According to analyst Albino Pakisi, the rising fuel prices in Angola are a "dilemma" facing the government, given the guidelines of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to save 400 billion kwanzas, which are spent annually on subsidies.
"But the truth is that the WB and the IMF advised the government that, if fuel prices are gradually raised, there must also be incentives for the population so they don't feel suffocated," he told Lusa this Wednesday, anticipating a rise in the price of other goods and services in the coming days.
"In Angola, not only has the price of fuel gone up, but electricity prices have gone up, taxi fares have gone up, and tuition fees have gone up. The government cannot allow this; it is so insensitive that we can't say people won't complain or take to the streets in the near future, given this cost of living," he noted.
Political scientist David Sambongo, for his part, told Lusa that the increase in urban public transportation fares to 200 kwanzas and private taxi fares to 300 kwanzas per trip "will increasingly degrade the quality of life of most Angolan families, who are already in a situation of social indigence."
Angolan families are currently struggling to afford three basic meals, the Angolan political scientist emphasized, noting that taxis in Angola play a fundamental role in people's lives, especially in accessing essential services far from their homes.
The author of "National Security and Natural Resources: An Analysis of the Influence of Oil on the Outcome of the Angolan Civil Conflict: 1992-2002" also said that, according to the real calculations of needy families, the increase in transportation prices will mean "total asphyxiation."
"This will mean suffocation, a total suffocation in the lives of Angolan families (...). We have never seen so many personalities in Angola's contemporary history speaking out against a public measure to remove subsidies, which will further degrade the lives of Angolans," concluded David Sambongo.
Albino Pakisi, on the other hand, defended the need for the government to improve the quality of its spending, especially by "reducing perks," because, he noted, it makes no sense for the government to raise fuel prices while its members "live off subsidized fuel."
"[Government members] don't pay for fuel, they continue to enjoy superfluous perks, and the government continues to grow fat. In other words, our President of the Republic is incapable of following the dynamic of sacrifice he is imposing on the people, he is incapable of doing so," he criticized.
The philosopher and university professor also criticized President João Lourenço's trips abroad, which he said were "excessive and with large entourages," and, citing Novo Jornal, said that the head of state has already spent billion of dollars on travel.
"It's not possible in a country in crisis, like we are, to have the sympathy of the people," he lamented, even admitting social unrest due to the government's "insensitivity" to the people's suffering.
Living in Angola "is very difficult," and "the government must be sensitive."
"If we sacrifice ourselves, let it be all of us. Some cannot sacrifice themselves and others continue to live as if the country were not in crisis (...), there must be sensitivity to avoid greater evils," concluded Albino Pakisi.
