Reforms of the Angolan budget process and public financial management: Was the crisis a wakeup call?

Abstract

This report deals with Angola’s budget process – in the wide sense – in the period between 2008 and 2010. Three concepts - transparency, accountability and efficiency - are used as central benchmarks against which various reforms are measured. The first part of the report shows how political events between 2008 and 2010 led to significant changes in institutions and had a major impact on Angola’s budget process and its methods of public financial management. At the end of 2010 Angola seemed as far as ever from settling on a close-knit governmental structure to design and implement its economic and financial policies. The second part shows that the global financial crisis had a serious impact on Angolan public finances as oil prices temporarily collapsed. The immediate consequence of this was the accumulation of US$ 9 billion in arrears in 2009 alone. The crisis exposed inherent weaknesses within the Angolan economy, and specifically the management of public finances. The third and last part analyses the current budget reforms and concludes by highlighting outstanding needs. The report recommends it is time for Angola to move from a haphazard approach to reconstruction to a transparent, accountable and efficient development paradigm.