"We have to be much more sophisticated in the way we think about corruption", defended Cynthia Efrid, in a lecture on the democratic process and corruption in Angola, organized by the World Policy Institute, on Monday, in Washington.
Ambassador to Angola between 2004 and 2007, Efird added that "massive corruption, like that of Isabel dos Santos" is being placed in the same category as that of "a nurse who charges some extra money to provide better care for an elderly person".
With a career in the United States diplomatic service of more than 30 years, the diplomat referred to the investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists who, on January 19th, released 715 thousand files related to Isabel dos Santos' financial schemes that will have allowed to withdraw money from the public purse, in an investigation known as 'Luanda Leaks'.
Efrid, who also worked in the United States diplomatic representations in Mozambique, Yugoslavia and the German Democratic Republic, argued that Angola has been “better” since the presidency of João Lourenço, which started in 2017, and that the current administration deserves support.
"We have to support a panoply of political organizations, civil society, religious forces, but in a way that they lead and we support the United States," he explained. For Cynthia Efird, "Angolans have already demonstrated that they can be responsible".
The former ambassador added that, at the time of her mission in the country, Angola did not practice “bloodthirsty repression against opponents” as in other countries. Cynthia Efrid recalled that “at that time, no one was going to be arrested for political crimes”.
The international response, and specifically from the USA, must be in collaborations to strengthen capacities and “to sustain the Government's efforts”, he considered.
