“The price of oil has been falling more and more and this puts enormous pressure on public finances. So [the President] had no alternative but to reduce the executive and, as a result, government spending ", said Augusto Báfua in statements to Lusa from Luanda.
For the researcher, this, in fact, should not be the last change in the government that João Lourenço will make until the end of his term.
"There is talk of a possibility that before the end of the mandate more ministries could be reduced, a reduction that is not only in quantity, but also in an attempt to increase the quality" of the government's response to the country's needs.
"Now the government has reduced the number of ministries from 28 to 21 and it may be that later, depending on the analysis that will be done, it may decrease from 21 to 18," he said.
The analyst recalls that "certain privileges" were created, oil was around 60 dollars a barrel, and today it is below 30 dollars.
So the President made the decision, even in a pandemic context, caused by the new coronavirus, which will affect the world economy.
"More than the incidence of coronavirus is the incidence of lower oil prices during this period", which is in question, defended the analyst.
However, the analyst admitted that this executive reduction is also a response to the IMF's recommendation to cut government spending.
Augusto Báfua said that there has long been talk of the need to reduce the executive, not only in number, but also in terms of expenses, citing as examples, ministers having to stop traveling in business class and reducing the purchase of vehicles.
But the cut "cannot be brutal because the breach does not help governance," he said, considering that it must be done gradually.
For the analyst "it is what the president is doing, with great difficulty, there is a lot of complaints, he is criticized if he does not do it, and he is also criticized if he does it".
However, the remodeling was not just about saving, it was done "also in an attempt to increase the quality" of the executive, with more dynamism and the ability to respond to the problems that affect Angolans, he said.
From the governmental reshuffle highlights the attempt by President João Lourenço to place young people and women, in the sense of making "a governance that is more in line with what the average citizen is, with what is the average age of the Angolan citizen", giving , thus, a "breath of fresh air".
In addition, the "cast that was remodeled is not the 'core' of the Angolan economy", that is, it did not include the ministers who deal more directly with the country's economic problems, nor the Ministry of Health, responsible for combating the pandemic of the country. Covid-19, he pointed out.
For Augusto Báfu, these changes thus have the advantage of being able to bring "new ideas for the government", a positive aspect, "because one of the things that was criticized in previous remodeling was the use of some people who already have a lot of wear and tear of years of governance ".
As for the dismissal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Augusto, one of the controversial aspects of the remodeling, Augusto Báfu said that he did "a great job", but that his replacement by his former Secretary of State, Tete António, " it was more of a move to give more strength and improve what was already good in the ministry ".
In the governance arc, “the executive puts those he understands best in the places where he thinks they will do the best job. That is why it is not surprising if Minister Manuel Augusto sees himself in a position of equal or greater responsibility, "he said.
Regarding the new minister, he considers that "he has extensive experience, knows the African Union and the intricacies of the United Nations", and "will soon be able to manage the house" because he was already Secretary of State.
