"Privatizations and PPPs will increase the attractiveness of the Angolan economy, which needs diversification and is heavily in debt", said Indira Campos at the Doing Business Angola conference, taking place this Tuesday in Lisbon organized by Jornal Económico and Forbes Africa.
For the representative of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's arm to help the private sector invest in developing countries, Angola is a country that is managing to attract foreign private capital, despite the difficulties and of constraints.
"It is necessary to diversify the economy, the State is very indebted, we already know that, and the government knows that it has to withdraw from the private sphere; this privatization program attracts capital to key sectors and is combined with a clear vision for those sectors" , said Indira Campos, adding that legislative changes are already noticeable in areas such as textiles and packaging, among others.
Asked what the main recommendations are, taking into account the experience of other countries where IFC is helping governments launch privatizations and PPPs, such as Egypt or Nigeria, Indira Campos said that the programs "have to be owned by the State and they have to be the result of a paradigm shift that has to be internal".
For the IFC representative, "it is unnecessary to impose processes on countries that are not prepared. Therefore, the first point is to have a commitment from the Government at the highest level, in addition to popular acceptance" of the program and the objectives it proposes. .
Indira Campos also defended that it is essential to have "transparency in the process, because no one wants to go to the game if the winner has already been found", and warned that "if this perception exists, it ends up undermining everything".
That is why, he added, the fact that the legislation prohibits direct adjustment in state assets that the Government wants to sell is a good procedure, as it shows that "Angola assumes its legacy and tries to avoid it".
IFC invested US$11.3 billion in the last fiscal year in 40 countries, is present in Angola and Portuguese-speaking Africa and intends to reinforce operations in these countries, said Indira Campos.
