In one of his rare speeches in October last year, Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos said he expected the country's economy to grow 5.1% in 2013, well below the government’s target of more than 7%. To his audience of politicians, it was a signal that the oil-rich south-west African country had reached a turning point in its post-war development.
The former Portuguese colony was in a sorry state when it ended a bloody 27-year civil war in 2002. Much of its economy and infrastructure were destroyed and its health and education systems existed in name only.
