Angola
Angola is the second largest oil producer in Africa, after Nigeria. After the end of the civil war, which lasted from 1975 to 2002 with interruptions, the country's post-war oil provided an enormous economic upswing. Angola, however, relied to a large extent on its oil reserves for its economy, making the country dependent on oil exports. The falling of oil prices had a massive impact on the national budget. This once prosperous country entered into a recession. An economic crisis followed. This also revealed other problems: years of corruption, poorly managed public funds and political control over institutions.
In the meantime, the Angolan government has learned its lessons and is trying to diversify the country's economy - away from oil exports. For this to succeed, the state must expand its infrastructure, modernize the energy supply and improve the conditions for private investors.
Angola has progressively continued to include participatory management and decision-making in a variety of aspects of upgrading. Communities are gradually making their marks in social mobilisation, as can be seen in the Luanda Urban Poverty Programme which included a community management model for the water supply component. In this project, communities selected the site for water stand pipes and their Water Management Committee assumed overall responsibility for its operation and maintenance as well as setting user fees to meet the costs of maintenance and repairs. The PSUP will participate in Angola’s strategy by providing support and introducing innovative sustainable participatory planning models, tools, and principles.