Public construction projects - Angola. A need to fortify the barriers against corruption

Abstract

Between early 2002 and 2009 the Angolan government invested around $30.4 billion in new infrastructure, hospitals, schools and other public construction projects. These investments have been extraordinarily large against the backdrop of the substantial destruction done to the country’s infrastructure during the 27-year civil war. As a yearly average, the reconstruction activities constitute around 10 per cent of GDP. The new infrastructure and public buildings are critically important for economic development. What we question in this brief is the degree to which the people and the government receive ‘value for money’ from these investments: What is the risk that some of these reconstruction investments disappear in corruption?