Archer Mangueira took the helm at Angola’s finance ministry in September 2016, following a stint as head of the country’s capital markets commission. He inherited an economy battered by the impact of lower oil prices. Shortages of foreign exchange (FX) and a backlog of FX purchase requests from commercial banks, fiscal and current account imbalances, limited opportunities for non-oil private sector growth and an official unemployment rate of 25% are just some of the difficulties facing Mr Mangueira’s ministry.
But it is not all bad news. The International Monetary Fund expects the Angolan economy to post a mild recovery in 2017, with preliminary figures indicating full-year growth of 1.1% as oil prices have improved. Meanwhile, the authorities are pushing ahead with several ambitious short-term reforms under a six-month package known as Plano Intercalar, with a focus on fiscal consolidation and exchange rate flexibility. Plano Intercalar will provide policy direction until the government unveils its 2018-22 National Development Plan, set for inauguration in early 2018.
