A long-simmering conflict is now held in public: Angola’s President, Lourenço has accused his predecessor, dos Santos, to have the country run down. Now dos Santos goes on the Offensive.
“The President is lying when he claims that the state coffers were empty, when I handed over to him in September of 2017 the office.” With these words, José Eduardo dos Santos who has ruled Angola for nearly 40 years went, last Wednesday (21.11.18) on a collision course with his successor, João Lourenço. The dispute threatens to escalate into an open enmity between the camp of João Lourenço, and the powerful dos Santos Clan.
It was the first press conference of the 76-year-old dos Santos since his resignation in September last year. With a brittle voice, he stepped in front of the journalists that he had ordered in his José-Eduardo-dos-Santos Foundation. For years, rumors of his health circulating. But this time it’s José Eduardo dos Santos not to be physical, but “his honour” – and, as he emphasizes, nothing Less than the “truth”. Repeatedly, his successor, had claimed to have in his office, empty state coffers found. But that is a blatant lie, he had left more than $ 15 billion in the state Treasury. Finance and Economics were at the time of transfer of power to a stable, adds José Eduardo dos Santos. “Our currency was stable, all officials’ salaries were paid.”
The end of harmony
For a long time it had avoided dos Santos, to go to a confrontation with his successor. The Transfer of the office should go without a public conflict about the stage. “A normal operation”, it said in September of this year, as dos Santos resigned as President of the ruling party, the MPLA and the presidency to President João Lourenço, handed over. The “harmonious” handover of power in Angola was celebrated by the MPLA as a “model for Africa” and “proof of the maturity of the Angolan democracy”.
To withdraw from the party chairmanship pinned President Lourenço its predecessor in September, a medal
“Now the truth comes to light,” says Journalist and political Analyst Alexandre Solombe in the DW-Interview: “This is the proof that it is not the MPLA officially propagated harmonious transfer of power so far. It’s just Propaganda.”
How could it come to the public rift between José Eduardo dos Santos and his successor? A few days before a state visit to Portugal, Lourenço the Portuguese weekly newspaper “Expresso had given” a great Interview in which he accused dos Santos, empty state coffers and leave. Also dos Santos did not comply with his desire for an orderly Transfer of the business of government, Lourenço. The country was on the brink of insolvency. Even the salaries of Officials and the payment of basic imported goods had at times been in danger.
Lively public debate
What player currently in Angola, is a fight for the sovereignty of interpretation of the recent Angolan history, writes Analyst Alexandre Solombe. “José Eduardo dos Santos knits his legend: namely, that under his reign, everything will be better. We all know that the situation in the country had tapered towards the end of his reign dramatically.” Even if it was true that he had to leave 15 billion in the state box, the Angolan conditions was a relatively small amount, sufficient just to cover the running costs of a half a year.
Angola is rich in natural resources – what is my affluence, but in General
In the social networks Facebook and Twitter, the fight between dos Santos and Lourenco for excitement, even on the pages of DW in Portuguese for Africa, where hundreds of users to formulate questions such as “Who’s lying?”, “Where are the 15 billion?” or “Will beat the dos Santos Clan is now coordinated back?”
Especially speculation about the possible reactions of Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of the Ex-President. The billion dollar entrepreneur is the most powerful woman in Angola, and the richest in Africa. It is striking that the formerly very discreet President’s daughter with new messages to reports on Twitter, in which she tries to back the legacy of her father and other family members in a good light.
Dos-Santos-children in trouble
Also, Isabel’s brother, José Filomeno dos Santos, is deep like: “Zénu,” as he is called in Angola, since September, in Luanda, in custody. The list of allegations against him is long: formation of a criminal Association, illegal enrichment, money laundering and corruption. The Angolan Prosecutor’s office is investigating, among other things, whether the transfers of funds abroad in the amount of 500 million dollars, which was responsible for the son of the Ex-President as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Angolan sovereign Fund, were lawful.
José Filomeno dos Santos, the son of the Ex-President, sits in custody
The fear in the dos-Santos family. Also, Isabel dos Santos is not inviolable: your dismissal of the head of the state Oil company Sonangol Lourenços was one of the first acts. Will you be accused, sooner or later, even yourself? Evidence of corruption, it is enough: Isabel dos Santos is a brief diversion before the dismissal are more than $ 135 million from Sonangol and the money in the accounts of four private companies have transferred. For this, you should have used the Portuguese Bank BIC, in which Isabel dos Santos has 42.5 percent.
The allegations were in the room, but would not followed alone, on a legal technicality, says the Angolan Jurist Pedro Karapakata: “The new government under João Lourenço granted to companies and individuals that have done in the past illegal funds out of the country, a period of grace. If you voluntarily return the money by the 22. December transfer back to Angola, to get away unpunished. Specifically, a law was enacted: the law on the repatriation of capital.”The Affected parties have six months to transfer the relevant amounts to Angola. If expired, would be a criminal prosecution of the daughter of the Ex-President dos Santos.
Cooperation: Manuel Luamba