Report: Angolan Diamond Revenues Not Benefiting Mining Areas

A recent report on Angola’s diamond industry says that despite the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues from diamond sales, very little if any is invested back in the regions in which the diamonds were mined.

In the northeast provinces of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul, for instance, not only has the local population received hardly any social services, but even worse, land has been taken away and transferred into government hands.

“In 2004 a new Land Act was promulgated, reinforcing the state's ownership of land, and hence the existing Special Regime for the Diamondiferous Mineral Reserve Zones, which sets out land access rights in mining areas.”

Calling it “the most important question for the future” of Angola, the NGO examining funding for, and the quality of reconstruction in Angola.

Reaching “some resolution” with the IMF in March, could open the way to a long-awaited donor conference for reconstruction funding.

But with billions of dollars pouring in already, the issue of what is done with the money is the more burning one. “The question now is how much the rebuilding process will benefit the majority of Angola’s people, most of whom live in abject poverty,” the reports asks, calling for the development of roads, bridges, power and water supplies to benefit the entire country.

An emphasis should be placed on education, health care, hospitals, housing, and jobs “if the interior is to develop and if the wretched conditions there are to improve.”