Freight industry watches Angola with concern

Growing unrest in Angola has impacted freight – with some analysts seeing it as potentially the first of the southern African states to catch the political contagion from North Africa. Earlier in March, an anonymous group set up a website calling for an end to the 32-year rule of President José Eduardo dos Santos. What has raised fears of a renewed civil war is the call for “a new revolution of the Angolan people”. The Australian government has issued a travel advisory warning its citizens not to visit the country. “We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in Angola due to the risk of civil unrest and criminal violence in many parts of the country,” it says. The campaign has gone from the Cyber world to the streets, with 17 people being arrested at the start of a demonstration in Independence Square in the capital, Luanda. However, transport operators based in Namibia say tension is growing on the ground in the south of the country – which is the de facto gateway to Angola due to delays in the ports. Despite its oil and diamond deposits, as well as its agricultural potential, some 75% of Angolans live in poverty, with the country seen as being one of the most corrupt in Africa. With poverty now driving civil discontent, the Angolan boom could stall – which will have a knock-on effect for the port of Walvis Bay, and transporters carrying goods from South Africa and Namibia into Angola.