Economic Growth
USAID/Angola's 2006-2009 Strategy Statement identified weak governance as a key source of fragility, because shortfalls in governance limit economic opportunity and access to basic services. This weakness is exacerbated by the limited and/or inadequate institutional, infrastructural, and human capacity faced by Angolan institutions, be they public sector, private non-extractive industry enterprises or NGOs. The lack of economic opportunity in Angola is the result of a number of factors. Clearly during the war, it was difficult for a conventional private sector to gain traction. Many of the legacies of the war will be difficult and time consuming to overcome. Among those that most affect economic opportunity are a poorly educated workforce, an unfriendly policy environment, weak contract security, and costly levels of corruption. Further contributing to the lack of economic opportunity are the policy and other distortions created by easy and ample availability of oil and diamond revenues. Government inability to meet the basic needs of many of its people, combined with other factors such as lack of economic opportunity, rapid urbanization, and large numbers of youth without work, education, or services contribute to fragility.
USAID's Economic Opportunity strategic objective is part of an integrated program that seeks impact at the people level, over the short-term, to relieve the immediate sources of fragility; and impact on systemic reform, over the longer-term, to transform fragility to stability. To facilitate people-level impact, USAID provides assistance at the community level of governance; to facilitate systemic reform, USAID supports efforts at the central level of governance. To the extent possible, because it is critical to both the people-level and the systemic reform efforts, USAID seeks to fortify the bridge between the community and the central level of governance by strengthening systems at the provincial and municipal levels of governance as well. In this and the other two strategic objectives, key actors include the Government, civil society, and the private sector. Some economic growth resources are cross programmed in the municipal development program of the governance reform strategic objective.
USAID supports initiatives to strengthen economic governance by fostering an enabling environment conducive to broad-based economic growth. The program aims to increase access to and productive use of resources such as finance and property rights to directly benefit micro, small and medium enterprises in rural and urban areas. Program activities include technical assistance and training to build institutional capacity, facilitating the availability of financial services to entrepreneurs, and encouraging productive uses of financial resources through property and land rights.
USAID support is building the capacity of the Ministry of Finance to manage the national budget in a more effective and transparent way. In addition, USAID resources have enabled a local university economic think tank to play an increasingly more active role in suggesting policy alternatives and strengthening the voice of civil society in public-private sector dialogue on issues of national concern. To the extent resources allow, USAID also provides technical assistance to support increased transparency and accountability in the financial sector. At the micro-level, USAID is working to expand the range and diversity of credit and other financial products and services available to Angolans. USAID also seeks to create greater business opportunities and capabilities of small and medium scale farmers, and related entrepreneurs through the promotion of a commercially and financially viable commodity value chain. Subject to the availability of funds, USAID is placing a special emphasis on promoting youth entrepreneurship and vocational education.
