and processing facilities had boosted trade with the neighboring Congos, and significantly increased the incomes of fisherfolk. While emphasising the wealth of the region's fish stocks, da Cunha also spoke of the challenges faced in accessing markets and fish market prices.

Fishermen's representatives explained the importance of investing in a pier to improve access to fish to improve safety at work.

To mark 8 March, International Women's Day, the day on which the executive directors visited, they handed out training certificates to women fish traders who had completed training in fish processing and conservation as part of the project.

In Cabinda, the executive directors visited the Project for the Development of Agricultural Value Chains of the Province of Cabinda (CPAVCDP, which aims to provide better production, conservation, storage, transformation and marketing of infrastructure for commodity value chains. They also visited the Women's Fishing Association.

Science and Technology park to transform research and innovation in Angola

A highlight of the directors' trip was their attendance at a groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed Science and Technology Park of Luanda financed by the Bank, as part of the Science and Technology Development Project. The Project for the Development of Science and Technology (PDCT), is being executed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESCTI)

Construction of the park is expected to last 30 months.

Angola's Minister of Higher Education Science Technology and Innovation Maria do Rosário Bragança, led the ceremony at which the phases of construction and its impact on Angolan society, were highlighted. She said: "Luanda's science and technology park could bring a new era of scientific research in Angola and its importance may also contribute to the development of the country's economy".

During a meeting with Secretary of State for forestry of the Ministry of Agriculture Dr. André de Jesus Moda, he noted that "the country (Angola) has great challenges in the sector, financial issues, dependence on rainwater to make agriculture and little knowledge in the transformation of products from the field." The visit took place from 6-10 March.

Moda also mentioned infrastructure development plans drawn up by the government, such as the Planagrão , the construction of the Cafu channel for redistribution of water to peasants, and the construction of the development plan for the sector.

African Development Bank Country Manager Pietro Toigo noted that the mission enabled the Executive Directors to not only verify the execution of programs financed by the Bank, but to have an overview of the economic framework of the country.

"The commitment of the government to implement bold strategies and policies to improve the macroeconomic environment is reflected at the level of sectional reforms that have been taking place in the economy. The investments that the government has made with the support of development partners and especially the Bank have brought a new context to improve the living conditions of Angolans," he said.

Contact:

Amba Mpoke-Bigg, Communication and External Relations Department, email: [email protected]