issue 1 | Spring 2004

SONANGOL

universoANGOLA | BUSINESS | CULTURE

Offshore Reserves Are Blooming Oil exploration in Angola Refined Tastes $3.75 billion state-of-the-art refinery project

Back to School Government will fund 29,000 new teachers

contents S O N A N G O Editor’s letter L INSIDE: ANGOLA

A flood of discoveries in recent months and the remarkable strike rate 26 Revival of Fortune of test drills has given Angola one of Business in Luanda is booming following the

the most exciting oil exploration pro- A P

P

end of the war. Investment opportunities, and H files in the world. With the end of war, O T O / D E

plans for major projects are accelerat- foreign businessmen, are thick on the ground N I S

D ing as Angola firmly stamps its mark O Y

as the economy recovers. L on the global oil map. E At the heart of oil sector develop- T S I 30 V Q 40 ment is Sonangol, Angola’s national oil Ties that Bind G

R The Power of E B

company, which is rapidly developing N From a similar taste in dance to A H

O Imagination into an integrated upstream and J a fondness for the same drinks, downstream producer, and at the same The Centro Imaginação, a time working with major internation- Brazil and Angola have more community-run and financed al oil companies to exploit deepwater than a little in common. school, has changed the lives of concessions off the coast. In this, the first issue of Sonangol hundreds of Luanda’s orphans and 34 Universo, we report on progress to Back to School street children. build a state-of-the-art refinery near Angola will have 29,000 new Lobito, as well as outlining the strate- teachers once a new program to 42 FPO gies and vision of the company Beaches, Bars through an in-depth interview with get children back in classrooms, & Baobabs Sonangol Chairman and CEO sponsored by UNICEF and the Angola has been off the tourism map for Manuel Vicente. Angolan Government, is underway. p/j please But Sonangol is more than just an decades, but is starting to re-establish itself as oil company. For Angola it is a vibrant a desirable, if unique, destination. C

INSIDE: SONANGOL O silhouetteR force for development. We look at how B 36 I Profile: S the resurgent oil industry is boosting “I am going to be a doctor,” says 47 This magazine is produced by other areas of the economy, creating 6 Noah’s Ark Global Vision The Impact Media Group for Sonangol. jobs and stimulating investment. 13-year-old Quintas da Costa Sangola. Imported wildlife is already successfully breed- CEO Manuel Vicente maps out his strategy to position Sonangol among the Impact Media LLC, Social areas such as schooling are also ing in Angola’s Kissama National Park, but a 226 East 54th Street, New York, NY 10022 receiving a massive boost, and we tell world’s major oil producers, delivering revenues that will drive Angola’s ambi- Tel: +1 212 751 1900 ~ Fax: +1 212 751 0088 Impact Media (Europe) Ltd. the stories of children whose hopes and tious development plans. major new project aims to significantly boost 3 Hanover Square, London W1S 1HD, UK Tel: +44 20 7529 6000 ~ Fax: +44 20 7629 0700 dreams are being transformed by animal numbers. Website: www.metro-press.com access to education. 10 Offshore Reserves are Blooming Publisher: John Charles Gasser Sonangol Universo will be pub- 50 Director: Sheila O’Callaghan lished four times a year with news and Black Beauty Editor: Will Wareing Named after flowers and local dances, the new deep-water finds in Angola’s Editorial Consultant: Christophe Illemassene features both on Angola and on The mythical giant black sable, national sym- Art Director: Lisa Pampillonia most prolific offshore blocks are set to underpin the country’s future production. Advertising Design: Bernd Wojtczack Sonangol, as the company sets new bol of Angola, may not be so mythical after standards in the sub-Saharan oil All rights reserved. No part of this work may be all. New research suggests that small numbers reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any industry and contributes powerfully to 16 Refined Tastes means, electronic or mechanical without prior per- the economic and social development mission in writing from the publishers. A project to build a $3.75 billion refinery on Angola’s coast signals of the animal still exist. of the country. C O R B I Sonangol’s intention to become a fully integrated oil company. S The Editor SONANGOL C H R I S T O P H E

I L L E M A S S E N E

“War prevented our expansion, but lobal Vision now with peace and the reconstruction programme, we have to be present wherever oil is needed. The more we can CEO Manuel Vicente maps absorbing the know-how to take on more ambi- out his strategy to position tious projects. produce, the better for the Government Sonangol among the world’s “We will not acquire technology overnight Gmajor oil producers, deliver- but rather step by step. We suffer from a lack of and the better for Angola.” ing revenues that will drive expertise and we are short of skilled people but Angola’s ambitious develop- our aim is to have perfect management of most ment plans. technologies in eight years time,” says Vicente, Manuel Vicente, Chairman and CEO, Sonangol who has headed the company since 1999. The upshot is that, with Norsk Hydro as a ith the gathering pace of post-war partner in Block 34, Sonangol is now responsible reconstruction, Angola needs its oil rev- for exploration and production in a challenging Wenues more than ever. As a result, state- deep-water environment. To date only gas has owned oil company Sonangol has to maximise its been discovered, but the quest for recoverable oil profits to support the nation’s development. reserves continues. can’t keep flaring gas. It is time to stop.” offshore operations in Block 14, it established the Originally founded as a company to manage Overall, the company has a target of produc- The new plant, to be located in Soyo, 300 subsidiary Sonasing because there was no local the exploitation of Angola’s hydrocarbon ing 200,000 bpd after five years. Vicente says this kilometres north of Luanda, is scheduled to come company capable of doing the work. resources by foreign operators, Sonangol is grow- will come from concessions within Angola and online in 2008. The main foreign players in So participation in the Angolan oil industry ing into a fully functioning international oil com- also from the international arena where Sonangol Angola are signed up for the initiative; by indigenous enterprises is still some way off pany in its own right. is seeking to acquire assets. ChevronTexaco is the majority shareholder with according to Vicente, but he stresses that steps are “War prevented our expansion, but now with However, in the immediate future, the big 36.4 percent, while ExxonMobil, Total and BP all being taken to develop local expertise to provide peace and the reconstruction programme, we money is slated for the two major downstream have 13.6 percent stakes. Sonangol will retain a services for oil companies. have to be present wherever oil is needed,” says projects. Plans are well advanced for both the new 22.8 percent share. “As well as being a concessionaire it is our Manuel Vicente, Sonangol’s youthful, 47-year-old refinery and LNG plant. role to promote local industry as much as we can Chairman and CEO. “The more we can produce, Although there is already a small refinery in to help the government create employment and the better for the Government and the better for Luanda, it is unable to meet the needs of Angola’s Core values to acquire technology,” he says. Angola.” expanding economy. As a result, the country is Together with foreign oil companies working The company is implementing a broad rang- currently buying up to $250 million of refined As the integration of the company progresses, in Angola, Sonangol is setting up a $50 million ing, $3 billion investment programme over the products a year – an absurd position for a major its focus sharpens. Non-core operations, such as fund to foster local enterprises. The government next 3 years. Exploration and production, general- producer to find itself, as Vicente points out. drilling, are being hived off to a subsidiary, is also seeking to legislate in favour of local com- ly known as “upstream” activities, will be boosted, However, the output of the new refinery – esti- Sonangol SGPS. As part of a corporate rationaliza- panies – and it is now law that certain business and major investment is destined for “down- mated to cost $3.75 billion – will not be exclusive- tion, Sonangol SGPS will bring together all the areas, such as catering, are reserved for Angolan stream” operations such as a new refinery and liq- ly for domestic consumption. At least 50 percent equity stakes in non-strategic areas for eventual operators. uid natural gas (LNG) plant. of production is destined for overseas markets. transfer to private sector companies. The idea is to add value along the supply [For an in-depth analysis of the refinery project, Yet the simple fact is that, at present, there chain and to significantly boost Angola’s overall please see the special feature on page 16.] are very few local companies with the resources Transparency & Angola 2004 (est.) production figures – from the present 965,000 The motivation behind the $3 billion LNG to run business areas that would normally be Responsibility barrels per day (bpd) to 2 million bpd by 2008. plant derives from Sonangol’s desire to develop contracted out. Because of the exigencies of war Oil Production: Sonangol itself produces small amounts of oil petrochemical facilities, which will not only bring and the dearth of local companies, Sonangol has At the same time as the development of local 995,000 barrels – around 12,000 bpd – from a shallow-water, off- an end to the wasteful flaring of gas but also ended up doing practically everything that touch- expertise, Sonangol is looking keenly to improve shore concession, Block 3, but through working enable the production of industrial chemicals. es on its operations and has around 30 sub- its international standing – and in no area is this per day with the international oil majors, the company is “This is our top priority,” says Vicente. “We sidiaries and affiliates. For example, to undertake more critical than in company reporting. 2003

6 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 7 we will double production in 4 years and I expect tion and infrastructure will derive from the activi- Sonangol has 6,000 employees, of Angola to represent 35 percent of sub-Saharan oil ties of Sonangol. World Ranking: 2nd whom 500 are seconded to foreign exports to the U.S.” However, the company is active in communi- oil companies and overseas largest producer universities for training. The development of African oil, especially in ty support in its own right. In December, the Gulf of Guinea where the other main produc- Sonangol dedicated a new primary school to the in sub-Saharan ers, such as Sao Tome, Gabon, Nigeria and Government and also provided support for Africa (after Nigeria) Equatorial Guinea, are located, is very much of artists. The firm has identified key areas in which the moment. With a direct line across the Atlantic to direct its corporate sponsorship, such as Ocean to the United States, the region is strategi- health, education and culture – but it is clear cally placed to benefit from the U.S. desire to from the smile on Vicente’s face that sport is the reduce its dependence on Middle East supplies. area that animates the company’s senior manage- The U.S. National Intelligence Council estimates ment. that imports of African oil will rise from 16 per- Of the $15 million allocated to social, cultural cent to 25 percent within a decade. and sporting spending, $10 million goes towards supporting sport. Sonangol sponsors the national football team and a host of athletic clubs in the Social agenda premier football league. The very fact that a foot- ball league exists is testament to how far the Sonangol’s CEO clearly feels a responsibility country has come in its first few years of peace. to the region, but this is eclipsed by his sense of Indeed, in its way, sponsorship of the nation- responsibility to the development of Angola as a al football league actually defines the significant whole. changes in Sonangol since peace. Now the com-

C The fortunes of Angola and that of its pre- pany can operate as a “normal” international cor- O R B

I mier company are at present inextricably linked. poration: streamlining its activities, planning for S Funds from Sonangol constitute the single the future and investing in projects to grow its biggest contribution to the Treasury in terms of business – at the same time as providing essential tax and dividends, and are the basic building support for the Angolan economy. ❖ blocks for the reconstruction of the country. Much of future government spending on educa- www. sonangol.co.ao accounts are being prepared by Ernst & Young to Pan-African cooperation meet international standards of financial scruti- ny. Ultimately, the company is preparing the way While meeting international accounting SONANGOL SUBSIDIARIES reporting standards is part and parcel of to list on a major Western exchange. Sonangol taking its rightful place on the interna- Currently Sonangol’s sole shareholder is the tional stage, the company is beginning to be P&P Exploration and Sonangol Shipping: ships MSTelecom (Mercury): state and the company is run under a strict per- operationally active on a global level, exploring Production: is involved in all crude oil, and Sonaship: established in 1997 to handle formance agreement with the government to retail partnerships in Portugal, the Ivory Coast, areas of prospecting, research transports refined products Sonangol Group communica- ensure a focus on efficiency and productivity. Equatorial Guinea and the DRC. and production of liquid and tions, is one of the four licensed “It is possible to run the company with pri- Trading capacity is also being built with the gas hydrocarbons. Essa: also known as the companies operating a fixed vate standards and still deliver to the opening of a new office in Singapore to comple- Angolan Drilling Service telecommunications system in ment those in London and Houston. Currently Sonangol Distribuidora: is Company, is responsible for Angola. Government,” says Vicente. the company trades around 300,000 barrels of the retail arm, distributing oils professional education related To this end, senior executives at Sonangol crude oil per day on world markets. and lubricants under the Ngol to the oil sector, including AAA: provides financial servic- view IMF and NGO-generated stories of unac- On the African continent, Vicente says the brand. areas such as international es such as pensions, insurance counted-for funds in Angola as highly irresponsi- company is eager to work more closely with other safety standards. and risk management ble, as the trail inevitably leads back to Sonangol. indigenous oil companies such as the Nigeria Sonair: provides air transport Estimated 2005 Vicente emphasizes that the central bank and the National Petroleum Company, adding that its to the petroleum sector opera- Sonangol Logistica: deals Sonatide and Sonasurf: Production: accounting infrastructure have only just emerged support has been crucial to the development of tors. Sonair also flies to interna- with infrastructure and manage- provides support services to Angola’s oil industry. tional destinations, offering a ment for service companies pro- “supply boats” serving offshore from a period of war, when the methodology for 1.3 million barrels “Rather than competition, what we’re going direct transport passenger and viding equipment and products operations. recording transactions was not ideal. He also per day to see is a joint effort towards a better develop- cargo service between Angola for oil operators. notes that finance ministry officials have recently ment of the oil industry in Africa,” says Vicente. and the U.S., known as the been in discussion with US financier George “There is no doubt that Nigeria will remain the Houston Express. *List excludes joint venture companies Soros’ Open Society Institute regarding this issue. largest oil exporter of the region, but on our side

8 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 9 a d in b Democratic a C Republic of Congo

0 iver go R 14 Con Sonangol engineers are working at the frontier Angola has gained a of exploration technology to pinpoint new oil Soyo reservoirs in Angola's 34 offshore blocks, rang-

t 15 1 deserved reputation s ing from the shallow waters off the coast to the e 31 2 Congo Basin ultra-deep fields in water 2,000 metres deep. w

h as one of the most t 16 r 3 o 32 N

exciting exploration r

e 17 4 t

a Republic areas in the world.

W 33 18

p of Angola

e 5 Success rates are high e

D 34

a 19

r with around 80 per- t l Luanda U cent of drill sites 6

K 20 wa nz proving productive. In a Riv 7 er C O R B I S Block 17, every site 21 8

a drilled has hit oil. z 22 n

a In late 2001, the ground- w Kwanza K 23 9 breaking Girassol Basin r (sunflower) FPSO was e t the first major new a production facility to W 24 10 come on stream. p e

Offshore e D 25 Lobito a r t l Benguela Reserves are U 26 27 here is a Rosa, Dalia, Girassol, Orquidea, Other blocks look similarly promising. Tulipa and Jasmim (rose, dahlia, sunflower, Reservoirs in Block 15, such as Xikomba and 12 Torchid, tulip and jasmine) lying off the Kizomba, named after local dances, could be just Angolan coast. The names may sound poetic, as productive as the finds in Block 17. Xikomba Blooming Namibe romantic even – but these flowers represent huge started producing 60,000 bpd from November 28 Basin reservoirs of oil – some of the biggest, most lucra- 2003; while the first phase of nearby Kizomba – Named after flowers and local tive finds in Angola in a decade. which is a formal dance Angolans practice every- dances, the new deep-water Namibe The finds in Block 17, together with other where from bus-stops to the office – is scheduled Oil Production Thousands of barrels per day finds in Angola’s most prolific deep-water discoveries in neighbouring blocks, to deliver 250,000 bpd from the third quarter. 29 will form the cornerstone of Angola’s future pro- Development of two more phases, Kizomba B e

offshore blocks are set to b duction. Fields in Angola currently pump just and C, are currently being planned. i 1600

11 m underpin the country’s future p under 1 million barrels per day (bpd), but fore- In November last year, concession operator

a 1400 e e

N casts estimate that the country will be producing ExxonMobil announced two further discoveries

production. D 1200 r 1.3 million bpd by 2005 and 2 million bpd by in Block 15: Kakocha 1 and Tchihuma 1 – which e a t 13 r 1000 a t 2008. take the total of new finds over the past four years l er Riv U W ene Girassol, gave the first major new injection to to 16, a remarkable number. 800 Cun Angolan production when it came on stream in Major finds have also been announced in 600 late 2001. Production at the Girassol floating pro- Block 14. One reservoir, Kuito, named after a city 400 duction storage and operation facility (FPSO) badly damaged during the war, is also a much 200 reached 230,000 bpd in December, when the talked about field. As a result, Angola has gained a Namibia Jasmim field came on line. Dalia in the same deserved reputation as one of the most exciting 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 9 8 7 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 9 9 9 block, is forecast to top this figure when in comes exploration areas in the world. Success rates are 9 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 on stream in 2005. high with around 80 per cent of drill sites proving SOURCE: SONANGOL

10 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 11 bour, which has further discouraged exploration. From bitumen to It is estimated that Engineers in Sonangol’s geological department barrels of crude insist, however, that they want to begin a com- between 800 million prehensive survey of blocks in the Namibe basin, Cabinda yielded Angola’s first significant oil which they believe may yet produce surprises. discoveries, although oil seeps had been recog- and 1.3 billion barrels To date, it is clear that geology has favoured nised ever since the Portuguese arrived. They blocks in the north of the country. Block Zero is found black tar seeping from the ground in the of recoverable currently Angola’s most productive at 390,000 late eighteenth century and shipped the bitumen bpd, and lies off Cabinda, Angola’s enclave situat- in barrels to Portugal or Brazil for use in lamps reserves have so far ed just to the north of the Congo River. and to caulk the hulls of ships. This proximity to the river is key. The reser- The first oil well was drilled in 1915 at Dande, been found in the voir map shows that the biggest reserves fan out just north of Luanda. It was unsuccessful, but ultra-deep-water belt from its mouth due, it is thought, to the deposit inconclusive exploration activities continued of large quantities of vegetable material which until around 1933. eventually became oil [see box on page 15 for a Commercial deposits were not found until more detailed analysis of the geology]. Hence the 1955 when the Petrangol group, which had been huge current interest in blocks beyond the range granted new exploration concessions in 1937, dis- of existing discoveries. covered the Benfica field. This was the start of the modern development of Angola’s oil reserves and Left: Block Zero in Cabinda to the north of the was quickly followed by Gulf Oil’s successful N

E mouth of the Congo is currently Angola's onshore drilling in Cabinda and, in the 1960’s T W

O most productive.

R Portugal’s Fina discoveries in the Soyo region, just K / A N south of the Congo River. T Below: Girassol technicians achieved a production H O N

Y level of 230,000 bpd in Dec. 2003. Following this, the first major offshore dis-

S U A S U O N A N G O in neighbouring block 32, it is estimated that L between 800 million and 1.3 billion barrels of recoverable reserves have so far been found in the ultra-deep-water belt. Preparations are also in place to release more concessions onshore. A new set of blocks has been mapped out in the Kwanza basin and should be released for bidding this year. The return of onshore drilling is a direct result of the end of war, which effectively hampered onshore and coastal production for decades. Some of the new blocks have small but rec- G E

T ognized reserves of about 80 million barrels, and T Y the relatively low cost of extraction opens up the productive. In Block 17, every site drilled has possibility of developing local independent com- hit oil. panies to participate in upstream exploration and Now, a new generation of blocks is being production. mapped far off the Angolan coast. Concessions are no longer described as “deep-water” but rather as “ultra-deep-water” – which means Geological gifts working at depths of around 2,000 metres. Angola’s ultra-deep blocks are numbered 31 to 34, Angola is made up of the Kwanza, Congo and and lie just beyond the star blocks, 15 and 17. Namibe sedimentary basins, but so far only the Also in November, BP – which has commit- Congo and Kwanza basins have yielded oil in ted to invest around $8 billion by 2010 – commercial quantities. The south of the country announced the success of a wildcat strike, Marte- remains unexplored after the failure of blocks 9, 1 (Mars-1) in Block 31, to join two earlier finds, 21, 22 and 25 located off the coast far to the south Plutao (Pluto) and Saturno (Saturn). Together of Luanda. Drilling has also been unsuccessful off with the discovery of the Gindungo field by Total the coast of Namibia, Angola’s southern neigh-

12 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 13 If there is enough oil, oilmen will find a way to get at it, no matter how deep it coveries were made in Block Zero, altering the lies – and in recent whole composition of Angola’s oil patch, as oil- men tend to refer to a country’s individual charac- years deep-water teristics – because it turned out that the really big reserves were beneath the ocean. drilling technology The relative inaccessibility of Angola’s oil was something of a blessing during the war which has advanced at an broke out after independence from Portugal in 1975, because the rebel Unita forces led by Jonas amazing speed. Savimbi had no naval capability. In the early 1990s an onshore production facility in Soyo was hit by rebel attack but this was the extent of losses during the war. Another advantage of offshore production is that the impact of operations on local populations is minimized. Angola’s oil production continued to grow throughout the war, although at a diminishing rate until the mid 1990’s, when production iver appeared to peak at the 750,000 bpd level. If there Geology Congo R had been no new discoveries, production would have leveled off and begun to decline from that Seismic surveys and drilling in the deepwater area of Angola n i

point. s

have identified the existence of a huge sedimentary delta, which over a B

However, everything changed for Angola in

millions of years has accumulated seawards from the mouth of the o g

1996 with the discovery of the deep-water n

Congo River. This delta underlies Angola’s prolific deepwater Blocks o Girassol reserves. The find transformed the coun- C ★ 14 to 18 as well as the ultra-deep-water Blocks 31 to 34. Luanda try from a solid but mid-level production area The Congo River has one of the largest drainage areas in the Kw into a significant new player in the global search an za world, comparable in size to the Amazon River in Brazil and the Ri for major new reserves. The line on the produc- n v i er Mississippi River in the United States. The river carries an enormous s tion graph moved upwards as Girassol came on a B

stream, and is now set to continue this path as load of sediment, mainly sands and gravels, and organic materials a z n

more offshore fields are brought into production. consisting of plant particles. a w

Oilmen say if there is enough oil, they will As the plant materials are buried underneath more sediment and K ••Benguela Everything changed for Angola with find a way to get at it, no matter how deep it lies, then exposed to increasing pressure and temperature, these materials Lobito the discovery in 1996 of the and in recent years deep-water drilling technolo- deep-water Girassol reserves are transformed into oil, which then migrates into porous sandstone gy has advanced at an amazing speed. The ability reservoirs and forms oil pools. Numerous such oil pools have now n to drill at 1,500m – 2,500m has been achieved in i been discovered in the deep and ultra-deep waters of Angola, includ- s a

under 10 years. Drilling at 3,000m has taken place B ing Blocks 14, 15, 17, 18, 31 and 32. e •Namibe b

in the Gulf of Mexico, although there is not yet i The sandstone is young rock by geological standards, coming m

any production at that depth. a

from the Tertiary period, about 20 million years ago. The first oil N So far, the further out exploration has gone, the bigger the finds have been. There are many, found in Angola in 1955 came from rock about 100 million years both in Angola and the wider world, who are wait- old, from the Upper Cretaceous era. This oil was produced from small Cunen e River ing with some anticipation to see what the ultra- pores within a rock formation known as Pinda, which is carbonate deep-water off Angola’s coast will yield. ❖ stone rich in calcium.

14 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 15 t is an acknowledged economic maxim that shape, the country was hampered by not having no nation ever reached developed-country its own crude oil supply. Istatus by exporting raw materials. So for Angola has one existing refinery in Luanda, “This is a milestone Angola, the priority is to add value to commodi- operated by Total, but it is old, has maintenance ties such as oil and gas prior to export if it is to problems and is prone to stoppages. Indeed, offi- both in our interna- fully benefit from its abundant natural resources. cials say it is sometimes cheaper to import Nowhere is this better understood than in refined products than to buy them from this local tionalisation and in the offices of Sonangol. It explains the zeal of facility. executives in pushing ahead a new refinery proj- Sonaref will come on stream in 2008 and will ect that is fundamental to the company’s ambi- have a capacity of 200,000 bpd. Approximately the integration of tion to become an integrated upstream and half of production is destined for export to the downstream producer. U.S. and half for sale domestically and regionally, the Sonangol Named “Sonaref”, the $3.75 billion installa- with potential to sell high quality diesel to Europe tion will be a state-of-the-art, full conversion oil and Brazil. Group. refinery, using the most sophisticated technology The project is also feasible from a financial ” in the world. The new plant will be located on the perspective and could be very profitable, offering coast at Lobito, a 30-minute flight south from a return on investment of 15.5 per cent, consid- Angola’s capital, Luanda. ered excellent by industry standards. Sonaref Sonangol negotiations director “This is a milestone both in our internation- would be 30 to 35 per cent equity financed with Carlos Saturnino alisation and in the integration of the Sonangol the remainder in debt. Sonangol is interested in Group,” says negotiations director Carlos taking up to 40 per cent of the equity. Saturnino, adding that in its significance for the Executives say that initial roadshows have company’s evolution, the new refinery is at least been promising, with letters of credit supplied by as important as the major offshore discoveries of OECD export credit agencies. The latest phase, Girassol and Dalia. which began in the second quarter of 2003, has For the country, the project means both new been to approach potential partners and put the jobs and a major opportunity to attract private financing in place. sector businesses. Planners hope the project will Saturnino says a confidentiality agreement kick-start the regeneration of the Benguela region has been signed with a major international oil – a particularly poor area of Angola – and be a company already working in Angola. He adds that catalyst for the development of domestic trans- a consortium led by the World Trade Centre in port infrastructure. Johannesburg has approached Sonangol to nego- The economic rationale behind the refinery tiate for a potential 15-26 per cent of the project, C O R B

I hinges on a perceived gap in the oil market from and that the Chinese oil company Sinopec has S 2006. Studies forecast that the heavy or high-tan also made approaches. (total acid number) crudes which Angola is pro- Further interest in the project is being fuelled A project to build a $3.75 billion ducing from deep-water fields such as Dalia will by the prospect of participation being linked to soon be difficult to sell on the world market the awarding of the best oil concessions. refinery on Angola’s coast signals because of oversupply. Sonangol’s intention to become a A 2000 study conducted by Purvin & Gertz (coordinated by Kellogg Brown Root) identified fully integrated oil company. an extra 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of high- tan crudes coming onto the world market by 2005/2006. However, the refining capacity to Refined process this crude is not expected to increase An exhaustive impact correspondingly, so there will be a clear demand study of the proposed for specialist refining capability. Sonaref site has provided a detailed From a regional and export perspective, the picture of its logic for a new refinery is compelling. Tight envi- environmental ronmental restrictions are making it virtually footprint. impossible to construct any new refineries on the east coast of the U.S., while in Africa, a World Tastes Bank report from the mid-90’s stated that most of Africa’s refineries were inefficient and uncompeti- tive, and although South Africa’s were in better

16 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 17 E N E S S A

M The industrial character of E L L I Lobito's hinterland provides E H P

O the bedrock of workers with the T S I

R core skills and expertise to H C :

S construct the new oil refinery. O T O H P

of ancillary contractors servicing the site. Simply in terms of housing, for instance, 1,000 to 1,500 permanent employees translate into 100 new houses and 900 flats for workers and their families. The refinery will act as an incentive for a host of private sector companies to operate in the area while there is an anticipated multiplier effect in terms of economic activity. The availability of labour was a key factor in the placement of the refinery, but Lobito has other significant advan- tages. It has a natural deep-water har- bour, and one of the best ports in the region from which to receive the equip- ment and parts to build the refinery. It also has considerable land available for development. The nearby city of Benguela has One clear benefit of the Environmental impact rounding area and peoples, but with clear meas- existing rail infrastructure, which although ures in place to minimize the impact, World Bank defunct, has started to be rehabilitated to open Sonaref project is that it will approval is in place. up distribution lines into the interior of Angola It would have been impossible to secure the A further exhaustive assessment is now potentially stretching into the Democratic create jobs: for the four export credit guarantees for such a large project under way to build a more complete picture of Republic of Congo and Zambia. Lobito is an ideal without the necessary environmental impact the project’s environmental footprint, as part of logistics hub from which to distribute to Angola’s years of construction, an studies in place. ADL Environment Laboratories, an on-going commitment to give the greatest hinterland. based in Cambridge, England, conducted the ini- possible protection to affected communities and Furthermore, the project is the first piece of a estimated 5,000 to 10,000 tial Sonaref assessment. environments. jigsaw that could eventually enable Sonangol to The firm made an analysis of the area south challenge the existing distribution networks of workers will be needed – of the River Kwanza (some 65 kms south of major players in Africa, such as Total and BP. Luanda), to Lobito, assessing the impact on Regional boost “In implementing this project, Sonangol will while the refinery itself will everything from water temperature and fish become an important competitor to the main oil stocks, to wildlife movement and culture. The One clear benefit of the Sonaref project is companies working in Africa,” states Saturnino. eventually employ a work- refinery would mean a massive increase of traffic that it will create jobs: for the four years of con- Filling stations stretching across the conti- to the region, and account was taken of increased struction, an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 workers nent will provide the ultimate affirmation of force of 1,000 to 1,500. frequency of ship, vehicle and rail freight move- will be needed – while the refinery itself will Sonangol’s arrival as a significant, integrated ments. eventually employ a workforce of 1,000 to 1,500. player in the region – a status that this refinery, by ADL canvassed a broad range of opinion on The industrial character of the area is likely to be setting new standards in sub-Saharan Africa, will the project, including local communities and useful in recruiting workers with core skills and underline in bold. Angolan oil executives may be multilateral institutions, and has produced a experience. justifiably proud that one of the most modern report inches thick. There is no denying that the These figures do not take account of the refineries in the world is not to be built in the refinery will have considerable effect on the sur- employment which will be created by hundreds U.S. or Europe – but in Angola. ❖

18 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 19 SONANGOLNews In Brief

The 35,000 dwt tanker Ngol Queve at anchor in Luanda harbour, opposite page.

Giant seabed suction anchors are examples of cutting-edge engineering technology undertaken by Sonangol joint-venture company Sonamet, left.

Fast lady docks in Luanda

The Ngol Queve is the newest member of the Sonangol fleet to lay anchor in Luanda’s harbour, after her maiden voyage from Korea in November. E N E S

S In line with the established custom of the fleet, A M E

L the 35,000 deadweight tons tanker is named after L I

E H

P an Angolan river, in this case in Kwanza Sul O T S I

R province. She took six months to build at a cost of H C

:

S $40 million. O T O H

P Following her launch on July 18 last year, Ngol Queve called at Taiwan where she loaded refined fuel products. Setting course for Angola, she made a fast, 15-knot passage, comfortably Investment riding 15-foot waves as she skirted a typhoon to arrive safely in home waters. in Expertise The vessel is constructed with a double-hull, including ballast tanks in the outer shell, to meet all international standards. State-of-the-art safety The ground-breaking Girassol FPSO (floating stration of Sonangol’s commitment to increase the features include an inert gas system, which extin- platform for storage and operation) is secured to local-content activity of the Angolan oil sector. guishes any sparks or fire, during loading and dis- the seabed with suction anchors fabricated by Some 85 per cent of the 1,000 workers at the charge. Her 12 cargo tanks have the capacity to Sonamet. The company is also responsible for the site are Angolan, and there are plans to reduce take on product at 3,000 to 4,000 tons per hour 1,350 metre insulated cables (riser towers) which ex-patriot staffing still further over a five-year (tph) and can discharge at 2,500tph, which typi- link the seabed drill site with the platform – the period. This in turn will reduce the wage bill and cally takes up to 18 hours. first time this has ever been attempted. increase the competitiveness of the company. Ngol Queve has a crew of 20 – her senior offi- Both are examples of cutting-edge tech- Sonamet is currently working at full capacity, cers are Russian and Ukrainian – and Sonangol is niques used in the uniquely demanding condi- having clocked more than 1.8 million production now training three Angolans to officer grade in tions of Angola’s deep-water oilfields by highly hours in 2002/2003. South Africa to join them. skilled engineers working at the company’s The company also specializes in sub-sea The Sonangol fleet has an average of 60 per Lobito yard. drilling and construction operations, with a Stolt cent Angolan sea-going personnel, all of whom Sonamet is a joint venture between Stolt remote operated vehicle (ROV) manned by eight are fully trained in international safety proce- Offshore (55 per cent), Sonangol (40 per cent) and fully trained Angolan ROV pilots. Sonamet aims dures overseas. Wapo International (5 per cent) and is a demon- to recruit more pilots in the near future.

20 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 21 SONANGOL INSIDE: Z News In Brief O E

E I S E N S T E I N S I B R O C NGOLA Upgrading

On 11 November, Angola’s national day, Sonangol opened a new trading office in Singapore to serve the growing Asian market. The new bureau complements existing trad- A ing offices in London and Houston. An increasing proportion of Angolan crude grades are heading east, as are Sonangol sen- ior executives – CEO Manuel Vicente visited Beijing twice in as many months over the New Year.

Sonangol Offices Z O H E

E E N I S R E I E N T S T

Sonangol Holding T E E

K I N O

Rua 1° Congresso do MPLA, N.º 8-16 N I N Caixa Postal 1316 G Luanda República de Angola Telephone: +244 2 391 182 Fax: +244 2 391 782 Telex: 2089 SONANG AN Email: [email protected] A P

P H O T O

Sonangol USA (Sonusa) / D E N I 1177 Enclave Parkway S

D O Y

Second Floor L E Houston, TX 77077 USA Telephone: +1 281 920 7600 Fax: +1 281 920 7666 ne legacy of Angola’s long conflict is that very Email: [email protected] O little is known of the country outside its borders. The Sonangol Limited following pages aim to give a taste of the diversity Merevale house Brompton place Petrol to Portugal and potential of Angola, with articles on business, cul- London SW3 1QE United Kingdom ture, tourism and wildlife. We take a snapshot of the Sonangol has accelerated an agreement Telephone: +44 207 838 4600 booming business environment in Luanda, profile the Fax: +44 207 589 9454 that could see Sonangol-branded stations in Telex: 893212 SONANG Portugal. Under the deal with Portugal's country’s budding tourism industry and its close rela- P A

Galpenergia (formerly Petrogal), Sonangol will N O S

tionship with Brazil – and in the lead feature of P open 30 stations in Portugal by the end of the I Sonangol Asia C T U R

year. For its part, Galp is set to open 15 new E

3 Temasek Avenue S

Sonangol Universo’s first issue, illustrate how the / G I stations in Angola as part of its existing retail A 31-04 Centennial Tower C O M

presence in the country. The companies are youngest Angolans are being given hope through the O Singapore 039190 P I R O

Telephone: +65 64 16 3583 also examining the possibility of a broader Z Z biggest educational drive in Africa’s history. I Fax: +65 64 16 3582 partnership.

22 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 23 ANGOLANews In Brief Z O E N

E E I T S W E N O S R

Below: T K E

Luanda’s Port / T I N R

Port of Luanda Y Angolan G V E

Authority headquarters. B

to get a O L S T

A Parks to Right: D The Central Bank of Angola, makeover Luanda. Cross Luanda’s busy port, already one of the Far right: largest in Africa, is set to receive a $90 million Angola's basketball superstar, Borders revamp as the country’s economy flourishes after Miguel Lutonda. the end of nearly three decades of civil war. Angola’s vast natural The port’s management has called for inter- reserves will soon be linking national tenders for the renovation and moderni- arms with those of neighbouring sation of the port facilities. Board chairman Silvio countries, with the creation of Vinhas says the aim is to improve the efficiency several transfrontier parks. of services offered in view of increasing future The country’s once abun- demand. dant wildlife suffered badly dur- Luanda’s port already handles millions of ing the civil war with many ani- tons of goods each year and business has been mals coming close to extinction, growing steadily. Angola Wins but these projects could help Meanwhile, the port of Lobito in Angola’s Angola to rebuild its biodiversity. southern Benguela province recorded a growth of The country’s southern Iona 70 percent in 2003 when it handled 800,000 tons U.S. Trade national park which measures of goods. Its director Jose Carlos Gomes said the about 15,000 sq kms, will join port’s performance had been one of the most Priviledges Namibia’s northern Skeleton impressive in the last decade. Coast park in a project which is He said that with the return of peace, Lobito United States President George W. Bush has set to open within two years. was set to become a vital port in the so-called brought Angola into the group of African coun- “We’re putting all the condi- “Copper Triangle”, linking Angola to neighbour- tries enjoying liberal trade terms with the U.S. tions in place and the project’s at ing Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. Angolan goods can now be exported to America quite an advanced stage. But under a lower tariff regime than they previously we’ve got a lot of work ahead,” faced, under the provisions of the African Growth Sporting Heroes Shoulder said one Angolan official. Z O E

and Opportunity Act (AGOA). There are several other excit- E I S E N

S The AGOA initiative allows the president to ing projects on the horizon – the

T Africa’s Hopes E I N nominate countries to receive favourable trade Okavango Upper Zambezi treatment, according to strict criteria, and has International Tourism (OUZIT) increased trade between the U.S. and sub-saharan Africa’s basketball champions, Angola, are Portuguese coach Mario Palma – who has initiative being coordinated by Africa, helping to create employment and invest- gearing up to be the continent’s lone representa- spent most of his life in Angola – is already busy Namibia will encompass Angola, ment. tive at this year’s Olympic Games in Athens. Yet, training up the top team and intends to pull out Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and The U.S. dropped Eritrea and the Central having won the African championship for the last all the stops to improve on their showing in Zimbabwe. African Republic from the list of countries enjoy- three consecutive years and seven times in total Sydney 2000, when Angola finished last. Angola also hopes to see the ing these terms, saying they did not meet eligibili- since 1980, the team is no stranger to success. creation of two other transfron- However, facing Olympic-champions the ty requirements. Counting Angola, there are now Angola’s national side sports the continent’s best tier parks: one will join its east- United States, Europe and Oceania-title-holders 38 countries on the list. basketball players in its ranks, such as 32-year- ern Moxico province with “This annual determination signifies which old Miguel Lutonda, who has been Africa’s Most Lithuania, as well as the home side Greece, it will Zambia and another will link a countries are making continued progress toward a Valued Player (MVP) for the last two years. He take a lot of determination and hard work to natural reserve in the country’s market-based economy, the rule of law, free trade, says the Games represent the highest echelon on progress beyond the group phase – despite most northern enclave, Cabinda, to economic policies that will reduce poverty, and the world basketball calendar and is raring to go of the entire population of Angola cheering the the two Congos. protection of workers’ rights,” Bush said. into the competition. team on from TV sets at home.

24 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 25 C O R B I S Revival Following the end of the war, business in Luanda is booming. of Investment opportunities and foreign businessmen are thick on the ground as the economy recovers.

ast an eye over Luanda’s skyline and it would and left a trail of devastation in its wake. But iron- be hard to miss the numerous cranes and ically, the lack of goods, services and infrastruc- Cconstruction sites. Far from being an eyesore, ture caused by the conflict means that there are most economists say such a view is a sure sign of potential rich pickings for those wanting to Fortune economic growth and future prosperity. invest. Miramar, the capital’s prosperous embassy Business opportunities are already progress- district overlooking the city, provides a perfect ing beyond the oil industry, the mainstay of vantage point to witness its rebirth. “Look at all Angola’s economy – although its vast potential that construction,” says one British women living continues to attract a fair share of eager business- in Luanda. “That has got to be an encouraging men, from energy firms to shipping and other sign. People are really starting to take Angola seri- service companies. ously as a place to invest.” The diamond industry – another cornerstone “In just the year that I’ve been here, the dif- of Angola’s economy – is regarded as one of the ference is incredible. There’s been a huge busi- largest untapped markets on the African conti- ness explosion, and there’s still so much more to nent and, with peace, is beginning to sparkle be done,” she says. “But it is becoming less of a more brightly. De Beers and other major mining well-kept secret and investors who want a piece operators have announced their imminent return of the action are going to have to move fast.” to the sector. The hive of building activity that can be Security operations have been scaled down observed from above is feeding through to con- and conflict-related concerns have been crete reality down in the city. removed, increasing the sector’s allure to foreign One of the latest restaurants to open its investors. South African business magnate, Tokyo doors to the public – Nando’s, a South African Sexwale who has made substantial investments fast-food chain – has been packed out since day in the Angolan mining sector, is upbeat. one. “It’s been absolutely amazing,” said a mem- “The consolidation of peace has given a ber of staff, taking a break from serving a long momentum to companies that would like to queue of customers. invest in Angola to demonstrate their capability, New bars, restaurants and clubs are spring- their commitment, as well as their seriousness,” ing up across the city but it is not only the leisure he says. industry that is attracting attention. Industry experts consider that more Every week sees the arrival of a new business investors will be following in Sexwale’s footsteps. Optimism in the energy and venture, spanning almost all sectors of the econo- “The profitability of existing mining operations diamond sectors is spilling into my. Success across market segments shows just has shot up, the bankability of the sector has also other business areas. how far Angola has come in two years of peace. increased and new projects have become more The civil war lasted for almost three decades viable,” commented one analyst.

SPRING 2004 27 Z O E

E I S It’s absolutely E

N “ S T E I N essential that for- eigners like us who invest here also help boost the local services when their clients’ business plans Nestled between beautiful old colonial build- “We would like entrepreneurs to invest in become a reality. ings and just a block away from the headquarters infrastructure, construction, agriculture and in economy. We want As the economy continues to grow, all banks of Sonangol, the recently opened bar “Zanzibar” general areas,” he explains. to be able to say will have their hands full as they give advice to is decked out with locally-produced furnishings. As confidence in lasting peace burgeons, customers who may be struggling to get to grips Its plush sofas, now seating customers drink- there are hopes that international interest in ‘we’re making with the local business environment. ing cocktails from its exotic menu, are designed Angola will translate into an investment boom, Most foreign businessmen agree that setting and made by Angolan craftsmen as are chairs, providing jobs and a better quality of life for mil- money here’ but up shop in Angola is far from plain sailing. tables and barstools. lions of Angolans. we also want to Getting a phone line can take weeks or months, Owner Eduardo Centra, a Brazilian business- Gazing longingly out of the window as the electricity blackouts are an almost daily occur- man, looks on from behind the sleek wood bar Johannesburg to Luanda flight touches down, help this country rence and Internet communications are patchy at counter and proudly admits that business is João a 25 year-old civil engineering student from best. booming. Benguela, is full of hope for the future. and its people. The difficulty of even getting a visa and bat- “It’s going well for us, there’s no doubt about ” Speaking perfect English, he talks passion- tling through Luanda’s now bustling 4 de that. But it’s absolutely essential that foreigners ately about completing his university degree in Eduardo Centra, Construction cranes swinging Fevereiro International Airport raises the hackles like us who invest here also help boost the local Cape Town and returning home to set up his own across the Luanda skyline signal The optimism in energy and diamonds is of some oversees businessmen. economy,” he says. “We want to be able to say a Brazilian businessman, economic growth. business. spilling into other business areas. Brazilian bars, “It can take me two hours just to get through ‘we’re making money here’ but we also want to owner of Zanzibar café. Far from creating a brain drain, bright young Below right: Flights are full to South African supermarkets and construction the airport,” says a South African entrepreneur, help this country and its people especially after Angolans are champing at the bit to come home Luanda, as business booms. industry suppliers are all flocking to Luanda and increasingly irritated as the queue for passport the war. I’m confident that’s what we’re doing.” beyond as the country readies itself for develop- control moves at a snail’s pace. “You get used to The expansion of non-oil sectors is good and play a part in rebuilding their country. ment and growth. the slowness and I have to admit things are get- news for the Government, which is doing its “For my family, it was vital that I get a good In the last year, Angola has played host to ting better. But when more flights start arriving, utmost to lure investors away from oil in a bid to education, ” he says. “That’s why I went to Cape official delegations from a raft of countries, bringing in more businessmen and more profes- diversify the economy. Town so I could learn a skill and improve my including the United States, former colonial ruler, sionals, Angola will have to change some more,” “The strategy of the Government, now that English. But I don’t want to stay there. There are Portugal – and Brazil, which is culturally close to he adds. Angola is at peace, is to develop the non-oil sec- so many more opportunities in Angola”. Angola. A financial industry official warns that the tor because this is the one that can create jobs, “It’s not just about making money. It’s about These missions were supported by literally administrative, environmental and logistical hur- and can create employment,” says Deputy Prime rebuilding my country. A chance to make hundreds of enthusiastic entrepreneurs, who dles of setting up shop in Angola, and the cum- Minister Aguinaldo Jaime. history.” ❖ rubbed their hands in glee at the assortment of bersome bureaucracy involved in securing a visa, C

business prospects on offer. Many, dreaming of could turn off many potential investors. O R B I profits and progress, promised to return – provid- “I don’t understand why it’s so difficult to get S ed they can get a seat on a flight. a visa. Doesn’t Angola want these people to come “It’s almost impossible to get a business class into the country?” he asks. “The prospects are seat to Luanda,” says Luis Ferreira Marques, good, but Angola has to make sure those planes regional director for Portuguese-speaking coun- coming in full don’t start going back full as well. tries at Stanbic, the trading name of Standard “It’s a country coming out of war, but Angola Bank’s Africa operations outside of South Africa. has to leave behind the mentality of conflict and “That’s an indicator. There is everything to be move into the globalisation era,” he adds. “Given done. The potential in Angola is enormous,” he where it is now and what potential it has, Angola says. can still do a lot better.” Angola features strongly in the plans of South For now at least, the potential to make big African banks, eager to be a part of growth and bucks means that most entrepreneurs are willing expansion opportunities, as the country embarks to grin and bear the hardships of doing business. on a massive reconstruction programme. Back in Luanda, the good news is that these With many of their clients mulling ventures persevering businessmen are improving the lives in Angola, it makes sense for the banks to estab- of local people, buying local produce, creating lish a strong foothold so that they can provide jobs and stimulating the economy.

28 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 29 G E T T Y Ties that Bind

From a similar taste in dance to a fondness for the same drinks, Brazil and Angola have more than a little in common.

uatorze is almost flying as he goes from taking a breather from the pulsating roda. backflip to head-kick and then spins on Once on the other side of the Atlantic, what Qhis head. His routine is mirrored by his for some is more of a way of life than a sport, was opponent, Galo, who moves swiftly to escape the developed and perfected by the Brazilians. But it attack and flies back into a graceful cartwheel. has now been successfully re-exported to its The two are encircled by a group of around place of origin, Angola. twenty young Angolans, singing and clapping to “I know Capoeira will continue to grow,” says music played on a traditional string instrument, Mushi, the teacher at the class. the berimbao, and a huge stand-up drum. Capoeira is certainly not alone on the Each takes his turn to step inside the circle, lengthy list of items to be traded back and forth or roda, crouching down beside the musicians to between Angola and Brazil. feel the rhythm and get a taste of inspiration The samba, Brazil’s famous, flirtatious ball- before leaping into the centre to face his chal- room dance, has its roots in Angola’s semba, a lenger. seductive dance-a-deux, popular with young and This is Capoeira – a captivating fusion of old alike. dance, martial arts and gymnastics which, like all Vibrant, sexy fashions straight off the Rio cat- things Brazilian, is becoming increasingly popu- walks fill Luandan boutiques and leggy Angolan lar in Angola. girls languish on its white sandy beaches, decked “It gives us a new perspective, something dif- out in typically revealing Brazilian bikinis. ferent. It takes us to a new world, we do things In return, some of Angola’s staple food dish- that we never did before,” says Miguel, an enthu- es, such as beans prepared with palm oil or its siastic Capoeira student at his class in Luanda’s national meal made from cassava, have become stunning pink Catholic University. permanent fixtures on Brazilian menus, especial- “It’s a new culture, something that was born ly in the north east of the country where many here in our country but that we were never part people of African descent live to this day. of. Now we are,” he says. The two countries are separated by a vast While Capoeira is now synonymous with stretch of the Atlantic Ocean, but the similarities Brazil, in fact it has African origins. Centuries ago, and tight links between them are indisputable. CAPOEIRA cap·o·ei·ra slaves, mostly from Angola, took the beginnings “We have very close relations with Brazil – of today’s Capoeira with them to Brazil. from the culture, the dancing, from our way of NOUN: “I realised kung fu was not my style, it wasn’t life. We in Angola are united with them – we are An Afro-Brazilian dance form born in Africa – it’s an oriental martial art. like brothers,” says Capoeirista Edson, whose love that incorporates self-defense Capoeira came from us and that gives me more for the sport is permanently etched on his arm in manoeuvres. strength to practice,” says another “Capoeirista”, a heart-shaped tattoo.

SPRING 2004 31 Z G O E E T

T E Y

We love Brazil! I S

The African E N

“ S T E I

Down a narrow road in São Paolo, a residen- N Portuguese-speaking tial suburb of Luanda, one house sticks out a Left: Brazilian culture has had a mile. The distinctive green and yellow flag of huge impact on Angola – soap operas are watched avidly Brazil, taking pride of place on the roof, is flap- countries relate a lot and samba beats can often be ping in the afternoon breeze. heard on local radio. to Brazil, it’s a Step inside and the world of Brazil opens up. This is the Casa do Brasil, or “House of Brazil”, Right: For the most committed, quite literally a house whose doors were opened capoeira is less a sport reference point than a way of life. to strengthen cultural ties between the two coun- for them. tries. ” “I hope to have a children’s library, that’s one of my dreams,” says Silvia Escorel, the Brazilian Gilberto Gil, cultural attaché. “Angolans know a lot about Brazil, but Brazilians know very little about Musician & Culture Minister of Brazil Angola and we want to further these relations. We will eventually bring painters and theatre (pictured below) people.” The Casa do Brasil was officially opened by P H

O Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, T O :

P

I known simply as “Lula”, who was in Angola on an E R R E

M official visit late last year. E R I M

E He was accompanied by a string of ministers E / C O

R including the pop-star, Culture Minister B I S

S

Y Gilberto Gil. G M A It was Lula’s first trip to Angola but the Brazilian pop-star politician had already paid a visit a few months earlier, when between ministe- rial meetings, he squeezed in a few performances at an exclusive Luandan club, Casa 70. Even Angolans without access to television ers – language or cultural – so this can in a certain Gilberto Gil, who has released more than 40 can swing to the catchy samba beat and infec- way facilitate our work in Angola,” he says. albums and helped found the counterculture tious rhythms, thanks to the Brazilian music Brazilian commercial attaché in Luanda, Tropicalist movement that revolutionised played on local radio stations. Fernando Jablovski agrees: “The Brazilian presi- Brazilian music in the 1960s, feels the bond At the popular Bahia bar in Luanda, which is dential agenda now comprises new windows of between the two countries is natural. named after a north-eastern province of Brazil, opportunity and in Africa Angola is a top priority “The African Portuguese-speaking countries the Brazilian caipirinha cocktail is one of the because of our common language, common her- relate a lot to Brazil, it’s a reference point for most popular drinks. itage, culture. We have many things in common.” them,” he says. Sipping the delicious and highly alcoholic Brazilian Minister for External Trade and “Because Brazil is big, it has the largest black beverage, and looking out to the sweeping palm- Development Luiz Fernando Furlan, who accom- population outside Africa. It is a mixed society so lined bay of the city, it is clear that the ever-grow- panied Lula to Angola, considers it is time for this African countries are watching Brazil all the time, ing cultural links are also enhancing business partnership to grow even stronger. not only culturally but also in terms of com- between the two countries. “Brazil and Angola have been very close in merce, diplomacy, science and technology.” Brazil is one of Angola’s biggest trading part- terms of history and emotional ties but very far Mr Gil’s visit to Angola and the enthusiastic ners and there are several substantial Brazilian apart in terms of economic cooperation,” he says. audience at his Luanda concerts only serve to companies operating in Angola, including the “So we are trying to join the wires in order to underline the growing transatlantic links between construction company, Odebrecht, and the state enhance the cooperation at the level where we Brazil and Angola. oil firm, Petrobras. have friendship and history.” Brazilian culture, largely transmitted through They believe the tight cultural links can only Commentators point out that it only requires television soap operas, has had a huge impact on be good for their commercial aspirations. Upbeat a glance at the map to see how South America Angola in recent years. Many Angolan house- about the company’s future prospects in Angola, and West Africa fit together like pieces of a jigsaw holds gather round their TV sets every evening to Renato de Azevedo, director of Angolan opera- puzzle, proving that they were once part of the watch the programmes, as well as news, views tions at Petrobras, feels that the close ties are same continent. and Portuguese-language chat shows from the there to be fostered. If the signs in Luanda are anything to go by, other side of the Atlantic, available on satellite TV “We have a plus because we speak the same they may – at least metaphorically – be moving 24 hours a day. language as Angola, and we don’t have any barri- together again. ❖

32 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 33 J O H A N

B E R G Q V I S T Back to School Angola will have 29,000 new teachers once a programme to get children back in classrooms, sponsored by UNICEF and the Angolan government, is underway.

For millions of children around the world educational drive in Africa, according to Unicef, going to school is part of an ordinary, perhaps which says the programme will kick-start the even a dull day. For an Angolan child, it is a luxury. whole Angolan education system. Only 44 percent of Angolan children go to “All of us share a common objective – namely school, according to Unicef (United Nations to restore a strong national education system for Children Fund). That is far less than in other the children of Angola. This $40 million invest- comparable African countries; furthermore there ment is an important step forward in re-estab- is a high proportion of dropouts among those lishing services for children on a large scale, and who do go to school. is occurring at a critical time as millions of These statistics will change dramatically Angolans resettle,” said Unicef representative when the “Back to School” programme makes it Mario Ferrari when the programme was possible for hundreds of thousands of children to launched. go to school for the first time in their lives. This The first step was taken at the beginning of programme is funded by $40 million of govern- 2003, when Angola’s Ministry of Education and ment money and implemented chiefly by Unicef Unicef launched the “Back to School” campaign with some help from other international and in two of Angola’s 18 provinces. Unicef estimates national non-governmental organisations that 500,000 children benefited from this initial (NGOs). campaign. If all goes as planned, one million children Malanje was one of the provinces targeted. will be in the classroom by the end of 2004, This is where 15 year-old Aida João Cánjunga reducing the number of children currently out of lives. In a couple of weeks she will finish Grade 1 school by 90 percent. in a newly built school, with newly appointed The funding will result in the biggest-ever teachers. continued on page 37

34 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 35 “I like school. It’s much better than working used to discussing and listening to other points of in the fields. I learn things every day. I like that,” view, and thus create an environment in which Three decades of J

O she says. they explore as well as absorb. For instance, chil- “ H A N

B Aida is about to take her first exams ever. She dren will learn to apply their knowledge of math- E R

G war almost Q says she will have to study hard to pass the tests ematics and physics through playing and build- V I S T in combined science and mathematics, but ing small models of cars or houses. thinks the Portuguese test will be easier. In Malanje, and four other provinces, a destroyed the Profile: She was one of millions of Angolan children national NGO called Onjila (meaning “road” in forced to move around the country as the fron- the local language, umbundu) is working to education system. tiers of the war changed, and she now lives in improve conditions for the children. The organi- Camizange, a small village outside the city of sation builds schools and educates teachers. Although the 29,000 Quintas, 13 Malanje in northern Angola. Almost everybody in Onjila has already worked with the new approach the village has recently resettled. for several years. teachers have been He is a quick thinker, better than average in The school is simple, built of clay bricks pro- “It is important that the teachers do not duced in the village. There are no benches on the preach. The children must be involved. If a school and bristling with ideas. concrete floor, just a small, well-used blackboard. teacher only speaks, a child will remember 30 identified, most have “I am going to be a doctor,” says 13 year-old Often, in the rural areas, teachers assemble the percent of what the teacher says. If a child is Quintas da Costa Sangola. “I am going to move to students under a tree or in a jango, a grass-roofed allowed to use all senses – to listen, hear, see, feel only basic education Luanda to study and then come back, because this hut without walls. and do and get a learning experience – the child is where I belong.” Today, the Friday before the exams, the chil- will remember up to 90 percent”, says Isabel skills and so rapid dren are cleaning the yard in front of the school. Conceição, at Onjila’s office for co-ordination. Quintas has survived the harsh years of the Aida’s handwriting may be shaky and childish, This way of teaching will, according to her, Angolan war. The land where his village is situated but her skill with the pickaxe is impressive as she give the children life skills, as much as reading reinforcement is was tossed back and forth between the Angolan uses it to dig up weeds. and writing skills. Included in the notion of life armed forces and the Unita rebels. There are still “I am used to working with a pickaxe. I have skills is self-care – such as basic health knowl- urgently required.” always helped my mother in the fields,” she says. edge: hygiene and sanitation – but also values buried mines, with some areas pockmarked by Her upbringing is not unusual. All her class- and relationships. deep craters. mates have grown up in a similar way. But now Unicef representative J

Quintas, however, is more interested in show- O

with the war over and the children at school, they H Mario Ferrari. A N

have started dreaming of other kinds of life. Some B ing off his red mathematics book. It is for fourth E R G

want to be teachers themselves, others doctors. Q V grade students. He has only been in school for two I S The success of the project in the first two T years, but managed to leapfrog two classes. provinces, demonstrated by the children’s behav- “School is great. It was hard to live here dur- iour and willingness to learn, encouraged the ing the war. Many fled, but we stayed. We never Government to commit the funding for 29,000 Quintas da Costa Sangola knew when the soldiers would come. We never new teachers, and take the Back to School pro- gramme to the rest of the country. knew if someone would die. Now it’s different. The first of three workshops for selected Now I will study hard so that I can be a doctor.” Quintas says mathematics and geography are teachers was held in January, just before the Eager to show his home, Quintas struts the few his favourite subjects. school year started. The second will be held in hundred metres through the lively village to his In total there are 230 pupils and eight teachers May and the last one in early autumn. house. He lives with his parents, his four sisters and in the village. There are three small classrooms with Many of the chosen 29,000 teachers have as little as eight years of formal education. They two brothers in a five-by-three metre grass-roofed benches and blackboards. The benches are cov- come from all over Angola and 60 percent are ered with scribbles and drawings. The rooms are hut at the edge of the village. The kitchen is in a men. "I’ve always separate building, where small rabbits live next to dark, as the light is only allowed in through the “Three decades of war almost destroyed the the small baskets of maize. small windows. The intense green jungle starts just education system. Although the 29,000 teachers helped my It is midday, but the air in the kitchen hut is still a few metres away. have been identified, most have only basic edu- cation skills and so rapid reinforcement is urgent- mother in the thick with smoke. His parents are in the field. He It is a normal day – hot and humid – for an ly required,” says Ferrari. has finished school for today. Quintas has classes unusual child. He is one of a kind – a bright, moti- The focus of the training will be on changing fields." every weekday between 8.00am and 12.30pm. In vated kid, who stands out. Quintas, though, charac- the teaching approach. The traditional method of the afternoons other children go to class. They are terises a new generation of promising youngsters, teaching is authoritative, which will be changed to – Aida, for whom going to school a style based on conversation and involvement. is a special pleasure. taught geography, history, Portuguese, mathematics growing up in a country at peace, for whom educa- The idea is that the children will become and combined science. tion offers the chance of a new life.

SPRING 2004 37 T S I Left: Carrying the can – but in class V Q G

R it's a stool. E B

N A H O

J Centre: Maths and physics are taught

: S

O by making small models of cars and T O H

P houses.

Left: 15 year old Aida prepares for exams in Maths, Science and Portuguese.

In Unicef’s programme, wider use of small afternoon. It is not an ideal arrangement for a child groups and drama will also be emphasised. coming to school for the first time, but according Outside one of the larger schools in Malanje to Unicef, too much time already has been wasted. city, children are naturally moving around in There is simply no time to wait for teachers with groups, playing football and several Angolan chil- higher education to come out from university or dren’s games. They shout and cheer to each other. for schools with the best standards to be built. Most are dressed in a white robe, almost all the “What happens to children determines not girls with glass beads in their hair. All ages are only their future, but that of the entire Angolan In order that all the mixed and they are happy together. One reason for society. One of the key benefits to flow from the the mix is that all classes contain pupils of all ages. Back to School scheme is that it helps reintroduce “The children are returning in high numbers. children can attend normality to Angola. Schools stabilise entire com- In this school we have enough teachers, but we do munities, and are an essential part of Angola’s not have enough space,” says Conceição, one of the school, they have healing process. These achievements are the true the teachers. peace dividend for Angolans,” says Mario Ferrari. to take turns. Some The pupils in her Grade 1 class are between 5 and 14 years old. Some can read and write, but Aida – the girl who is about to take her first not all. exams – is probably unaware of the politics arrive in the morning, “I have 76 pupils in this class,” says behind her school attendance. She is only prepar- Conceição. She finds it a struggle to be innova- ing for her exams and making the schoolyard some during the day tive, especially as resources are scarce and condi- beautiful for the holidays. Her everyday life is tions are hard. changing, as Angolan society changes. She is part and some in the In order that all the children can attend the of a generation that will have the pleasure of school, they have to take turns. Some arrive in the making the luxury of going to school an ordinary, afternoon. morning, some during the day and some in the maybe even a dull, event. ❖

38 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 39 the P H O

ugusto Dala Muconda is an orphan – one of ondary school level – and T O S :

countless thousands created by Angola’s also runs courses in C H R I of S Power Imagination decades of war. Augusto was looked after by mechanics, carpentry and T O P H

A E

the local church and community in his home building. Skills training is I L L E The Centro Imaginação, region of Kuando Kubango, and now at the age of theoretical rather than prac- M A S S E

42 lives and works – himself the father of six – in tical, however, as the centre N E a community-run and Angola’s capital, Luanda. lacks a minibus to take stu- His experience inspired him to do something dents to other locations to financed school, has for children orphaned by Luanda’s 1992 post-elec- gain hands-on work experi- tion violence. Until then, Angola’s capital had been ence. changed the lives of largely untouched by direct fighting. Augusto Still, the school has had established a school to teach orphans, which he its successes. Augusto cites hundreds of Luanda’s called the Centro Imaginação. two children – an orphan “For me, school is like bread,” he says. “No called Castela and another orphans and street one should be denied the right to either bread or called João who were able to school.” get jobs as mechanics after children Based in the Chicala Dos district of Luanda, studying there. the school started with 20 pupils and a decade One of the key areas in later has grown to almost 800. Of these, 50 are which the centre is able to orphans whose parents are known to have died, help orphans is incorporat- 200 are “street children” whose status cannot be ing them into civil society. determined (they could be displaced or have run Through cooperation with away from home) and the rest are children of fam- the Ministry of Justice, chil- ilies within the area. dren can be officially regis- This is the only school for a community of up tered and given identity to 90,000 people. Census figures are far from accu- cards. This is critical, as rate, but at the last reckoning, three years ago, the many orphans do not know area was estimated to have 6,000 houses – with their surnames. each domicile containing two to three families of However, the most an average size of five people. important thing the centre Although initially funded by Augusto himself, can provide, says Augusto, is love and support. “It the school’s main income comes from parental is a small project but we have huge love for the contributions of 1,000 kwanzas ($12) per child per children,” he says. This includes the teachers, who “For me, term from those able to pay, which means around receive a small stipend but who are to all intents half of the children are fee-paying. The school has and purposes, volunteers. school is like also received support during the last three years Twenty teachers work at the centre and most from Sonangol, which provides food and teaching of these are local to the area. This sense of owner- materials and which has refurbished the school’s ship, says Augusto, is a vital element of the centre bread, no modest buildings. Augusto himself works in belonging to the community. In a country in Sonangol’s human resources department. which a huge array of non-governmental organi- one should The Centro Imaginação comprises four class- sations operates in every area of social develop- rooms, each of which can accommodate 25 stu- ment, the centre is an example of a highly success- dents. The timetable is operated on a shift basis to ful, locally-inspired initiative. be denied Man with a dream: fit in as many people as possible, running from The children themselves are happy, smiling Augusto Dala Muconda, founder 7.00am to 10.00pm. Augusto points out that many and boisterous like children anywhere as they play the right to of the Centro Imaginação, with children have to work in the mornings, selling on in the central courtyard giving onto the class- Regina, a 12-year orphan who the streets or helping their parents, before they are rooms. It makes no difference to them that the has been a pupil at the school for able to come to school. school is run on a shoestring and has only the either bread two years. Because of the lack of basic education, chil- most basic of facilities. Opposite page: dren attending the school can be quite old by Watching them play, Augusto underlines the or school.” 10 year-old Loretta, inseparable Western standards, and ages attending vary from difference the school makes to the children’s from her times-tables five to 20. The school runs the basic national cur- future – “We must invest in education. It is our riculum, teaching reading, writing, mathematics most important investment, and the only way to Augusto Dala Muconda, and Portuguese up to Level 6 – equivalent to sec- eradicate poverty.” ❖ founder of the Centro Imaginação .

40 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 41 Beaches, Bars

& Baobabs Angola has been off the tourism map for decades, but is beginning to re-establish itself as a desirable, if unique, destination.

urn the clock back a few decades and there were few more attractive holiday destinations Tin Africa than Luanda. A vibrant city with a sweeping palm-tree lined bay, miles of sandy beaches, majestic colonial buildings and spectac- ular safaris just a stone’s throw away, the Angolan capital had everything to offer. The 30-year civil war has undoubtedly taken a heavy toll on Angola’s beauty, but after two years of peace, the country is slowly re-emerging on the tourist trail. Though not for the faint-hearted – it will be some time before the massed ranks of package tourists touch down at Luanda’s international air- port – more adventurous travellers are now eye- ing the south west African country with excite- ment. There are a myriad of activities and locations to visit when they land. The capital itself, with its sometimes delapidated but beautiful buildings, its picturesque churches and narrow streets, is reminiscent of the country’s long and difficult colonial past under Portuguese rule. Renovation work is already underway to improve Luanda’s façade – it is increasingly apparent that it is a captivating city whose poten- tial shines through the damage that the long war left in its wake. Francisco Xavier Yambo is the director of the

SPRING 2004 43 42 SONANGOL UNIVERSO Institute of Patrimony at Luanda’s Anthropology N Museum, which traces the social, economic, I E T S N

political and artistic origins of the Angolan peo- E S I E

E

ple. He is optimistic, but under no illusion that O Z getting Angola’s travel industry off the ground will be an easy task. “There’s no doubt that there is a huge poten- tial for tourism here – we have parks, forests, beautiful beaches, as well as many other places to visit. But at the moment we’re battling to sort out the infrastructure after the war,” he says. The dif- ficulty of internal travel effectively means that tourist activities are focused on Luanda and its environs for the time being. Yambo is not the only one who can see Angola’s promise as a tourist destination. Ana Bela Primo, a language teacher, translator and tour guide, fell head over heels in love with the country when she arrived as a 21 year-old from Portugal almost three decades ago. Angola is now her home, and she likes noth- J U S T I

N ing better than to spend a few hours showing vis-

P E A itors the sights and sounds of Luanda. R C E After the hustle and bustle of the town cen- tre, with its boutiques, ice-cream T S

Sweets in her hair: a young Angolan I V

Q parlours, bars and restaurants, the gets ready to carnival. G R E B impressive Fortalesa São Miguel is N A H

Surf's up: the Atlantic rollers provide O a perfect place to cool down. J great rides. Perched above the city and catching the gentle breeze from Azulejo art: antique tiles grace the walls of the fort above Luanda the sea, the former military bar- racks seems destined to attract Far right: culture and history lovers in the On guard – Luanda's 17th century future. citadel. For Primo, the 17th century citadel dominating the Luanda to vandalism to ease their boredom. out of many supplies and can only offer beer. skyline tells the story of Angola’s “My heart breaks when I enter this room,” “There are a lot of people – both foreigners traumatic journey through says Primo, who remembers the pristine condi- and Angolans – who come here and want to visit Portuguese colonial times, civil tion of the courtyard in the late 1970s. the bar. If they walk, they arrive tired and very, unrest and now peace. Gesturing to missing tiles and gaping holes, very thirsty. All the soft drinks that I buy disap- “This building shows the real she stumbles upon an almost perfect mosaic of a pear within two or three days,” he laments. beginnings of Angola and you can’t hippopotamus and clasps her hands in delight. Since the cloud of war has lifted, locals are make a future without a past.” “See what it can be like,” she says. “This is a also beginning to get out and explore again. N I E T

S Strolling through the serene courtyard bor- place that could attract tourists of the kind who “There’s been a really big difference. During N E S I E

dered by orange-blossomed acacia trees, she pas- are interested in art and culture. For them, this the war, people didn’t come here and now a lot of E O Z sionately describes the garrison’s former glory, will be a great place.” visitors want to see this place and know its story,” whisking visitors away to an earlier era of regal The tiled courtyard mirrors Angola itself – he says. splendour. rundown, badly in need of repair but with But foreigners too are also keen to know In a cool corridor surrounding a sun-dappled tremendous promise and inner beauty. more. patio, distinctive blue and white azulejo tiles, Already, things are looking up. In a sure sign Annick Lia, a French businesswoman taking some dating back as far as the 18th century, of progress, the fort has recently reopened a bar time out to do some sightseeing, has noticed depict traditional scenes from the Angolan coun- to cater for the parched tourists brave enough to huge changes in the three years she has been vis- tryside. climb to its heights in the heavy Luandan heat. iting Angola, with buildings repaired, repainted Many are in a severe state of disrepair, dam- The intimate drinking hole has proved to be or even rebuilt from scratch. aged by the elements and by soldiers who turned so popular that barman Adilson Pereira has run For example, Luanda’s Ilha island peninsula,

SPRING 2004 45 44 SONANGOL UNIVERSO Back to the wild: seen in all its glory from the top of the fort, has to on the country’s long stretch of Atlantic coast. the first contingent of There’s no doubt reinvented itself as a Mecca of trendy beach bars “The waves are amazing,” says Jay, a Canadian animals from South “ and restaurants. surfer working in Luanda and at the beach for a Africa and Botswana are turned loose in “The beaches along the Ilha are absolutely weekend break. that there is a huge Kissama National Park. beautiful. They are superb,” says Lia, but confides So how did Amilcar Queiroz come up with potential for tourism that some of the best, most unspoilt beaches are the idea to set up shop in what is undeniably a to be found outside the capital. remote location very much off the beaten track? here – we have A two-hour drive south, taking in the Barra “Sometimes I used to come and spend week- de Kwanza river, spectacular Atlantic ocean ends on this beach and I saw the potential it had parks, forests, beau- views, and a landscape dotted with magical for tourism. The tourists were already here but baobab trees, leads the visitor to one such haven they had no facilities. I didn’t invent anything, I tiful beaches, as well – the stunning Cabo Ledo beach. just put up the facilities for the tourists,” he says There, Amilcar Queiroz has established his smiling, his tanned face evidently battered by as many other eating spot which he modestly describes as a years of sun and sea. “bush restaurant”. He admits things weren’t always easy. “It was places to visit. But at Below dramatic cliffs, with the waves rolling hard in the first years because of the war but out endlessly and white sandy beaches stretching since it ended more people are coming in,” he the moment we’re as far as the eye can see, Queiroz has set up a few explains. beach huts and an open-air restaurant. The flow of tourists is a trickle rather than a battling to sort out The seafood is as fresh as it comes. Lobsters flood, but Angola certainly has a lot to offer. are plucked from the ocean before your eyes by There is a long way to go before tourism real- the infrastructure young boys who swim through the waves with ly takes off, but its potential is enormous and the effortless grace, while local fishermen practically Government hopes the industry will blossom after the war. throw their catch straight onto the sizzling bar- with the advent of peace. ” beque. Official figures show that tourist entries have For those who want to spend the night soared from around 45,000 in 1999 to more than Francisco Xavier Yambo, director of the beneath the stars and be lulled to sleep by the 71,000 in 2002, although there is as yet no official Institute of Patrimony at Luanda’s sound of the waves, there are even tents for hire, distinction between a “tourist” and an “ordinary” Anthropology Museum. while surfers who can be spotted at Cabo Ledo visa. every weekend say it is one of the best spots to go Expensive flights are also a drawback, but the

country’s Minister for Tourism, Jorge Valentim, is R E W O

not daunted, bursting with enthusiasm and ideas P

J U S S U T G I

that he believes will stimulate travel from within R High energy: an exuberant N E

P F E Angolan youth does a back-flip A Angola and from further afield. R C at the beach. E “I’m appealing to investors to build two and three-star hotels which can attract middle class Angolans whose average income is low,” he says. “I’m talking to provincial governors, calling on each of them to improve, to modernise one or two tourism sites so that people won’t just stay in Noah’s Ark Luanda when they come to Angola.” Valentim says tourists are attracted to Angola for its culture and to explore its possibilities for eco-tourism. For those who make it despite the distance, Imported wildlife is Large wild animal species came close to the cost of the flights and the bureaucratic visa extinction in Angola during the civil war. process, there are opportunities to explore both. already breeding suc- Not only was poaching endemic but records As the sun sets over Cabo Ledo and Queiroz cessfully in Angola’s exist of soldiers hunting from helicopters prepares for another busy evening, he has high with bazookas. Animals, such as elephant hopes. “I’ll make a success out of this business,” Kissama National Park, and antelope, did not stand a chance. he says confidently. but a major new proj- However, the land itself is ideal for But not confining his optimism to his bush wildlife and a slow recovery in the numbers restaurant, he adds: “We’ve got the human poten- ect aims to significantly of major species has begun, largely due to tial and the natural resources. Angola’s got a great initiatives of the Kissama Foundation, an future.” ❖ boost animal numbers. animal protection body funded by

46 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 47 T S I V Q G R E B

N A H O J Sonangol, the University of Pretoria and two “Inside the fence, the animals are thriving,” “Inside the fence, the American non-governmental organisations. he adds. “We know that many of the species have The one million hectare Kissama National reproduced – especially the eland. We brought in animals are thriving. Park, two hours drive south of Luanda will soon eight and now we have 30. It is not so surprising, host self-sustaining herds of animals if the foun- though, – it is such a good environment for them. We know that many dation’s preservation goals are met. Even the elephants have reproduced. There are at The journey towards making Kissama a least four calves in the park now.” of the species have diverse, living park started in 2000. Fifteen ele- However, the major development of the park phant, eight eland and 10 kudu were transferred is yet to come. An international project, reproduced – to the park from South Africa and Botswana in Operation Noah’s Ark, aims to bring in 300 ele- the first phase – followed by a menagerie com- phants and many other animals to Angola. The prising 16 elephant, 16 zebra, 12 ostrich, 12 project is scheduled for June 2004 but planners especially the eland. wildebeest and four giraffe in the second phase. say more infrastructure needs to be in place However, these last four species are not before it will be implemented. We brought in indigenous to the region. They can survive there, The animals are due to be transported from but the conditions are not optimal. South Africa and Botswana through Namibia and eight and now taken by boat to Luanda and Kissama. The trip is S I B R highly stressful and some die in transit from O

C we have 30. exhaustion, despite the efforts of attendant scien- ” tific teams. These are animals that would other- wise have been ear-marked for culling, coming Pedro Vaz Pinto, from over-populated animal areas. conservation director Lack of funding and logistical problems have of the Kissama Foundation. dogged the operation, but according to Vaz Pinto, it will still happen, if not within the initial time- frame. At the moment, it is strange to see the area so empty. The vast park is green and luxuriant: a out leaving large areas easily accessible for the ensure the animals are safe,” says Vaz Pinto. They perfect place for all kinds of mammals, birds and animals to find water. It is home to hippo, croco- will work according to a plan based on the reptiles. But the war was absolutely devastating to dile and also manatee. KwaZulu-Natal land-use management system in animal populations, wiping out the world’s Dense bushes by the water’s edge tend to be South Africa, which draws out clear guidelines on largest concentrations of eland, forest buffalo and the favourite elephant drinking spot, while the how to make a sensitive area sustainable. roan antelope. grasslands host the antelope and giraffe. “I think it will take us three years to get the “Kissama suffered from the worst type of Enormous baobab trees, acacias and palm trees park stable. But it could be done faster with more Controversy surrounds poaching. At times you even had poaching by the are generously spread. Everything is green and funding,” says Goedtz. He does not want to go the introduction of “Their introduction cannot be ecologically military. All kinds of atrocity were inflicted on the alive with the sound of birds. too quickly, nor does he want to go through with non-indigenous species to justified. There was a lot of enthusiasm surround- animals. The soldiers would eat one out of ten Indeed the birds have been left alone to a Operation Noah’s Ark before he knows the area is the park, such as the ostrich, ing these animals at the time, and some people and kill the others for fun, which is more or less much greater extent than the animals. There is a safe for all animals. “If we can’t protect the ani- above. wanted animals that everybody would like to see. the only way you can wipe out entire herds,” says healthy diversity and abundance of birdlife, mals it doesn’t make sense to bring in more. Right: A fenced 10,400 When the issue was raised, we decided that it will Vaz Pinto. which has already gained Angola a good reputa- Kissama is a big park and we need investment to hectare area is home to not happen again,” says Pedro Vaz Pinto, conser- Even if poaching has diminished, it still tion among ornithologists. Four indigenous accomplish this.” released animals. vation director of the Kissama Foundation. exists. But now it is for commercial purposes. Angolan species can be found in Kissama: the Neither does Vaz Pinto want to look too far Some of the animals will probably not repro- “People come with four-wheel-drive vehicles grey-striped francolin, the red-backed mousebird, ahead. “We are struggling, fighting every day try- duce. The climate is too humid for the ostrich eggs from Luanda and sneak into the park. They shoot the white-fronted wattle-eye as well as small ing to do something. This park is under a lot of and the vegetation is not ideal for the others. But the animals for their meat and sell it as ‘bush numbers of red-crested turacos. pressure. There is no chance that the park, even Vaz Pinto insists that the animals are in good meat’ for high prices. Even the crafts market in Seventy-five miles of coastline, where giant in 10 years, will be close to the condition it was in health. The foundation will continue to keep them Benfica has created problems. Some of the ivory turtles lays their eggs, is also a part of the park. 30 years ago. But I think that the ecotourism has under observation in a small area of the park. sold there has come from the Kissama park. Only But so far, only the fenced-in 10,400 hectares are to be developed, although it cannot rely on large Despite the introduction of new species, the last year a truck was stopped containing elephant completely secure for the animals and there is numbers of wildlife, at least not in the next 10 fundamental idea behind the park is to re-estab- tusks. This has to be stopped now. It has to be still a lot of work to be done before the whole years. lish the natural bio-diversity that existed before done. It can be done.” park is truly protected. “However, the park can offer other things like the war. “A 10,400 hectare area in the northern As ever, the rainy season provides cover for The park manager, Roland Goedtz, and his the coastline, the river scenery, the birdlife. If part of the park has been fenced in,” explains Vaz the animals and this year has treated the reserve assistant, Martin Pinto, have divided Kissama ecotourism based on these features can be devel- Pinto. “This is a special conservation area which well. The majestic Kwanza River in the north into six sections. oped, then we can wait for the wildlife to blos- is tightly controlled.” snakes through the valley and its delta spreads “Every area will have 15 rangers who will som,” he says. ❖

48 SONANGOL UNIVERSO SPRING 2004 49 FINAL THOUGHT DEMOCRATIC Cabinda REPUBLIC OF CONGO “It is the horns that makes it ‘giant’,” says Vaz Pinto. “While the bodies of other sable are the same size, their horns are shorter. The horns of the black sable can grow up to 160 centimetres, while those of other sable only reach around 100 cm.” Zaire Uige Black In Cangandala, the giant sable was concealed e until the 1950s. One reason is the animal’s mythi- t r cal reputation. The inhabitants of the small vil- o COUNTRY INFORMATION N Bengo lage at the heart of Cangandala protected the ani- a Luanda z Beauty mal from hostile trophy hunters by claiming the n a Lunda Norte sable was not there to find. w Melanje When Cangandala was made a nature K Angola t was thought lost – another species extinct reserve, their village was moved to the eastern due to poaching and the degradation of natu- border of the area, but they still guard the reserve. Kwanza Sul Lunda Sul Iral habitats. However, evidence of the giant One man was made “shepherd of the giant sable”. black sable of Angola has been found again in His grave is still worshiped, his descendants are Area: 1,246,700 sq km one of its tiny habitats in the heart of the country. proud of their ancestry and every member of the Bie Land use: arable land - 2%; In October last year, tracks and droppings village wants to be the next shepherd. Huambo Moxico were found in the forests of Cangandala in the The Myombo woodland that covers 60 per Benguela permanent pastures - 23%; province of Malanje. A tuft of hair was also dis- cent of Angola is a special feature of the forests and woodland - 43%; covered, which was sent to South Africa for DNA Cangandala and Luando reserves, where the giant other - 32% (1993 est.) verification. Unfortunately, in January, results sable lives. Thousands of termite hills or termi- Population: 10,366,031 came through that the hair came from another taries dot the landscape, their lower levels rich in Huila ZAMBIA (July 2001 est.) large antelope – the roan. salt, which it is thought the shy animal loves to Despite the setback, Pedro Vaz Pinto, conser- eat or lick. Namibe Religions: indigenous vation director of the Kissama Foundation, which “It was interesting to see the tracks of the Kuando Kubango beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic is working to protect Angola’s wildlife, is certain animal next to one of the mounds, which it had 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 The striking profile of the common sable Cunene gives just a hint of what conservationists that the giant black sable still inhabits Malanje. clearly pushed down in order to get to the salt,” est.) can expect when they meet its majestic Vaz Pinto headed the group of scientists from says Vaz Pinto. His group found tracks of the giant cousin, the giant black sable, unseen the Catholic University in Luanda that found the sable all over the reserve, but surprisingly often Languages: Portuguese since 1982. tracks. He wants to make further trips to just single tracks, or those of small groups. (official), Bantu and other Cangandala to collect more evidence and try to “Their natural behaviour is to gather in herds African languages catch the animal on film. “It is unlikely that the of up to 20 animals. In Cangandala we found traces come from other animals,” he says. tracks of a female, a male and their offspring Independence: Before the war there were close to 2,500 giant together, but never larger groups. We do not know 11 November 1975 black sables in two reserves. As there have been what has forced them apart,” he adds. (from Portugal) The mythical giant Angolan embassies Hotels in Business no confirmed sightings since 1982 it was thought The research group estimates that there are GDP: purchasing power pari- to be extinct, despite the discovery of tracks in more than 30 giant black sables in Cangandala – overseas: Luanda Contacts ty - $10.1 billion (2000 est.) black sable, recent years. A physical sighting of the animal enough for a natural recovery if they are protect- would now provide the key element in proving its ed. But the problem of poaching is still a real one. United States of America: Hotel Alameda U.S.-Angola Chamber of GDP real growth rate: 2100-2108 16th Street, NW Alameda Manuel Van Dunen, Commerce national symbol of existence. Snares and other traps were found in large num- 4.9% (2000 est.) The giant black sable – palanca negra in bers around the crucial water paths, and gun- Washington, DC 20009 Luanda 1100 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Angola, may not Portuguese – is a national symbol of Angola, to be shots are regularly heard in the reserve. There is Tel: +1 202 785 1156 Tel: +244 2 34 24 11 Suite 1000 GDP per capita: purchas- Fax: +1 202 785 1258 Washington, D.C. 200036 seen on the tails of the national airline TAAG, on even a semi-permanent campsite for poachers ing power parity - $1,000 [email protected] Hotel Continental Tel: +1 202 223 0540; Fax: be so mythical bank notes and on stamps. It is revered as a inside the reserve. (2000 est.) Rua Manuel Fernando +1 202 223 0551 mythical animal. But, as such, it has a surprising- It requires just the most meagre resources to United Kingdom: Caldeira, 20 Email: [email protected] Liquid Reserves: after all. New ly short history. protect the reserve: a few guards are all that are 22 Dorset Street Tel: +244 2 33 42 41/2/3/4 (In Angola) Tel: +244 2 392 810 million (Nov 2003 est.) The giant black sable was discovered in 1909, needed, and with the involvement of the dedicat- London W1U 6QY Fax: +244 2 39 27 35 646 ext. 1661; research suggests but was not recognised as a new species until five ed villagers, the giant sable has a good chance of Tel: +44 207 7299 9850 Fax: +244 2 392 646 Exchange Rate: years later. Scientists could not believe that it had surviving. “No-one wants to be linked to the dis- Fax: +44 207 486 9397 Hotel Pataca ext. 1687 $1 USD = 77 kwanzas that small numbers remained hidden from man for so long. appearance of the giant black sable,” points out Consulate: +44 207 299 9888 Ilho do Cabo (Feb 2003) However it is indeed a species in its own Vaz Pinto saying there is huge interest around [email protected] Tel: +244 2 30 92 89 of the animal right – the white markings above the muzzle, the Angola in saving the animal – an interest likely to Source: National Bank of Angola; Fax: +244 2 30 92 60 CIAWorld Factbook; XE.com black colour of the male (the female is brown) be massively fuelled by increasing evidence of its Portugal: ❖ still exist. and long, curved horns being its unique features. existence. www.embaixadadeangola.org

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