I welcome Mr. Isaias Samakuva, President of UNITA, the Angolan opposition party. Mr. Samakuva is accompanied by Mr. Carlos Kandanda, UNITA's foreign affairs spokesperson. As the committee is well aware, Angola has experienced nearly 40 years of continuous war since the colonial period punctuated by two failed peace agreements in the past decade. There has been peace in the country since the end of the civil war in 2002, and elections should take place there next year. Mr. Samakuva has been invited to today's meeting to discuss the current situation in Angola and the prospects for a lasting peace. I invite him to address the committee, following which I will open the discussion to members in the usual way.
Angolan Opposition Party: Presentation.
Mr. Isaias Samakuva
I thank the Chairman and distinguished Members of Parliament. It is an honour to be here today. We came from Angola to visit Ireland in order to raise support for the reconstruction of our country. As the Chairman said, we have come out of a war lasting 27 years since independence. We now have peace after the third agreement that we signed in Luena two years ago. At this stage we still have only a military peace, but we seek a social peace because for us peace does not mean only the silence of arms. One has to have food, health assistance, education and stability in the country to achieve social peace. That is what we seek.
We have 85,000 military personnel who were demobilised. Although they were promised help by the Government and the international community, we still see them wandering the country without any support. It is very important that the international community look into that and support those people who want to be reintegrated into social life. Of course, we have seen a great deal of sympathy from the international community, but problems are emerging because of a lack of transparency on the part of the Government which sometimes hampers the efforts that the international community wants to put into the matter. We are suggesting at this stage as UNITA members very much affected by the numbers of ex-soldiers who need to be reintegrated into civilian life that the international community should assist them as soon as possible, perhaps even through non-governmental organisations. They could be given assistance to go into partnership with Angolan non-governmental organisations too and see if they could deliver help to those in need.
We also think that social peace comes through democratisation, something that is very dear to us in UNITA. As an example and first step, we in UNITA held free and very transparent internal elections last year through which we succeeded in finding a leadership for the party. However, the internal democratisation of UNITA was only a first step. We think that we should contribute to the democratisation of Angolan society. We could not talk about that without democratising our own party first.
At this stage we seek elections for our country. As the Chairman said, our timetable for elections is 2005. While those are the wishes of UNITA and some other opposition parties, we have not had any clear position yet from the Government itself. Only a week ago the Government issued a statement saying that to create the minimum conditions to hold elections would take two years. However, the Government has not established the date when those two years will start to be counted, which means that we have no date yet from the Government for the elections, though it was supposed to establish one. UNITA also seeks assistance from the international community to help us convince the Government of the necessity of elections. Of course, elections by themselves are not the end of the process of democratisation, but they are an important step.
To sum up, we need support from the international community to reintegrate ex-combatants and IDPs, who number approximately 3 million at this stage. We also need the international community's support in convincing the Government that elections in the country are very important and that it is necessary to hold them as soon as possible. Our country was destroyed by the war. It is potentially very rich, with several natural resources, including the oil industry and diamonds, copper, gold and iron. It also has very fertile soil. It is rich in hydroelectric potential, so it can be developed using its own resources.
We therefore also seek the international community's assistance to develop our country. We do not want to ask support or help as beggars. As our country is very rich, such support should come in the form of investment. Those who are willing to invest in our country are invited to come. By investing in our country and developing those natural resources, we can also develop our country.
Up to now certain problems have been raised several times by the international community in that regard. Those concern the bureaucracy. People complain about all the bureaucracy, but we feel that it can be avoided. In that regard, UNITA, as an opposition party, is talking to the Government to overcome such problems. Thank you for your attention.
We know that the humanitarian situation in Angola is horrific. In the UNDP's human development index, Angola is ranked 146th out of 162, reflecting the horrific effects on women, children and others. Mr. Samakuva has pointed out that it is a rich country and a great deal of the resources are being lost and taken away through corruption and whatever. If this can be brought under control there will be an opportunity to develop the country. It is an extraordinary situation that so much wealth can be moved to one side while the condition of the country remains so low.
I join the Chairm an in welcoming Mr. Samakuva and his colleague. I also welcome his moderate approach to the situation. From what I have read he can be a moderating influence and I hope that will continue to be the case.
With some 300 international NGOs involved in trying to deliver humanitarian aid, there are still half a million internally displaced persons who cannot be reached because of the existence of something like 10 million landmines. What progress is being made on the landmines issue? Is the international community helping in this area and what is the current situation?
I was struck by what Mr. Samakuva said about the need to invest in Angola. However, I note the recent report from Human Rights Watch which received much international attention, centred on corruption as regards oil revenues in Angola, which represent about 61% of GDP. That report said that from 1997 to 2002 unaccounted funds amounted to something like $4.2 billion. In the same period the total in Angola for social spending was only €4.7 billion. If those figures are correct it will be difficult to persuade people to invest in Angola, so the issue of good governance arises.
Does Mr. Samakuva accept the findings of Human Rights Watch and what does he think the international community, in particular the European Union where Ireland currently holds the Presidency, can do to bring about better governance and help support the democratic process and the elections he is seeking?
I welcome Mr. Samakuva and congratulate him on his election as leader of UNITA. He is an experienced politician who has represented the UNITA point of view for many years. It is in that context I want to ask my questions. I would first like to acknowledge and pay tribute to the work of my former colleague and friend, Senator Mick Lanigan, who as chairman of the Overseas Development Committee maintained a high profile on the issue of Angola for many years on this committee. I am pleased that he is here with us.
Like most politicians who watched developments in Angola with great interest - the civil war, the sad statistic of having the highest number of landmines in the world, 10 million - I would like Mr. Samakuva to tell the committee about the attempts to clear the land of these weapons. It is obvious the country's economic growth will be considerably inhibited over a long period of time, irrespective of the oil revenues. He might give some indication of what help the international community is giving in this regard. There was a high plateau in terms of world awareness when the late Princess Diana of the United Kingdom visited Angola. Is that profile still being maintained in terms of the work on the ground?
He might also outline where UNITA as a political force now stands in terms of parliamentary representation. What is its membership, how many members does it have in Parliament and how dominant is the Government party? What realistically are UNITA's chances in the forthcoming elections, the date for which has yet to be decided? They will obviously be held some time within the next 18 months.
I would like him to expand on the question raised by Deputy Mitchell, as regards the scandal of the dilution of Angola's oil revenues. There have been many reports on parallel funding. The figure quoted is in excess of $4.7 billion of oil revenues that have allegedly disappeared while the annual spend on humanitarian and social policy by the Angolan Government is much less, about $4.2 billion. How different would the situation be under a UNITA-led government?
Corruption seems to be endemic and the fact that there now appears to be relative peace in the country would seem to suggest those in power are acting with impunity, aided rather sadly by a blind approach on the part of the United States. Some 60% of Angola's trade is with the United States, and to a lesser extent with France, which does not appear to be taking a proactive approach and is turning a blind eye to the corruption that is endemic in the Angolan Government.
How different is it going to be for Mr. Samakuva's party? What message is he giving to the Angolan people? How is he getting this message across in a country that is almost impossible to travel in because of the landmines and security issues? He might also touch on the issue of Kabinda and the attempts of that province to break away. Does he see this as a festering sore that will continue or is there any hope that he as a politician can help end the struggle in that part of Angola? It would be an impossible task even for the best of politicians if there is continual strife, along with all the other problems the country has.
We are aware that the sanctions were imposed by the United Nations and that they have now been completely lifted, an indication of the improved situation in Angola. The sanctions have had their own impact over the years. We are happy to see that they have been removed at this stage, so that an opportunity for peaceful development is provided as well as for discourse with the principal people involved such as Mr. Samakuva, who are attempting to build on what is currently there. I invite him to respond to the points that have been raised.
Mr. Samakuva
I will start on the issue of mines. Many figures emerge on the subject of landmines. Some people say there are 50 million, others say 10 million. Nowadays the general consensus is that there are about 10 million. I would say we have less than that. In any event mines are just one of the many problems in our country. Areas of the country are inaccessible because of mines and there are many people handicapped because of them. This is a concern. The Government sought outside support on this. There are many foreign-owned international companies in our country trying to clear the mines. It has been difficult to carry out this exercise as people do not know where the mines are. There are no maps for the location of mines which makes it a difficult exercise.
The Angolan Government has taken an initiative on de-mining which has not been very successful. On UNITA's part, we are suggesting that those soldiers, ex-combatants on both sides who are engineers accustomed to mines, could be used as de-miners. It may have advantages, namely, they will clear the roads and fields of mines, but it is also a way of providing them with jobs. Apart from the foreign companies that come to our country to help clear mines, those who know how to do this work should be used to carry it out.
The Government is not fully accepting this suggestion, although they are also using, with the foreign companies, Angolans who are undergoing refreshment training. They will also help to clear mines. This is a problem that impels us to call for the help of the international community in this exercise.
The issue of investment versus corruption, and the lack of transparency, is a big problem. As Senator Mooney stated, corruption is endemic in our country, but from our point of view, there are corrupted on one side and corrupters on the other. These are problems which, together, we will have to deal with. In the present situation in the country, everybody knows that the money that is being diverted from oil resources is not in Angola but is in European banks and the United States. The British Prime Minister initiated a campaign called "Publish what you pay". It is a campaign that should be supported by other countries.
What campaign is being referred to?
Mr. Samakuva
It is called "Publish what you pay". This could help a lot in the case of oil revenues in our country. At this stage we do not know how much money is being received from our oil resources. The money raised from oil does not go through the central bank. The minister for finance does not know how much he is receiving. There is some one else receiving the money. Just before we entered this room we were discussing the fact that we have a budget approved by the National Assembly, but this budget will not be used, and the present goals entail promises of sums of $50 million here or $20 million there, which are not in the budget.
Do they do that in Angola as well?
Mr. Samakuva
The opposition is trying to fight this, but this is not only the opposition parties' responsibility. The international community must act seriously, not only denouncing human rights abuses, as was done recently. We believe people must act by freezing those sums deposited in European banks. We in UNITA believe the sum of $4 billion mentioned by Human Rights Watch is correct. It may even be more. The Government responded in two ways. It issued a communiqué to the effect that it was a lie. Then the minister for finance held a press conference in which he admitted it, with the cavil that it was not $4 billion, but only $670 million that was missing. This demonstrates the problem we have.
We are having problems, as the international community knows, but in the meantime we are asking for assistance. Of course, they say that all this money has gone missing and yet we are asking for assistance. It does not make sense to them. The fact is that those who are in need have nothing to do with this corruption. They are not the people who are to blame. Those who are to blame do not need assistance. It is the normal people who are IDPs, refugees returning home who need assistance. It is for this reason that we say that as money or assistance given through the Government does not reach its final destination, the foreign NGOs could be used to channel assistance. With Angolan NGOs and the churches and organisations of civil society they can deliver assistance to those who need it.
What would UNITA do about this? Until now UNITA was known as being very serious on this issue. A year ago, we had a problem within our party. At one stage doubts within the party were raised about the destiny of roughly $4 million. We raised this question which resulted in a published audit to clarify the issue - it was clear and neutral. In fact, it was established that $4 million was not missing. We demand that those in charge of public finance be clear in the presentation of accounts. We are very rigorous on that point and support those who are campaigning against corruption in our country.
Sanctions were imposed on UNITA, not on the Angolan Government. The reason was that UNITA was not fulfilling its part in the agreement. Three weeks ago, we held one of our political commission meetings and we went through matters and at this stage realised that now UNITA has accomplished all its obligations but the Government has a lot to do.
We are simply requesting justice. UNITA was under sanctions for more than five years because it did not fulfil its obligations. We can see today that the Government has still to fulfil some obligations. One of them is very important for national reconciliation and for the preparations of conditions for elections. This is the disarmament of civilians who are using weapons to intimidate those who are not of our ruling party. We demand from the international community that they help also in convincing the Government that rifles or weapons should be with the military and not with civilians in the villages.
Thank you. We noticed that——
I have one small question to Mr. Samakuva. It concerns the composition of the Parliament and the number of members of Parliament that Mr. Samakuva has and that the Government has.
Mr. Samakuva
The Parliament has 220 seats of which 70 are held by UNITA and 129 are held by the ruling party.
Thank you for coming here today. We notice that Mr. Samakuva has been President since June 2003 and that he has played a key part in the recent negotiations. We wish you every success with your work and we recognise how important and how difficult it is. We thank you for giving us your views and for this informative exchange.
I also thank former Senator Michael Lanigan for arranging the visit and being with us here today. We wish you every success in your work.
The joint committee went into private session at 3.53 p.m and adjourned at 4.15 p.m., sine die.