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à OSISA supported the Forum of African Women Educators of the DRC (FAWE DRC) to help girls aged 10-13 understand and overcome the problems that hinder their academic performance and social development.
Justice and Human Rights
à The study on Congolese jurisprudence on interna- tional crimes has been finalised and published. It has been launched nationally (in Goma) and interna- tionally (in The Hague and New York). The launch in New York took place during the Assembly of States
Parties to the Rome Statute and was attended by His Excellency, the DRC Minister of Justice.
à The official launch of a platform called “Forum of Women for Natural Resources Governance”. The forum results from three years’ engagement by OSISA to build capacities of women regarding natural resources governance issues. Members of that platform are women from both the public and private sectors, including provincial MPs, journalists, non-governmental organisation (NGO) representa- tives, business sector and community members.
socio-economic conditions, coupled with increasing youth civic activism online and offline, required a response vastly different to that adopted by the MPLA for more than three decades.
Despite its efforts to normalise the political situation and achieve significant economic growth in the last ten years, the country has yet to move into a true political reconciliation and participation, a just, equitable and inclusive socio-economic society. Angola is still suffering from high levels of political intolerance, police repression, crime and violence, social and economic poverty and exclusion. The country also continues to suffer from ineffective and insufficient public service delivery.
Angola is rich in natural resources. It has various minerals, from diamonds and copper to fossil fuel (oil and gas). In the last two decades, oil extraction has taken pre- eminence over the other resources in the country. However, the volatility of the price of oil and minerals on the international market and the dependency on one commodity has exposed the country’s fragility. In the past decade, the nation’s economy has been heavily dependent on oil, contributing 45% to the GDP, over 95% of export revenue, and over 75% of government revenue.
The oil price shock has substantially reduced Angola’s fiscal revenue and exports. This situation created inefficiencies in the exchange market and resulted in inflation accelerating sharply, exposing the economic
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa Angola Report
Context
The period under review was marked by the third general election in Angola, which resulted in the overwhelming third consecutive victory of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Despite yet another victory of the MPLA, which has been in power since 1975, these elections represented a turning point in Angola’s political sphere following the retirement of the long-time President, José Eduardo dos Santos.
José Eduardo dos Santos had been in the position for 38 years. His retirement presented opportunities for a new beginning if the new head of state and government could take a reformist approach. The struggling economy and groundswell of public discontent regarding
OPEN SOCIETY INITIATIVE FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA – 2017 REPORT
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