Attiya Waris, who ended a ten-day visit to Angola this Wednesday, at the invitation of the government as an independent expert on the effects of external debt on human rights, presented a preliminary report that points to the need for Angola to promote diversification economy and improve the population's standard of living, but also recommendations on transparency and asset recovery.
The report also addresses principles of fiscal legitimacy to achieve the financial realization of human rights, focused on accountability, transparency, responsibility, efficiency, effectiveness, equity and justice.
"In October they will know whether or not they are on the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) gray list, I am working hard with the government to ensure that all the rules and policies that need to be put in place are implemented to ensure this don't happen", she stressed.
If Angola enters this list, the first consequence will be on transactions, she warned, as OECD member countries will retain 25 percent of this amount.
But, she added, the main problem will be for the diversification of the economy since if Angola enters the gray list "any company that is thinking of investing in Angola will no longer come because it will not be worth coming here to do business".
"All the money spent on the Lobito Corridor, for example, would not be profitable," she said.
Another aspect that must be resolved is the delay in domestic transactions, said the specialist, highlighting that there are transactions that take up to two weeks.
Attiya Waris also considered that there was a breach of trust due to the war, which continues to this day, which led to people not wanting to put their money in banks.
Furthermore, she noted, the scarce existence of exchange offices, "which shows that there is an informal street market", which must also be countered.
The expert added that she also suggested to the government that future debt agreements guarantee that "the debt comes to Angola", in order to have access to currency and make money circulate in the country, instead of being traded in exchange for oil, for example.
"Around the world there has been a global push to increase transparency in all companies and one of the issues concerns the beneficiary effect, that is, who is behind the company", highlighted Attiya Waris, this Wednesday, in Luanda, saying that this law is essential to avoid the gray list.
The country must also take to court people who did not voluntarily hand over the assets they unduly removed from the treasury during the previous regime, she argued.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental entity that identifies countries with weak measures to combat money laundering and ML/FT terrorist financing ("high risk and uncooperative jurisdictions"), which can be placed on a gray list with economic and financial consequences.
Asked about the possibility of Angola getting into more debt, Attya Waris said that the country "has been good at paying its debts" and that others are available to lend money, but at high interest rates, so the executive must be more targeted in your loans and ensure that there are no "leaks" in the system.
In the preliminary report, to which Lusa had access, the independent expert notes with concern that the FATF established in its assessment of Angola that the country faces threats of money laundering through its financial system, the real estate sector and cross-border trade.
In the document, the expert welcomes the efforts made by Angolan legislators in formulating a bill on beneficial ownership, in accordance with FATF requirements.
"This law, once approved, will ensure the regulation of beneficial owners and is a step in the right direction to lift the veil of secrecy over companies and their owners in order to combat illicit financial flows and increase transparency in a system that is still quite opaque", says the document, highlighting that "compliance with the law is important for the process of diversification of the Angolan economy".
