In an interview with Lusa on Friday in Washington, on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, Vera Daves justified the continued removal of fuel subsidies with the estimate of significant savings as a result of this removal.
Fuel in Angola is subsidized by the State, which took the political decision to gradually withdraw this support, following the recommendations of the IMF, which has been happening since 2023.
In view of measures to mitigate these effects on the Angolan economy and families, the minister indicated that the plans in force will be continued, with another cycle of Kwenda, a program to support families in situations of poverty or vulnerability, with technical and financial support from the World Bank, or more support for financing business initiatives aimed at food security.
Regarding the speed of implementation of subsidy cuts, the minister says that it will depend on the activation of the new Kwenda cycle, the availability of resources and financial instruments to support companies and the behavior of inflation depending on the direction of the monetary policy of the National Bank of Angola.
"The pace and speed of the reform must necessarily be carried out in close dialogue with the National Bank of Angola because of the impact on inflation. [...] But, it is indeed a path that we have to follow, because many savings are estimated to come from this removal", highlighted the minister.
In an interview with Lusa, Vera Daves also admitted the possibility of rectifying the General State Budget taking into account the evolution of fuel prices.
"We have scenarios under analysis: price of 65 dollars per barrel, price of 55 dollars, price of 45 dollars. We understand that up to 55 dollars per barrel [...] it is still possible to manage the situation and we intend to do so. On an ongoing basis, prices below 55 [dollars per barrel] would probably require a budget review", she assessed.
"We will observe. We have the calculations done, the numbers prepared. As long as we are able to manage the situation only with restrictions on the expenditure side of goods and services, on capital expenditure, we will manage it that way. If we feel that it is not enough, because for too long the price has remained below this bearable level, then we would have to go ahead with the budget review exercise", she added.
