Milestone reached with end of Joint
Commission
Angola reached a historic milestone
on 21 November when the Joint Commission that oversaw the implementation
of the Lusaka Protocol formally dissolved itself. This marks the end of
the peace process as outlined in the protocol, which was signed on 20 November
1994. Eight years after that signing, the Joint Commission declared that
it had verified that the main tasks of the Angolan peace process had been
completed and that the medium and long-term tasks will be dealt with bilaterally
between the Government and UNITA.
The Lusaka Protocol was a comprehensive framework for restoring peace and democracy in Angola on the basis of the Bicesse "Acordos de Paz" and several United Nations Security Council resolutions. The agreement between the Angolan government and UNITA brought the United Nations into the centre of the process, and involved the United States, Portugal and Russia as a troika of "observer states".
Although signed in 1994, it was only in recent months that the crucial military aspects of the protocol were finally implemented. Attempts were made after the signing of the protocol to get UNITA to quarter its army but - under the leadership of Jonas Savimbi - UNITA kept its best soldiers and arms out of the quartering areas and the country slipped back into full-scale war with UNITA seizing vast areas of the country. By the end of 1998 UNITA was launching full-scale attacks on cities around the country.
It was only after UNITA had been defeated on the battlefield and Jonas Savimbi's death in February that the peace process was relaunched with the signing of a ceasefire on 4 April. Over 80,000 UNITA soldiers then rapidly moved into quartering areas, and 5,000 were incorporated into the national army. The rest have been demobilised and are now awaiting reintegration into civilian society.
Remaining political tasks have also been completed. On 14 November Angola's president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos appointed UNITA nominees to the posts earmarked for them under the protocol. Three UNITA nominees became provincial governors: Lazaro Lixima in Uige province; Miji Muachissengue in Lunda Sul; and Joao Baptista Chindandi in Cuando Cubango. Four deputy provincial governors were also appointed: António Tonga in Kwanza Sul; Silo Martires in Bengo; Moises Chivemba in Bie; and Jorge Mussongue in Benguela.
At the same time UNITA nominees were appointed to the positions of ambassadors to Greece, Argentina, Hungary, Poland and Mexico, namely Jaime Isaias Vilingue, Fernando Dito, Joao Vahekeny, Liseth Nawanga Satumbo Pena and Jaime Furtado. Angola is to be represented at UNESCO by Jorge Marcelino Sanguende.
UNITA already has four ministers and seven deputy ministers in the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation, set up in 1997. However, these were picked by the government from a group of UNITA members that had rejected the military path of Jonas Savimbi. Although Savimbi is now dead, his supporters currently control the newly reunited UNITA, and it is expected that most of these posts will soon change.
With the conclusion of these outstanding matters, the Joint Commission was able to wind itself up. The United Nations Security Council on 22 November welcomed the dissolution of the Joint Commission, which paves the way for the Security Council to lift sanctions imposed upon UNITA. UNITA had demanded that all sanctions be lifted before the Joint Commission was dissolved, but has accepted promises that the sanctions will be shortly lifted.
The statement concluded: "Council members express their confidence that the people and leadership of Angola will show determination in fulfilling the aspirations of peace, national reconciliation, democracy, respect for human and civil rights and the deliverance of better economic and social conditions. There are still numerous humanitarian challenges in Angola. In this context, Council members call on the international community to continue to assist the Angolan Government in its efforts to address the serious humanitarian situation in the country."
President to appoint Prime Minister
President dos Santos will shortly appoint Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos "Nando" as Prime Minister, filling the post that was left vacant when Marcelino Moco was removed in June 1996. The president is finalising consultations before appointing Nando, who is currently Minister of the Interior and a member of the Politburo of the MPLA.
UN Consolidated Inter Agency Appeal launched
The United Nations on 19 November launched its emergency appeal for Angola warning that "although hostilities ceased in April 2002, the humanitarian crisis in Angola remains one of the worst world-wide".
The UN states that "since the end of the war, dramatically improved access has increased the caseload for life-saving assistance from two to three million people. In addition, more than 850,000 internally displaced persons have returned to their areas of origin, many to locations where basic services are not yet in place. In a worrying development, at least one million people may be cut-off during the upcoming seasonal rains, increasing vulnerability and malnutrition levels. 2003 is critical for consolidating the peace. Unless urgent steps are taken to stabilise at-risk populations and support return movements on the basis of the Norms for the Resettlement of Displaced Populations and the "regulamento", the humanitarian crisis may deepen, jeopardising future recovery and reconstruction".
The UN details the scale of the problems facing the country: Angola ranks 161st out of 173 countries in the Human Development Index; average life expectancy at birth is 45 years; sixty percent of the population is living below the poverty line; out of the 7.7 million Angolans who are poor, at least 4.35 million are vulnerable and depend on some form of humanitarian assistance to cover their basic requirements, with more than two million highly vulnerable and completely dependent on aid to survive.
In addition: the under-five mortality rate in Angola is the third highest in the world at 250 deaths per 1,000 live births; infant mortality rates are 150 deaths per 1,000 live births; maternal mortality rate is 1,850 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births; less than 30% of Angolans have access to adequate health care and hundreds of thousands of people continue to die from easily treatable diseases; less than 60% of Angolans have access to safe drinking water and more than 80% of the urban population does not have access to proper sanitation.
The list of horrors continues, covering education, health and the economy.
The United Nations summarises its appeal as follows: "the main goal for humanitarian partners in 2003 is to work under the leadership of the Government to contribute to the consolidation of peace and the process of normalisation through an integrated, rights-based strategy that focuses on life-saving assistance and the resettlement, return and reintegration of displaced populations".
Its main foci are on food security ($248 million), public health ($37.6 million), protection and education ($13 million), and access and coordination ($44.1 million).
In total, the funding requirement for 2003 is just over $384 million. A full breakdown of the appeal can be found at www.reliefweb.int/appeals/2003/files/ang03.pdf(over 5MB).
This appeal may be the last one for Angola if the internally displaced people, the former UNITA soldiers and their families, and the refugees in neighbouring countries manage to return home and restart agricultural production.
However, it should be pointed out that the Consolidated Inter Agency Appeal for 2002 only received 60 percent of the total requested. As of 3 December only $180.4 million out of a total need of $296.4 million was donated.
Only the World Food Programme received what it needed, getting $144.8 million - just under 95 percent of total requirements. Despite this, the WFP announced on 7 November that its stock of maize, the main component of rations, will run out in December.
The Food and Agricultural Organisation received $5.1 million - 75 percent of its requirements. OCHA, the UN's coordinating body in Angola, received $12 million - 60 percent of its needs. UNICEF received $12.2 million - just over half of its requirements.
Otherwise the response was very poor. No money was given to NGOs, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) received only $722,015 out of a required $13.6 million. The UN Office in Angola only received $437,445 out of a required $3 million. The World Health Organisation needed $9.2 million but only got $630,914 - a meagre 6.86 percent of its requirements.
The United States was by far the largest donor, giving 57 percent of all donations - much of which was in the form of the US agricultural surplus shipped as food aid. Similarly, the second largest donor - the European Union - also gave major donations of desperately needed food aid.
Britain gave $2,675,917, or just 1.49 percent of the total given, which puts it below the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Canada and Italy.
Although aid officials in Luanda privately concede that 60 percent is not a bad response to the appeal, the fact is that many vital projects did not receive any funding. For example, out of 22 mine action projects, that would have tackled some of the huge landmine problems the country faces, absolutely nothing was given out of a requirement of just $10,225,736.
Training for former soldiers
The Angolan government is to initiate professional training at the Cazenga Training Centre for the 75,000 former UNITA soldiers that were not incorporated into the national army. The training will take place under the Estamos Contigo project.
According to the Ministry of Public Administration, Employment and Social Security the project will cover agriculture and fisheries, construction and small business.
A recent survey by the International Organisation for Migration of 4,731 demobilised UNITA soldiers found that around half of those interviewed used to be farmers and want to return to farming. The average length of service with UNITA was 5 to 7 years, and the majority was from Huambo province. Most wanted to return to their area of origin.
Only a quarter had a house prior to joining UNITA, and their level of education was low with only a small number having any professional training. Around half of the former soldiers of school age would like to continue their studies and half of the older soldiers would welcome professional training.
The issue of training is becoming more urgent as the government intends to close the former quartering areas by 15 February 2003. Originally it was planned to close the camps by 15 October, although that was subsequently extended to the end of 2002. This latest extension will enable the camps to remain open during the rainy season. Aid agencies such as the United Nations' World Food Programme had warned that it could be disastrous to close the camps during this period.
Currently around 430,000 former soldiers and their family members are living in 34 Family Reception Areas. Some of the camps are expected to be closed soon, such as at Kafima in Cunene province, while others such as in Malange province will remain open longer. The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that there have been several cases of forced return, the most recent being in Ambuiva and Catofe FRAs in Kwanza Sul and Calal FRA in Moxico province.
Numbers in need grow despite drift home
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned on 2 December that the number of people requiring aid to fight off malnutrition is growing, despite massive numbers of people returning to their homes.
According to FAO figures, the number of people in need of emergency food aid now stands at 1.9 million, and it estimates that 4.35 million people will be at risk next year, including more than 2 million who will be highly vulnerable.
The FAO notes that malnutrition rates have declined over the past months with better access to the needy population, but food insecurity remains at high levels and most of the areas to which the refugees and internally displaced people are returning have no basic health services.
The United Nations organisation points out that relief efforts and internal trade are hindered by the poor condition of the war-torn infrastructure. This is in turn worsened by heavy seasonal rains.
The FAO has launched an appeal for $12.7 million to help the most vulnerable people to resume agriculture. In particular it is taking action to distribute quality seeds and tools. In 2002 FAO provided seeds and tools to over 300,000 families in time for the September sowing season.
Hundreds of thousands of people living in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been returning to their home areas to resume agricultural activities. In an interview with the UN news agency IRIN, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Angola, Erick de Mul, revealed that 850,000 people have already returned home and that this number will increase to 900,000 by the end of the year.
However, he warned that in the majority of cases the government had not ensured that the conditions were in place for the return of the IDPs, although he accepted that there were recent improvements. He stated that "thirty percent [of the returns] complied with the norms. It's a question of is the glass half full or half empty - you could say it could have been a lot better - in fact 70 percent better - but could also have been 30 percent worse. I think most of us feel it could have been worse".
Whilst some people have been dislocated from their home areas for several years, many had only relatively recently fled fighting.
According to a report from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), by August the majority of IDPs in the three ICRC camps in Huambo province were commuting between the camps and their former homes, some walking up to 60 kilometres, in order to prepare for a permanent move.
The report states that by September the Cruzeiro camp had completely emptied out, with its residents returning to the villages of Sambo and Samboto, south of Huambo. Within a week there was no sign that the camp had ever existed. The ICRC distributed aid parcels to the 10,000 families from the camps and to an additional 7,500 families. The relief programme started in September and continued throughout October with distributions of food rations, seed and tools. Food aid will continue until the harvest time in April next year.
Kwanza Sul has seen large movements, in and out of the province. The Angolan news agency, ANGOP, reports that at least 117,000 displaced in Kwanza Sul province will shortly return to their areas of origin. There has already been a return to Kwanza Sul of 10, 973 displaced persons from Luanda, Benguela, Cuando Cubango, Malange and Bie. The report states that in Kwanza Sul, 295,093 people out of a total 413,041 have returned to their home villages.
Refugees to return in earnest next year
On 28 November the Angolan government took steps to prepare for the voluntary return of 450,000 refugees living in Southern Africa.
In Luanda Angola signed agreements with Zambia and Namibia which provide the legal framework for the return of 211,000 refugees in Zambia and 24,000 in Namibia. Separate agreements were signed between the UNHCR and Zambia and Namibia. In the near future the Angolan government and UNHCR will sign further agreements with the Democratic Republic of the Congo which hosts 193,000 Angolan refugees, the Republic of Congo with 16,000 and South Africa with 10,000.
A number of commissions will be set up to oversee the return, which is expected to begin in May 2003. The UNHCR is appealing to international donors for $34.5 million to cover the cost of repatriating 170,000 Angolans.
According to UNHCR 70,000 people have already returned to Angola without waiting for the official scheme.
Irrigation project restarted
The Matala irrigation canal in Huila province was re-inaugurated on 22 November by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, as part of efforts to relaunch agricultural activities.
The cost of the canal's rehabilitation comes to $27 million. In the first stage of work 12 kilometres of the 42 kilometre-long canal have been repaired. It is expected that the second stage will be completed by March, when 6,000 hectares of land will benefit from irrigation.
The work is being carried out by the Brazilian Odebrecht construction company.
Luanda water network to be upgraded
On 20 November Luanda's public water company EPAL stated that it will cost $22 million to rehabilitate the capital's water network. EPAL's chairman, Lucrecio Costa, told Radio Nacional de Angola that this calculation was made as part of a preliminary study for the re-capitalisation of the company.
Luanda is due to have its water supply increased under a $55 million project. Already supply has increased from 140,000 cubic metres in 1988 to 270,000 cubic metres now. Currently each inhabitant uses an average of 30 litres per day, and EPAL hopes to increase output to the international norm of 55 litres per day.
Many thousands of Luandans do not have piped water, and rely on water tankers for their needs. Thus the separate needs to both increase the total amount available and the distribution network.
The Angola Peace Monitor is produced every month by ACTSA - Action for Southern Africa.
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e-mail actsa@actsa.org, www.actsa.org/apm
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