Angola’s $17 b energy drive to help poor

Angola’s plans to invest more than $17 billion in electricity generation and distribution by 2016 are designed to increase social justice by giving low-income classes better access to energy, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said on Wednesday.Investment in energy will also help develop industry and create jobs, Dos Santos said in a campaign speech to tens of thousands of supporters of his MPLA party in Angola’s second-largest city, Huambo, ahead of an August 31 general election.“Increased supply of electricity is a factor of social justice which I consider of great importance, because it is the most needy in society, those who do not have resources to buy a generator, that are most harmed,” he added.A 27-year civil war that ended a decade ago devastated Angola, destroying most of its infrastructure, including energy plants and networks.Critics have accused Dos Santos, in power since 1979, of doing too little to fight poverty since winning the war against rebel group UNITA in Africa’s second-largest oil producer.The MPLA is widely expected to win the election - which will choose lawmakers and president - due to its superior resources. It has pledged to turn its attention to reducing poverty, which it says affected 39 percent of Angolans in 2009.Despite substantial investments in the sector since the end of the conflict, electricity service in unreliable throughout Angola. Consumers and businesses are forced to buy expensive generators because of long and regular outages.The president fired the energy minister in December, blaming her for the sector’s poor performance. Analysts say 30 percent of the population of around 18 million has access to electricity.