Sustainability impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession : final report.
Date: 2023-05-30
Institutions: Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security
Subjects: Angola, case study, economic consequence, economic cooperation, environmental impact, free-trade agreement, human rights, impact study, negotiation of an agreement (EU), social impact, sustainable development, trade agreement (EU)

Sustainability Impact 
assessment (SIA) in support 
of trade negotiations with 
Angola for EU-SADC EPA 
accession 

Final Report 

December 2021 

Prepared by BKP Economic Advisors 

The views expressed in the report are those of the consultant,  
and do not present an official view of the European Commission. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Trade 
Directorate C — Africa, Caribbean and Pacific, Asia (II), Trade and Sustainable Development, Green Deal 
Unit C1 – African, Caribbean and Pacific, Overseas Countries and Territories 

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Sustainability Impact 
assessment (SIA) in support 
of trade negotiations with 
Angola for EU-SADC EPA 
accession 

Final Report 

December 2021 

The  information  and  views  set  out  in  this  report  are  those  of  the  authors  and  do  not  necessarily 
reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of 
the data included in this study. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s 
behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained herein. 

2021 

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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021 

ISBN 978-92-76-47652-8 
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Sustainability Impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

ABSTRACT 

The European Commission has commissioned a Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) in 
support  of  negotiations  with  Angola  to  accede  to  the  EU-SADC  Economic  Partnership 
Agreement  (EPA).  The  SIA  analyses  the  potential  economic,  social,  human  rights  and 
environmental impacts  of Angola’s accession to the EPA, as well as the  institutional and 
administrative  capacity  of  Angola  to  implement  the  EPA,  thereby  supporting  the 
negotiations.  In  parallel,  negotiations  for  a  separate  Angola-EU  Sustainable  Investment 
Facilitation Agreement (SIFA) are also planned, the impacts of which are also considered 
in the SIA. The present report summarises the main findings and recommendations of the 
research  undertaken.  The  overall  expected  impact  of  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  is 
assessed as limited but positive in the short term, but substantially larger and positive in 
the longer term. The longer-term impact of the SIFA is potentially even stronger (and also 
positive).  The  SIFA  and  accession  to  the  EPA  are  clearly  complementary.  For  Angola  to 
fully benefit from the agreements, assistance by the EU (and/or EU Member States) will 
be  required,  as  well  as  a  commitment  by  the  Angolan  Government  to  put  in  place  the 
necessary  measures  that  will  enable  businesses  to  enhance  their  competitiveness  and 
produce not only for the EU export market but also for the domestic and regional markets, 
and do so in a sustainable and inclusive manner. 

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Sustainability Impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

LIST OF BOXES, TABLES AND FIGURES ................................................................................ VII 

ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................................... VIII 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... IX 

1 

2 

INTRODUCTION – STUDY CONTEXT AND SCOPE ............................................................... 1 

CONTEXT OF THE NEGOTIATIONS ................................................................................... 2 

2.1 

Angola’s Current Economic Situation ...................................................................... 2 

2.2  Regional Context in Southern Africa ....................................................................... 3 

2.3 

EU-Angola Trade and Investment .......................................................................... 3 

2.4  Overview of the Existing EU-SADC EPA ................................................................... 6 

2.5  Objectives and Scope of EPA Accession and SIFA Negotiations .................................. 7 

3 

STUDY METHODOLOGY AND TOOLS ................................................................................ 9 

3.1 

Analytical Approaches .......................................................................................... 9 
3.1.1  Economic Impact Analysis ......................................................................................... 9 
3.1.2  Social and Gender Impact Analysis ........................................................................... 10 
3.1.3  Analysis of Impacts on Human Rights ....................................................................... 11 
3.1.4  Environmental Impact Analysis ................................................................................ 12 
3.1.5  Assessment of Administrative Capacities ................................................................... 13 

3.2  Consultations .................................................................................................... 13 

4 

RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS ......................................................................................... 14 

4.1 

4.2 

Economic Sustainability of Angola’s Participation in the EPA .................................... 14 
Impact on Tariff Changes on Trade Flows .................................................................. 14 
4.1.1 
4.1.2 
Impact of Non-Tariff Measures on Trade ................................................................... 18 
4.1.3  Wider Economic Impacts on Angola .......................................................................... 20 
Impact on Regional Integration ................................................................................ 29 
4.1.4 
Impact on EU Outermost Regions ............................................................................. 31 
4.1.5 

Social Sustainability of Angola’s Participation in the EPA ......................................... 32 
4.2.1  Employment effects ................................................................................................ 32 
4.2.2  Effects for informal employment .............................................................................. 35 
4.2.3 
Impacts on poverty levels and for consumers ............................................................ 36 
4.2.4  Labour standards and working conditions .................................................................. 38 
4.2.5  Civil society participation ........................................................................................ 44 
4.2.6  Effects for women .................................................................................................. 46 
4.2.7  Corporate Social Responsibility/Responsible Business Conduct practices ....................... 48 

4.3  Human Rights Impact of Angola’s Participation in the EPA ....................................... 50 
4.3.1  Right to own property ............................................................................................. 51 
4.3.2  Right to adequate food ........................................................................................... 54 

4.4 

Environmental Sustainability of Angola’s Participation in the EPA ............................. 57 
Impact on climate change ....................................................................................... 57 
4.4.1 
Impact on air quality .............................................................................................. 60 
4.4.2 
Impact on use of energy ......................................................................................... 61 
4.4.3 
Impact on water quality and resources ..................................................................... 62 
4.4.4 
Impact on land use and soil quality .......................................................................... 64 
4.4.5 
4.4.6 
Impact on waste and waste management ................................................................. 64 
4.4.7  Biodiversity impact ................................................................................................. 65 
Impact on ecosystem services and protected areas .................................................... 67 
4.4.8 
Impact of the EPA TSD Chapter ............................................................................... 68 
4.4.9 

4.5 

Angola’s Administrative Capacity for EPA Implementation ....................................... 69 
4.5.1  Tariffs, quantitative restrictions and TRQs ................................................................. 69 
4.5.2  SPS and TBT measures ........................................................................................... 70 
4.5.3  Customs control ..................................................................................................... 71 
4.5.4  Trade facilitation .................................................................................................... 71 
4.5.5  Trade defence ........................................................................................................ 72 

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Sustainability Impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

4.5.6  Structures and overall capacity of institutions ............................................................ 73 

5 

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................... 74 

5.1  Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 74 

5.2  Recommendations for Negotiations ...................................................................... 78 

5.3  Recommendations for Support and Flanking Measures, including Technical Assistance 79 

REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 83 

ANNEXES 

Annex A: Consultations report 

Annex B: Case studies 

Annex B.1: Impact of Angola’s Accession to the EPA on the Fishery Sector 
Annex B.2: Impact of Angola’s Accession to the EPA on Agrifood Value Chains 
Annex B.3: Impact of Angola’s Accession to the EPA on Biodiversity and Deforestation 
Annex B.4: Impact of Angola’s Accession to the EPA on Child Labour and Children’s Rights 

Annex C: Background Analysis for Economic Impact Assessment 

Annex D: Background Analysis for Social, Labour & Gender Impact Assessment 

Annex D.1: Baseline for Social Impact Analysis 
Annex D.2: Baseline for Gender Impact Analysis 

Annex E: Background Analysis for Human Rights Impact Assessment 

Annex F: Background Analysis for Environmental Impact Assessment 

Annex G: Background Analysis for Administrative Capacity Assessment 

LIST OF BOXES, TABLES AND FIGURES 

Boxes 

Box 1: Structure of the EU-SADC EPA ...................................................................................................... 7 
Box 2: Proposed structure and scope of SIFA ............................................................................................ 8 
Box 3: An example of post-EPA accession technical assistance: Promove Comércio in Mozambique ................ 27 

Tables 

Table 1: EU imports from Angola, by preference eligibility and preference use, 2017-2020 ............................. 5 
Table 2: Impact of tariff liberalisation on trade flows (€ million and %) ...................................................... 14 
Table 3: Impact of tariff liberalisation on Angola’s imports from the EU, by type of product .......................... 15 
Table 4: Impact of tariff liberalisation on Angola’s imports from the EU, selected sectors .............................. 15 
Table 5: Impact of tariff liberalisation on Angola’s exports to the EU, by product ......................................... 17 
Table 6: Comparison of cumulation rules in the GSP and EPA rules of origin ................................................ 19 
Table 7: Impact of EPA accession on Angola’s imports of selected products targeted by PRODESI (€ million) .. 22 
Table 8: Impact of EPA membership on Angola’s tariff revenues and border tax collection (changes compared to 
baseline) .................................................................................................................................... 29 

Figures 

Figure 1: Angola’s exports by sector, 2019-2020 (USD million) ................................................................... 2 
Figure 2: Angola’s goods trade with the EU ............................................................................................... 4 
Figure 3: EU-Angola trade in services, 2011-2019 (€ million) ...................................................................... 6 
Figure 4: EU FDI flows to and from Angola, 2013-2019 (€ million) ............................................................... 6 

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Sustainability Impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

ACRONYMS 

IUCN 

JUCE 
LDC 
LGBTI 

International Union for Conservation of 
Nature  
Janela Única do Comércio Externo 
Least Developed Country 
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and 
Intersex 
Lower Middle Income Country 
LMIC 
Multilateral Environmental Agreement 
MEA 
Ministério da Economia e Planeamento 
MEP 
MFN 
Most-Favoured Nation 
MINAGRIP  Ministério da Agricultura e Pescas 
MINDCOM  Ministério da Indústria e Comércio 
MSMEs 
MSW 
MW 
NBSAP 

Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 
Municipal Solid Waste 
Megawatt 
National Biodiversity Strategy and Action 
Plan 
Nationally Determined Contributions 
Non-Governmental Organisation 
Non-Tariff Measure 
Organisation for Economic Cooperation 
and Development 
Office of the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Human Rights 
Outermost Region 
Partial Equilibrium 
Particulate Matter 
Programa Nacional de Qualidade 
Ambiental 
Programa de Apoio à Produção, à 
Diversificação das Exportações e 
Substituição de Importações 
Responsible Business Conduct 
Rules of Origin 
Rest of the World 
Southern African Customs Union 
Southern African Development Community 
Sustainable Development Goals 
Sustainability Impact Assessment 
Sustainable Investment Facilitation 
Agreement 
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 
Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary 
Technical Barriers to Trade 
Trade Facilitation Agreement 
Terms of Reference 
Trade-Related Facility 
Tariff Rate Quota 
Trade and Sustainable Development 
Universidade Católica de Angola 
Universal Declaration on Human Rights 
United Nations 
United Nations Convention on the Law of 
the Sea 
United Nations Conference on Trade and 
Development 
United Nations Environmental Programme 
United Nations Framework Convention on 
Climate Change 
United States Dollar 
Value Added Tax 
World Food Programme 
World Health Organisation 
World Trade Organisation 

NDCs 
NGO 
NTM 
OECD 

OHCHR 

OR 
PE 
PM 
PNQA 

PRODESI 

RBC 
RoO 
ROW 
SACU 
SADC 
SDGs 
SIA 
SIFA 

SMEs 
SPS 
TBT 
TFA 
ToR 
TRF 
TRQ 
TSD 
UCAN 
UDHR 
UN 
UNCLOS 

UNCTAD 

UNEP 
UNFCCC 

USD 
VAT 
WFP 
WHO 
WTO 

Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability and 
Quality 
African, Caribbean and Pacific 
Authorised Economic Operator 
African Continental Free Trade Area 
Administração Geral Tributária 
Agência de Investimento Privado e 
Promoção das Exportações 
Agência Reguladora de Certificação de 
Carga e Logística de Angola 
Business As Usual 
Banco Nacional de Angola 
Convention on Biological Diversity 
Câmara dos Despachantes Oficiais de 
Angola 
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms 
of Discrimination against Women 
Computable General Equilibrium 
Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 
Flora 
Comité Nacional da Facilitação do 
Comércio 
Carbon Dioxide 
Civil Society Dialogue 
Corporate Social Responsibility 
Duty Free, Quota Free 
Directorate-General 
Democratic Republic 
East African Community 
Everything But Arms 
European Development Fund 
European Economic and Social Committee 
Estratégia Nacional de Segurança 
Alimentar e Nutricional de Angola 
European Parliament 
Economic Partnership Agreement 
European Union 
Euro 
Environmental Vulnerability Index 
Foreign Direct Investment 
Free, Prior and Informed Consent 
Free Trade Agreement 
Global Competitiveness Index 
Gross Domestic Product 
Greenhouse Gas 
Generalised Scheme of Preferences 
Global Trade Analysis Project 
Harmonised System 
International Convention on the 
Elimination of All Forms of Racial 
Discrimination 
International Covenant on Economic, 
Social, and Cultural Rights 
Investment Facilitation Agreement 
Investment Facilitation Index 
International Labour Organisation 
Instituto Nacional de Controlo de 
Qualidade da Indústria e Comércio 
Intended Nationally Determined 
Contributions 
International Plant Protection Convention 
International Trade Centre 

AAAQ 

ACP 
AEO 
AfCFTA 
AGT 
AIPEX 

ARCCLA 

BAU 
BNA 
CBD 
CDOA 

CEDAW 

CGE 
CITES 

CNFC 

CO2 
CSD 
CSR 
DFQF 
DG 
DR 
EAC 
EBA 
EDF 
EESC 
ENSAN 

EP 
EPA 
EU 
EUR 
EVI 
FDI 
FPIC 
FTA 
GCI 
GDP 
GHG 
GSP 
GTAP 
HS 
ICERD 

ICESCR 

IFA 
IFI 
ILO 
INACOQ 

INDC 

IPPC 
ITC 

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Sustainability Impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final Report 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

1. 
The  European  Commission  has  commissioned  a  Sustainability  Impact  Assessment 
(SIA)  in  support  of  negotiations  with  Angola  on  the  latter’s  accession  to  the  Economic 
Partnership  Agreement  (EPA)  between  the  EU  and  Southern  African  Development 
Community  (SADC).  The  negotiations  are  expected  to  be  launched  in  2021,  following 
Angola’s request for accession made in February 2020. Negotiations for a separate Angola-
EU Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (SIFA) were also launched in June 2021, 
the impacts of which are also considered in the SIA. 

2. 
SIAs  are  integrated,  independent,  evidence-based,  transparent,  participatory,  and 
proportionate studies and have two main elements. First, they provide a robust analysis 
of the potential economic, social, human rights and environmental impacts that 
the  trade  agreement  under  negotiation  could  have  in  the  EU,  in  the  partner  country  or 
countries,  and  in  other  relevant  countries  or  specific  regions.  Second,  they  comprise  a 
continuous and wide-ranging consultation process aimed at ensuring a high degree of 
transparency and the engagement of all relevant stakeholders in the conduct of the SIA 
inside and outside the EU. 

3. 
Ultimately,  the  aim  of  the  SIA  is  to  assist  the  European  Commission  and  the 
Government of Angola to structure the negotiations on Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC 
EPA, the negotiations on the SIFA, and complementary technical assistance in such a way 
that  these  three  elements,  considered  by  the  EU  as  a  package,  maximise  the  mutual 
benefits for the EU and Angola in an inclusive and sustainable manner. 

Context 

4. 
The  EU-SADC  EPA  is  a  trade  agreement  signed  in  2016  between  the  EU  and  six 
SADC countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa (Southern African 
Customs Union - SACU countries), and Mozambique. Under the EPA, the EU has provided 
duty-free, quota-free access to imports from SADC EPA countries (with some exceptions 
for South Africa) since the first day of the EPA’s application, while SADC EPA countries are 
progressively liberalising access to their markets for imports from the EU. 

5. 
Although Angola participated in the original negotiations of the EPA, it eventually did 
not sign the Agreement.  However, the accession of Angola at a later  stage was already 
foreseen in the EPA. 

6. 
Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC EPA aims at addressing a number of Angolan 
and EU policy objectives. For Angola, preferential market access to the EU for non-oil goods 
under  an  EPA  is  expected  to  contribute  to  the  much-needed  diversification  away  from 
mineral fuels and diamonds. In this  regard, the accession to the EPA  would ensure that 
Angola does not lose some of the preferential access to the EU market which its exports 
currently enjoy under the EU preferential trade scheme Everything but Arms (EBA). The 
EPA would provide predictable and stable preferential market access to the EU market. For 
the EU, Angola’s liberalisation under the EPA would likewise ensure predictable and stable 
preferential market access, and enhance the transparency of trade rules. The EU already 
is  an  important  supplier  for  Angola  of  machinery  and  inputs  used  by  Angolan  firms. 
Reducing import tariffs on these goods under the EPA could enhance the competitiveness 
of  Angolan  firms.  Finally,  accession  to  the  EPA  (as  well  as  Angola’s  membership  in  the 
SADC Trade  Protocol)  could facilitate  regional  economic integration between Angola and 
the other SADC countries, with EPA rules of origin allowing for regional cumulation. 

large 
To  be  successful,  Angola’s  economic  diversification  project  requires 
7. 
investments. With investment issues currently not covered in the EU-SADC EPA, the SIFA 
with the EU could attract further investment in Angola, especially by small and medium-
sized  businesses  and  in  the  non-oil  sector,  contributing  to  Angola’s  economic 

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Final report 

diversification.  The  objectives  of  the  SIFA  would  be  to  enhance  the  transparency  and 
predictability of investment conditions for all investors, as well as enhancing the investment 
framework  through  cooperation.  The  SIFA  would  not  cover  investment  liberalisation, 
investor protection, or investor-state dispute settlement. 

Methodology 

8. 
The  economic  impact  analysis  is  based  on  a  combination  of  quantitative  and 
qualitative  assessment  techniques.  It  covers  six  sets  of  issues:  a  descriptive  analysis  of 
trade,  services  and  investment  flows;  an  economic  impact  analysis  based  on  a  partial 
equilibrium  model  simulation  undertaken  by  the  European  Commission’s  DG  TRADE, 
complemented with own analysis; an analysis of the links between EPA accession and non-
tariff measures (NTMs); an assessment of possible effects of EPA accession and the SIFA 
on  governance,  the  business  environment  and  the  investment  climate  in  Angola;  an 
analysis of impacts on regional integration in Southern Africa; and an assessment  of the 
impact on the EU’s outermost regions. 

The social analysis seeks to respond to the question of how Angola’s accession to 
9. 
the  EPA  could  affect  a  range  of  social  issues  in  Angola.  For  each  of  the  following  social 
issues we first analyse the current situation in Angola, then the expected impacts, based 
on  the  EPA  text  and  estimated  economic  impacts,  and  conclude  by  suggesting  policy 
recommendations  and  flanking  measures:  employment  levels,  women  (as  workers, 
entrepreneurs,  traders  and  consumers),  consumer  welfare  (including  inequality  and 
vulnerable groups), job quality and rights at work, corporate social responsibility (CSR), 
and public policies (e.g. social protection, healthcare and education). 

10.  The  human  rights  analysis  looks  at  how  the  EU-SADC  EPA  could  affect  the 
enjoyment of and state’s responsibilities regarding human rights in Angola. Based on an 
established  methodology  for  human  rights  impact  assessments  (European  Commission 
2015; De Schutter 2011), we provide a concise description of the human rights baseline 
in Angola, covering the country’s international human rights obligations and pre-existing 
conditions of stress or vulnerability. Second, we carry out a screening and scoping exercise 
to identify specific key human rights/issues that could be most affected by the EPA. Third, 
we carry out a detailed assessment (quantitative and qualitative) of these potentially most 
affected rights, before deriving policy recommendations and relevant flanking measures. 

11.  The  environmental  analysis  includes  the  following  environmental  impact 
dimensions: (1) Climate change; (2) Air quality; (3) Use of energy; (4) Water quality and 
resources;  (5)  Land  use  and  soil  quality;  (6)  Waste  and  waste  management;  (7) 
Biodiversity;  and  (8)  Ecosystem  services  and  protected  areas.  The  analytical  process 
follows the same stages as the human rights analysis: baseline description; screening and 
scoping; in-depth analysis; and recommendations. 

12.  This SIA also comprises an assessment of the administrative capacity in Angola 
to implement the EPA.  Based primarily  on consultations in Angola, this  is undertaken in 
three steps: after an identification of the institutions that may have a direct and indirect 
intervention  in  the  management  and  implementation  of  trade  agreements,  their 
administrative capacity constraints and the underlying explanations is determined, before 
the consequences for EPA implementation are assessed and recommendations, including 
on suggested technical assistance, are developed. 

13.  Complementing  the  overall  analysis,  four  case  studies  have  been  prepared, 
providing more detail on specific topics respectively  sectors.  The selection criteria  were, 
first, the magnitude of the EPA’s expected impact on the sector or issue, and second, the 
importance  of  the  issue  or  sector/value  chain  as  seen  by  stakeholders  and  from  a 
negotiating  perspective.  Based  on  these  selection  criteria,  the  four  studies  address  the 
EPA’s  impact  on  the  Angolan  (1)  fishery  sector  and  (2)  agri-food  value  chains,  on  (3) 

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deforestation  and  biodiversity,  and  on  (4)  the  potential  implications  on  child  labour  and 
children’s rights. 

14.  Consultations  with  stakeholder  served  to  reflect  their  experience,  priorities  and 
concerns, helped identify priority areas and key issues relating to the possible economic, 
social, environmental and human rights impacts in the negotiations, and to contribute to 
the transparency of the SIA analysis. The consultation plan was based on four pillars: first, 
targeted consultation activities, in particular a workshop in Luanda, an online survey, and 
interviews with stakeholders in Angola, the EU and SADC; second, meetings with EU civil 
society;  third,  meetings  with  EU  institutions;  and  finally  digital  engagement  with 
stakeholders in general, through the SIA website and electronic communication channels. 

Findings and conclusions of the analysis 

15.  Overall, the expected impact of Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC EPA is assessed 
as limited but positive in the short term, but substantially larger and positive in the longer 
term. The longer-term impact of the SIFA is potentially even stronger (and also positive) 
than the EPA impact. The SIFA and accession to the EPA are clearly complementary. For 
Angola  to  fully  benefit  from  the  accession  to  the  EPA,  assistance  by  the  EU  (and/or  EU 
Member States) will be required, as well as a commitment by the Angolan Government to 
put  in  place  the  necessary  measures  that  will  enable  businesses  to  enhance  their 
competitiveness and produce not only for the EU export market but also for the domestic 
and regional markets, and do so in a sustainable and inclusive manner. 

16.  A  quantitative  assessment  of  the  economic  impact  could  be  made  only  for  the 
short-term effects arising from the tariff changes associated with Angola’s accession to the 
EPA. Although this analysis tends to undervalue the gains from the EPA for a number of 
methodological  reasons,  it  shows  a  net  positive  (if  limited)  impact  for  Angola:  Angola’s 
exports  as  an  EPA  member  are  estimated  to  be  higher  by  €14.3  million  (€14.5  million 
higher  to  the  EU  and  €0.2  million  lower  to  other  markets)  than  in  the  counterfactual 
situation. It means that Angola will export (excluding mineral fuels and diamonds) about 
one  quarter  (26.5%)  more  to  the  EU  under  the  EPA  than  as  a  GSP  beneficiary  country. 
Accession  to  the  EPA  will  also  contribute  to  export  diversification.  Angola’s  imports  will 
increase  more  than  exports,  between  €596  million  and  €693  million  (6.1%  to  7.1%  of 
current total imports), depending on the degree of tariff liberalisation granted to imports 
from  the  EU.  However,  with  very  few  exceptions  –  which  can  be  addressed  through 
Angola’s exclusion list – the increased imports from the EU do not compete with domestic 
production  in  Angola.  Rather,  with  a  considerable  share  of  imports  from  the  EU  being 
intermediates, their increased import leads to higher productivity and competitiveness of 
Angolan  businesses.  Angola’s  government  revenues  are  estimated  to  decrease  by  up  to 
€300 million as a result of tariff cuts, equivalent to about 1.8% of the 2019 government 
budget.  This  reduction  in  government  revenues  would  be  phased  in  over  the  transition 
period  (the  length  of  which  is  to  be  negotiated),  providing  the  time  to  take  fiscal 
countermeasures. Accession to the EU-SADC EPA would also develop Angola’s trade with 
other SADC EPA states as a result of the regional preferences clause. Under this clause, 
Angola would grant the other SADC EPA states the same preferences that it grants to the 
EU, and would benefit from the same preferences that the SADC EPA states have granted 
to the EU. 

17.  Longer-term  effects  stemming  from  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  (as  well  as  the 
SIFA) are estimated to be positive and substantially larger than the short-term effects, but 
cannot be quantified. The EPA’s and SIFA’s focus on investment facilitation, transparency 
and predictability of rules are expected to substantially strengthen the investment climate 
and more broadly the business environment. This is expected to foster private investment, 
which in turn is  expected to enhance productivity and hence the competitiveness of the 
Angolan economy overall – and ultimately GDP. With investments expected to be facilitated 
in particular in non-mineral fuels sectors, they will also contribute to further economic and 

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export diversification. The positive developments are also expected to partially compensate 
the negative tariff revenue effects through increased collection of domestic taxes. Longer-
term benefits could stem from favourable rules of origin in the EPA, which facilitate Angola’s 
insertion  into  regional  value  chains.  Also,  although  the  EPA  does  not  address  African 
regional integration beyond SADC, diagonal cumulation under the EPA rules of origin would 
in principle allow the coverage of African value chains involving most African countries. 

18.  Given the modest short-term economic impacts, social impacts in the short run are 
also  expected  to  be  limited,  but  somewhat  stronger  in  the  longer  term,  and  on  balance 
positive.  Employment  effects  in  export-oriented  sectors  as  well  as  in  retail  trade  are 
positive already in the short term, but are limited by the small size of exporting sectors, 
respectively by the anticipated concentration of areas where EU imports are marketed in 
the main cities. In import-competing sectors, some jobs could be put at risk, but this risk 
can be mitigated by a corresponding designation of sensitive and excluded goods in the 
accession agreement. The impact  on  women depends on the specific  sector and type of 
economic activity in which women are engaged; as there is no clear pattern with regard to 
the  employment  of  women  in  benefitting  sectors  or  those  that  could  come  under  stress 
because  of the EPA, there is no indication that the EPA’s impact  on  women  would  differ 
from  the  overall  employment  effects.  The  impact  on  informality  is  also  expected  to  be 
limited, but the analysis has been hampered by the lack of robust and reliable data. The 
estimated effects of Angola’s accession to EPA for consumers are positive, with an overall 
increase  in  availability  and  diversity  of  imported  EU  consumer  goods,  as  well  as  the 
potential for better-quality and safe products to be manufactured in Angola, including for 
the  domestic  market.  Impacts  for  welfare  and  poverty  levels  also  seem  to  be  positive, 
although limited.  

19.  With respect to labour rights and working conditions, the conclusions are as follows: 
No  short-term  effects  for  child  labour  are  expected,  as  this  occurs  in  segments  of  the 
Angolan economy that are not impacted on by the EPA. In the longer-term, there could be 
indirect positive effects, including job creation and income generation for adult household 
members  which  may  decrease  the  need  for  child  labour.  Accession  to  the  EPA  is  not 
expected to impact trade in most sectors where forced labour has been reported. Given 
the  anticipated  limited  impact  of  the  EPA  on  Angola’s  labour  market  and  the  lack  of  a 
specialised  Trade  and  Sustainable  Development  (TSD)  Committee  under  the  EPA  (and 
therefore a lower likelihood of a continuous policy dialogue addressing labour standards), 
accession to the EPA is not likely to bring about a change in the situation of trade unions 
or,  more  broadly,  freedom  of  association  in  Angola.  Similarly,  impacts  on  non-
discrimination  at  work  are  expected  to  be  limited.  Any  effects  regarding  civil  society 
participation will depend on the implementation practice at the time of accession. These, 
however, may also be limited given that the EPA does not include a mechanism of dialogue 
or consultation with civil society. Finally, because Angolan exports to the EU are expected 
to be higher under the EPA than under the GSP, CSR/responsible business conduct (RBC) 
practices and their contribution to sustainable development will be fostered. Moreover, the 
EU’s  text  proposal  for  SIFA  includes  provisions  related  to  investment  and  sustainable 
development  as  well  as  on  dialogue  with  the  civil  society  which,  if  kept  in  the  final 
negotiated  text,  are  expected  to  have  a  positive  effect  on  the  respect  for  international 
labour (and environmental) standards, labour inspection, gender equality, and encouraging 
the application of CSR/RBC practices in Angola. 

20.  Based on a screening and scoping analysis undertaken, the EPA’s potential  impact 
on  the  enjoyment  of  human  rights  in  Angola  is,  overall,  limited.  A  more  detailed 
analysis  of  two  potentially  more  affected  rights  has  been  undertaken.  This  analysis 
suggests that the Angola’s accession to the EPA is not expected to have a significant impact 
on  the  right  to  own  property  overall.  Indirect  effects  could  occur  via  changes  in  sector 
output  in  agriculture.  Considering  existing  implementation  weaknesses,  it  cannot  be 
excluded that the EPA or the SIFA contribute to the overall pressure on land rights in some 

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regions in the country and might play a minor role in affecting the right to own property of 
local communities. 

21.  The right to food is likely to be impacted positively overall: imports of high-quality 
EU food products are expected to increase, allowing Angolan consumers access to high-
quality  food.  Lower  prices  due  to  increased  competition  from  EU  food  products  entering 
the market could also result, assuming sufficient competition in the distribution services 
sector.  Domestic  food  production  is  not  expected  to  be  diverted  by  increased  exports. 
However,  the  right  to  food  of  local  communities  could  be  affected  less  favourably  as  a 
result of agricultural investments that might be triggered by the EPA and by the SIFA. 

22.  Similar  to  the  other  impact  dimensions,  the  environmental  impact  of  Angola’s 
accession  is  expected  to  be  limited.  For  example,  anticipated  effects  on  ecosystems 
services, energy consumption, water availability and quality, air quality, and biodiversity 
are marginal or negligible. The direct effects on Angola’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 
and climate change in general, are also expected to be limited: some positive effects would 
stem from the EPA’s contribution towards diversifying Angola’s economy away from oil, but 
potential increases in agri-food production could have a mixed effect on GHG emissions, 
including through potential land use change (deforestation for agricultural export-oriented 
production purposes). Given the EPA provisions on environmental sustainability in the TSD 
chapter,  Angola  would  be  encouraged  to  pursue  effective  implementation  of  the 
multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) which the country has already ratified. In 
addition, although not a legal requirement under the EPA, for reasons of policy coherence 
membership in the EPA would also encourage Angola’s ratification of those trade-related 
MEAs which it has not yet ratified. 

23.  With regard to Angola’s administrative capacity for EPA implementation, some 
areas,  such  as  the  implementation  of  tariff  preferences,  would  pose  no  implementation 
challenges. However, in a number of other areas, administrative capacity constraints have 
been identified: Although Angola’s customs operations are overall well advanced, capacity 
constraints appear to exist with respect to origin verification (as Angola does not, so far, 
operate  any  preferential  trade  arrangements),  risk-based  operations,  and  customs 
automation.  Also,  challenges  have  been  faced  in  the  implementation  of  the  electronic 
Single  Window  for  trade.  In  addition,  no  administrative  capacity  for  implementing  trade 
defence instruments in  line with international (WTO)  requirements presently exists, and 
efforts at establishing trade defence institutions have not yet been successful. 

24.  The  country’s  quality  infrastructure  (comprising  both  sanitary  and  phytosanitary, 
SPS,  matters  and  technical  barriers  to  trade,  TBT)  is  underdeveloped  in  all  respects.  It 
neither  allows  an  effective  control  of  imports,  ensuring  human,  animal  and  plant  safety 
against  imported  pests  and  sub-standard  quality  products,  nor  does  it  provide 
internationally accredited conformity assessment services that potential exporters of many 
goods, especially agricultural products, would require to access foreign markets. 

Recommendations 

25.  The  scope  of  negotiations  on  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  is  relatively  limited. 
Nevertheless, a number of recommendations for negotiations are put forward: 

•  The  Angolan  government  should  carefully  consider  which  goods  to  exclude  from  its 
market  access  offer,  and  for  which  goods  to  request  transition  periods  for  tariff 
reductions. Government revenue considerations and limiting import competition for key 
domestic sectors should guide these considerations. 

•  Considering the absence  of any implementation experience with quotas and TRQs in 
Angola, as well as economic efficiency considerations, it is recommended that as part 
of its accession package to the EPA Angola commits not to use such instruments. 

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•  Angola and the EU should discuss priority areas for technical assistance and support 
already  during  the  accession  negotiations.  Suggested  priorities  for  assistance  are 
mentioned below. 

•  To highlight the importance of environmental issues, considering the European Green 
Deal and the need for EU trade policy to align with it, Angola and the EU should consider 
engaging  in  regular  discussions  on  sustainability  matters  to  avoid  or  mitigate  any 
potential negative environmental effects of trade under the EPA. 

26.  With respect to the SIFA negotiations, the following is recommended: 

•  The use of soft provisions in the SIFA should be minimised as much as possible. This 
may  require  that  the  EU  agrees  to  binding  commitments  for  technical  assistance  to 
ensure the “practicability” of certain measures mentioned in the SIFA. 

•  Angola and the EU should aim at including strong enforceable provisions on investment 
and sustainable development, as currently foreseen in the EU text proposal for Chapter 
V.  

•  The responsibility by the Parties to respect human rights should be included, e.g. in the 
Preamble. An explicit reference to legitimate tenure and protecting property and land 
rights in Article 5.6 could be considered. 

27.  To ensure that the potential benefits offered by the EPA and the SIFA are actually 
reaped,  and  that  the  potential  challenges  and  costs  are  minimised,  the  following 
recommendations for flanking measures are proposed: 

•  To mitigate the government revenue effects, the Angolan Government should, during 
the  transition  period  in  which  tariffs  are  gradually  reduced,  develop  and  implement 
fiscal  measures.  The  EU  should  provide  technical  support  for  this,  including  through 
twinning arrangements between the Angolan and EU revenue authorities. 

•  To benefit from regional integration opportunities provided under the EPA, the Angolan 
Government should prepare a specific strategy and prioritise specific value chains that 
can be developed within the context of Angola’s trade with SADC countries. 

•  To maximise the benefits from export-driven employment generation, complementary 
policy measures should comprise investment in vocational training, notably for young 
people to develop skills required for new job profiles and the new organisation of work. 
•  To support the creation of formal businesses and jobs the Angolan Government should 
improve  procedures  for  setting  up  and  running  formal  businesses,  encourage  formal 
employment with written contracts, social security contributions and the observance of 
health and safety at work requirements. In addition, the Government should take steps 
such as supporting creation of cooperatives and developing the trade infrastructure to 
enable  access  to  markets  and  facilitating  access  to  finance  for  small-scale  food 
producers to help them to sustain their livelihoods. 

•  Awareness raising campaigns on the negative consequences of child labour should be 
undertaken and access to school and social assistance for children from poor families 
be facilitated. The Angolan authorities should also enhance efforts to address trafficking 
in  persons,  forced  labour,  hazardous  child  labour  and  other  illegal  activities.  EU 
technical assistance should support these actions. 

•  The  Angolan  Government  should  urgently  strengthen  land  rights  related  to  business 
activities.  The  Government  should  also  ensure  that  effective  consultation  processes 
consistently  take  place,  backed  by  appropriate  environmental  and  social  impact 
assessments  guaranteed  by  the  law.  A  monitoring  body  should  be  established,  and 
reports  should  be  publicly  available,  involving  non-state  actors  and  affected 
communities. The EU should continue to provide assistance on these matters. 

•  The EU and Angola should ensure that the EPA is used as a tool to enhance Angola’s 
food security, reducing the risk of spiking food prices, hunger and adverse economic 
effects in times when environmental conditions hurt crop production. 

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28.  Technical  assistance  by  the  EU  and  EU  Member  States  should  address 
administrative capacity constraints likely to affect the implementation of the EPA and the 
SIFA,  as  well  as  broader  productive  capacity  constraints.  As  noted  above,  it  would  be 
preferable if the EU and Angola could address technical assistance needs already as part 
of the EPA accession and SIFA negotiations, and agree on the broad lines of support. The 
following areas of technical assistance are recommended as priorities: 

•  Support should be provided to address the identified constraints faced with respect to 
customs  management,  including  origin  verification,  risk-based  operations,  customs 
automation, and the implementation of the electronic single window for trade. 

•  EU support in overcoming the constraints in Angola’s quality infrastructure – covering 
SPS issues and TBTs – is an important element to ensure that Angolan exporters can 
make use of the preferential access to the EU market under the EPA. Already, technical 
assistance in this area is provided, but such support will need to continue for Angola to 
expand and diversify exports to the EU under the EPA. 

•  More broadly, the provision of trade training programmes – aimed at both public and 
private sector staff – should be considered, as well as support to introduce courses in 
international  trade  and  economics  in  at  least  one  Angolan  university,  e.g.  through 
partnership with an EU university. A number of scholarships for public sector staff to 
participate in such course should be considered. 

•  The EU should provide financial and technical assistance to support  labour inspection 
services, in particular in the context of the proposed SIFA text, according to which each 
Party shall establish and maintain an effective labour inspection system for all economic 
sectors,  including  for  agriculture  and  mining  activities.  More  broadly,  EU  technical 
assistance implemented in cooperation with the ILO could support the development of 
domestic dialogue between the Government and social partners on matters related to 
respect for labour standards and working conditions. 

•  EU  technical  assistance  promoting  the  use  of  CSR/RBC  practices  and  supporting 

capacity building in their application is also considered important. 

•  To complement commitments on reducing the environmental footprint of trade under 
the EPA, the EU should support Angola in the further development of renewable energy 
and  of  the  expansion  of  clean  technologies  for  sustainable  agriculture  and  fishing, 
thereby ensuring effective water management, avoiding threats to biodiversity loss and 
land use change, and ensuring low emission-intense agricultural production and fishery. 
In addition, support towards Angola’s ratification of the remaining trade-related MEAs 
and in the effective implementation could be considered. 

29.  A  general  recommendation  relates  to  public-private  dialogue:  to  create  a  common 
understanding on the EPA, the Angolan Government should make an effort to engage into 
dialogue with social partners and other civil society organisations on the  reform process 
and accession to the EPA. Moreover, the EU should continue to provide technical assistance 
to further develop capacity of civil society in Angola; and the EU civil society, including the 
European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), should involve Angolan counterparts in 
a dialogue on trade, sustainable development and the EPA. 

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1  INTRODUCTION – STUDY CONTEXT AND SCOPE 

The European  Commission’s  Directorate-General (DG) for Trade has awarded a  contract 
for  a  “Sustainability  Impact  Assessment  (SIA)  in  support  of  negotiations  with  Angola  to 
accede  to  the  EU-SADC  Economic  Partnership  Agreement”  (EU-SADC  EPA)  to  the 
consortium led by BKP Economic Advisors GmbH (BKP). Work on the SIA started in January 
2021. 

The SIA supports the EU’s trade negotiations with Angola regarding the latter’s joining the 
existing  EU-SADC  EPA.  The  negotiations  will  follow  Angola’s  request,  made  in  February 
2020, to accede to the EPA; they are expected to be launched in 2021 and be completed 
within  one  year.  The  EPA  between  the  EU  and  six  countries  of  the  Southern  African 
Development Community (Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and South 
Africa) is a free trade agreement signed in 2016. Under the EPA, the EU has provided duty-
free, quota-free access  to SADC EPA countries  exports  (with some exceptions  for South 
African exports) to the EU since the first day of the EPA’s application. For their part, SADC 
EPA countries are progressively liberalising the access to their markets for EU goods. 

In  parallel,  negotiations  for  a  separate  bilateral  Angola-EU  Sustainable  Investment 
Facilitation Agreement (SIFA) are also planned; these negotiations were launched in June 
2021. Although the two negotiations are legally independent (the EPA does not presently 
cover  investment  issues),  they  share  the  common  objective  of  contributing  to  Angola’s 
sustainable  development  and  economic  diversification  by  fostering  predictability  and 
transparency of the trade and investment environment. 

The SIA analyses the potential economic, social, human rights and environmental impacts 
of Angola’s accession to the EPA, as well as the institutional and administrative capacity of 
Angola to implement the EPA. To the extent possible, the SIA also considers impacts of the 
SIFA. The specific purpose of the SIA is to assess and indicate how Angola’s accession to 
the  EPA  and  the  SIFA  under  negotiation  can  contribute  best  to  a  number  of  key  policy 
objectives:  enhance  predictability  and  transparency  of  the  trade  and  investment 
environment and relations, and thereby foster the competitiveness of Angolan businesses 
and contribute to the country’s economic diversification. The study comprises both data-
driven  analysis  and  comprehensive  consultations  of  stakeholders  in  Angola,  the  EU  and 
SADC EPA countries. 

This final report presents the findings of the research undertaken. Section 2 provides an 
overview of the negotiation context. Section  3  summarises the methodologies and tools 
used for the SIA (the full methodology was presented in the inception report). The results 
of the study are described in section  4, which dedicates one section each to the various 
dimensions of the analysis – economic, social, human rights and environmental aspects of 
sustainability, as well as Angola’s administrative capacity for EPA and SIFA implementation. 
Section 5 draws conclusions and provides recommendations. 

Annexes  include  a  report  on  the  consultation  activities  (Annex  A),  the  four  case  studies 
prepared as part of the study (Annex B), as well as provide more detailed information on 
the various analyses undertaken (Annexes C to G). 

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2  CONTEXT OF THE NEGOTIATIONS 

2.1  Angola’s Current Economic Situation 

Despite efforts in recent years to diversify, Angola’s economy continues to be characterised 
by a high dependency on the oil sector. Its share in GDP was 30.3% in 2019 (IMF 2020), 
but its importance goes beyond this. For example, 60.5% of government revenues in 2019 
were oil related (IMF 2020). In terms of exports, the concentration is even higher: in 2019, 
95.3% of Angola’s total exports of USD 35.4 billion were mineral fuels and another 3.6% 
diamonds,  leaving  only  1.3%  –  or  USD  458  million  –  for  all  other  merchandise  exports 
(Figure  1).  Largely  in  response  to  covid-19  (and  as  a  consequence  of  both  declining  oil 
prices and declining export volumes), exports decreased by 42.2% in 2020, to USD 20.4 
billion, but the overall structure did not change much – as non-oil, non-diamond exports 
also decreased (although at a slightly lower rate of 29%, to USD 325 million), their share 
hardly changed (1.6%). 

Figure 1: Angola’s exports by sector, 2019-2020 (USD million) 

a) Total exports 

b) Non-oil, non-diamond exports 

458
1,202

33,704

40,000

35,000

30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

325
1,065

19,043

2019

2020

27 Mineral fuels 71 Diamonds

Other

Source: Own calculations based on AGT1 

500

450

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

91

20
21
18
14
24
16
19
17
48

54

117

Other

11 Flours etc.

90 Optical etc.

73 Iron/steel articles

72 Iron and steel

22 Beverages

89 Ships

85 Electrical machinery

25 Salt & stone

44 Wood

03 Fish & crustaceans

70

2
7
9
12
13
15
18
28
36

51

63

2019

2020

84 Machinery

This extreme concentration has been a key characteristic of Angola’s economy for decades, 
and its  exposure to the international oil price  has been clearly  exposed in recent  years. 
The  economy  has  been  in  recession  for  several  years  (and  the  IMF  expects  another 
contraction  in  2021  of  -0.7%  in  2021  before  a  return  to  growth  of  2.4%  in  20222). 
Economic  and  export  diversification  are  needed  not  only  to  reduce  the  country’s 
vulnerability but also in response to declining oil output3, and the Government has designed 
a number of policies and strategies to this effect. These include the Programme to Support 
Production, Export Diversification and Import Substitution (Programa de Apoio à Produção, 
à  Diversificação  das  Exportações  e  Substituição  de  Importações  –  PRODESI)  that  was 
officially  approved  by  Presidential  Decree  No.  169/18  of  20  July  20184  and  has  been 
complemented  by  several  sector  studies.5  Previously,  a  number  of  sectoral  export 

1   Data  provided  by 

the  Angolan  Revenue  Authority 
https://agt.minfin.gov.ao/PortalAGT/#!/estatisticas/estatistica-do-comercio-externo; 
statistics are also available from the National Statistical Institute (e.g. INE 2021a). 

(Administração  Geral  Tributária,  AGT); 
trade 

aggregated 

2   As per the World Economic Outlook database in October 2021. 
3   Even  before  the  covid-19  pandemic,  daily  oil  production  is  project  to  decline  from  1,400  million  barrels  in 

2019 to 1,100 million barrels in 2023 (UCAN-CEIC 2019, 30). 

4   Complemented in 2019 by Presidential Decree No. 23/19; see section 4.1.2 for a discussion. 
5   For more information, see https://www.prodesi.ao. 

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promotion  programmes  (“programas  dirigidos”)  had  been  developed.  More  information 
about the economic policies and reform programmes is provided in section 1.2.2 of Annex 
C. 

Angola is a Least Developed Country (LDC), but is scheduled to graduate from this status 
in February 2024.6 Therefore, it will no longer be eligible to export all products to the EU 
duty-free from February 2027 onwards, as is currently the case under the EU’s Everything 
But  Arms  (EBA)  arrangement.  Although  Angola’s  exports  would  still  benefit  from  some 
preferences  in  EU  market  access  (under  the  Generalised  Scheme  of  Preferences,  GSP), 
these are more limited both in terms of the products covered and the level of preferences. 
The partial loss of preferences for Angola is one of the reasons for the country’s request to 
negotiate accession to the EU-SADC EPA (see section 2.5). 

2.2  Regional Context in Southern Africa 

Angola is a member of SADC but so far (along with DR Congo) does not participate in the 
SADC  Trade  Protocol,  and  thus  does  not  offer  preferential  access  to  imports  from  other 
SADC  members,  nor  do  its  exports  benefit  from  preferences  in  other  SADC  countries. 
Angola  ratified  the  Agreement  to  establish  the  African  Continental  Free  Trade  Area 
(AfCFTA)  in  November  2020.  Trading  under  the  AfCFTA  started  on  01  January  2021, 
although so far the implementation modalities are not yet in place, so that duties in Angola 
are  still  payable.  As  a  majority  of  SADC  countries  (among  the  SADC  EPA  countries,  all 
except Botswana and Mozambique) also ratified the AfCFTA Agreement,7 Angola will start 
offering preferences to them on the basis of the AfCFTA once the implementation modalities 
are in place. 

The EU is the main trading partner of SADC EPA States; within the region, South Africa 
remains the EU’s dominant trading partner, accounting for 82% of EU imports and 93% of 
EU exports to SADC EPA States (European Commission 2020). 

Angola’s negotiations for the accession to the SADC-EU EPA come at a time when the SADC 
economies face regional and global challenges. First, they have been hit by slow economic 
growth  and  recessions  in  2019  (South  Africa  faced  an  economic  recession,  Namibia 
contracted  by  1.9%  and  no  other  country  surpassed  Botswana’s  growth  rate  of  3.5%) 
partly due to natural disasters and unfavourable commodity cycles (European Commission 
2020). Second, the global economy was affected by an unprecedented economic downturn 
largely  driven  by  the  covid-19  pandemic.  SADC  EPA  States  were  also  impacted  by  the 
pandemic through reduced fiscal revenues – driven by the reduced economic activity – and 
trade flows – driven by increased trade/border restrictions (SADC 2020).  

2.3  EU-Angola Trade and Investment 

In  terms  of  trade  in  goods,  the  EU  is  one  of  the  most  important  trading  partners  for 
Angola: it is the most important supplier, in 2020 accounting for 31% (or USD 2.8 billion) 
of Angola’s total merchandise imports, far ahead of China (15% or USD 1.3 billion) (Figure 
2b). As a market for Angolan goods, the EU is the third most important one with an export 
value in 2020 of USD 1.7 billion (or 8% of total Angola’s exports), after China (USD 11.6 
billion or 57%) and the USA (USD 1.8 billion or 9%) (Figure 2c). However, if only non-oil, 
non-diamond  products  are  considered  (Figure  2d),  the  EU  is  the  most  important  export 

6   Angola’s  graduation  from  LDC  status  was  originally  scheduled  for  February  2021.  However,  considering 
Angola’s prolonged economic recession and its socioeconomic vulnerabilities exacerbated by the COVID-19 
pandemic,  the  UN  General  Assembly  decided  to  provide  Angola  with  an  additional  three-year  preparatory 
period.  See  Resolution  adopted  by  the  General  Assembly  on  11  February  2021,  A/RES/75/259, 
https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/75/259. 

7   Among SADC’s 16 member states, Botswana, Comoros, DR Congo, Madagascar, Mozambique, Seychelles and 

Tanzania have not yet ratified the AfCFTA Agreement (as of 28 June 2021). 

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market for Angola, with a value of product exported in 2020 of USD 79 million (24% of all 
non-oil, non-diamond exports), ahead of DR Congo (USD 45 million, 14%). This shows the 
EU’s potentially very important role for Angola’s export diversification efforts. 

Figure 2: Angola’s goods trade with the EU 

a)  Exports  to,  imports  from,  and  trade  balance  with 
EU, 2016-2020 (USD million) 

b) Imports from the EU and other sources, 2020 (USD 
million, %) 

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0

5,330

4,784

5,594

4,177

2,908

2,912

1,726

3,450

2,810

1,673

254

226

78

77

79

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

-2,000

-1,269

-1,872

-2,144

-1,137

-4,000

-6,000

-3,604

NOND exports

Total exports

Imports

Balance

Other
2,463
28%

Africa
218
2%

India
431
5%

Brasil
432
5%

EU
2,810
31%

USA
589
7%

SADC
600
7%

China
1,380
15%

c)  Total  exports  to  the  EU  and  other  markets,  2020 
(USD million, %) 

c) Non-oil, non-diamond exports to the EU and other 
markets, 2020 (USD million, %) 

Other
4,919
24%

China
11,627
57%

Other
85
26%

EU
79
24%

DR Congo
49
0%

Africa
90
1%

SADC
248
1%

EU
1,673
8%

China
22
7%

SADC
24
8%

DR 
Congo
45
14%

USA
31
9%

Africa
39
12%

USA
1,828
9%

Source: Own calculations based on AGT8 

Over  time,  both  Angola’s  exports  to  the  EU  and  its  imports  from  the  EU  showed  an 
increasing trend – until the pandemic year 2020 (Figure 2a): exports increased from USD 
1.7 billion in 2017 to USD 3.5 billion in 2019 before dropping again to USD 1.7 billion in 
2020.  Imports  from  the  EU  reached  a  peak  of  USD  5.6  billion  in  2019  before  falling  by 
about 50% to USD 2.8 billion in 2020. Angola’s bilateral goods trade balance with the EU 
has been consistently negative, although the magnitude of the trade deficit decreased from 

8   Data  provided  by 

the  Angolan  Revenue  Authority 
https://agt.minfin.gov.ao/PortalAGT/#!/estatisticas/estatistica-do-comercio-externo; 
statistics are also available from the National Statistical Institute (e.g. INE 2021a). 

(Administração  Geral  Tributária,  AGT); 
trade 

aggregated 

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USD 3.6 billion in 2017 to USD 1.1 billion in 2020. Finally, the performance of Angola’s 
non-oil, non-diamond exports to the EU was uneven: following a sharp drop from USD 254 
million in 2016 to USD 78 million in 2018, exports have been almost constant – and were 
also not affected negatively in 2020 (Figure 2a). 

As mentioned previously, Angola benefits from DFQF access to the EU under the EBA and 
will lose, according to current EU GSP rules, some of this preferential access three years 
after  graduation  from  LDC  status.  However,  this  preference  loss  would,  based  on  the 
current export structure, only affect a small fraction of exports – because of the dominance 
of petroleum exports, which are duty free in the EU in any case, about 98% of Angola’s 
export to the EU enter duty free. Only about 1.5% of its exports (worth €28.9 million in 
2020, down from €55.5 million in 2017) might carry positive duties in the EU (Table 1).9 

In  2020,  out  of  the  €28.9  million  exports  that  were  eligible  for  GSP  preferences,  €24.2 
million were actually imported in the EU using the preferences, all of which at zero tariffs 
under  the  EBA.10  However,  this  does  not  mean  that  the  preferences  granted  (currently 
under the EBA and in the future under the EPA) are irrelevant – to the contrary, they are 
likely  to  be  essential  for  Angola’s  capacity  to  diversify  exports,  as  many  of  Angola’s 
potential  exports would carry positive duties in the  future if Angola joined the Standard 
GSP  or  GSP+  instead  of  the  EPA.  Also  on  the  positive  side,  the  utilisation  of  these 
preferences has increased: whereas in 2017 only about half of the exports eligible for zero-
duty actually used these preferences, in 2020 83.6% of preference-eligible exports made 
use of the preferences. 

Table 1: EU imports from Angola, by preference eligibility and preference use, 2017-2020 

In EUR million 
GSP eligible 

Actual import regime: GSP ZERO 
Actual import regime: MFN NON ZERO 

ONLY MFN (not GSP eligible)* 

Actual import regime: MFN ZERO 

Unknown eligibility 
Total 
In % of total (except where noted) 
GSP eligible 

Actual import regime: GSP ZERO (% of GSP eligible) 
Actual import regime: MFN NON ZERO (% of GSP eligible) 

ONLY MFN (not GSP eligible) 
Unknown eligibility 
Total duty free 

2017 

2018 

2019 

2020 

55.5 
28.1 
27.4 
2,217.6 
2,217.6 
4.6 
2,277.7 

47.6 
32.5 
15.1 
3,582.3 
3,582.3 
3.4 
3,633.4 

40.5 
31.0 
9.5 
3,498.5 
3,498.5 
1.5 
3,540.5 

28.9 
24.2 
4.7 
1,882.8 
1,882.8 
1.0 
1,912.7 

2.4 
50.7 
49.3 
97.4 
0.2 
98.6 

1.3 
68.3 
31.7 
98.6 
0.1 
99.5 

1.1 
76.6 
23.4 
98.8 
0.0 
99.7 

1.5 
83.6 
16.4 
98.4 
0.1 
99.7 

* Imports that attract zero MFN tariffs in the EU are by definition classified as “only MFN” and not generating 
eligibility for any tariff preferences. 
Source: Own calculations based on Eurostat COMEXT data. 

Trade in services between the EU and Angola increased until 2015/2016 and then steeply 
fell until 2019 (data for 2020 are not yet available as of June 2021). The EU’s exports to 
Angola reached a maximum of €5.4 billion in 2015, which decreased €2.2 billion in 2019 
(Figure 3). Imports from Angola reached a maximum of €2.4 billion in 2015, and then fell 
sharply, to €0.5 billion in 2019. Compared with trade in goods, bilateral services trade is 
roughly equally important; and in both goods and services trade the EU has a sizeable, but 
in recent years declining bilateral trade surplus. Compared to other SADC EPA countries, 

9   About 25% of the exports that pay no duties under the EBA would continue to receive duty-free treatment 

under the standard GSP arrangement, whereas 75% would fact tariffs above zero. 

10   Goods which in principle are “GSP eligible” must still comply with the GSP rules of origin in order to actually 
benefit from the preferences. For example, a car built in Japan and exported from Angola to the EU would be 
considered as “GSP eligible” (as Angola can export cars duty free to the EU under the EBA) but the actual 
import  regime  would  be  “MFN  NON  ZERO”  (as  the  car  exported  from  Angola  is  not  manufactured,  or 
originating, in Angola). 

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Angola is the second most important market for EU services providers after South Africa 
(exports  of  €7.7  billion  in  2019),  far  ahead  of  Mozambique  (exports  of  €496  million  in 
2019). No sectoral breakdown of bilateral services trade is available. 

EU foreign direct investment (FDI) in Angola is also clearly linked to the performance 
of Angola’s petroleum sector (which in turn largely depends on the world oil price). Thus, 
net EU FDI flows to Angola were about €3 billion until 2015 (Figure 4). From 2016 onwards, 
EU FDI flows to Angola were negative, although with decreasing magnitude; by 2019 the 
outflow of EU FDI in Angola had almost stopped (€-317 million); in that year, EU27 FDI 
stocks in Angola stood at €13.9 billion. Conversely, Angolan FDI flows to the EU were much 
steadier and show an increasing trend; reaching €544 million in 2019. With Angolan FDI 
stocks  in  the  EU  reaching  €2.6  billion  in  that  year,  bilateral  FDI  activity  is  much  more 
balanced than between the EU and many other African (and indeed developing) countries. 
Angola has 14 bilateral investment treaties (BITs), of which only five are in force; two of 
these  are  with  EU  Member  States:  Germany  and  Italy.11  Further  information  about 
investment in Angola is provided in section 1.2.2.2 of Annex C. 

Figure 3: EU-Angola trade in services, 
2011-2019 (€ million) 

Figure 4: EU FDI flows to and from 
Angola, 2013-2019 (€ million) 

6,000.0

5,000.0

4,000.0

3,000.0

2,000.0

1,000.0

0.0

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0

-1,000

-2,000

-3,000

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

EU exports

EU imports

Balance

Source: Eurostat, International trade in services 
(since 2010) (BPM6) 

Net FDI inward flow to EU

Net FDI outward flow from EU

Note: Values for 2013-17 are for EU28; 2018-2019 
are for EU27 
Source: Eurostat, EU direct investment flows, 
breakdown by partner country and economic activity 
(BPM6) 

2.4  Overview of the Existing EU-SADC EPA 

The EU-SADC EPA12 is a trade agreement signed in 2016 between the EU and six SADC 
countries:  Botswana,  Eswatini,  Lesotho,  Mozambique,  Namibia  and  South  Africa. 
Provisional  implementation  started  for  all  Parties  except  Mozambique  in  2016,  and  for 
Mozambique in 2018; the formal entry into force is still awaiting ratification by some of the 
Parties. Although Angola participated in the original negotiations of the EPA, it eventually 
did not sign the Agreement. However, the later accession of Angola is already foreseen in 
the EPA (Article 119(3)). 

Under  the  EPA,  the  EU  has  provided  duty-free,  quota-free  (DFQF)  access  to  all  exports 
(except arms and ammunition) of SADC EPA countries except South Africa since the first 

11   BITs with France, Portugal and Spain are not in force (UNCTAD 2019, 83). 
12   The full text of the EPA is available in (almost) all EU official languages at  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A22016A0916%2801%29. 

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day  of  the  EPA’s  application.  For  South  Africa,  96%  of  exports  to  the  EU  are  duty-free, 
quota free under the EPA, with another 2.7% benefitting from tariff preferences under tariff 
rate quotas. For their part, SADC EPA countries are progressively liberalising the access to 
their market based on  the tariff phase-out  schedules. The  five member countries  of the 
Southern African Customs Union (SACU; Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South 
Africa) grant DFQF to 84.9% of EU exports and partial tariff preferences for another 12.9%. 
Mozambique as a least developed country (LDC) provides more limited preferences to its 
imports from the EU: it removes customs duties on 74% of imports from the EU. 

The main objectives of the EU-SADC EPA are to contribute to sustainable development and 
poverty  reduction,  promote  regional  integration,  economic  cooperation  and  good 
governance in the SADC region, as well as promote the region’s integration in the world 
economy, including through improving trade and trade policy capacity. 

The scope of the EU-SADC EPA (Box 1) is relatively limited when compared to other recent 
FTAs  concluded  by  the  EU.  It  largely  comprises  trade  in  goods,  with  a  focus  on  tariff 
liberalisation, but foresees the possibility to be expanded to also services and investment, 
subject to negotiations between the Parties. 

Box 1: Structure of the EU-SADC EPA 

• 

• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Part  I:  Sustainable  development,  covering general  provisions,  trade  and  sustainable  development,  and 
cooperation areas 
Part II: Trade and trade-related matters, covering provisions on trade in goods, trade defence, non-tariff 
measures, customs and trade facilitation, technical barrier to trade, sanitary and phyto-sanitary issues, 
agriculture, current payments and capital movements, and trade in services and investment 
Part III: Dispute avoidance and settlement 
Part IV: General exceptions 
Part V: Institutional provisions 
Part VI: General and Final provisions 
Annex I to III: Goods schedules of the EU, SACU states, and Mozambique 
Protocols I to IV: Rules of origin; assistance in customs matters; geographical indications; and relationship 
between the EPA and the EU-South Africa TDCA 

Source: EU-SADC EPA 

Although legally separate from the EPA, several EU development cooperation programmes 
in SADC region are materially linked to the EPA. They aim, among others, at facilitating 
reforms of government revenues, as well as at improving the business environment and 
SADC’s competitiveness more generally. 

More information about the EU-SADC EPA is available e.g. in a recent factsheet prepared 
by the European Commission.13 

2.5  Objectives and Scope of EPA Accession and SIFA Negotiations 

Objectives 

Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC EPA aims at addressing a number of Angolan and EU 
policy objectives. For Angola, preferential market access to the EU for non-oil goods under 
an  EPA  is  expected  to  contribute  to  the  much-needed  diversification  away  from  mineral 
fuels  and  diamonds.  In  this  regard,  accession  to  the  EPA  would  avoid  that  Angola  loses 
some of the preferential access to the EU market which its exports currently enjoy under 
the EBA. This would particularly hit non-oil exports (and would therefore be detrimental to 
the  economic  diversification  goal).  It  would  therefore  provide  predictable  and  stable 
preferential  market  access  for  Angola’s  exports  to  the  EU  market.  For  the  EU,  Angola’s 
liberalisation under the EPA would likewise ensure predictable and stable market access, 
and enhance the transparency of trade rules, in addition to improving market access for 

13   https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2020/october/tradoc_158989.pdf.  Also  see  the  latest  European 

Commission’s annual implementation report (European Commission 2020). 

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EU goods on the Angolan market. The EU already is an important supplier for Angola of 
machinery and inputs used by Angolan firms. Reducing import tariffs on these goods under 
the EPA could enhance the competitiveness of Angolan firms. Finally, accession to the EPA 
(and  in  parallel  Accession  of  Angola  to  SADC  Trade  Protocol)  could  facilitate  regional 
economic integration between Angola and the other SADC EPA countries, with EPA rules of 
origin allowing for regional cumulation.14 

To  be  successful,  Angola’s  economic  diversification  requires  massive  investments.  This 
includes  –  especially  in  a  context  where  public  investment  is  limited  by  the  financial 
constraints which the Government faces – large-scale investment by domestic and foreign 
investors.  With  investment  issues  currently  not  covered  in  the  EU-SADC  EPA,  an 
investment facilitation agreement with the EU could attract further investment in Angola, 
especially by small and medium-sized businesses and in the non-oil sector, contributing to 
Angola’s  economic  diversification.  The  joint  objectives  which  both  Angola  and  the  EU 
pursue with the SIFA are thus to enhance the transparency and predictability of investment 
conditions  for  all  investors,  as  well  as  enhancing  the  investment  framework  through 
cooperation. 

Scope 

As Angola is about to negotiate its accession to the existing EU-SADC EPA, the country 
will mostly agree to the provisions which are already in the EPA (see Box 1 above). This 
follows from Article 119(3) of the EPA, which states that “negotiations concerning the terms 
of accession should be conducted on the basis of this Agreement, taking into account the 
specific situation of Angola”.  As the EU would  provide DFQF treatment to all of Angola’s 
exports  except  arms  and  ammunition  (i.e.  the  current  treatment  under  the  EBA  would 
continue  under  the  EPA),  the  main  focus  of  negotiations  will  be  the  preferential  market 
access which Angola would provide to products which it imports from the EU. In addition, 
negotiations could in principle also cover Angola’s position regarding EPA protocols, such 
as the one on GIs, as well as regarding the start of negotiations on services and investment 
in line with Part II, Chapter IX of the EPA. 

The stand-alone SIFA is expected to cover rules on transparency and good administrative 
practices  related  to  investment,  as  well  as  cooperation  on  investment  issues  with  a 
particular focus on investment contribution to sustainable development. It would however 
not  cover  investment  liberalisation,  investment  protection,  or  an  investor-state  dispute 
settlement mechanism.15 The SIFA is expected to be structured into  eight chapters (Box 
2; more details are provided in section 1.2.2.1 of Annex C). When assessing the potential 
impact of the SIFA in Angola, one needs to take into account that negotiations on a WTO 
Investment  Facilitation  Agreement  (IFA)  are  also  ongoing;  the  SIFA’s  impact  would 
therefore differ depending on whether the WTO IFA is actually concluded and if so, whether 
Angola joins it and what its provisions provide for in comparison to the SIFA. 

Box 2: Proposed structure and scope of SIFA 

Chapter I: General Provisions 
Chapter II: Predictability and Transparency 
Chapter III: Streamlining of Authorisation Procedures 
Chapter IV: Focal Points and Stakeholders’ Involvement 
Chapter V: Investment and Sustainable Development 
Chapter VI: Dispute Avoidance and Settlement [no text proposed yet] 
Chapter VII: Cooperation and Institutional Provisions 
Chapter VIII: Final Provisions 

Source:  EU’s  textual  proposal  for  the  SIFA  of  14  June  2021,  updated  on  23  September  2021, 
https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/159654.htm  

14 Activation of the cumulation is still in progress. 
15 See Art. 1.2(4) of the EU’s textual proposal for the SIFA. 

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3  STUDY METHODOLOGY AND TOOLS 

3.1  Analytical Approaches 

Considering that the EU is Angola’s third-largest trading partner, while Angola accounts for 
a very small share (about 0.5%) of the EU’s total trade, Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC 
EPA will have a  stronger impact  on Angola; the analysis therefore primarily focusses  on 
the impacts in Angola as well as on selected impacts on regional economic integration in 
Southern Africa. The following impact dimensions are analysed: economic impact, social 
impact including gender and labour rights, impact on the enjoyment of human rights, and 
the impact on the environment. In addition, Angola’s administrative capacity to implement 
the EPA is assessed. The following sections provide an overview of the approach used for 
the analysis of each of the impact dimensions. Further details on the methodology were 
provided in the inception report.16 

3.1.1  Economic Impact Analysis 

The  economic impact analysis first  estimates the effects of tariff changes  resulting from 
Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC EPA on Angola’s and the EU’s bilateral and total trade. 
It then assesses the wider economic impacts on Angola’s economy – effects on output, on 
competitiveness, GDP, and government procurement – also considering non-tariff issues 
addressed  in  the  EPA  as  well  as  the  potential  implications  of  the  SIFA  on  investment  in 
Angola.  Finally,  the  impact  on  Angola’s  regional  integration,  and  the  impact  on  the  EU 
outermost regions is analysed. 

Partial  equilibrium  (PE)  model  simulations  prepared  by  the  European  Commission’s  DG 
TRADE constitute the starting point for the analysis. The model estimates the changes in 
bilateral trade between the EU and Angola, and in trade of the EU and Angola with the rest 
of the world caused by Angola’s accession to the EPA. The model estimates the effects of 
tariff liberalisation (but not any changes in non-tariff measures that might be associated 
with Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC EPA) on goods trade at the HS sub-heading (i.e. 
6-digit) level by comparing 2019 trade in a baseline scenario (approximating the situation 
that would prevail if Angola did not accede to the EPA) with three liberalisation scenarios 
(reflecting different options regarding Angola’s preferential tariffs for imports from the EU 
in the case of accession):  

• 

In the baseline, Angola applies MFN tariffs on imports from the EU. Conversely, the EU 
applies  the  preferential  tariffs  of  the  GSP  standard  arrangement  on  imports  from 
Angola.  This  corresponds  to  the  situation  in  which  Angola  has  graduated  from  LDC 
status and (3 years later) from EBA status without joining the GSP+ arrangement; 
•  The first liberalisation scenario assumes that both the EU and Angola set all tariffs to 
zero. This full liberalisation scenario serves as a theoretical extremum: it calculates the 
maximum impact theoretically possible if Angola liberalised all its tariffs on EU imports. 
Note that this is not a realistic scenario, as no SADC-EPA country has liberalised all its 
tariffs. For example, the actual scope of liberalisation (in terms of percent of tariff lines) 
by  SACU  countries  for  imports  from  the  EU  covers  84.9%  DFQF  plus  12.9%  partial 
liberalisation  (reduced  tariffs  of  tariff  rate  quotas),  while  preferences  offered  by 
Mozambique, an LDC, are lower, covering 74% of imports from the EU; 

•  The other two liberalisation scenarios are more realistic in the sense that they take into 
account the exclusion of certain products from liberalisation by Angola (while the EU 
offers duty-free quota-free access for all Angolan exports except arms and ammunition 
under  all  three  liberalisation  scenarios):  in  the  most  conservative  liberalisation 

16 Available at https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/159521.htm.  

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scenario, Angola excludes 182 products (at HS sub-heading level) from liberalisation, 
while in a more ambitious scenario, only 98 products are excluded. 

Complementing the analysis of trade impacts, an assessment of the impact on Angola of 
non-tariff measures (NTMs) addressed in the EPA is carried out. Some of the main NTMs 
analysed  include  TBT,  SPS,  technical  regulations,  customs  procedures/trade  facilitation, 
rules of origin and domestic regulations on import/export licensing and restrictions. This 
analysis entails a review of the EPA provisions on NTMs, an understanding of the relevant 
context, regulations, and recent performance in Angola (“current situation”), followed by 
a qualitative assessment of the EPA’s impact on these issues.  

The analysis of possible effects of the EPA and the SIFA on the business environment and 
investment  climate,  as  well  as  investment,  is  framed  in  the  context  of  how  these  two 
agreements would influence the competitiveness of the Angolan economy. Like the NTM 
analysis, the analysis is driven by a comparison of the investment-related provisions in the 
EPA  and  the  SIFA  and  Angola’s  current  investment  climate  and  business  environment 
investment, inter alia by reviewing the World Bank’s Doing Business Indicators, as well as 
UNCTAD’s recent investment policy review of Angola (UNCTAD 2019). Comparing current 
performance with requirement (likely) arising under the  EPA and SIFA allows to make a 
qualitative assessment in terms of the impact which the agreement could have on Angola’s 
investment  environment,  and  following  from  that,  private  investment  levels,  and 
competitiveness. 

The impact which Angola’s membership in the  SADC-EU EPA is expected to have  on the 
regional  integration  efforts  particularly  on  the  SADC  Trade  Protocol  and  the  AfCFTA  is 
analysed based on a review of (i) the most recent descriptive statistics on inter-regional 
trade and complement this analysis with conclusions on the potential impact of Angola’s 
accession on inter-regional trade diversion and (ii) the development support measures on 
regional integration. 

Finally, the impact of Angola’s accession to the EPA on the EU’s Outermost Regions (ORs) 
is done at sub-sector level through a matching analysis for EU and Angolan trade with the 
ORs,  i.e.  it  is  determined  to  which  extent  ORs  export  products  which  are  anticipated  to 
face greater competition from Angola under the EPA. 

3.1.2  Social and Gender Impact Analysis 

The social and gender impact analysis follows the structure outlined below:  

•  Step  1: Description and  analysis of the  actual  situation in  Angola in all areas 
envisaged  for  the  social  and  gender  impacts  analysis,  i.e.,  employment,  informal 
employment, poverty and inequality, consumers and their purchasing power (incomes 
and  expenditures),  working  conditions,  respect  for  labour  standards  (elimination  of 
child  labour  and  forced  labour,  and  promotion  of  non-discrimination  at  work  and 
freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining), situation of women (as 
workers,  entrepreneurs  and  traders)  and  uptake  of  Corporate  Social  Responsibility/ 
Responsible Business Conduct practices. 

•  Step 2: Identification and analysis of impacts related to the legal text of the 
EPA. This aims at  identifying provisions  which may have (direct or indirect) impacts 
for Angola in areas covered by the social impact analysis. 

•  Step 3: Social and gender impact analysis of Angola’s accession to the EPA. In the 
absence of CGE modelling, impacts on employment across sectors, on prices, wages, 
and welfare levels, an approach based on descriptive statistics (using the results of the 
economic impact analysis) and qualitative analysis is used. 

•  Step 4: Conclusions and recommendations. 

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3.1.3  Analysis of Impacts on Human Rights 

The approach for the human rights17 analysis is structured into four steps that reflect the 
established methodology of the human rights impact assessment (European Commission 
2015; De Schutter 2011). 

In Step 1, Human rights baseline, a description of the human rights situation in Angola 
is prepared, including an overview of the country’s international human rights obligations – 
i.e. ratifications of core international and regional human rights treaties as well as core ILO 
Conventions and other treaties relevant for the analysis – and a summary of pre-existing 
conditions of stress or vulnerability. Key implementation issues are identified based on the 
reports of the UN monitoring bodies for all relevant conventions, highlighting position of 
specific vulnerable groups.  

This  focused  review  is  used  as  a  context  for  further  analysis  and  for  drafting  policy 
recommendations because it exhibits the way human rights resilience is present in Angola 
in the face of its accession to the EU-SADC EPA. 

Step 2, Screening and scoping, focuses on the identification of those human rights that 
are most likely to be affected when Angola joins the EU-SADC EPA. The EPA is scanned for 
provisions (chapters/sections) that are most likely to cause an impact on the enjoyment of 
human  rights  in  Angola  and  the  EU  (if  impacted).  The  likely  cause-effect  relationships 
between the trade and trade-related measures in the EPA and human rights are based on 
multiple sources, e.g. the results of the economic analysis; a review of relevant academic 
literature;  a  review  of  relevant  reports  of  international  organisations  (UN,  ILO,  etc.);  a 
review  of  relevant  reports  of  non-governmental  organisations  and  news  reports;  and 
stakeholder consultations.  

The  output  of  the  screening  and  scoping  exercise  is  a  tabular  overview  of  the  potential 
impacts  of  the  EPA  which  includes  the  following  information:  the  specific  trade 
measures/provisions in the EPA expected to have an impact on human rights; the specific 
human rights (with references to international human rights law) expected to be affected;18 
a  short  description  of  the  potential  impact;  the  kind  (direct  or  indirect)  and  magnitude 
(major  or  minor)  of  the  impact;  and  potentially  affected  population  groups  (if  possible/ 
applicable). 

Depending on the outcome of the screening exercise, a maximum of two human rights are 
selected  for  Step  3,  Detailed  assessment.  Applicable  human  rights  laws  are  scanned 
(based on the obligations of the  state  countries under international and regional human 
rights treaties) to provide a framework of applicable and binding entitlements and duties 
related to the selected human right(s). Insofar possible, national legislation is scanned for 
protection mechanisms – if legal frameworks exist, if implementation practice is in place 
to  mitigate  possible  negative  impacts  and  enhance  potential  positive  impacts  from  the 
Angolan accession, focusing in particular on the changes that could potentially affect the 
enjoyment of each of the selected human rights (using baseline analysis to aid the impact 
assessment).  Then  we  substantiate  on  the  potential  impact  noting  the  expected 
significance  of  the  impact  and  analysing  the  extent  to  which  the  particular  measures 
foreseen  may  enhance  or  impair  the  enjoyment  of  the  relevant  rights  and  /or  may 
strengthen  or  weaken  the  ability  of  the  parties  to  fulfil  or  progressively  realise  their 
international  human  rights  obligations.  Particular  attention  is  given  to  impacts  on 

17   In line with the Tool No.28 of the Better Regulation “Toolbox” and the EC Guidelines on the analysis of human 
rights impacts in impact assessment for trade-related policy initiatives, “human rights” are defined as set out 
in  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European  Union,  core  UN  human  rights  treaties  and  relevant 
regional human rights treaties. 

18  In line with the Fundamental Rights Check list outlined in the Better Regulation Toolbox, it will be specified 

whether the potentially affected rights are absolute human rights or not. 

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Sustainability Impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
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vulnerable groups or groups of individuals that are at risk of being marginalised  (Danish 
Institute for Human Rights 2016). 

This  assessment  is  undertaken,  to  the  extent  possible  and  considering  the  limitations 
resulting from the  PE analysis of economic  effects, both quantitatively and qualitatively. 
The quantitative analysis is based  on the results of the  economic impact analysis.19 The 
qualitative analysis is based on various sources as well as stakeholder consultations and 
close work with local partners. 

In Step 4, Policy recommendations and flanking measures, policy recommendations 
are formulated as to how any tensions between the EPA and state human rights obligations 
may  be  addressed,  helping  to  strengthen  positive  and  to  mitigate  potential  negative 
impacts of Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC EPA on human rights, with a particular focus 
on the most vulnerable groups. 

3.1.4  Environmental Impact Analysis 

In line with the handbook for trade sustainability impact assessments, the environmental 
analysis will include the following environmental impact dimensions: (1) Climate change; 
(2) Air quality; (3) Use of energy; (4) Water quality and resources; (5) Land use and soil 
quality; (6) Waste and waste management; (7) Biodiversity; and (8) Ecosystem services 
and protected areas. 

Also in line with the handbook, the methodology for the environmental analysis is organised 
along the following steps:20 

•  Step 1: Environmental baseline: In the first step the existing overall environmental 
situation in Angola is identified, including understanding main areas of environmental 
stress and vulnerability, legal obligations of the parties with respect to the environment 
and pre-existing conditions that severely influence environmental conditions or impact 
policy making to address environmental challenges. 

•  Step  2:  Screening  and  scoping:  This  aims  at  identifying  how  each  of  the  eight 
environmental  dimensions  may  be  affected  by  the  EPA.  This  will  include  identifying 
relevant indicators to assess impacts for each of the environmental aspects and identify 
data sources to conduct the assessment; 

•  Step 3: In-depth analysis of the potential environmental impacts of the EPA, in 
comparison to baseline developments. In addition to identifying impacts this will include 
identifying how the Agreement may help to address environmental concerns; 

•  Step 4: Case study. One environmental case study, on biodiversity and deforestation, 
will provide further details on a topic already identified as being potentially impacted 
by the EPA; 

19   When relevant, we will use human rights indicators to supplement the analysis (United Nations Human Rights 

Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) 2012). 

20   During the development of this study a new methodology for assessing the impacts of trade agreements on 
biodiversity and ecosystems was developed in a study project for the European Commission (IEEP et al. 2021). 
Using this new methodology would have resulted in a quite similar approach to the analysis as was used by 
the project team. This is mainly influenced by the lack of data to analyse environmental developments and 
impacts in Angola. For this reason, the methodology used largely is based on qualitative analysis. Main steps 
used  such  as  formulation  of  a  baseline,  screening  and  scoping  and  in-depth  analysis  are  similar  in  both 
methodologies. The main difference between the two methodologies is that the specific methodology for the 
biodiversity impact assessment focuses on impacts resulting from increased trade and responses suggested 
to address these impacts, while in the methodology used in this SIA the team also identifies how the increased 
cooperation between trade parties could help strengthen the governance and policy framework to help avoid 
negative impacts and strengthen positive impacts. Another difference is that in this SIA eight environmental 
impact dimensions are analysed with a focus on those economic activities where the impacts are considered 
to  be  the  most  prominent  while  the  new  methodology  has  a  narrower  scope  (addressing  the  dimension 
biodiversity) with a wider economic focus (identifying semi-quantitative impacts for all economic activities). 

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•  Step 5: Conclusions and recommendations. 

3.1.5  Assessment of Administrative Capacities 

The  focus  of  the  administrative  capacity  assessment  is  on  customs  authorities  and 
authorities  responsible  for  SPS  and  TBT  matters.  The  analysis  under  this  task  uses  the 
following approach: 

•  Step 1: Identification of Ministries and other government bodies that may have 
a  direct  and  indirect  intervention  in  the  management  and  implementation  of  trade 
agreements; 

•  Step  2:  Identification  of  administrative  capacity  constraints  and  their 

underlying explanations; 

•  Step 3: Consequences for EPA implementation and recommendations. 

The  main  source  of  information  for  this  assessment  are  consultations  with  the 
(government) bodies that would be in charge of the EPA implementation in Angola. 

3.2  Consultations 

The consultations are an important element of the SIA because they contribute significantly 
to its transparency and participatory nature. This requires that stakeholders are provided 
with information, and consulted, at each stage of the analysis, thereby strengthening the 
legitimacy of the study and its findings and recommendations. The main objectives of the 
consultations are: 

•  To  inform  stakeholders  about  the  conduct  of  the  SIA  and  its  findings  and 
recommendations, allowing stakeholders to provide their inputs to the study and their 
views about Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC EPA; 

•  To  contribute  to  the  identification  of  possible  economic,  social,  environmental  and 

human rights impacts of the EPA; 

•  To  contribute  to  the  identification  of  sectors  and  groups  which  might  benefit  or  be 

negatively affected as a result of the implementation of the EPA in Angola; 

•  To analyse the reasons for such potential effects; and 
•  To contribute to the identification and the conduct of the case studies. 

The  approach  to  consultations  has  been  explained  in  detail  in  a  dedicated  consultation 
strategy  (annex  C  to  the  inception  report).  Following  the  identification  of  relevant 
stakeholders  in  the  EU  and  Angola,  the  operational  consultation  activities  have  been 
grouped into four “pillars”, characterised by different target groups and channels used: 

•  Pillar 1: Targeted consultation activities, in particular a hybrid workshop in Luanda (21 
&  22  July);  also  accessible  through  Zoom),  an  online  survey  (open  from  May  to  10 
August 2021), and interviews and meetings with stakeholders in Angola, the EU and 
SADC countries; 

•  Pillar 2: Two meetings with EU civil society (civil society dialogue, CSD, meetings); 
•  Pillar 3: Meetings with EU institutions; 
•  Pillar  4:  Digital  engagement  with  stakeholders  and  interested  persons  in  general, 
(http://angola.fta-evaluation.eu),  Twitter,  and  electronic 

through  a  website 
newsletters to the 600+ identified stakeholders. 

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4  RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS 

4.1  Economic Sustainability of Angola’s Participation in the EPA 

4.1.1  Impact on Tariff Changes on Trade Flows 

Table 2  shows the  effects of the tariff changes  caused by Angola’s accession to the EU-
SADC EPA on total exports and imports by Angola, the EU, and the rest of the world for 
the  three  liberalisation  scenarios.  As  can  be  seen,  the  difference  between  the  full 
liberalisation and ambitious scenarios are limited; therefore, we focus the discussion here 
on the full liberalisation and the conservative scenario. 

Impact on Angola’s imports 

In  the  extreme  (theoretical)  case  of  full  liberalisation,  due  to  the  assumed  complete 
elimination of duties for imports from the EU, Angola’s imports from there are calculated 
to increase by €1.3 billion or 51.2% compared to the baseline. At the same time, Angola’s 
imports  from  the  rest  of  the  world  decline  by  €630  million  (8.8%).  This  trade  diversion 
effect means that total imports increase by €693 million, or 7.1%. 

In  the  conservative  liberalisation  scenario,  Angola’s  imports  from  the  EU  are  higher  by 
€1.15 billion or 44.7% than in the baseline. Due to trade diversion, Angola’s total imports 
increase  by  €596  million  (6.1%);  this  calculated  increase  is  high  compared  to  earlier 
simulations of other SADC EPA countries21 but can be explained by Angola’s relatively high 
current MFN import tariffs. 

Table 2: Impact of tariff liberalisation on trade flows (€ million and %) 

Exports from           Exports to  Angola 
Scenario 1: Full liberalisation 

Angola 
EU 
ROW 

Scenario 2: Conservative 

Angola 
EU 
ROW 

Scenario 3: Ambitious 

Angola 
EU 
ROW 

Changes in € compared to 
baseline 
EU  ROW 
-0.9 
-0.2 
-36.8 
36.0 
-0.7 
-0.2 
-32.1 
31.5 
-0.9 
-0.2 
-36.6 
35.8 

693.0  22.8 
0.0  14.5 
0.0 
1,322.6 
-629.5 
8.4 
596.1  21.5 
0.0  14.5 
0.0 
1,154.5 
-558.4 
7.0 
685.7  22.7 
0.0  14.5 
0.0 
8.2 

Total 
715.0 
14.3 
1,285.8 
-585.1 
616.9 
14.3 
1,122.4 
-519.9 
707.5 
14.3 
1,274.6 
-581.4 

1,311.2 
-625.4 

Changes in % compared to 
baseline 

Angola 

EU 
7.1  0.0 
..  0.4 
51.2 
.. 
-8.8  0.0 
6.1  0.0 
..  0.4 
44.7 
.. 
-7.8  0.0 
7.1  0.0 
..  0.4 
50.8 
.. 
-8.8  0.0 

ROW 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 
0.0 

Total 
0.01 
0.04 
0.06 
-0.01 
0.00 
0.04 
0.05 
0.00 
0.01 
0.04 
0.06 
-0.01 

Source: Own calculations based on DG TRADE modelling. 

Using UNCTAD’s stage of processing product categories, about one third each of Angola’s 
imports  are  in  intermediate,  capital  and  consumption  goods,  whereas  raw  materials 
imports are limited. As a result of EPA accession, the increase in Angola’s imports would 
particularly be in intermediate and consumption goods, but less in capital goods and raw 
materials (Table 3). This applies to all scenarios. Thus, in the conservative liberalisation 
scenario, imports of consumption goods  from  the EU are  estimated to increase by €519 
million (84.5%); as about half of this import increase is the result of diversion of imports 
from the rest of the world, the total import increase in consumption goods is estimated at 
€262 million (9.6%). The increase in imports of intermediate goods is in the same order 
of magnitude. This means that the benefits  of  Angola’s EPA accession  in terms  of lower 

21   For example, the European Commission (2016) calculated total imports of SADC EPA countries to increase by 

0.14% as a result of the EPA. 

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Imports 
in 
baseline 
EUR M 

Sustainability impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

prices of imports accrue to Angolan consumers and businesses in a balanced way.22 

Table 3: Impact of tariff liberalisation on Angola’s imports from the EU, by type of product 
(stage of processing) 

Full liberalisation scenario 

Change in EUR M 

Change in % 

Conservative liberalisation scenario 
Change in % 
Change in EUR M 

EU 

16.1 

-10.7 

309.4 

ROW  Total 

Product 
Raw 
materials 
Intermediate 
goods 
Capital goods 
Consumption 
goods 
Not allocated 
Total 
Source: Own calculations based on DG TRADE modelling. 

-306.8  319.3  102.0 
3.1 
-629.5  693.0  51.2 

626.1 
11.2 
9,726.8  1,322.6 

-269.5  330.9 
26.5 

2,726.6 
402.0 

3,317.8 
2,971.0 

600.4 
68.7 

59.3 
13.9 

-42.2 

10.9 

16.6 

-0.3 

5.4 

EU  ROW  Total 

EU  ROW  Total 

EU  ROW  Total 

-5.0 

1.8 

12.5 

-9.1 

3.5  13.0 

-4.3 

1.1 

-11.7 
-1.7 

-14.5 
-0.9 
-8.8 

10.0 
0.9 

543.2  -250.0  293.2  53.7  -10.8 
-1.7 

26.5  13.9 

-42.2 

68.7 

11.7 
2.7 
3.1 
7.1  1,154.5  -558.4  596.1  44.7 

518.7  -256.8  261.9  84.5  -12.2 
-0.9 
-7.8 

11.2 

10.9 

-0.3 

8.8 
0.9 

9.6 
2.7 
6.1 

A negative impact for Angola’s productive sector could however occur if imports replaced 
domestic production. While this is analysed in more detail in section 4.1.3, in preparation 
of that analysis Table 4 shows the calculated impacts of Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC 
EPA on imports by sector for all those sectors where total imports in the full liberalisation 
scenario would increase by at least €10 million. 

Table 4: Impact of tariff liberalisation on Angola’s imports from the EU, selected sectors 

Source: Own calculations based on DG TRADE modelling. 

As can be seen, import increases are spread over many sectors. Under the full liberalisation 
scenario, Angola’s imports from the EU increase up to 300% (HS chapter 34, soaps and 
detergents) or up to €99 million (HS ch. 73, iron or steel articles). In most sectors, about 
half  of  the  import  increase  is  caused  by  diversion  of  imports  from  other  sources.  The 
highest total import increase for any HS chapter in absolute terms is €58 million, for meat 

22   In  theory,  imports  of  inputs  for  production  and  capital  goods  can  be  exempted  from  duties;  in  practice, 
however,  according  to  information  provided  by  stakeholders  interviewed,  the  use  of  these  exemptions  is 
limited. 

Page 15 

BaselineTotal importImport from EUTotal importImport from EUTotal importImport from EUTotal importImport from EUTotal import16Meat, fish or crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates; preparations thereof80.971.958.0215.171.871.958.0215.171.873Iron or steel articles312.998.948.975.315.698.948.975.315.622Beverages, spirits and vinegar102.675.446.2150.245.070.943.4141.342.369Ceramic products72.649.837.9263.952.249.837.9263.952.276Aluminium and articles thereof104.049.636.9263.835.549.636.9263.835.539Plastics and articles thereof325.272.229.886.39.272.229.886.39.285Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers; television image and sound recorders and reproducers, parts and accessories of such articles704.379.724.241.23.479.724.241.23.420Preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants34.737.723.5218.567.824.812.8143.837.048Paper and paperboard; articles of paper pulp, of paper or paperboard122.337.921.984.317.930.916.468.713.411Products of the milling industry; malt, starches, inulin, wheat gluten109.126.720.667.718.90.60.41.50.302Meat and edible meat offal427.650.820.5144.54.824.06.368.41.587Vehicles; other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof509.051.420.363.34.051.420.363.34.004Dairy produce; birds' eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included119.632.420.145.416.827.815.938.913.334Soap, organic surface-active agents; washing, lubricating, polishing or scouring preparations; artificial or prepared waxes, candles and similar articles, modelling pastes, dental waxes and dental preparations with a basis of plaster107.953.120.1300.718.642.815.4242.014.294Furniture; bedding, mattresses, mattress supports, cushions and similar stuffed furnishings; lamps and lighting fittings, n.e.c.; illuminated signs, illuminated name-plates and the like; prefabricated buildings143.352.519.785.513.852.519.785.513.884Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof1,462.847.319.79.51.347.319.79.51.344Wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal23.119.916.6148.872.219.916.6148.872.221Miscellaneous edible preparations64.121.814.270.422.221.814.270.422.203Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates114.317.614.1189.212.417.614.1189.112.468Stone, plaster, cement, asbestos, mica or similar materials; articles thereof27.519.013.2128.248.119.013.2128.248.183Metal; miscellaneous products of base metal62.617.413.241.821.117.413.241.821.132Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints, varnishes; putty, other mastics; inks46.822.512.5113.126.84.22.821.25.919Preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk; pastrycooks' products166.538.211.7110.17.034.911.1100.66.772Iron and steel164.423.910.479.26.322.09.573.25.8Others4,318.6254.8118.525.72.7202.495.120.42.2Total9,726.81,322.6693.051.27.11,154.5596.144.76.1HS ChapterConservative scenarioFull liberalisationChange in EUR MChange in EUR MChange in %Change in % 
 
 
Sustainability Impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

and fish preparations (HS ch. 16), and in relative terms 72% (again for meat preparations, 
as  well  as  HS  ch.  44,  wood  and  wood  articles).  In  the  conservative  scenario,  import 
increases are more limited in those sectors where products are assumed to be excluded 
from the liberalisation, most notably flours (HS ch. 11), meat (HS ch. 02), and vegetable 
preparations (HS ch. 20). 

Impact on Angola’s exports 

According to the PE simulations, Angola’s total exports increase by €14.3 million or 0.04% 
as a result of accession to the EPA. Exports to the EU increase by €14.5 million, or 0.4%, 
and exports to the rest of the world  decrease  slightly (by €0.2 million); in other  words, 
diversion  of  Angolan  exports  is  very  limited  (Table  2  above).23  The  export  increase  is 
comparatively small because in the baseline, i.e. Angola as a GSP beneficiary country, the 
EU also offers preferential access to many of Angola’s exports. Furthermore, the modest 
relative increase in exports to the EU is mostly a result of the current dominance of mineral 
fuels and diamond exports. If these are taken out of the equation, the export increase of 
€14.5 million equates to an increase of 26.5% of non-mineral fuels, non-diamond exports 
to  the  EU.  Put  simply,  as  an  EPA  member,  excluding  mineral  fuels  and  diamonds, 
Angola will export more than a quarter more to the EU than as a GSP beneficiary, 
because of additional tariff preferences. 

As Table 5 shows, the export gains accrue to few products, primarily frozen shrimps (HS 
code 030617; +€5.3 million), ethyl alcohol (220710; +€3.8 million), wheat brans (230230; 
+€2.1 million), and bananas (080390; +€1.7 million) – these four account for almost 90% 
of the increase in export value stemming from accession to the EPA.24 Gains occur only for 
those products which would face positive duties in the GSP, while no changes in Angola’s 
exports are calculated for any export products which would benefit from zero duty access 
also under the GSP25 – examples for  such products among  Angola’s current  exports are 
granite (HS codes 251611 & 12), copper cathodes (740311), sawn wood (440728 & 29) or 
coffee (090111). More accurately, the tariff effects of Angola’s accession to the EPA would 
not lead to an increase in Angola’s exports to the EU. Rather, accession to the EPA would 
avoid a decline in Angola’s  exports for those products, listed in  Table 5, that would lose 
duty free access to the EU upon Angola’s graduation from the EBA into the standard GSP 
(or GSP+).26 

In other words, not acceding to the EPA would result in higher tariffs for Angolan exports 
to the EU and thus reduced exports from Angola to the EU; this would be an immediate 
cost of non-accession for Angola. 

23   Because the EU tariffs on imports from Angola are zero in all liberalisation scenarios, the effects are also the 

same across all of them. 

24   Because of the nature of the PE model, these products are also the ones benefitting most in terms of  total 
export increases; see Table 1 in Annex C. Note that not all of the products listed would necessarily be eligible 
to export duty-free to the EU. E.g., the model assumes that all exports comply with the rules of origin; for 
some  of  the  products  listed,  it  is  however  likely  that  these  are  mostly  re-exports  (such  as  vehicles,  HS 
8703/8704), which might well fail to meet the origin requirement and hence attract MFN tariffs upon entry 
into the EU. 

25   This finding is in line with the  European Commission’s assessment of the EU-SADC EPA’s economic impact 

(DG Trade 2016)  

26   Remember  that  the  baseline  already  reflects  this  loss  of  preferences  and  simulates  Angola’s  exports  as  a 
standard GSP beneficiary country. The calculated changes compared to the baseline exports thus reinstate 
the actual 2019 exports, i.e. they undo the export loss in the baseline resulting from EBA graduation. 

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Table 5: Impact of tariff liberalisation on Angola’s exports to the EU, by product 

Product code and description 

030617  Frozen shrimps and prawns 
220710  Undenatured ethyl alcohol 
230230  Bran, sharps and other residues; of wheat 
080390  Fruit, edible; bananas, other than plantains 
740811  Copper; wire, of refined copper 
030614  Frozen crabs, in shell or not 
870324  Vehicles; with only spark-ignition… 
110710  Malt; not roasted 
030357  Frozen swordfish (Xiphias gladius) 
870423  Vehicles; compression-ignition internal… 
740829  Copper; wire, of copper alloys… 
Others 
Total 
Source: Own calculations based on DG TRADE modelling. 

GSP tariff 
4.2%-8.5% 
19.2€/hl* 
44-89€/t* 
114€/t**, 12.5% 
1.3% 
2.6% 
6.5% 
131-177€/t* 
4% 
15.4% 
1.3% 

Baseline 
(€ M) 

Change 
(€ M) 

Change 
(%) 

12.8 
0.0 
1.1 
1.0 
0.8 
1.1 
0.2 
0.0 
0.3 
0.0 
0.2 
3,618.1 
3,635.6 

5.3 
3.8 
2.1 
1.7 
0.3 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.3 
14.5 

41 
61,859 
188 
175 
42 
22 
105 
20,213 
33 
221 
41 
0.0 
0.4 

Based  on  the  PE  simulations,  the  impact  of  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EU-SADC  EPA  is 
estimated to be sizable in terms of Angola’s imports from the EU as well as overall imports 
(an issue that is further analysed in section 4.1.3), and limited overall on Angola’s exports 
(but sizable with respect to Angola’s non-oil, non-diamond exports). 

It should be noted that the  PE simulations tend to underestimate the  effect  on Angola’s 
exports, for a number  of  reasons. The first  one is a  methodological issue, i.e. the zero-
trade  problem:  the  model  calculates  changes  in  exports  as  percentage  changes.  This 
means that the model  does not capture the impact on products which are currently not 
exported, or are exported in very small quantities – as Angola’s current export structure 
consists of only very few products, the calculation results do not consider the potential for 
diversification, even where there is veritable potential to start exporting under the EPA. 

A second issue is that the model estimates of Angola’s export increases in absolute terms 
(i.e.  increase  in  euros/dollars)  depend  on  the  baseline  values;  as  noted  above  (section 
2.3), these values differ quite substantially across official sources. For example, if baseline 
fish exports had been taken from the BNA data, the absolute effect of the EPA on Angola’s 
fishery exports would be considerably higher. 

Another reason why the model simulations tend to underestimate trade gains (especially 
for Angola) is that they only capture the effects of tariff liberalisation but not other issues 
affecting trade, including positive competitiveness effects due to access to cheaper high-
quality  inputs  for  Angolan  firms,  non-tariff  measures  as  well  as  productive  capacity 
constraints,  which  are  also  addressed  in  the  EPA,  respectively  the  technical  assistance 
expected to be available in association with the EPA, and which are also influenced by the 
separate SIFA being negotiated.  

Last  but  not  least,  the  PE  simulation  results  are  based  on  a  static  model  that  does  not 
capture  any  dynamic  effects  expected  to  arise  from  the  EPA  (and  the  SIFA).  These  are 
improvements  in  the  productivity  and  competitiveness  of  Angolan  businesses  stemming 
from  cheaper  inputs,  increased  foreign  investment  with  associated  injection  of  capital, 
enhanced production processes and technologies, learning and knowledge spill-overs, etc. 
Such effects will positively influence Angola’s trade performance in the longer term, but 
they are not reflected in the results as reported in this section. 

In conclusion, it is expected that both Angola and EU gain in terms of trade performance – 
the EU from  an  expansion in  exports, and Angola  will potentially benefit  from a  relative 
increase in non-oil, non-diamond exports contributing to export diversification, as well as, 
in  the  longer-term,  from  starting  to  export  new  products  and  from  dynamic  gains. 
Nevertheless, to happen in practice, these potential benefits require a strategic approach 
on sectors to focus on, as well as complementary technical assistance. 

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The next section addresses the potential impact of non-tariff measures, while longer-term 
effects on Angola’s trade performance, including from increased investment, productivity 
gains, technology transfer, assistance for export development and investment facilitation, 
are addressed in section 4.1.3. 

4.1.2  Impact of Non-Tariff Measures on Trade 

Previous  studies  have  shown  that  non-tariff  issues  constitute  an  important  barrier  for 
Angolan  exports,  even  in  the  absence  of  tariffs  faced  in  export  markets  (e.g.  BKP 
Development  Research  &  Consulting  2019).  The  EPA  addresses  a  number  of  NTMs,  and 
therefore  the  potential  effects  of  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  could  go  beyond  tariff 
liberalisation  –  depending  on  the  specific  provisions  in  the  EPA  and  Angola’s  current 
situation.  The  SIA  therefore  analyses  some  of  the  main  NTMs,  including  quantitative 
restrictions and tariff rate quotas (TRQs), customs issues including rules of origin and trade 
facilitation,  TBTs  and  SPS  issues,  technical  regulations,  and  trade  defence  instruments. 
Section 1.3 in Annex C provides the full analysis, which is summarised in this section. 

With regard to quantitative restrictions and import licensing, the EPA does not create 
any WTO-plus obligations for the Parties. As Angola is a member of the WTO, the EPA will 
therefore not have a direct impact on Angola in this respect. However, we note that Angola, 
which in recent times has not applied quantitative restrictions outside of the usual general 
exceptions,27 is considering their use in the context of PRODESI. Thus, Presidential Decree 
23/19  establishes  quantitative  import  restrictions  for  a  number  of  products28  from  2022 
onwards  (contingent  upon  compliance  with  WTO  rules),  as  well  as  introduces  import 
licensing requirements. To the extent that these measures would indeed comply with the 
relevant WTO rules, they would also comply with EPA rules. Nevertheless, considering the 
overwhelming  evidence,  shown  in  many  studies  and  analyses,  that  the  use  of  tariffs  is 
superior to quantitative restrictions, bilateral discussions in the framework of the EPA could 
be used to help the Government of Angola find the least disruptive measure to pursue its 
legitimate policy goal of protecting infant industries and reducing the balance of payment 
deficit. 

Similarly, it is not expected that Angola would establish TRQs on imports from the EU, and 
as such no implementation structures would have to be set up. In addition, the EU will also 
not apply TRQs on imports from Angola. Accordingly, Angola’s accession to the EPA would 
not have any impact in this respect. 

One effect of the EPA related to customs and trade facilitation could stem from its rules 
of origin. Specifically, the cumulation rules in the EPA are more lenient than those under 
the  EU’s  GSP  and  EBA.  A  detailed  comparison  goes  beyond  the  scope  of  this  study; 
nevertheless Table 6 provides an overall summary. Effectively, cumulation rules of the GSP 
would make it hard for Angolan exports to the EU to benefit from preferences if they relied 
on inputs from  other SADC countries beyond the levels  established in the conditions  for 
“sufficient working”). Therefore, the EPA provides a benefit and would be conducive to the 
development of regional value chains. At the same time, this benefit is expected to accrue 
only  in  the  long  term,  as  presently  (and  also  in  the  foreseeable  future)  all  of  Angola’s 
exports to the EU are goods “wholly obtained” in Angola. 

27   Such as protection of human, animal or plant life or health, public morals, national treasures, etc. 
28   The products covered are: a) sugar; b) chicken meat products; c) pork products; d) dried beef; e) rice; f) 
wheat flour; g) spaghetti pasta; h) cornmeal; i) milk; j) soap; k) tilapia; l) honey; m) soybean oil; n) palm 
oil; o) sunflower oil; and p) peanut oil. 

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Table 6: Comparison of cumulation rules in the GSP and EPA rules of origin 

Bilateral 
cumulation 

Diagonal 
cumulation 

GSP 
✓  
(more than “insufficient working or processing”) 

(✓)  
(only regional cumulation with other GSP countries in 
the same GSP group; plus extended and cross-regional 
cumulation if requested and authorised by the EU) 

EPA 
✓  
(more than “insufficient working 
or processing”) 
✓  
(inputs from other SADC EPA 
States, ACP EPA States, EU OCTs, 
EBA & GSP beneficiary countries) 

Source: Own preparation based on legal texts. 

Accession to the EPA could furthermore require a change in Angola’s customs regime, i.e. 
the  customs  fee  structure.  Currently,  customs  fees/stamp  duties  (emolumentos  gerais 
aduaneiros) are calculated as a percentage on the customs value of products imported or 
exported. This ad valorem calculation might need to be changed to one based on the cost 
of  service  provided,  as  required  by  the  EPA  (as  well  as  by  WTO  rules);  it  could  also  be 
argued that the currently different levels of customs fees charged on imports (2% on the 
customs  value)  and  exports  (0.5%)  constitute  an  “indirect  protection  to  domestic 
products”, which is explicitly not allowed in line with Article 27(1) of the EPA.  

Such  a  change  in  the  fee  structure  would  likely  have  a  negative  impact  on  government 
revenues29 but at the same time reduce transaction costs for traders, thereby facilitating 
trade. 

In other areas related to customs issues, the anticipated impact of the EPA is unequivocally 
positive, primarily through technical assistance: the EPA contains a commitment by the EU 
to  assist  SADC  EPA  countries  in  customs  matters,  notably  those  areas  where  Angola’s 
capacities  have  been  identified  as  being  limited,  such  as  risk  assessment,  origin 
verification, or related to the operation and the mutual recognition of authorised economic 
operator (AEO) programmes. 

To  significantly  expand  agricultural  exports  under  the  EPA,  a  strengthening  of  the 
capacities to meet EU SPS and TBT requirements is indispensable. Weaknesses in Angola’s 
quality  infrastructure  –  both  those  affecting  the  possibility  to  export  (certification, 
conformity assessment for exports) and the control of imports – are well documented (see 
Annexes C and G). This calls for technical and financial support by the EU and its member 
states both for the development of the quality infrastructure and to businesses. Technical 
assistance under the 11th EDF in this area is planned to be provided in the project “Support 
to  safety  and  quality  standards  towards  a  national  sustainable  and  inclusive  economic 
growth  in  Angola”.30  Such  continued  support  will  be  crucial  for  Angola  to  expand  and 
diversify exports to the EU under the EPA. 

The  transparency  provisions  foreseen  in  the  TBT  and  SPS  chapters  would,  if  the  proper 
domestic  mechanisms  for  onward  information  sharing  with  domestic  businesses  are  in 
place, help Angola’s export oriented businesses to adapt to changing requirements in the 
EU on time. To ensure that this happens, EU support to establish such a mechanism might 
be  required.  In  addition,  assistance  to  Angolan  exporters  in  meeting  changed/tightened 
import requirements in the EU could be considered. 

29   For  a  quantitative  assessment  of  the  magnitude  of  this  effect,  more  detailed  information  on  imports  and 
exports at transaction level would be required. Government revenue affects are addressed in more detail in 
section 4.1.3.4. 

30   The  project  aims  at  verification  and  improvement  of  testing  capacity  of  national  laboratories  in  Angola,  a 
review of the existing legislation and regulations to identify and fill in gaps in addressing technical and safety 
and  SPS  standards  and  support  capacity  building  of  inspection,  certification,  and  traceability  services.  The 
project includes also a component supporting public-private dialogue and knowledge development regarding 
requirements  of  EU  and  SADC  markets,  as  far  as  technical,  safety  and  SPS  standards  are  concerned.  The 
project is planned to start in 2022 or early 2023 and last for three years. 

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In  terms  of  other  regulatory  and  administrative  issues  related  to  SPS  measures,  upon 
accession to the EPA, Angola would likely have to ratify the International Plant Protection 
Convention  (IPPC);  but  this  is  already  in  process  (although  progress  has  been  slow). 
Furthermore, it would need to notify the EU about its relevant SPS norms, regulations and 
requirements (as well as  standards and technical regulations), as well  as any upcoming 
changes to them, which again should pose few challenges. More demanding might be an 
effective notification of the EU about animal diseases and plan health issues encountered 
in the country – as the administrative capacity analysis shows, e.g. the absence of sanitary 
surveys prevents the authorities from systematically identifying diseases and pests across 
the territory. 

Finally,  with  respect  to  trade  defence  instruments,  the  EPA  establishes  no  WTO-plus 
obligations on the Parties on anti-dumping and countervailing measures. It therefore has 
no direct impact for Angola regarding such measures. Nevertheless, considering that the 
current  trade  defence  regime  in  Angola  is  underdeveloped  regarding  anti-dumping 
measures, and does not provide for countervailing measures at all, it could be considered 
to  provide  assistance  for  the  establishment  of  a  WTO  compliant  anti-dumping  and 
countervailing measures regime. The current legal basis, established in Article 11 of the 
2020 Customs Tariff,31 appears to fall short of the requirements established in the relevant 
WTO  Agreements.  Regarding  multilateral  safeguards,  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  will 
allow  it  to  benefit  from  the  EU’s  obligation  to  exclude  the  SADC  EPA  states  from  any 
multilateral safeguards applied. As, however, the EU does not apply multilateral safeguards 
in  practice,  this  is  a  rather  theoretical  benefit.  For  the  establishment  of  a  functioning 
Angolan multilateral safeguards regime, the same considerations as made for anti-dumping 
and  countervailing  measures  apply.  Finally,  with  regard  to  bilateral  safeguards,  the  EPA 
provides a menu of options. According to these, Angola could in principle resort to general 
bilateral safeguards, food security safeguards and infant industry protection safeguards; 
but  again,  a  functioning  trade  defence  regime  would  be  required.  In  the  accession 
negotiations, Angola could also aim at providing a list of certain sensitive products (such 
as wheat flour) which could be covered under the agricultural safeguards. 

In sum, the EPA’s provisions covering non-tariff issues are expected to have limited direct 
effects on Angola’s trade with the EU (or overall), at least in the short term. Longer-term 
benefits  could  stem  from  favourable  rules  of  origin  in  the  EPA,  which  facilitate  Angola’s 
insertion into regional value chains.  

Some  changes  in  Angola’s  regulatory  and  implementation  framework  for  NTMs  could  be 
required, such as a change in the customs fee structure or ratification of the IPPC. These 
would contribute to a strengthening of the trading environment. In addition, the EPA would 
provide  an  important  catalyst  for  EU  support  to  Angola  in  relation  to  enhancements  of 
various  elements  of  the  trade  regulatory  framework  and  its  implementation.  Examples 
include support for the upgrading of the quality infrastructure, customs matters (e.g. risk 
assessment, origin verification, or related to the operation and the mutual recognition of 
AEO programmes) or trade defence instruments. It should be considered to discuss such 
support already during the accession negotiations and agree of a framework for support 
e.g. in a side agreement to the accession. 

4.1.3  Wider Economic Impacts on Angola 

In the absence of CGE model calculations, a quantitative assessment of the wider economic 
impacts of Angola’s accession to the EPA – i.e. on overall and sectoral output, on Angola’s 
competitiveness, on GDP, and on government revenues – is not possible. However, some 
inferences can be drawn from other economic analyses of the EU-SADC EPA in combination 

31   Presidential Legislative Decree 10/19 of 24 November 2019, Diário de República, 29 November 2019. 

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with the PE simulation  results discussed above and complementary analysis  of  statistics 
and information obtained from other sources, including stakeholders. 

4.1.3.1 

Impact on output 

To  assess  the  impact  of  accession  to  the  EPA  on  Angola’s  total  output,  given  the 
methodological constraints one needs to assess separately the effects on output of export-
oriented sectors and import competing sectors: With regard to export oriented sectors, 
the projected increases in exports are small, reaching a maximum of €7.6 million for wheat 
brans,  €5.5  million  for  crustaceans,  €3.8  million  for  ethyl  alcohol,  and  €2.7  million  for 
bananas (see Table 1 in Annex C). All of these export increases are small in absolute terms, 
and while they might translate into output increases, these will be marginal when compared 
to the size of the economy, and also compared to the size of the respective sectors.  

With  respect  to  import-competing  sectors,  as  mentioned  above,  increased  imports 
resulting  from  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  could  have  negative  effects  on  domestic 
producers through more competition. However, this will depend on the actual presence of 
domestic production of the goods that might be imported more following accession – if no 
domestic  production  takes  place,  then  by  definition  there  can  be  no  negative  impact  on 
output (and employment).  

For  the  analysis,  we  compare  the  changes  estimated  by  the  PE  model  with  current  and 
planned domestic production as listed in national policies and strategies, and information 
from stakeholders.32 Among the policy documents, of particular importance are PRODESI 
(Presidential  Decree  169/18)  and  Presidential  Decree  23/19  for  the  implementation  of 
PRODESI, which provides a list of products identified for import substitution, as well as the 
National Industrial Development Plan 2025 (Ministério da Indústria e Comércio 2021). It 
is  assumed  that  these  documents  include  all  the  sectors  where  production  in  Angola  is 
currently  taking  place  or  considered  feasible  by  the  Government,  and  which  might  face 
competition from imports.  

PRODESI contains a list of 55 products and product groups (“PRODESI products”). Table 7 
shows  the  impacts  on  Angola’s  imports  of  these  products  under  the  different  policy 
scenarios.33 It shows that, in the baseline, PRODESI products account for 13% of Angola’s 
total imports (€1.3 billion out of €9.7 billion), with imports of these products from the EU 
being  below  average,  at  6%  (€152  million  out  of  €2.6  billion).  In  the  full  liberalisation 
scenario,  Angola’s  total  imports  of  PRODESI  products  would  be  higher  by  €120  million 
(9.5% compared to the baseline; and 17% of the total import increase), with the highest 
increases  in  absolute  terms  being  in  imports  of  wheat  flour,  bleaches,  juices  and  soft 
drinks, pork, and plasters. In the conservative liberalisation scenario, where Angola would 
exclude  a  higher  number  of  products,  including  several  PRODESI  ones,  the  increase  in 
PRODESI product imports would only be €28 million (2.2% compared to the baseline; and 
4.7% of the total import increase). This could be further reduced to almost zero if bleaches 
and plasters were also excluded from the liberalisation. 

32   Coherent  and comprehensive  statistics on  actual  production  at  the  level of disaggregation required for  the 

analysis could not be obtained. 

33   This calculation is only an approximation, as PRODESI products are not defined in terms of HS codes, and 
therefore the study authors had to prepare a correspondence table between PRODESI products and the HS 
based on best judgement (see Table 3 in Annex C). 

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Table  7:  Impact  of  EPA  accession  on  Angola’s  imports  of  selected  products  targeted  by 
PRODESI (€ million) 

Note: Column “EUR” indicates Angola’s imports from the EU; “ROW” its imports from the rest of the world. 
Source: Own calculations based on DG TRADE modelling; see Table 2 in Annex C for the impact on the 
complete list of PRODESI products. 

Therefore,  the  impact  of  acceding  to  the  EPA  on  the  production  and  output  of  sectors 
focussing on the national market in Angola would be minimal in the case of the conservative 
scenario, with the possible exception of bleaches and mortars and plasters. But even under 
the full liberalisation scenario, the increase in imports  of most PRODESI products would 
remain limited, considering the small increases in relation to the market size and the fact 
that  some  of  the  increase  will  be  absorbed  by  increased  demand  reflecting  the  likely 
declines in prices which consumers would have to pay in the absence of import tariffs. This 
assessment is in line with the Commission’s economic impact assessment of the EU-SADC 
EPA  (DG  Trade  2016),  which  found  small  sectoral  output  changes  in  the  SADC-EPA 
countries (except for “rest of SACU”) of up to 0.5%. Most services sectors were found to 
be benefitting, while most goods sectors – note that results for agriculture are not shown 
in  the  study  –  decrease  marginally.34  Similarly,  Osman  (2015)  finds  relatively  limited 
(negative)  impacts  on  domestically  oriented  sectors  in  Angola.  Finally,  Lopes  concludes 
that  “[e]xcluding  the  extractive  industries  (oil  and  diamonds),  the  industrial  base  of 
Angola's economy is very limited, which means that there is little reason to restrict imports” 
(Lopes 2016). 

Nevertheless, some industries might be more affected by the import increase that might 
be caused by EPA accession. These could include the following ones: 

•  Wheat  flour:  industrial  wheat  flour  production  in  Angola  was  restarted  in  2017  and 
currently is based on three mills. The largest one is Grandes Moagens de Angola (GMA) 
at the Port of Luanda, which has a milling capacity of 1,200 tonnes per day, with plans 
to expand capacity to 3,500 tonnes per day.35 Other mills are Kikolo in Luanda (500 
tonnes per day, with plans to double capacity) and a mill by Grupo Leonor Carrinho in 
Lobito opened in late 2019. All mills currently produce wheat flour based on imported 
wheat  (import  of  which  is  duty-free),  although  there  are  plans  to  restart  wheat 
production in the country.36 The three mills provide direct employment for about 370 
people; their combined annual production capacity is 700  thousand tonnes per year, 

34   The growth in services sectors is likely to be a consequence of the modelling approach which only captures 
tariff changes introduced by the EPA. This invariably leads to a relative decrease in competitiveness of goods 
sectors with lower rates of protection, and a relative increase in competitiveness of the services sectors. 
35   “O Sector Agroindustrial está no nosso ADN”, GMA, http://www.gmangola.com/pt/quem-somos/estrategia/o-

sector-agroindustrial-esta-no-nosso-adn/ [accessed 21 June 2021]. 

36   “Angola is Ambitious to Increase Wheat Production Capacity”, Miller Magazine, n.d., https://millermagazine. 
com/english/angola-is-ambitious-to-increase-wheat-production-capacity/.html [accessed 21 June 2021]. 

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ProductEURROWTotalEURROWTotalEURROWTotalEURROWTotalWheat flour10.928.239.126.1-5.820.30.00.00.026.1-5.820.3Bleaches9.737.747.441.4-26.514.941.4-26.514.941.4-26.514.9Juices and softdrinks4.94.59.416.8-3.913.00.00.00.016.5-3.712.8Pork9.927.937.818.3-5.912.41.6-1.40.218.2-5.912.4Glue cements, mortars, plasters and the like9.811.321.114.3-2.811.514.3-2.811.514.3-2.811.5Construction paint6.711.618.218.0-8.49.60.00.00.018.0-8.49.6Sanitary towels1.518.119.612.8-6.66.20.00.00.012.8-6.66.2Napkins, toilet paper, kitchen rolls2.11.83.97.0-1.55.50.00.00.06.9-1.45.5Soy cooking oil52.029.881.815.4-10.74.70.00.00.015.4-10.74.7Milk11.80.612.44.0-0.13.90.00.00.04.0-0.13.9Blue soap1.320.721.96.2-2.93.30.00.00.02.6-2.00.5Cement1.21.62.83.3-0.62.70.00.00.00.00.00.0Tempered, laminated, multi-layered or otherwise worked glass2.12.44.63.2-1.02.30.00.00.03.2-1.02.3Onions0.16.06.12.7-0.72.00.00.00.02.7-0.72.0Chicken meat9.3283.4292.710.0-8.02.00.00.00.010.0-8.02.0Maize grain0.37.67.91.9-0.51.40.00.00.01.9-0.51.4Other PRODESI products18.2626.3644.517.3-12.35.03.7-2.51.313.7-10.03.7Total PRODESI products151.91,119.51,271.4218.7-98.1120.661.0-33.127.9207.6-94.2113.4Other products2,430.96,024.58,455.51,103.9-531.4572.51,093.5-525.3568.21,103.6-531.3572.3Total2,582.87,144.09,726.81,322.6-629.5693.01,154.5-558.4596.11,311.2-625.4685.7Baseline importsImport change full lib.Import change cons.Import change amb. 
 
 
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more than the current demand of Angola, estimated by the Ministry of Industry to be 
520 thousand tonnes (in 2019).37 Considering this overcapacity, a further increase in 
imports caused by the elimination of duties for imports from the EU (currently tariffs 
are  20%)  could  exert  notable  further  competitive  pressure  on  the  industry.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  industry  is  also  expected  to  be  positively 
affected by the increase in exports, as discussed above, which limits the net negative 
effect (in value terms) to about €13 million in the full liberalisation scenario. 

•  Hygiene products (bleaches, sanitary towels, detergents): These are considered under 
different products in PRODESI, but production in Angola is mostly concentrated in few 
conglomerates,  such  as  S.I.C.I.E.,  which  produces  (in  Viana,  close  to  Luanda)  and 
distributes sanitary towels, diapers, napkins and toilet paper as well as detergents and 
bleaches  under  various  brand  names  including  Suave  and  Brilux.  S.I.C.I.E.  employs 
over 1,000 persons.38 With the combined import increase from EPA accession (in the 
full  liberalisation  scenario)  across  bleaches,  sanitary  towels,  and  napkins/toilet 
paper/kitchen rolls estimated at €26.6 million, or 37.5% of imports in the baseline, and 
this effect falling onto one or very few producers, a negative impact on the company’s 
operations cannot be excluded. 

In  sum,  because  of  the  small  impact  on  output  which  the  tariff  changes  resulting  from 
Angola’s accession to the EPA is expected to cause both in exporting sectors and in most 
import-competing  sectors,  the  overall  short-term  impact  on  output  is  considered  as 
negligible. As discussed in section 4.1.1 above, this finding is however incomplete, because 
the underlying PE model simulations do not capture effects of non-tariff issues nor dynamic 
effects, all of which are expected to be positive for Angola. In the longer term, therefore, 
a  substantial  positive  effect  of  the  EPA  is  expected,  although  this  cannot  be  quantified. 
Nevertheless, the following section provide a more detailed analysis. 

4.1.3.2 

Impact on Angola’s competitiveness 

The impact of Angola’s accession to the EPA on the country’s competitiveness is assessed 
as positive and growing over time, as a result of three interlinked factors: access to cheaper 
capital goods and especially inputs used for domestic production; increased investment – 
also resulting from the SIFA; and technical and financial assistance provided in connection 
with the EPA membership. In this context, we note that the two agreements would address 
the most pressing constraints to higher productivity and competitiveness of the Angolan 
economy  as  identified  in  UCAN’s  latest  economic  report:  “The  most  severe  obstacle  to 
increasing the productivity of the workforce is education and their professional qualification 
[…] The second obstacle to continued productivity growth relates to the stock of capital” 
(UCAN-CEIC 2019, 195). Workforce capacity would benefit both from technical assistance 
provided in relation to the agreements, as well as increased FDI employing local staff, and 
the  capital  stock  would  directly  be  positively  affected  by  the  anticipated  increase  in 
investment to which the EPA and SIFA would contribute. 

Access to cheaper inputs 

Businesses  across  all  sectors  will  benefit  from  cheaper  high  quality  capital  goods  and 
especially intermediate inputs. As the analysis above has shown (Table 3 above), Angola’s 
imports of intermediates from the EU are estimated to increase by €600 million or 59.3% 
in the full liberalisation  scenario (and €543 million/53.7% in the conservative scenario), 
and total imports of intermediates by about half these levels. 

37   “País  pode  alcançar  produção  excedente  de  farinha  de  trigo”,  Jornal  de  Angola,  20  December  2019, 

https://jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/detalhes.php?id=441522 [accessed 21 June 2021]. 

38   https://www.suaveangola.com/company.html [accessed 22 June 2021]. 

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While prices of inputs and intermediaries imported from the EU are likely to remain above 
the levels of competing products from e.g. China, their price-quality ratio will improve, and 
their  increased  use  by  Angolan  companies  will  lead  to  increased  productivity  and 
competitiveness. 

Strengthened investment environment and private investment 

Both the EPA and the SIFA are expected to have positive effects on Angola’s investment 
environment and, in consequence, investment activity (both by domestic, EU, and other 
foreign investors).  

The fact that the EPA does not include provisions on investment does not necessarily mean 
that  the  EPA  will  not  have  any  impact  on  investment,  or  the  investment  climate  and 
business  environment  more  broadly  in  Angola.  In  particular,  theoretically  positive  and 
negative effects could occur. 

On the positive side, the general rationale for expecting that the EU-SADC EPA will have 
positive effects on governance and the business and investment climate has been noted in 
the European Commission’s economic impact assessment of the EPA: “the EPA presents a 
stable and predictable framework for trade relations between the partners. The EPA also 
guarantees preferential market access to the EU. This market access will no longer be at 
the  discretion  of  the  EU  or  dependent  on  the  level  of  the  development  of  a  country’s 
economy.  It  is  laid  down  in  a  treaty  between  the  Parties.  This  creates  predictability  for 
business operators” (European Commission 2016, 13). In the same vein, the SIFA would 
enhance  the  transparency  and  predictability  of  the  investment  climate  in  Angola.  More 
broadly, it is reasonable to assume that the EU-SADC EPA and the SIFA will have a positive 
impact on the Angolan Government’s willingness and capacity to pursue good governance 
frameworks and create and/or maintain open markets and legal institutions that encourage 
entrepreneurial activity.  

On  the  negative  side,  the  removal  of  tariff  barriers  for  EU  exports  to  Angola  could 
discourage market-seeking EU FDI in Angola:  producing locally for the domestic market 
becomes less attractive when trade barriers are lowered. The net effect will then depend 
on whether the positive effects outweigh the negative ones or vice versa. 

In  terms  of  the  theoretically  possible  negative  effect  on  investment,  this  is  unlikely  to 
materialise.  Although  detailed  information  about  the  sectors  in  which  EU  FDI  in  Angola 
operates is not available, as discussed above, information obtained indicates that the vast 
majority of EU investments in Angola is export oriented, not seeking to supply the domestic 
market behind high tariff walls. 

With respect to the  SIFA, its impact  on the investment facilitation framework in Angola 
(which is one element of the wider business environment) is expected to be highly positive. 
We use the Investment Facilitation Index (IFI) developed by Berger et al. (2019; 2021) to 
estimate this effect.39 This shows that Angola’s current performance (with a score of 0.73 
out of a maximum of 2.00), is between the average scores of low income (0.45) and lower 
middle income countries (LMIC; 0.80), being closer to the latter; this is in line with Angola’s 
income status on the brink to an LMIC. Assuming that the SIFA would be in line with the 
EU’s initial text proposal, and that the provisions in the text proposal were implemented in 

39   The  IFI  assesses  countries’  investment  facilitation  measures  based  on  117  indicators  in  six  areas, 
(international)  cooperation,  electronic  governance,  application  process,  focal  point  and  review,  outward 
investment, and regulatory transparency and predictability, on a range from zero (no respective measure) to 
two (comprehensive measure in place for each indicator). While the IFI includes 86 economies worldwide, it 
does not include Angola. We have therefore completed the IFI score for Angola applying Berger et al.’s original 
methodology,  and  based  on  a  review  of  Angola’s  relevant  legislation  and  manuals,  complemented  with 
additional research and interviews of stakeholders. 

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Angola  (regardless  of  whether  they  are  best  endeavour  clauses  or  hard  obligations), 
Angola’s overall IFI score would increase to 1.42, i.e. improve by 94%. Areas of particular 
weakness would benefit even stronger – cooperation by 367%, and focal point and review 
by 211%. These levels of improvement, showing the upper boundary of the effect which 
the  SIFA  could  have  in  Angola,  place  the  Agreement  among  the  most  ambitious 
international  efforts  to  codify  investment  facilitation.  It  should  also  be  noted  that  some 
aspects of the SIFA text, such as the clause on the establishment of a domestic supplier 
database, are not captured in the IFI. The actual benefits of the SIFA in terms of linking 
investors and domestic suppliers could  still be higher than  reported here. Conversely, if 
Angola decided to join the WTO investment facilitation agreement (IFA; provided that one 
is  concluded),  the  incremental  benefit  of  the  bilateral  SIFA  would  be  more  limited  and 
mostly derive from a broader scope of the bilateral agreement when compared with the 
WTO IFA. As currently neither the scope of the WTO IFA nor the scope of the SIFA is known, 
it would be speculative to predict which of the two is broader, and therefore whether the 
SIFA would provide an incremental benefit over and above the WTO IFA. 

These improvements in the Angolan investment framework are also expected to lead to 
more investment in Angola. While a quantitative analysis of this impact is beyond the scope 
of the SIA, the literature clearly shows the cost-saving effects from increased transparency 
and  predictability:  Echandi  and  Sauvé  (2020)  provide  a  conceptual  framework  for  the 
different types of costs and cost savings, while Balistreri and Olekseyuk (2021) estimate 
that the ad valorem equivalent trade costs stemming from investment facilitation for low 
and middle income countries could be  reduced by up to 56% in an ambitious WTO IFA. 
With the SIFA being among the most ambitious IFAs, and accordingly  – if the measures 
foreseen in it are fully implemented  – the costs savings would be  expected to be in the 
same order of magnitude. Due to the cost-savings for investors, more investment will be 
attracted, with positive follow-on effects for GDP and welfare (see next section). 

In  terms  of  the  potential  positive  effects  on  the  investment  climate  and  investment, 
although neither the EPA nor the SIFA provide for investment liberalisation, their focus on 
investment  facilitation,  transparency  and  predictability  of  rules  are  expected  to 
substantially  strengthen  the  investment  climate  and  more  broadly  the  business 
environment.  This  in  turn  is  expected  to  foster  private  investment,  which  in  turn  is 
expected to enhance productivity and hence the competitiveness of the Angolan economy 
overall. 

Because  the  SIFA  operates  on  an  MFN  basis,  any  benefits  that  it  creates  for  foreign 
investors would, de iure, accrue not only to EU investors but to all foreign investors.  In 
practice, smaller investors, respectively businesses planning smaller-scale investments are 
expected to benefit in particular from the enhanced transparency and predictability of the 
investment framework, because they typically lack the connections and insight knowledge 
which large companies have. Considering that the average size of EU investments in Angola 
is small, as analysed above, one can therefore expect nevertheless that the SIFA  will in 
practice bring more than average benefits to EU investors, and in particular SMEs. Again, 
however, the magnitude of the additional benefit of the SIFA will depend on whether Angola 
joins a WTO IFA, as mentioned above. 

Nevertheless,  based  on  the  EU  text  proposal,  some  limitations  in  the  SIFA  remain:  a 
relatively  high  number  of  articles  and  provisions  qualifies  obligations  of  the  Parties  by 
providing that these apply “the extent practicable”. Without objective, clear and observable 
criteria of what is “practicable” and what is not, the risk is that the provisions which are 
subject to “practicability” will not be implemented; and it would then fall on the Committee 
on  Investment  Facilitation  (or  the  dispute  resolution  mechanisms,  where  these  are 
applicable)  to  determine  what  is  practicable.  This  issue  could  be  addressed  at  different 
levels: First, in SIFA negotiations the EU and Angola should agree to limit, to the extent 
possible,  the  “practicability”  contingency.  In  particular  where  the  SIFA  refers  to 
mechanisms and measures that are already in place – such as the Single Electronic Window 

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for Investment in Angola – the practicability has already been proven, and there should 
thus be no need to refer to it in the Agreement.  

The second way to ensure “practicability” of measures is through the provision of technical 
assistance. In the draft text, this is already foreseen (in Article 7.1), but a clear(er) nexus 
could  be  provided  regarding  the  purpose  of  the  assistance,  such  as  by  clarifying  that 
technical assistance would aim first and foremost on ensuring that the Parties can meet 
the  obligations  under  the  SIFA,  in  particular  where  these  are  conditioned  on  their 
practicability. 

Finally, regarding the scope of the SIFA it is suggested that developments in the WTO IFA 
negotiations are closely followed by the negotiators so that adaptations can be reflected in 
the negotiations, thereby ensuring that the SIFA remains complementary to the WTO IFA.  

Availability of technical and financial assistance 

Although accession to the EU-SADC EPA in itself will not be legally linked to an increased 
access by Angola to trade-related technical or financial assistance – Chapter III of Part I 
on  areas  of  cooperation  shows  a  strong  commitment  by  the  EU  to  support  SADC  EPA 
countries in the implementation of the Agreement. Furthermore, the European Commission 
has  clearly  stated  that  it  considers  the  EPA,  the  SIFA  and  EU  assistance  to  Angola  as  a 
single  package.  In  this  respect,  it  is  expected  that  assistance  will  be  made  available  in 
connection  with  the  EPA  to  improve  Angola’s  productive  capacity  and  enhance  export 
performance of a wider range of products, not only to the EU but in general terms.  

A number of key weaknesses affecting Angola’s productive and export capacity have been 
identified  in  different  studies  and  assessments.  For  example,  according  to  UNCTAD’s 
Productive  Capacities  Index,  the  areas  of  ICT,  transport,  and  structural  change  are  key 
weaknesses.40 UCAN’s latest economic report on Angola considers, as mentioned above, 
that the education and professional qualification of workers are the most severe obstacle 
to increasing productivity (UCAN-CEIC 2019, 195). A recent study on export diversification 
potential in Angola identified, in addition to macroeconomic distortions, hard infrastructure 
constraints,  limitations  in  access  to  (trade)  finance,  and  a  difficult  overall  business 
environment, the following weaknesses (BKP Development Research & Consulting 2019): 

• 

constraints in productive capacity, both regarding the number and size of businesses 
and quantity of output (in many sectors) and operational issues within existing firms, 
leading  to  a  lack  of  competitiveness  in  terms  of  price  and  quality.  The  Angolan 
Government  is  addressing  these  issues.  For  example,  to  foster  the  involvement  of 
MSMEs  in  supply  chains,  Article  12  of  Decree  23/19  foresees  that  “retailers  and 
wholesalers  who  carry  out activities of aggregation of national production, especially 
family  agricultural  businesses  and  micro  and  small  industries”  as  well  as  “alliances 
between  national  producers,  transporters,  industrialists  and  traders  implemented 
through  the  formation  of  consortia  of  various  types,  cooperatives,  or  other  forms  of 
cooperation  for  the  development  of  productive  activity”  benefit  from  government 
incentives, including initiatives facilitating and fostering access to credit; 

•  weaknesses  in  the  quality  infrastructure,  particularly  in  relation  to  conformity 
assessment and ensuring that Angolan businesses are able to meet product safety and 
quality requirements in target markets (as analysed in section 4.1.2, and section 1.3 
in Annex C); and  

40   More  information  about  the  Index  is  available  at  https://unctad.org/topic/least-developed-countries/ 

productive-capacities-index.  

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• 

cumbersome, slow and expensive export procedures, especially when compared with 
most other countries (again, see section 4.1.2, and section 1.3 in Annex C). 

Addressing these weaknesses requires, in addition to political will, technical and financial 
support, which could and should be made available in relation to the EPA. The EU and its 
member states have a strong track record in providing trade related assistance to Angola, 
including under ACOM and Train for Trade projects41, as well as the “Support to safety and 
quality standards towards a national sustainable and inclusive economic growth in Angola” 
expected to start in 2022 or early 2023. However, further targeted report in the context of 
Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  –  provided  both  to  companies  and  private  sector 
organisations, and the  public sector  – to overcome the identified constraints would help 
ensure that the benefits of the EPA for Angola’s competitiveness are maximised; this would 
be in line with the cooperation priorities as identified in Article 13 of the EPA. 

Judging on the experience of other SADC EPA countries, it is expected that such  support 
would indeed be made available (see Box 3). More details on technical assistance and areas 
where support might be needed in particular are discussed in section 4.5 below. 

Box  3:  An  example  of  post-EPA  accession  technical  assistance:  Promove  Comércio  in 
Mozambique 

Following its ratification of the EPA in January in 2018, Mozambique has benefited from a technical assistance 
programme funded by the EU, Promove Comércio, which is aimed at contributing to improve trade facilitation 
aspects  of  the  Ease  of  Doing  Business  by  reinforcing  Government  capacity  to  implement  trade  facilitation 
reforms  (EPA  and  WTO  TFA),  address  quality  infrastructure  weaknesses  and  reinforce  the  knowledge  and 
capacity of private sector stakeholders regarding EPA opportunities. This project started is being implemented 
in two phases namely phase I (2019-2021) and phase II is set to start soon and last three (3) years. No annual 
report or review is available to date for this intervention but one important lesson is worth noting. In addition 
to having a dedicated National Steering Committee, Promove Comércio adopted the already existing National 
Trade Facilitation Committee, which was established to manage the country’s implementation of WTO TFA in 
Mozambique, as its national multi-stakeholder consultation mechanism. 

4.1.3.3 

Impact on GDP 

Other  economic  impact  assessments  of  the  EU-SADC  EPA  found  generally  small  GDP 
effects  on the SADC EPA countries: According  to the European Commission  (2016)  GDP 
across all SADC EPA countries would increase  by 0.03% as a  result of the EPA, ranging 
from 0.01% for South Africa and Mozambique to 1.18% for the “rest of SACU” region, i.e. 
Eswatini  and  Lesotho.  Conversely,  using  a  different  analytical  approach  and  different 
hypotheses for the baseline,  Grumiller et al. (2018)42 estimated the  economic effects of 
EPAs  for  the  African  countries  to  be  negative  but  likewise  small.  For  the  SADC  EPA 
countries, the GDP loss is estimated at -0.2%, and for Mozambique at up to -0.39%.  

As  shown  in  the  preceding  sections,  given  Angola’s  particular  economic  structure,  the 
impact of the tariff changes resulting from the EPA on trade and output are expected to be 
limited.  As  a  consequence,  the  impact  on  Angola’s  GDP  is  also  expected  to  be  minimal. 
However, other effects caused by the EPA – including with regard to non-tariff issues and 
dynamic improvements in competitiveness – are likely to be more important and benefit 

41   See https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/aldc_train-for-trade-II_flyer.pdf.  
42   Whereas  the  European  Commission  compares  the  situation  with  the  EU-SADC  EPA  in  place  with  a 
counterfactual  future  situation  in  which  the  EPA  is  not  in  place  (but  some  SADC  EPA  countries  may  have 
graduated out of the GSP), Grumiller et al. compare the current situation with a future situation in which the 
EPA is applied. This approach distorts the simulation results because it compares the situation of today which 
is impossible to maintain in the future (due to the changes in status that countries will undergo even in the 
absence of an agreement), thereby invariably leading to negative results for any country that moves from 
being  a  beneficiary  of  a  unilateral  preference  scheme  to  a  reciprocal  arrangement.  For  more  details,  see 
section 3 of the inception report. 

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Angola,  so  that  in  the  long-term,  a  positive  impact  of  the  EPA  on  GDP  and  welfare  is 
deduced. 

With regard to the SIFA, some lessons can be drawn from the literature. Notably, Balistreri 
and Olekseyuk (2021) have recently estimated the economic impact of various scenarios 
for  a  potential  WTO  IFA  based  on  a  CGE  analysis.  This  showed  that  GDP  in  low  income 
countries  would  increase  by  between  0.6%  (for  the  least  ambitious  scenario)  and  more 
than 2% in the “extended ambitious IFA”; welfare of low income countries would increase 
by 1% to 3.5% under these scenarios, respectively. While the overall economic effects of 
an IFA would increase with the coverage of the agreement, the analysis also shows that 
the  “benefits  are  concentrated  among  the  regions  participating  in  the  negotiations” 
(Balistreri and Olekseyuk 2021, 13). Although no precise numbers  for the impact of the 
SIFA on Angola’s GDP can be provided (and would depend also on whether and what type 
of  WTO  IFA  will  be  concluded),  based  on  the  findings  in  the  literature  on  the  WTO  IFA 
impact the economic impact for Angola of the SIFA is expected to be a substantial gain in 
GDP and welfare. 

Based on the estimation of changes in output discussed above and considering the small 
size of the sectors43 whose output is expected to be affected by Angola’s EPA accession – 
both positively and negatively – we conclude that the short-term impact of tariff changes 
on  Angola’s  GDP  is  negligible.  Longer-term  effects  from  increasing  competitiveness  and 
economic  diversification  supported  by  the  EPA  and  the  SIFA  are  expected  to  be  more 
important  and  positive,  although  quantification  is  impossible  in  the  absence  of  a  CGE 
model-based analysis. 

4.1.3.4 

Impact on government revenues 

Because accession to the EPA will require that Angola reduces tariffs on imports from the 
EU, government revenues will be affected. A direct impact stems not only from lower (or 
no)  collected  duties  on  imports  from  the  EU  but  also  because  some  imports  from  third 
countries will be replaced by EU suppliers. On the other hand, positive effects result from 
the increase in imports overall and higher collection of other taxes levied at the border, as 
well as, indirectly, generally higher tax collections (income and corporate taxes) resulting 
from  increases  in  productivity  and  output.  In  line  with  this  combination  of  effects  in 
different directions, the European Commission’s economic impact assessment of the EU-
SADC  EPA  estimated  the  average  tariff  revenues  of  SADC  EPA  countries  to  decline  by 
0.59%, ranging from a loss of 1.5% in Mozambique to an increase of 1.84% for the “rest 
of SACU” (European Commission 2016). 

The PE model calculations only allow to capture the direct government revenue effects of 
Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  (Table  8).44  In  the  full  liberalisation  scenario,  duties  on 
imports from the EU of course decrease by 100% (based on the scenario assumptions, all 
duties are set to zero), and duties on imports from other countries decrease by 29.9%, as 
a result of some of their imports being diverted to imports from the EU, which are duty-
free. The combined effect is a decline in tariff revenues of €398 million, or 49.7% of the 
tariff revenues in the baseline. In the other two scenarios, the effect is smaller, but only 
slightly so (in the conservative scenario with the lowest assumed commitments by Angola, 
€360 million or 44.9% of baseline tariff revenues. Compared to the European Commission’s 
2016 study, this is much higher – mostly because the share of imports from the EU in total 
imports is much higher in Angola than in Mozambique and other SADC EPA countries. 

These revenue losses are partly offset by increases in the collection of other taxes levied 
on  imports.  Table  8  calculates  these  using  the  example  of  14%  value  added  tax  (VAT), 

43   See  section 1.2.3  in  Annex  C  for  a  sectoral breakdown of Angola’s  GDP  and  industrial output,  and  a  more 

detailed discussion of the tariff change-induced impacts on Angola’s GDP. 

44   For the calculation of revenue effects, see section 1.2.4 in Annex C. 

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which is assumed to be levied on all imports; as VAT is a domestic tax it is also applied on 
imports, including those from the EU under the EPA. As imports from the EU increase more 
than imports from other sources decrease, the overall effect on VAT revenues on imports 
is positive, reaching €97 million (or 7.1%) in the full liberalisation scenario, compared to 
the baseline. 

Table 8: Impact of EPA membership on Angola’s tariff revenues and border tax collection 
(changes compared to baseline) 

Full liberalisation 

€ million 

% 

Conservative scenario 
% 

€ million 

Ambitious scenario 

€ million 

% 

-227 
-171 
-398 

Change in tariff revenues 
On imports from EU 
On imports from ROW 
Total 
Change in VAT on imports 
185 
On imports from EU 
-88 
On imports from ROW 
Total 
97 
Change in total border tax revenues 
-42 
On imports from EU 
-260 
On imports from ROW 
-301 
Total 

-100.0 
-29.9 
-49.7 

51.2 
-8.8 
7.1 

-91.3 
-26.6 
-44.9 

44.7 
-7.8 
6.1 

-207 
-153 
-360 

162 
-78 
83 

-45 
-231 
-276 

-99.4 
-29.6 
-49.4 

50.8 
-8.8 
7.1 

-225 
-170 
-395 

184 
-88 
96 

-42 
-257 
-299 

Note: For VAT change calculations, it has been assumed that 14% VAT is collected on all imports; other border 
taxes are not considered.   
Source: Own calculations based on DG TRADE modelling; see Table 6 in Annex C. 

Summing up the two effects, the total effect of EPA accession on Angola’s revenues from 
border taxes is still negative, but clearly less so than the analysis of tariff revenues alone 
would suggest: in the full liberalisation scenario, the loss amounts to €301 million. In the 
conservative  scenario, this reduces to €276 million. Comparing this to total government 
revenues in 2019 of AOA 6.5 trillion (IMF 2020, 24) – about €16.8 billion – means that the 
revenue loss would amount to about 1.8%. 

Note,  however,  that  these  comparisons  refer  to  the  situation  after  the  transition  period 
during which Angola would gradually reduce its tariffs on EU imports; the duration of this 
period will need to be negotiated; as an indication transition periods for Mozambique under 
the  EU-SADC  EPA  reach  up  to  10  years.  In  other  words,  the  revenue  effect  will  occur 
gradually over several  years, giving the Government time to adopt mitigating measures 
(such  as  strengthening  domestic  tax  collection);  technical  assistance  from  the  EU  to 
support this could be requested. 

In  sum,  EPA  accession  is  expected  to  have  a  negative  effect  on  Angola’s  government 
revenues. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the total effect is expected to be smaller than 
the analysis of direct effects undertaken in this section suggests. This is because positive 
indirect  effects  stemming  from  increased  collection  of  domestic  taxes,  which  in  addition 
tend to increase over time as the positive competitiveness and productivity effects of the 
EPA  materialise.  Also,  the  revenue  effect  will  only  occur  over  several  years  as  Angola’s 
tariffs on selected EU imports are gradually reduced. 

4.1.4  Impact on Regional Integration 

One of the stated key objectives of the EU-SADC EPA is to promote regional integration 
between the Parties and among the SADC EPA States as defined by Article 1(b) and (f). 
Furthermore, Protocol 1 of the EPA sets out the rules of  origin  inter alia  to promote the 
creation of value chains between the Parties through cumulation of origin (see section 4.1.2 
above). 

The  ambition  to  promote  trade  between  the  Parties,  and  particularly  among  SADC  EPA 
States comes at a time when intra-SADC trade and Angola-SADC trade flows are relatively 
low – the share of Angola’s exports going to other SADC countries (excl. DR Congo, which 

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like Angola  does not currently participate in the  SADC Trade  Protocol) was 2% in 2020, 
and the share of imports from SADC in Angola’s total imports 6% (see Figure 2 above) – 
and with no dynamic trend in recent years (see section 1.4 in Annex C). 

To a large  extent, the  EPA’s impact on  regional  integration will also  depend on Angola’s 
participation in the SADC Trade Protocol. In this context, we note that, according to one 
key informant interviewed by the study team, in May 2020 and February 2021 the SADC 
Council of Ministers of Trade communicated to the EU that the Parties of the SADC Trade 
Protocol would welcome Angola’s engagement in the EU-SADC EPA accession process only 
after its accession process to the SADC FTA was successfully concluded. This may possibly 
pose a challenge to the accession negotiation process. Also, Angola has been slow so far 
to  live  up  to  its  promises  to  fast-track  the  accession  process  into  the  Protocol.  While  it 
formally communicated its interest to join the Protocol in 2016, it only submitted its first 
draft  tariff  offer  in  2020,  which  covered  fewer  tariff  lines  than  its  offer  made  for  WTO 
accession in 1996. 

Advancing the SADC integration process would be in line with the EPA, which in addition 
to the commitment to regional integration in the Preamble and Article 3 also calls on the 
Parties  to  promote  the  harmonisation  of  customs  legislation,  procedures,  standards  and 
requirements (Art. 47), as well as to cooperate on matters concerning e.g. TBT (Art. 54), 
SPS  (Art.  60).  At  the  same  time,  the  EPA  itself  would  contribute  to  regional  trade 
liberalisation. Article 108(2) states that  

“Any  more  favourable  treatment  and  advantage  that  may  be  granted  under  this 
Agreement  by  a  SADC  EPA  State  to  the  EU  shall  be  enjoyed  by  the  other  SADC  EPA 
States.” 

Thus, in the absence of Angola’s participation in the SADC Trade Protocol, under the EPA 
Angola  would  nevertheless  grant  the  same  tariff  preferences  to  other  SADC  EPA  states 
which it grants to the EU, and similarly benefit from the same preferential market access 
in other SADC EPA states which they have granted to the EU under the EPA. The economic 
impact of this subregional liberalisation triggered by the EPA is not incorporated into the 
PE model simulations used for the quantitative assessment provided above, but is expected 
to be positive for Angola’s economy. 

This  could  apply  in  particular  at  the  sector  level,  notably  in  sectors  which  have  export 
potential in general, but not necessarily to the EU. The 2019 Export Diversification Study 
identified  sectors  with  regional  export  potential,  using  a  ranking  based  on  demand  side 
factors (e.g. regional demand, market access barriers) and supply-side factors (revealed 
comparative advantage, export performance and potential to overcome key  constraints) 
during  indicative  timeframes  (short,  medium  and  long  terms).  Some  of  the  sectors 
identified included glass, cement and fishery products (short term) and dimension stones, 
fruits  and  fruit  preparations  (medium  term)  (BKP  Development  Research  &  Consulting 
2019). It would appear to be reasonable for Angola to devise specific strategies in export-
oriented  priority  sectors  and  value  chains  of  PRODESI,  e.g.  food  and  agro-industry,  to 
benefit from targeted interventions to exploit potential untapped demand in SADC markets 
that would arise from its membership in the EPA. 

Finally, EU support to SADC regional integration is also provided through regional technical 
assistance programmes, which have  played  a  role in the implementation  of the EPA  (as 
well  as  the  SADC  FTA)  at  national  level.  The  SADC  Trade-Related  Facility  (TRF)  is  an 
example from which lessons can be learned.45 It is a grant from the EU of EUR 36.1 million 
for  12  SADC  Member  States  over  the  period  Oct  2014  to  Sep  2019  (later  extended  to 
September  2021).  Its  specific  objective  is  to  enhance  the  implementation  of  the  SADC 
Trade Protocol (window 1) and the SADC-EU EPA (window 2) to increase intra-regional and 

45 https://www.sadc.int/files/7615/0390/3249/SADC_TRF-BOOK.pdf [accessed on 9 July 2021] 

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inter-regional  trade  flows  of  the  participating  SADC  Member  States.  Lesotho,  Tanzania, 
Namibia and Mozambique were eligible for up to EUR 2.6 million each. Although the 2019 
mid-term  review  of  the  SADC  TRF  identified  some  areas  for  improvement,  it  also  found 
that the TRF made a good contribution to many Member States’ national trade development 
agendas. It also noted that the development of regional value chains and industry first and 
foremost requires dedicated national resources and commitment; and that a programme 
like the TRF at best can only kick-start certain efforts or stop gaps in others. 

In  summary,  accession  to  the  EU-SADC  EPA  will  also  develop  Angola’s  trade  with  other 
SADC EPA states as a result of the regional preferences clause. The extent to which the 
EPA  will  support  Angola’s  participation  in  (and  enhancement  of)  the  Southern  African 
deeper regional integration process will depend largely on Angola’s ability to: 

•  prioritise specific value chains where offensive and defensive interests can be developed 

within the context of Angola’s trade with SADC countries; 

•  elaborate clear adequately sequenced implementation plans for the EPA (and the SADC 

Trade Protocol); 

•  mobilise domestic and external resources to implement the EPA and its related reforms 
to maximise trade and investment opportunities for businesses from the EU and SADC 
EPA states; and 
set up adequate national institutional frameworks/bodies and coordination mechanism 
(or  maximise  the  existing  one)  to  monitor  implementation  of  trade  agreements 
efficiently and effectively. 

• 

EU  support  under  regional  assistance  facilities  is  expected  to  support  Angola  on  these 
matters. 

One area that the EPA does not specifically address is its role in  the wider African trade 
integration process, as now being led by the AfCFTA. There are no provisions that would 
address regional integration beyond SADC. Nevertheless, diagonal cumulation under the 
EPA rules of origin would in principle allow the coverage of African value chains involving 
most African countries (see section 4.1.2 above). 

4.1.5  Impact on EU Outermost Regions 

The  nine  outermost  regions  (ORs)  of  the  EU  consist  of  six  French  overseas  territories 
(French  Guiana,  Guadeloupe,  Martinique,  Mayotte,  La  Réunion  and  Saint  Martin),  two 
Portuguese autonomous regions (the Azores and Madeira) and one Spanish autonomous 
community  (the  Canary  Islands).  The  ORs  are  primarily  active  in  traditional  sectors,  as 
agriculture,  fishing  and  livestock  farming.  Typical  products  produced  in  these  regions 
include  exotic  fruits  and  vegetables  (e.g.  bananas,  melons,  sugar  cane,  tomatoes  and 
potatoes), fish through fishing or fish farming, and meat through livestock farming. Several 
ORs, such as La Réunion, Martinique and French Guiana, have diversified their economies 
towards small industries in the construction and public works sector, the wood sector, and 
the mining industry. The majority of these regions also have important tourism sectors. 

Trade between the ORs and Angola is minimal and the effect of Angola’s accession to the 
EPA on this bilateral trade is therefore estimated to be negligible. A potential (negative) 
impact  of  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  on  the  ORs  could  however  exist  at  the 
sector/product level, if Angolan exports to the EU which are also exported by ORs expand 
as a result of Angola’s EPA membership.46 As the analysis in section 1.4 of Annex C shows, 
bananas and crustaceans are two product groups where this could be the case: Angola’s 
exports of these are expected to be larger as an EPA country than otherwise, and they are 

46   Conversely, no impact on OR imports, even at the sector or product level, is expected because of the negligible 
effect of the Angola’s accession to the EPA on EU trade, and the non-existent exports by Angola to the ORs. 

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exported to the EU also by several ORs (Guadeloupe for bananas, and the Canary Islands 
as well as the Azores and Madeira for fish and crustaceans). Nevertheless, considering the 
small absolute increases in Angola’s exports of these products to the EU (not reaching €10 
million for any product), their effect on the EU market (increase in supply) will be negligible. 
It is also to be considered that EPA accession would reinstate (respectively continue) the 
preferences  in  the  EU  market  that  Angola  currently  already  enjoys  as  an  LDC/EBA 
beneficiary country – therefore, the calculated larger exports compared to the baseline are 
not actually export increases but help maintain the current level of exports (and would only 
in the long run lead to export increases, as supply side constraints are overcome). For the 
foreseeable  future,  Angola’s  shares  in  total  EU  imports  of  any  of  the  goods  considered 
(bananas, crustaceans) will remain insignificant.  

We therefore conclude that Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC EPA will have no impact on 
the ORs. 

4.2  Social Sustainability of Angola’s Participation in the EPA 

4.2.1  Employment effects47 

The  EPA’s  employment  effects  for  Angola  will  depend  on  the  scale  and  the  nature  of 
changes in trade and investment flows related to the accession to the EPA, compared to a 
situation without the agreement (the increase of imports from and exports to the EU and 
trade diversion from the rest of the world) and type of traded goods and services. Trade 
union representatives participating in the workshop for this study emphasised that all the 
economic and social impacts should be considered in the context of the situation on the 
labour market in Angola (for details, see Annexes D1 and D2). 

As noted in section 4.1, considering the overall modest impacts on exports, and the also 
limited  degree  of  competition  between  EU  imports  and  domestic  production,  the  overall 
employment  effects  of  the  EPA  stemming  from  the  tariff  liberalisation  are  small. 
Nevertheless, in the following we also address some sectoral effects.  

The  projected  modest  increase  in  imports  of  capital  goods,  including  machinery,  and 
cheaper inputs, as well as increased investment stemming from the SIFA should support 
improvements in productivity, product quality and enable the manufacture of value added 
products, which in turn may increase sales of Angolan goods both on the domestic market 
and for exports, and contribute to job creation. However, as also noted, in sectors such as 
agriculture and food processing, where the level of mechanisation is low,48 more intensive 
use of machinery will mean changes in the organisation of work, including the replacement 
of manual work by mechanisation and changes in job profiles. This may require investment 
in  vocational  training,  in  particular  for  young  persons,  to  help  them  to  develop  the 
necessary skills to operate new equipment or to take new or re-profiled jobs.49 In addition 
to  agriculture,  the  petrochemical  industry  was  named  by  stakeholders  as  a  sector  that 
could benefit from imports of equipment and on that basis contribute to the diversification 
of Angolan economy, substitution of imports and potentially increase  in exports and job 
creation.50 

47   In line with the approach in the economic impact analysis, employment impacts of Angola’s accession to the 
EPA as reported here should be interpreted as changes compared to the situation of the country benefitting 
from the general GSP arrangement. 

48   For example, in Angola, 3% of the agricultural land is cultivated mechanically, 72% manually and 25% by the 

use of animals (MINAGRIF 2019). 

49   See  Pacatolo  (2021);  “A  agricultura  é  o  sector  que  maior  quantidade  de  emprego  gera,  afirma  Domingos 
Veloso”,  Andrade,  L./ONgoma,  20  June  2017,  https://www.ongoma.news/artigo/a-agricultura-e-o-sector-
que-maior-quantidade-de-emprego-gera-afirma-domingos-veloso 

50   Esteves,  F.  (2021),  Presentation  at  the  workshop  of  the  study  in  the  panel  dedicated  to  societal  views  on 

impacts of Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC EPA 

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The increase in imports in consumer goods is anticipated to generate employment impacts 
for the retail trade and domestic production competing with imports. Regarding the latter, 
as indicated in section 4.1, the risk of potential employment reduction can be mitigated by 
a selective and gradual import liberalisation. Moreover, in the longer term, the expected 
positive  effects  of  the  EPA  on  competitiveness  in  Angola  are  also  expected  to  increase 
consumers’  purchasing  power,  thereby  increasing  demand  for  consumer  products, 
including  domestically  produced  ones.  In  addition,  demographic  factors  support  this 
positive trend: the population has been growing from 16.4 million in 2000 to 32.8 million 
in 2020, with the share of urban population increasing to 66.8% in 2020.51 Angola also has 
a  very  young  population,  with  21  million  (66.1%)  being  of  0-24  years  of  age,52  which 
further increases demand. Therefore, in particular over the longer term, the likelihood of 
increased imports in consumer goods putting the domestic production and employment at 
risk is expected to decrease. 

Regarding retail trade, Annex D1 provides its description, including data on employment 
(1.7  million  jobs),  and  its  structure  and  the  level  of  informality  (70%-80%).  The 
employment effects of the EPA for the sector should be positive overall, given that more 
imports  will  require  additional  staff  along  the  distribution  chain.  Moreover,  increased 
imports from the EU at least initially are expected to influence formal distribution in cities 
rather than distribution services in other parts of the country, both due to the weak state 
of the distribution infrastructure in Angola and  the concentration of purchasing power in 
the cities. 

In terms of export sectors, products from the fisheries and fruits and vegetables sectors 
are expected to benefit from the EPA, as they will avoid the losses of preferences currently 
enjoyed  under  the  EBA,  and  in  the  longer  term  increase  exports  to  the  EU  due  to 
competitiveness gains. This in turn would generate additional employment.  

For the fruits and vegetables sector (for further details see  the case study in Annex B2, 
and Annex D1) the impact is difficult to quantify given that many agro-enterprises (each 
employing  up  to  a  few  thousand  workers53)  grow  and  market  a  diversity  of  fruits  and 
vegetables. Therefore an increased banana production may encourage a shift of workers 
between cultivations, a change in organisation of work or creation of new jobs. 

Regarding shrimps, crabs, and prawns, almost all Angolan exports in those groups were 
destined on the EU market in the last few years (see the case study in Annex B1). As a 
result  of  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA,  current  jobs  in  the  maritime  shrimp  and  prawn 
fishing (around 1,500) would be preserved, while in the situation of a move from EBA to 
GSP accompanied by a potential fall in exports by 28%, a corresponding number of jobs 
may be put at risk unless exports can be diverted to other markets or jobs moved to other 
segments of the sector. 

As indicated in the economic analysis, the increase in exports predicted by the PE model 
and the related job creation is likely to be underestimated given that the model does not 
take into  consideration  sectors nor products where there have been no exports to date, 
which however, may become competitive thanks to efforts related to export diversification. 
In addition, it does not show any indirect effects (including for employment) which would 
come from related sectors, e.g., services accompanying trade in goods. In this context, it 
is worthwhile to mention that in another  recent study analysing  the potential for export 
diversification and job creation in Angola across a range of sectors, a high potential for job 

51   World  Development  Indicators.  See  https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=AO;  and 

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=AO 
52   https://pt.countryeconomy.com/demografia/estrutura-populacional/angola 
53   Sources mention numbers between 3,500 and 4,500; see AFP, Shine (2018), Banana exports key to Angola 
ending  its  dependence  on  oil:  https://www.shine.cn/news/world/1811265704/;  Macao  Magazine  (March 
2020), Cropping up: https://macaomagazine.net/cropping-up/ 

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creation has been identified for a number of agrifood sectors (BKP Development Research 
& Consulting 2019). 

As highlighted elsewhere in this report (see in particular sections 4.1.2 and 4.5), and as 
also highlighted by stakeholders in the consultations, for additional exports to the EU and 
the region, and additional employment opportunities to materialise, Angola has some way 
to go yet, inter alia to build the productive capacity of businesses, to ensure that companies 
thinking of exporting their goods can meet SPS or technical and safety standards, and to 
develop the trade infrastructure. In the stakeholder consultations, respondents were of the 
view that Angola’s accession to the EPA would have positive impacts on employment in the 
country,  including  the  situation  of  women,  young  people,  persons  with  disabilities  and 
migrant workers on the labour market, their wages, and transition from informal to formal 
economy. They thought there would also be positive effects related to vocational training. 

There  may  also  be  positive  spill-over  effects,  i.e.,  products  that  will  be  of  a  quality  and 
characteristics good enough to meet EU standards and be exported to the EU are likely to 
also meet standards in other destination markets, notably those where they benefit from 
tariff preferences. This in turn, may increase the likelihood of job creation resulting from 
exports to the EU and onto other markets. 

In interviews for this study, stakeholders were of the view that in general imports from the 
EU to Angola will not represent a threat, including for local employment, as goods produced 
in  the  EU  and  Angola  respectively  are  different.  According  to  these  views,  only  a  few 
products, such as fish or furniture should be excluded from import liberalisation to support 
local production in Angola. Others were of the view that in the long term competing against 
EU  imports  may  be  even  healthy  for  Angolan  companies,  as  this  will  require  from  them 
investing in better product development, and will support creativity. However, in the short 
term, import liberalisation should be carefully planned in order not to stifle local production 
and  provoke  job  losses.  Stakeholders  also  thought  that  investment  by  EU  companies, 
including investment in the already existing enterprises (facilitated by the EPA as well as 
the SIFA), could help create employment. 

The  overall  employment  effects  of  the  EPA  stemming  from  the  tariff  liberalisation  are 
expected to be small. Estimated increases in exports to the EU (and output) are limited in 
the short term, and in the longer term depend on enabling factors in several areas. These 
include a need for investment in vocational training, notably for young people to develop 
skills required for new job profiles and the new organisation of work, e.g., involving a more 
frequent  use  of  machinery.  Other  requirements  include  the  need  to  improve  business 
environment  to  facilitate  establishment  of  formal  companies  that  could  export,  product 
development  to  meet  EU  standards,  and  development  of  physical  and  quality 
infrastructure. Some of these needs can be addressed by ongoing EU assistance projects. 
Export-related effects  may be underestimated due to limitations  of methodological tools 
used in the analysis. 

Employment effects related to increased imports from the EU may vary depending on the 
sector, with possible positive impacts and employment generation in the retail trade sector, 
notably in consumer goods, where increased imports may require recruitment of additional 
staff along the distribution chain. This, however, at least in the short term may be limited 
to cities. 

In sectors that manufacture products competing with imports, the EPA could put some jobs 
at  risk.  However,  this  effect  is  limited  (there  are  few  sectors  in  Angola  competing  with 
imports from the EU), and it can be mitigated through a staged and selective liberalisation 
of  import  tariffs  in  Angola.  Moreover,  given  a  growing  young  and  urban  population,  a 
positive macroeconomic trend may enable increase in the domestic demand creating space 
in the market, for both domestic production and imports. 

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4.2.2  Effects for informal employment 

The  analysis  of  impacts  which  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  may  have  for  informal 
employment in the country was carried out for sectors likely to be affected – retail trade, 
agrifood,  shrimps  and  prawns  –  taking  into  consideration  job  characteristics  for  each  of 
them (see Annex D1).  

As indicated in the previous section, direct positive effects of the EPA on employment are 
expected in retail trade, with job creation more likely to happen in cities. If accession to 
the EPA happens at a time of macroeconomic stability and economic growth, an uptake of 
the trend observed in 2000-2016 is likely when formal food stores increased their market 
share from 5% to the current 20-30%.54 This may happen both through servicing higher 
(additional) trade volumes coming from imports as well as shift of some customers from 
buying on informal markets to formal stores. While work in a formal store does not mean 
automatically having a formal job, the likelihood of formal jobs is nevertheless higher in 
such a situation, and therefore it is possible that formal jobs will be created in the retail 
sector, as a result of accession to the EPA. In addition, given a growing population in Angola 
and the likelihood of increased and diversified domestic production thanks to, e.g., imports 
of capital and intermediate goods from the EU and investment, the overall trade volume 
on the domestic market may increase providing opportunities for income generation also 
in the informal part of retail trade, with additional jobs or higher incomes for those already 
involved. In the longer  term, the Government may look at opportunities to increase tax 
base to compensate partial loss of tariff revenues due to the EPA and implement actions 
outlined in the National Development Plan 2018-2022, including replacing informal markets 
with  formal  ones,  establishing  cooperatives  in  agriculture  and  fisheries,  and  formalising 
street  vendors.  In  this  way,  the  EPA  would  be  one  factor  among  others  contributing 
(indirectly) to a gradual move towards formal economy and jobs, as far as retail trade is 
concerned. Another factor which may also contribute to this move is the need to increase 
the  safety  of  food  sold  domestically  in  Angola,  including  on  informal  markets.55  In  this 
context,  there  is  a  need  to  consider  impacts  for  small-scale  food  producers,  for  whom 
selling products (e.g., fruits and vegetables) on informal markets represents their second 
informal economic activity (after agriculture) and often the main source of income. While 
in the short term, as noted above, impacts for them may be limited, in  the longer term 
they may need to compete against imports and domestic production originating from larger 
undertakings, and face new requirements, such as those related to food standards.56 

Regarding effects in sectors likely to preserve or increase exports thanks to accession to 
the  EPA,  the  fruits  sector  (including  bananas)  is  composed  of  a  few  large  companies, 
employing up to 4,500 workers each, as well as small family undertakings. Based on the 
characteristics  of  the  sector,  at  least  in  the  short  to  medium  term  exports  are  likely  to 
come from  large, formal enterprises which are  able to  ensure adequate product quality, 
storage  space and logistics. Some,  e.g. Fazenda  Girassol (800  workers)  or  Novagrolíder 
(4,500  workers)  already  export  bananas  to  Portugal,57  while  others,  e.g.  Turiagro  (400 
workers), export to African countries.58 Although no information is provided on corporate 

54   African 

Business 

Angola: 
https://www.whoownswhom.co.za/store/info/3090?segment=Wholesale+and+Retail+of+Food+in+Angola); 
and  African  Business 
in  Angola: 
(2020),  Wholesale 
https://www.whoownswhom.co.za/store/info/4811?segment=Wholesale+and+Retail+of+Food+in+Angola) 

(2015),  Wholesale 

and  Retail 

Information 

Information 

Retail 

Food 

Food 

and 

of 

of 

in 

55   “Mercado  informal  é  o  de  maior  risco  em  qualidade  sanitária”,  Jornal  de  Angola,  15  January  2021, 
https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/mercado-informal-e-o-de-maior-risco-em-qualidade-sanitaria/ 
[accessed 10 June 2021] 
56   “Projecto  nos  Mercados 

forças”,  UNDP,  May  2020), 

e  MAT  unem 

Informais: 

PNUD 

https://www.ao.undp.org/content/angola/pt/home/blog/projeto--de--mercados-informais--uma-resposta-
do-pnud-a-pandemia.html [accessed 10 June 2021] 

57   “Cropping up”, Macao Magazine (March 2020), https://macaomagazine.net/cropping-up/; “Fazenda Girassol 
2020, 

inicia 
https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/fazenda-girassol-inicia-embalagem-de-banana-para-exportar/ 

embalagem 

exportar”, 

Angola, 

banana 

Jornal 

para 

July 

19 

de 

de 

58   https://turiagro.com/ 

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websites, in the literature and in PRODESI publications regarding the nature of employment 
and working conditions, the likelihood that jobs  in these companies are formal is higher 
than elsewhere in the sector. In any case, jobs preserved or created as a result of the EPA 
are likely to have characteristics of jobs offered by that group of companies, at least in the 
near future. 

In shrimp production,  there is very little information available which would suggest job 
characteristics  in  companies  which  may  be  involved  in  exports  to  the  EU  and  generate 
additional employment. In aquaculture, 15 companies are large and 51 of a smaller size, 
most of them informal (PRODESI 2020). The latter would suggest an informal nature  of 
jobs as well, while the likelihood of formal jobs may be higher in larger formal companies 
involved  in  international  trade.  In  maritime  fishery,  PRODESI  suggests  an  informal 
character of enterprises (PRODESI 2020), which in turn would suggest an informal nature 
of jobs. On the other hand, however, Angola ratified ILO Convention No. 188 on work in 
fishing, which requires adoption of written contracts with fishers and compliance with other 
employer’s obligations related to formal work. As noted in Annex D1, there are still gaps 
in the implementation of the Convention by Angola, and there is a need to align the existing 
legislation  and  practice  with  it.  However,  there  is  a  trend  to  formalise  jobs  in  industrial 
maritime  fishing.  Therefore,  jobs  in  that  sector  that  are  created  as  a  result  of  Angola’s 
accession to the EPA are expected to be formal from the beginning or that the Government 
takes steps to ensure it as soon as possible.  

In  stakeholder  consultations,  respondents  suggested  that  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA 
could support a move from the informal to the formal economy. 

Impacts  on  informality  are  expected  to  be  limited,  but  may  be  underestimated  by  the 
economic model. Regarding direct effects and those which can be expected in a short to 
medium term, it is expected that the type of jobs created as a result of the EPA will follow 
the employment patterns prevailing in enterprises already involved in trade with the EU. 
However, the lack of precise data about these  patterns, notably in  the agri-food sector, 
means that one can only speak about a higher likelihood than in the rest of the sector that 
the future jobs will be formal. In addition, the regulatory framework (e.g., implementation 
of ILO Convention No. 188 on work in fishing) may support the move towards formal jobs. 
In this regard, it will also be important that the Angolan Government takes steps to improve 
the business environment in the country, incl. procedures related to setting up and running 
a  formal  business  and  encouraging  formal  employment  with  written  contracts,  social 
security contributions and the observance of health and safety at work requirements. 

Positive  impacts  for  retail  trade  may  lead  to  the  creation  of  (potentially)  formal  jobs  in 
formal stores in Angolan cities as well as additional opportunities for income generation in 
informal trade. On the other hand, informal small-scale food producers may face challenges 
if the poor state of infrastructure and the lack of access to finance and trade intermediaries 
limit their operation to the local market only (thus not allowing them to increase production 
or  income),  and  if  they  need  to  meet  additional,  standard-related  requirements,  and 
compete  against  imports  and  sales  by  large  farms.  Hence,  the  Government  should  take 
steps  such  as  supporting  the  creation  of  cooperatives  and  developing  the  trade 
infrastructure to enable access to markets and facilitating access to finance for small-scale 
food producers to help them to sustain their livelihoods. 

4.2.3  Impacts on poverty levels and for consumers 

The effects of Angola’s accession to the EPA for poverty levels in the country will be related 
to  the  opportunities  for  employment  and  income  generation,  as  well  as  the  risks  of  job 
destruction. In this context, it is important that, based on the economic modelling, jobs 
are likely to be preserved or created in agriculture (e.g., in the fruits and vegetables sector) 
in  rural  areas  and  in  provinces  where  poverty  levels  are  higher  on  average  (see  Annex 

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D1).59 To increase that effect and poverty reduction, there is a need to support small-scale 
producers in their access to regional markets to sell products to a wider group of customers 
than only locally and hence to generate higher and more sustainable incomes.  

Other  export  opportunities,  e.g.  in  the  fisheries  sector  are  also  likely  to  influence  (to  a 
limited extent), income and employment situation in coastal provinces.60 In this context, 
it is to note that also the nature of created jobs (if formal or not) may matter for poverty 
reduction, as formal jobs typically are related to higher wages and overall better working 
conditions – in a situation where incomes in agriculture and fishing are the lowest in the 
Angolan economy and on average represent a quarter of the wage in the mining sector, 
which  is  on  the  other  extreme  of  the  scale  (INE  2019).  In  addition,  the  potential  for 
additional jobs in the retail trade sector is likely to benefit residents of urban areas where 
poverty  is  mostly  related  to  unemployment  and  informality  (World  Bank  2020).  Finally, 
investment  and  imports  of  capital  goods  from  the  EU  may  help  to  diversify  Angolan 
economy  and  contribute  to  further  employment  generation,  although  it  is  difficult  to 
precisely predict the scale of that growth and sectors where it will be most likely to happen. 
In this context, important will be activities supporting skills development and employability, 
in particular of young people, and quality and duration of education for children, given that 
poverty in Angola is related to the education level (56.5% of persons not having completed 
any education live in poverty compared to 17.3% of those having at least the secondary 
education) (INE 2019).  

On the other hand, there is a risk that reduced tariff revenues (due to reduction of tariffs 
for  imports  from  the  EU)  may  have  a  negative  impact  on  public  expenditures  on  social 
policies and programmes aiming at poverty reduction. As noted in section 4.1.3.4, the loss 
is estimated at up to €300 million. This would almost be equal to the 2-year budget of the 
Plan  for  Monitoring  and  Combating  Poverty  linked  to  the  Integrated  Plan  for  Local 
Development and Fight against Poverty 2018-2022, where annual spending was planned 
at €160 million.61 

Regarding  effects  of  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  for  consumers,  we  estimate  that 
increased imports of consumer goods from the EU (thanks to tariff reduction) will provide 
access to a higher number and wider range of products, which should be safe in use (or 
consumption,  respectively)  and  of  a  reasonably  high  quality  (as  we  assume  they  would 
meet EU requirements for their product category). They would include food and household 
goods. In addition, imports of machinery and other capital as well as intermediate goods 
should support the domestic provision of services (e.g., if imported vehicles are used as 
public  transport  means  for  goods  and  passengers)  and  production  of  more  and  better-
quality products. This should benefit consumers, as they would have better access to safer 
and  better  products  manufactured  domestically.  This  view  was  also  expressed  in 
stakeholder consultations where respondents thought that Angola’s accession to the EPA 
would have very positive impacts on quality, safety and availability of goods and services 
in Angola, as well as availability of consumer information and respect for consumer rights. 
They were also of the view that it may have a positive impact on the access to services 
such  as  education  or  health  care.  One  of  the  reasons  provided  in  relation  to  a  better 

59   The main provinces accounting jointly for around 60% of fruit production in Angola include Benguela, Cuanza 
Sul, Uíge, Bengo and Cabinda (MINAGRIF 2019). Out of these, Cuanza Sul and Benguela have poverty levels 
at around the country’s average (38%-44%), while Uige and Bengo display higher levels (44%-56%). At the 
same  time,  Benguela,  Cuanza  Sul  and  Uige  belong  to  provinces  with  the  highest  population  density  and 
therefore a large group of poor people (e.g. 1.1 million in Cuanza Sul) (World Bank 2020). Some of the large 
farms cultivating fruits and vegetables, including bananas exported to the EU, are located in Cuanza Sul and 
Zaire (close to the border with Bengo province) and mark areas with a potential for jobs. 

60   The fisheries sector is linked to ports in provinces with high poverty levels, i.e. Benguela and Cuanza Sul, and 

in addition in Luanda and Namibe. 

61   “Governo angolano quer tirar da pobreza extrema três milhões de pessoas até 2022”,  Observador, August 
https://observador.pt/2018/10/17/governo-angolano-quer-tirar-da-pobreza-extrema-tres-milhoes-

2018, 
de-pessoas-ate-2022/ 

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availability and accessibility of goods to consumers was the expected  tariff liberalisation 
leading to reduced prices of imported products. 

The estimated effects of Angola’s accession to the EPA for consumers are positive, with an 
overall  increase  in  availability  and  diversity  of  imported  EU  goods,  including  food  and 
household  products.  Moreover,  given  an  expected  import  growth  in  intermediate  and 
capital goods, there is potential for better-quality and safe products to be manufactured in 
Angola, including for the domestic market. 

Impacts  for  welfare  and  poverty  levels  also  seem  to  be  positive,  although  they  may  be 
limited. Job creation thanks to the accession to  the EPA, in agriculture in rural areas, in 
retail  trade  in  the  cities  and  shrimp  catch  in  the  coastal  regions  may  help  to  generate 
income and reduce poverty.  

There is some limited risk that falling tariff revenues may have an impact on the ability of 
the Government to provide funding for public social policies, including for poverty reduction 
programmes. Furthermore, while job creation supports poverty reduction, low job quality, 
including job informality may limit positive welfare effects. Therefore, it is important that 
workers’  rights  already  foreseen  by  the  law  or  ratified  conventions  are  observed,  and 
measures are taken to facilitate move from informal to formal economy. 

4.2.4  Labour standards and working conditions 

4.2.4.1  Child labour 

Child labour remains an issue in Angola and is most common in the informal sector and 
linked to poverty. According to UNDP, it stood at 18.7% before the COVID-19 pandemic.62 
Child  labour  rates  in  rural  areas  are  substantially  higher  than  in  urban  ones.  In  a  case 
study (Annex B4), we have analysed in detail the situation in sectors involved in trade with 
the EU or likely to be affected by Angola’s accession to the EPA, where child  labour has 
been identified. Here, we summarise its findings. 

In  the  fishing  sector,  cases  of  child  labour  have  been  reported  in  artisanal  fishing, 
including activities, such as cleaning fish for deep freezing or sun drying.63 Evidence which 
would either confirm or exclude the presence of child labour in commercial finishing is not 
available. However, we note that Angola in 2016 ratified ILO Convention No. 188 (Work in 
Fishing), which sets the minimum age for work on board of a commercial fishing vessel at 
16 years of age and for light work at 15 years. Hazardous work is prohibited for persons 
under  18  years  of  age.  In  light  of  this,  if  Angola  implements  and  enforces  the  ILO 
Convention effectively,  including its provisions  on the minimum age, child labour should 
not be present in commercial fishing, incl. in the shrimp sector involved in exports to the 
EU. 

In agriculture, child labour is often related with subsistence family farming or the strive 
to  meet  basic  needs.  It  is  an  issue  particularly  in  provinces  where  drought  and  hunger 
contribute to the disintegration of many families and force children and adolescents to look 
for food, such as recently in Namibe, Huíla and Cunene.64 No data could be identified which 
would either confirm or exclude child labour presence on large farms producing for exports, 
including to the EU; however, other evidence suggests that the likelihood there is lower. 
Hence,  to  the  extent  that  exports  will  mainly  be  related  to  larger  farms  (at  least  in  the 
short-term), it is likely that there will be no direct link between the EPA and child labour. 

62   Human Development Indicators - Angola: http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/AGO 
63   “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor”, US Department of Labour, 2019, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ 

ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/angola 

64   “Cresce  prática  de  trabalho  infantil  no  Namibe”,  Angop,  May  2021,  https://www.angop.ao/noticias/ 

sociedade/cresce-pratica-de-trabalho-infantil-no-namibe/ 

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Indirect positive effects could occur if the accession to the EPA allows for the creation of 
additional  employment  in  agriculture  for  adults  and  poverty  reduction  in  a  longer  term, 
and thus the need for children to work decreases. Likewise, if family farms become included 
in cooperatives or value chains and receive an opportunity to export their produce to the 
EU  or  SADC  EPA  countries,  this  could  contribute  to  a  decrease  in  child  labour,  provided 
that the income generated will satisfy household needs or allow for hiring adult workers. 

Children aged 11-14 years are also engaged in retail trade in streets (e.g., in the province 
of Cunene and the capital, Luanda) and informal markets, selling mainly food (e.g., bread, 
fish, or nuts) and drinks (tea, coffee, or fresh water). Poverty and the need to support the 
household budget is the main reason for them to start.65 Given the type of retail trade in 
which  children  are  involved  in  Angola  and  products  sold,  it  is  not  likely  that  increased 
imports resulting from the accession to the EPA will have a direct impact on their activity 
and situation, as the imported goods will be of a different category. However, in a longer-
term an overall development of (formal) retail trade supported by increased trade flows 
between the EU and Angola could encourage some customers to do the shopping in formal 
stores,  including  supermarkets  rather  than  on  informal  markets,  which  may  decrease 
demand  on  the  latter.  Much  will  depend  on  the  extent  to  which  actions  planned  by  the 
Angolan Government – such as vocational training, support for microenterprises, including 
access to finance and social policy supporting poor families – will reach families of working 
children;  and  the  extent  to  which  providing  social  assistance  and  creating  income 
generation opportunities for adult family members will decrease the need for child labour. 
Equally important will be facilitated access to education for children and awareness raising 
campaigns  emphasising  the  negative  impacts  of  child  labour,  as  well  as  the  benefits  of 
pursuing education. 

Child labour has also been reported in the mining sector, incl. diamond extraction. Given 
that accession to the EPA will not change its trade in diamonds (or other minerals) with 
the EU, it will not have a direct impact on child labour in this area. At the same time, it is 
difficult to determine if diamonds or other minerals proceeding from illegal extraction and 
involving child labour may find their way onto the EU market. In this context, the planned 
EU compulsory due diligence of products being placed on the EU market to check if they 
involve child labour or other types of labour or human rights violations, may help to prevent 
such products from entering the EU and therefore decrease incentives for using children in 
work in mines, at least in those involved in export activities to the EU. This will require, 
however, an effective system of checks along the supply chain.  

There are also ongoing activities to address child labour and ensure protection of children’s 
rights (for details, see Annex D1).  

In  interviews  for  this  study,  stakeholders  noted  that  child  labour  represents  a  complex 
problem  in  Angola,  mainly  related  to  economic  activities  in  the  informal  sector  and 
agriculture  (family  subsistence  farming),  and  often  being  a  result  of  poverty.  They 
stressed, however, that it should be perceived as a problem only when children work and 
do  not  attend  school.  The  interviewees  suggested  that  the  EU’s  financial  and  technical 
assistance,  including  support  for  the  Angolan  Government,  could  help  in  reducing  the 
incidence of child labour. In the online consultation, mixed views were expressed regarding 

65   “Trabalho infantil é realidade mundial”, Jornal de Angola, 12 June 2018, https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/ 
noticias/detalhes.php?id=406468;  “Cresce  o  número  de  crianças  expostas  ao  trabalho  infantil”,  Jornal  de 
Angola,  12  July  2020,  https://jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/cresce-o-numero-de-criancas-expostas-ao-
trabalho-infantil/;  “Covid-19:  Pandemia  aumenta  desemprego  e  trabalho  infantil  em  Luanda”,  Jornal  de 
Angola, 15 July 2020, https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/covid-19-pandemia-aumenta-desemprego-
e-trabalho-infantil-em-luanda/; “Mais de três mil crianças envolvidas em trabalho infantil", Jornal de Angola, 
12 
https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/mais-de-tres-mil-criancas-envolvidas-em-
June 
trabalho-infantil/ 

2021, 

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potential  impacts  of  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  on  child  labour,  although  no  further 
reasoning was provided. 

The  analysis  of  types  of  work  carried  out  by  children  in  Angola,  as  well  as  places  (e.g., 
family farms, informal markets) suggests that at least in the short-term the accession to 
the EPA is not likely to have direct effects for them, as the work happens in segments of 
the Angolan economy others than those thought to be affected (positively or negatively) 
by trade with the EU and change of terms of trade triggered by the accession to the EPA.  

However, in the longer-term there may be indirect effects, including the possibility of job 
creation  and  income  generation  for  adult  household  members  which  may  decrease  the 
need for child labour. To occur, these will need to be accompanied by Government actions, 
such  as  the  provision  of  vocational  training,  facilitation  of  setting  up  enterprises  and 
creating formal cooperatives, access to funding and access to markets. In parallel, there 
will  be  a  need  for  awareness  raising  campaigns  directed  at  adults  (to  understand  the 
negative  consequences  of  child  labour)  and  facilitated  access  to  school  and  social 
assistance for children from poor families. Similar support, including assistance in meeting 
relevant product standards, will be needed to avoid potential negative impacts for small 
farms  and  poor  families,  e.g.,  being  pushed  out  from  the  local  or  domestic  market  by 
imports or respectively, larger, or formal undertakings. 

In  addition,  by  acceding  to  the  EPA  Angola  will  commit  to  implement  the  ratified  ILO 
fundamental conventions, including those related to elimination of child labour. To achieve 
this, the Angolan Government and enforcement agencies will need to enhance efforts to 
address  trafficking  in  persons,  forced  labour,  hazardous  child  labour  and  other  illegal 
activities, and address poverty and other reasons of child labour, as outlined above. 

EU technical assistance should support the above actions, while the planned EU compulsory 
due diligence mechanism may provide an additional incentive to act. 

4.2.4.2  Forced labour 

According to the Global Slavery Index, around 199,000 persons in Angola are estimated to 
live  or  work  in  conditions  of  modern  slavery.66  As  outlined  in  detail  in  Annex  D1,  past 
evidence  of  such  conditions  includes  cases  in  individual  companies  and  certain  sectors, 
such  as  in  construction,67  fishing68  and  extraction  of  diamonds  and  other  minerals;  the 
latter involving both  forced labour and child labour69 and trafficking in  persons from  DR 
Congo.70  Moreover,  child  victims  of  trafficking  in  persons  are  used  in  criminal  activities 
given  that  children  due  to  their  age  cannot  be  prosecuted.  The  provinces  of  Luanda, 

66   https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/data/country-data/angola/ 
67   “Odebrecht condenada por trabalho escravo em Angola”, VOA, March 2017, https://www.voaportugues.com/ 
a/odebrecht-trabalho-escravo-angola/3773639.html; “Odebrecht pagará R$ 30 milhões para encerrar maior 
ação por trabalho escravo da história brasileira”, BBC News, March 2017, https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/ 
brasil-39288152 

68   “Angola: Trabalho escravo em empresa de pesca?”, RFI, July 2018, https://www.rfi.fr/pt/angola/20180726-
angola-trabalho-escravo-em-empresa-de-pesca-angolanos-benguela-peixe;  “Jovens  angolanos  dizem-se 
explorados em companhias de pesca geridas por chineses”, VOA, July 2018, https://www.voaportugues.com/ 
a/jovens-angolanos-dizem-se-explorados-em-companhias-de-pesca-geridas-por-chineses-/4467476.html; 
“Sindicato  angolano  acusa  empresa 
https://www.voaportugues.com/a/sindicato-angolano-acusa-empresa-chinesa-de-escravatura-
moderna/5482185.html 

chinesa  de  escravatura  moderna”,  VOA, 

June  2020, 

69   “Products  of 

slavery  and  Child  Labour,  Anti-Slavery,  2016,  https://www.antislavery.org/wp-
content/uploads/2016/11/products_of_slavery_and_child_labour_2016.pdf;  “Angola  é  o  segundo  país 
lusófono com mais escravos modernos exploracao de diamantes agrava risco de trabalhos forcados”, O Novo 
Jornal, July 2018, https://novojornal.co.ao/sociedade/interior/angola-e-o-segundo-pais-lusofono-com-mais-
escravos-modernos-exploracao-de-diamantes-agrava-risco-de-trabalhos-forcados-57016.html 

70   “Angola:  Exploração  ilegal de  diamantes  é  feita  por crianças  com  menos de 12  anos”,  Ecclesia,  November 
https://agencia.ecclesia.pt/portal/direitos-da-criancas-exploracao-ilegal-de-diamantes-e-feita-por-

2018, 
criancas-com-menos-de-12-anos/ 

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Benguela  and  those  at  the  borders  (Cunene,  Lunda  Norte,  Namibe,  Uíje  and  Zaire)  are 
most at risk of human trafficking. In Cunene, for example, due to drought, in some villages 
children have been forced to leave school and go for long distances to find water, dig wells, 
or look after cattle in pastures. Non-accompanied children may then easily become victims 
of human trafficking and be taken to neighbouring countries or farther (including to Europe) 
to work in domestic service and other forms of forced labour.71 

The  evidence  collected  for  the  SIA  does  not  suggest  a  direct  link  between  Angola’s 
accession to the EPA (and increased exports to the EU) and forced labour: cases of forced 
labour have been identified either in sectors where the accession to the EPA is not expected 
to change (e.g. in mining), or where there is no direct link to the EPA (e.g., in the domestic 
service or in criminal activities) or in single companies, without an indication that this may 
reflect a widespread problem in the sector. 

A  positive  impact  can  be  expected  if  the  proposed  EU  text  for  the  SIFA  regarding  the 
respect for the ILO conventions related to the elimination of forced labour is maintained in 
the final SIFA, and if the anticipated annual policy dialogue in the Committee on Investment 
Facilitation refers also to labour-related aspects. This could encourage Angola to combat 
forced labour. 

Some cases of working conditions akin to modern slavery and in any case being in a breach 
of  Angolan  labour  legislation  have  been  reported  in  individual  companies,  including  in 
sectors involved in trade with the EU, such as fisheries. This highlights the need for better 
monitoring by labour inspection and trade unions, for reporting, and for ensuring that the 
situation has been remedied (here the state institutions and enforcement agencies, such 
as inspection services, police and judiciary need to play a role, although their low capacity 
and corruption may have a negative impact on the willingness and ability to take an action). 
The  EU  could  provide  financial  and  technical  assistance  to  inspection  services,  e.g.  to 
support  the  hiring  of  additional  inspectors  to  bring  them  to  the  overall  number 
recommended by the ILO, to train them, and to equip them. Such an assistance could be 
provided together with the ILO or other donors, including individual EU Member States.  

Accession to the EPA is not expected to impact trade in most sectors where forced labour 
has  been  reported,  e.g.,  (illegal)  mining,  including  the  extraction  of  diamonds.  There  is 
thus no direct link between the Agreement and forced labour in these sectors. However, 
there may be indirect impacts and additional ways to address the problem of violation of 
labour  standards  and  working  conditions  in  exporting  sectors  in  Angola  going  beyond 
extraction of minerals. For example, the planned introduction of a compulsory due diligence 
mechanism  in  exports  to  the  EU,  as  well  as  the  encouragement  of  application  of 
internationally recognised sustainability certification schemes, e.g., in agriculture, should 
help to decrease the scale of the problem.  

4.2.4.3  Freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and working conditions 

Trade unions in Angola are present in different sectors, both public and private. They seem 
to be active, advocating respect for workers’ rights and decent working conditions, in line 
with the national legislation and international commitments.72 At the same time, evidence 

71   “EUA alertam para tráfico de seres humanos em Angola e Moçambique”, DW, July 2021, https://www.dw.com/ 

pt-002/eua-alertam-para-tr%C3%A1fico-de-seres-humanos-em-angola-e-mo%C3%A7ambique/a-
58133225 

72   “Angola:  Government  Suspends  Salaries  of  Thousands  of  Public  Sector  Workers”,  ITUC,  June  2018, 
https://www.ituc-csi.org/angola-government-suspends;  “Sindicato  angolano  acusa  empresa  chinesa  de 
escravatura  moderna”,  VOA  (June  2020),  https://www.voaportugues.com/a/sindicato-angolano-acusa-
empresa-chinesa-de-escravatura-moderna/5482185.html;  “Angola:  Sindicatos  preparam  protestos  contra 
‘trabalho  escravo’",  DW  (May  2021),  https://www.dw.com/pt-002/angola-sindicatos-preparam-protestos-
contra-trabalho-escravo/a-57520637;  “Sindicato  levanta  greve  na  função  pública  em  Angola  depois  de 

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from the last few years also suggests shortcomings in the Government’s engagement with 
social partners.73 In addition, as claimed by trade unions, there have been problems with 
trade union registration and acts of interference in the election of members of trade union 
commissions  (for  details,  see  Annex  D1).  The  evidence  from  recent  years  moreover 
includes  some  cases  of  breaching  employer’s  obligations  both  in  the  public  and  private 
sectors  (see  Annex  D1).  While  some  of  the  shortcomings  may  result  from  the  state  of 
public finances at the time of the economic downturn (e.g. delays in payment in the public 
sector), the lack of knowledge and skills in managing people and challenges to meet certain 
standards  (e.g.  the  lack  of  performance  appraisals),  others  are  related  to  employer 
negligence and a low likelihood that they will be forced by inspection services to remedy 
the  situation  (e.g.,  non-payment  of  social  security  contributions,  suspension  of  wage 
payment for reasons turning out to be the employer’s fault).  

The lack of information regarding working conditions in enterprises likely to participate in 
trade with the EU makes it difficult to estimate the impact which the accession to the EPA 
may have for working conditions. It is possible but not guaranteed that working conditions 
may be better in large, formal enterprises or on large farms involved in international trade 
than in the rest  of the  economy, including in small informal companies or  family  farms. 
Hence,  workers  may  benefit  from  better  working  conditions  thanks  to  the  EPA  and 
increased exports driven (initially) by large enterprises; however, the scale of that impact 
is expected to be limited, at least in the short-term. 

In addition, the lack of  a specialised Committee on  Trade and Sustainable Development 
under the EPA means that there is no dedicated forum for regular dialogue on labour rights 
and monitoring of their respect; this is different under other EU FTAs with a TSD chapter. 
Of  course  the  Parties  still  can  discuss  these  aspects  at  the  Trade  and  Development 
Committee meetings, but the reports from those meetings until 2020 suggest that labour-
related matters have never been discussed there yet. In addition, the EPA TSD Chapter 
(unlike TSD chapters in other EU FTAs) does not envisage establishment of dedicated civil 
society advisory groups or a dialogue with civil society under the Agreement, which would 
provide  an  opportunity  for  civil  society,  notably  trade  unions,  to  bring  to  the  Parties’ 
attention concerns related to the respect for labour standards – as has been the case, e.g., 
under the agreements with Korea and the Andean countries – and would help to hold the 
Parties  to  account.  This  in  turn  means  that  the  direct  impact  of  the  EPA’s  provisions  on 
trade union operations and labour rights is likely to be limited. On the other hand, the EU 
text proposal for the SIFA envisages a dialogue with the civil society, which – if maintained 
in  the  final  text  –  could  provide  an  alternative  channel  for  the  discussion  about  labour 
rights in the context of investment (and maybe also trade) relations between the EU and 
Angola.  

In interviews for this study some stakeholders were of the view that while it is easy to join 
a trade union in Angola, the capacity of trade unions is weak, and they do not have much 
bargaining power to influence the situation. In this context, some emphasised that it is not 
helpful  either  that  the  Angolan  legislation  reportedly  leans  more  towards  business  than 
workers’ rights and in addition, it is not fully implemented or enforced in practice. In online 

Governo aceitar negociar”, VOA (May 2021), https://www.voaportugues.com/a/sindicato-levanta-greve-na-
fun%C3%A7%C3%A3o-p%C3%BAblica-em-angola-depois-de-governo-aceitar-negociar/5880822.html; 
“Sindicato  acusa  Governo  angolano  de  discriminar  médicos  nacionais”,  VOA 
https://www.voaportugues.com/a/sindicato-acusa-governo-angolano-de-discrminar-m%C3%A9dicos-
nacionais/5954718.html 

(July  2021), 

73   “Justiça 

a 

com 

aberta 

negociações 

de 
2018), 
https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/detalhes.php?id=405097; 
“Angola:  Government  Suspends 
Salaries  of  Thousands  of  Public  Sector  Workers”,  ITUC,  June  2018,  https://www.ituc-csi.org/angola-
government-suspends;  ”Salários  em  atraso  preocupam  sindicato”,  Jornal  de  Angola  (24  August  2018), 
https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/detalhes.php?id=411655; 
preparam 
protestos  contra  "trabalho  escravo",  DW  (May  2021),  https://www.dw.com/pt-002/angola-sindicatos-
preparam-protestos-contra-trabalho-escravo/a-57520637 

(23  May 

sindicato”, 

Sindicatos 

“Angola: 

Angola 

Jornal 

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stakeholder consultations, respondents were of the view that Angola’s accession to the EPA 
will have positive impacts on the situation of trade unions and the quality of work.  

Given the anticipated limited impact of the EPA on Angola’s labour market, the accession 
to the EPA is not likely to bring about a change in the situation of trade unions, or – more 
broadly – freedom of association in Angola through economic change. 

Also, the lack of a dedicated TSD Committee in the EPA that would oversee implementation 
of  the  TSD  chapter  and  provide  a  forum  for  a  continuous  monitoring  and  an  annual 
discussion  about  the  Parties’  compliance  with  TSD  provisions  and  ILO  fundamental 
conventions represents a shortcoming compared to other EU FTAs with a TSD chapter and 
a limitation in addressing labour rights, including freedom of association and the right to 
collective bargaining. While the Parties can still raise any TSD-related matter in the Trade 
and Development Committee meetings, based on the practice so far, the chances of this 
to happen do not seem to be very high. 

While recommendations related to the overall management of the EU-SADC EPA fall outside 
the scope of this study, nevertheless from the point of view of increasing the likelihood of 
positive impacts for Angola (and other Parties), it is suggested that the EU consider two 
options. The first one would be to propose labour-related agenda items for the Trade and 
Development  Committee  meetings  on  a  regular  basis.74  The  second  one  would  be  to 
suggest the establishment of a technical group for TSD or labour-related matters, making 
use of Article 103(3) of the EPA, according to which the Trade and Development Committee 
can establish any special technical groups. 

Positive  impacts  for  the  respect  of  labour  standards  in  Angola,  including  freedom  of 
association, could result from the SIFA investment and sustainable development chapter 
and the proposed annual dialogue between the Parties in the Committee  on Investment 
Facilitation and with civil society, as provided for in the EU text proposal for the SIFA.  

In addition, EU technical assistance implemented in cooperation with the ILO could support 
the  development  of  domestic  dialogue  in  Angola  between  the  Government  and  social 
partners  on  matters  related  to  respect  for  labour  standards  and  working  conditions.  An 
assistance project similar to the current Trade for Decent Work Project75 running until the 
end of 2021 could improve their understanding of the requirements of the ILO fundamental 
conventions and their implementation in law and practice. It could also support capacity 
development in the Government and social partners and practice of holding dialogue on 
labour-related  aspects  covering  respect  for  existing  commitments,  but  also  the 
development of knowledge and skills needed in public and private sector to diversify and 
modernise the economy and manage different areas of public administration and service 
in a modern and professional way. 

Moreover, to enhance the positive effects of accession, the Government should pursue the 
implementation  of  the  National  Development  Plan,  including  the  parts  related  to  labour 
inspection and improved awareness of and respect for health and safety at work rules. 

4.2.4.4  Non-discrimination at work 

As  outlined  in  Annex  D1,  limited  information  is  available  regarding  the  employment  of 
migrant workers in Angola. Some evidence suggests that they are hired on larger farms 

74   This would seem to be justified given that the SADC countries have recorded shortcomings in this area, e.g., 
Botswana  and  Eswatini  were  discussed  as  individual  cases  in  the  ILO  Committee  on  the  Application  of 
Standards with regard to Convention No. 87. 

75   See https://www.ilo.org/global/standards/WCMS_697996/lang--en/index.htm  

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and in modern undertakings in agriculture, e.g. in the fruits and vegetables sector76 or on 
coffee plantations (Bessou et al. 2020), i.e. in sectors which are expected to benefit from 
the EPA. In the construction sector and in production of construction materials in Angola 
staff at the management level comes mainly from countries owning the companies, i.e., 
Brazil,  China,  and  Portugal.  Migrant  workers  represent  8%-29%  of  staff;  over  time  the 
proportion of Angolan  workers to foreigners increases, as skills are  developed  (Oya and 
Wanda 2019). While there is no quantitative estimation of the impacts of accession to the 
EPA  on  the  construction  sector,  one  may  expect  that  with  the  increasing  trade  and 
investment  flows,  and  the  efforts  to  diversify  and  modernise  the  economy  and  facilitate 
access to markets, the construction sector (e.g., infrastructure, stores, shopping centres, 
production plants) should be able to grow offering job opportunities to both Angolan and 
migrant  workers.  Regarding  the  oil  sector,  in  October  2020,  a  Presidential  Decree 
established that recruitment in oil extraction should give a preference to Angolan workers. 
However, there is a consideration that for the Decree to be effective, there will be a need 
for  vocational  training  and  skills  development  of  Angolan  workers  to  increase  their 
employability in the sector and to be able to compete with expatriate workers.77  

Finally, there is evidence that in diamond extraction, notably in illegal activities, migrant 
workers (adults and children) are employed, originating mainly in the DR Congo. Accession 
to the EPA will not change the terms of trade with the EU in diamonds, notably in illegal 
extraction and therefore, there will be no direct impacts for the sector.  

Detailed data regarding employment of  youth (15-24 years of age) in Angola by sector 
could  not  be  obtained.  It  is  therefore  impossible  to  provide  a  precise  estimate  of  the 
impacts that the increase in exports and imports in relations with the EU resulting from 
Angola’s accession to the EPA may have for this group of workers. However, given a high 
unemployment rate among young people (51.8%) (INE 2020), one may assume that job 
creation  in  any  sector  may  benefit  them,  notably  if  accompanied  by  the  investment  in 
education  and  vocational  training  to  improve  employability  of  young  people  and  their 
chances to get a job. 

The available evidence suggests that migrant workers are employed e.g., in the vegetables 
and  fruits  sector,  which  is  likely  to  benefit  from  increased  exports  to  the  EU  thanks  to 
Angola’s accession to the EPA. Likewise, migrant workers in the construction sector and 
production of construction materials, although their share decreases, may enjoy indirect 
positive  effects  of  increased  trade  and  investment  flows  complemented  by  Government 
actions to diversify and modernise the economy, incl. infrastructure development. 

Other sectors employing migrant workers, such as oil extraction or mining of minerals and 
(illegal) extraction of diamonds will not be directly affected by accession to the EPA, given 
that the Agreement will not change their terms of trade in relations with the EU. 

Young people in Angola are likely to benefit from job creation in any sector, given a high 
unemployment rate in this group. However, for this to happen, there is a need to pursue 
activities outlined in the National Development Plan 2018-2022, incl. access to vocational 
education and training, and facilitation of setting up formal enterprises. 

4.2.5  Civil society participation 

Compared to other, more comprehensive TSD chapters, the one in the EU-SADC EPA does 
not include provisions requiring the establishment of civil society Domestic Advisory Groups 
(DAGs) nor holding the Civil Society Forum meetings; under other EU FTAs, these annually 

76   “Fazenda  Girassol  inicia  embalagem  de  banana  para  exporter”,  Jornal  de  Angola,  19  July  2020, 
https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/fazenda-girassol-inicia-embalagem-de-banana-para-exportar/ 
77   “Sindicato  elogia  ‘angolanização’  do  setor  petrolífero”,  DW,  October  2020,  https://www.dw.com/pt-

002/sindicato-elogia-angolaniza%C3%A7%C3%A3o-do-setor-petrol%C3%ADfero/a-55352259 

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bring together representatives of the governments of the Parties and their civil society to 
discuss  the  implementation  of  the  TSD  chapter  and  impacts  of  the  FTA  on  sustainable 
development. So far, following an EU and civil society initiative, one Civil Society Forum 
meeting  took  place  under  the  EPA  in  2017.78  Over  the  last  few  years,  the  Trade  and 
Development  Committee  discussed  the  possibility  to  establish  a  Joint  Platform  for  Civil 
Society Dialogue, however, without any tangible outcomes.79 The EU civil society, including 
the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has been advocating since 2017 the 
inclusion of civil society of all Parties into a dialogue about the EPA, its implementation, 
and impacts (see Annex D1).  

Given that Angola  will  accede to an  existing Agreement, any effects for the  country will 
depend on the text of the EPA at the time of the accession and the implementation practice. 
Therefore, any prospects for civil society participation in the dialogue about the EPA will 
depend  on  whether  progress  will  be  achieved  in  establishing  relevant  structures  and 
practice between the EU and SADC by the time of Angola’s accession. In the meantime, 
the  Angolan  Government  should  make  an  effort  to  engage  into  a  dialogue  with  social 
partners and other civil society organisations on the reform process and accession to the 
EPA. Moreover, the EU should continue providing technical assistance to further develop 
the capacity of civil society in Angola. EU civil society, including the EESC, should involve 
Angolan counterparts into a dialogue related to trade and the EPA. 

While the lack of a dedicated Committee on the TSD chapter represents a certain obstacle 
in addressing aspects covered by the chapter (the Trade and Development Committee has 
not had them on the agenda, except one presentation on the European Green Deal), one 
cannot  exclude  that  such  discussions  will  take  place  in  the  future.  For  example,  the 
adoption of domestic or international policies, legislation or measures aimed at supporting 
sustainable  development  and  having  a  potential  impact  on  trade  may  provide  an 
opportunity for both the presentation of the new initiative and a discussion between the 
Parties.  The  EU  planned  legislation  on  compulsory  due  diligence  could  be  one  of  those. 
Another occasion for a discussion on links between trade and sustainable development may 
come at the time of the upcoming ex-post evaluation of the EU-SADC EPA, when the EU 
side might launch a discussion about impacts of the EPA. Angola as a potential future Party 
to  the  Agreement  should  be  involved  in  that  process,  including  by  presenting  its  own 
policies and other initiatives. 

In  addition  to  the  EPA,  the  Commission’s  negotiating  directives  for  the  SIFA  include  a 
commitment that the future agreement will contribute to the sustainable development and 
responsible  investment.  Therefore,  the  future  agreement  could  provide  an  additional 
platform for the EU and Angola’s dialogue regarding sustainable development and its social 
and  environmental  pillars,  an  encouragement  for  the  uptake  of  CSR/RBC  practices  by 
Angolan  companies  and  foreign  investment  in  the  country,  as  well  as  an  opportunity  to 
engage in a conversation with  other stakeholders, including civil society representatives 
from the EU and Angola. Moreover, the EU’s text proposal for the SIFA includes provisions 
on investment and sustainable development inspired by the EU TSD chapters, and in the 
institutional part foresees a dialogue with civil society, with meetings held annually on the 
occasion of meetings of the Committee on Investment Facilitation. This would provide an 
additional  channel  for  a  discussion  with  civil  society  on  matters  related  to  investment 
facilitation and sustainable development in its labour and environmental dimensions. 

Given  that  Angola  will  accede  to  an  existing  agreement,  any  effects  for  the  country  will 
depend on the text of the EPA and the implementation practice at the time of the accession. 
Therefore, any prospects for civil society participation in the dialogue about the EPA will 

78   https://sadc-epa-outreach.com/civil-society-forum 
79   See the TDC meeting agendas for February and November 2018, February 2019 and February 2020, available 

at https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=1986  

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depend on whether progress will be achieved in establishing the relevant structures and 
practice between the EU and SADC EPA states by the time of Angola’s accession.  

In the meantime, the Angolan Government should make an effort to engage into a dialogue 
with  social  partners  and  other  civil  society  organisations  on  the  reform  process  and 
accession to the EPA. Additionally, based on the EU’s text proposal the SIFA would provide 
a  channel  for  discussion  with  civil  society  on  investment  facilitation  and  sustainable 
development. 

Moreover, the EU should continue providing technical assistance to further develop capacity 
of  civil  society  in  Angola,  and  the  EU  civil  society,  including  the  EESC,  should  involve 
Angolan counterparts in a dialogue on trade, sustainable development and the EPA. 

4.2.6  Effects on women 

As outlined in the economic and overall employment effects analysis (sections 4.1.1 and 
4.2.1), agriculture – and in particular bananas (as well as other fruits and vegetables) – is 
expected to benefit from the EPA,  compared  with a situation without the Agreement. In 
2018-2019,  51.4%  of  women  and  40.5%  of  men  worked  in  agriculture,  forestry,  and 
fisheries in Angola (INE 2020). While women work mainly in subsistence family farming, 
they are also employed in large farms producing for the domestic market and exports and 
therefore, they are likely to benefit from additional employment and income opportunities 
generated by the EPA and an increased activity of large exporting farms (for details see 
section 4.2.1). 

Women owning small farms and working on them may also benefit, in particular in a longer-
term; however, they face several challenges which will need to be addressed. These include 
the  lack  of  documents  proving  the  title  to  land  ownership,  which  in  turn  impedes  their 
ability to apply for credit (for inputs and equipment), expand productive capacity or use 
services,  including  irrigation  or  mechanisation  (PRODESI  2017).  The  lack  of  identity 
documents and low literacy levels – in 2014, 25.1% for women in rural areas (INE 2018) – 
make it even more difficult to apply for ownership titles. Moreover, as mentioned in section 
4.2.1,  small-scale  farmers,  including  women,  will  require  Government’s  support  in  the 
access to markets (investment in infrastructure), vocational training, access to funds and 
modernisation of production methods, including mechanisation (EU 2014), access to inputs 
(e.g.,  seeds  and  fertilisers),  and  facilities  (e.g.,  warehouses)  and  skills  development  in 
marketing the produce, as well as management skills  (Zarrilli 2014). Assistance projects 
funded by international donors already aim at addressing issues related to ownership titles, 
identity documents, literacy rates and productive capacity.80 A project delivered jointly by 
the EU and UNCTAD focuses on six priority areas, including small business development.81 
The  Angolan  Government’s  initiative  AgroPRODESI  provides  activities  supporting 
development  of  agricultural  value  chains,  promotion  of  agricultural  undertakings, 
sustainable national production, and gender equality in agriculture. Women represent also 
55% of beneficiaries of the IFAD Market-oriented Smallholder Agriculture Project.82 There 
are also examples of female entrepreneurs from Angola being active in food processing, 
including processed vegetables and fruits, and exporting them to the EU.83 

On the other hand, as indicated in sections 4.2.1 and 4.2.2, small-scale food producers, 
including women, if not supported by the Government, may run a risk of being pushed out 

80   E.g., Embaixada dos Estados Unidos da América (EUA) (2021), Projeto do Governo dos EUA apoia Mulheres 

Agricultoras Rurais em Angola: https://ao.usembassy.gov/pt/pr-030521-pt/ 

81   “EU  and  UNCTAD  kick-start  project  to  help  Angola  diversify  its  trade”,  https://unctad.org/news/eu-and-

unctad-kick-start-project-help-angola-diversify-its-trade 

82   IFAD 

(2018),  Republic  of  Angola  Country  Strategic  Opportunities  Programme  2019-2024, 

https://webapps.ifad.org/members/eb/125/docs/EB-2018-125-R-26-Rev-1.pdf?attach=1  

83   “Empresárias  vencem  obstáculos  e  incentivam  outras  mulheres”,  Jornal  de  Angola  (10  March  2020), 
https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/empresarias-vencem-obstaculos-e-incentivam-outras-mulheres/ 

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from  the  market  either  by  imported  food  products  or  by  the  activity  of  larger  Angolan 
undertakings (Zarrilli 2014). While imports may have an impact on local food producers in 
rural areas only in a longer-term, the lack of support to small-scale producers may expose 
them much faster to an uneven competition with larger undertakings offering a wider range 
of products often of a better quality. 

In the fisheries sector, women are mostly involved in the inland sector, artisanal fishing 
and fish processing (salting and smoking).84 Given that these segments are different from 
those expected to benefit from the accession to the EPA (commercial maritime fishing and 
exports of frozen shrimps), at least in the short-term no direct substantial impacts for most 
women  in  the  sector  are  expected.  However,  women  could  benefit  from  employment 
generation in fish processing plants, if the sector is able to meet EU SPS standards and 
expand exports of processed fish (see the case study in Annex B1). 

Regarding retail trade, women work mostly in the informal part of the sector (workers and 
entrepreneurs) due to the lack of other job opportunities. In urban areas, women sell food, 
drinks, and imported goods (Zarrilli 2014). Many of them use micro loans to travel and buy 
goods, e.g., clothes and shoes from Brazil, the US, China, Thailand, and other parts of the 
world,  to  sell  them  to  customers  in  Angola.85  Women  also  participate  in  informal  cross-
border trade in food, detergents, clothes and footwear, e.g., between Angola and Namibia 
(Namibia Statistics Agency 2014; 2019). 

Angola’s accession to the EPA is expected to trigger increases in the import of consumer 
goods. In the short-term this will probably not have direct effects for women selling food 
and  drinks  in  informal  markets;  most  likely,  the  goods  traded  by  women  (e.g.,  fresh 
products,  such  as  bread)  are  of  a  different  category  than  those  imported  from  the  EU. 
However,  in  the  longer  term,  if  formal  trade  develops  in  parallel  and  city  inhabitants 
become better off, some customers might shift from buying in informal markets to doing 
the  shopping  in  formal  stores,  including  in  supermarkets,  and  therefore  demand  for 
informal  trade  may  decrease.  This  in  turn  means  a  risk  of  more  limited  income  from 
traditional informal trade, while on the other hand jobs in the formal part of retail trade 
sector may be created, including for women. In addition, tariff reductions because of the 
EPA for some consumer goods originating in the EU, may encourage women importing such 
products for sale, to buy them in the EU rather than in other countries, as they will become 
relatively  cheaper  while  being  of  a  high  quality.  An  increase  in  such  import  operations 
would  create  additional  job  opportunities  for  female  traders  (importing  from  the  EU)  or 
help  to  generate  additional  income  for  those  already  involved  in  trade.  Regarding  trade 
with neighbouring countries, there are usually niches in the market and therefore female 
informal  cross-border  traders  may  be  able  to  maintain  their  activity  for  some  time. 
However,  the  development  of  formal,  facilitated  cross-border  trade  in  the  SADC  region, 
including  Angola,  thanks  to  accession  to  the  EPA  may  also  encourage  companies  of 
different size to use the opportunity of cross-border trade for income generation and this 
may push some of small informal traders out of the market, while some may be encouraged 
to increase the scale of their activity. 

Regarding other sectors of female employment in Angola, most of them are not likely to 
be directly affected by Angola’s accession to the EPA, but there could be limited indirect 
impacts. Industry may be the only exception, considering the expected increased industrial 
production  and  diversification  of  the  economic  activity  in  Angola  in  the  longer  term, 

84   FAO (2018), Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profiles - The Republic of Angola, http://www.fao.org/fishery/ 
facp/ago/en;  IFAD  (2014),  The  Republic  of  Angola:  Artisanal  Fisheries  and  Aquaculture  Project-  Detailed 
Design  Report,  https://webapps.ifad.org/members/lapse-of-time/docs/english/EB-2014-LOT-P-19-Project-
Design-Report.pdf 

85   “Angola’s  ‘suitcase  traders’”,  BBC  News,  (2017),  https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-41285456; 
“Crashing  barriers:  Angola’s  female  entrepreneurs”,  Euronews,  (2019),  https://www.euronews.com/2019/ 
11/27/crashing-barriers-angola-s-female-entrepreneurs 

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creating  additional  job  opportunities,  for  both  men  and  women.  On  the  other  hand,  as 
indicated  in  section  4.1,  there  are  limited  risks  for  sectors  that  could  face  stronger 
competition with imports from the EU, and therefore also for workers, incl. women who 
are  employed  there.  However,  these  risks  may  be  mitigated  by  staged  liberalisation  or 
excluding  sensitive  products.  In  addition,  the  reduction  in  tariff  revenues  could  have  a 
limited impact on public expenditures, affecting public sector operation and / or provided 
services, including potential effects for female workers in the affected sectors. While the 
estimated amount is limited, it would contribute to the state of public finances as it is after 
a few years of economic downturn. 

Regarding effects for women-led enterprises, only around 16% of them operate in sectors 
other than wholesale and retail trade or agriculture (5% in industry and 11% in services), 
and  in  terms  of  firm  size  47.8%  of  female  entrepreneurs  work  on  their  own,  without 
employees, and only 1.5% of them employ more than 20 persons (GEM 2019). The direct 
effects  of  the  EPA  for  them  may  be  similar  as  for  the  sectors  in  which  they  operate,  as 
already described above, i.e. limited at least in the short-term. The overall effects would 
depend,  however,  on  the  outcomes  of  actions  taken  in  parallel  by  the  Government  to 
improve business environment, including access to funds, training, etc. 

Impacts for women are likely to be limited, in line with the overall impacts resulting from 
the accession to the EPA. In agriculture, women working on larger farms exporting to the 
EU  would  benefit.  Women  being  part  of  cooperatives  could  also  benefit  if  support  is 
provided by the Government or donors, which would enable their marketing and exporting 
activity and provided existing challenges, e.g., related to ownership title to land, identity 
documents, and access to credit, inputs, training, and technology are addressed. Women 
owning small subsistence farms and selling their products on local markets are unlikely to 
be affected by the EPA in the short-term, given that food imports from the EU will primarily 
address consumers in urban areas. In the longer term, however, if not supported by the 
Government or other assistance, they could face increasing competition from imports or 
Angolan  larger  farms,  pushing  them  out  of  the  market  or  limiting  chances  for  income 
generation.  In  the  fisheries  sector,  there  could  be  job  opportunities  for  women  in 
processing plants.  

In the wholesale and retail trade, women involved in a small-scale trade in local informal 
markets in urban areas are not expected to be affected by the accession to the EPA in the 
short term, given that products they sell are different than those likely to be imported from 
the EU. In the longer term, some customers may switch to buying in formal stores, which 
would decrease demand on informal markets. However, increased imports from the EU are 
likely to facilitate job creation in the formal part of the sector. Women involved in small-
scale international trade selling imported goods to Angolan customers could benefit from 
tariff  reduction  under  the  EPA  and  either  increase  their  activity  or  switch  from  products 
imported from other countries to those imported from the EU. The Government or donors 
should  provide  an  offer  of  vocational  training  or  support  in  setting  up  and  running  an 
enterprise  to  women  who  are  selling  small  quantities  of  goods  in  informal  markets  to 
support their employability, also in other sectors. 

Women working in a limited range of sectors which may face an increased competition of 
imports from the EU could see their jobs being at risk. However, this risk may be mitigated 
by a staged opening of the Angolan market to imports from the EU. 

4.2.7  Corporate Social Responsibility/Responsible Business Conduct practices 

The subsidiaries of multinational companies often follow CSR practices of headquarters and 
apply them in their host countries, sometimes in a form adapted to the local circumstances. 

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In Angola, this is the case, e.g., in oil extraction or the food sector.86 This suggests that if 
thanks to the SIFA or accession to the EPA, Angola becomes more attractive to EU investors 
(as is expected in the long terms according to the analysis undertaken), the subsidiaries 
of EU companies would follow the CSR practices of their headquarters and promote them 
among  their  local  suppliers.  Such  practices  may  be  related,  e.g.,  to  reducing  the 
environmental  footprint  or  respect  for  labour  standards  (including  elimination  of  child 
labour  or  labour  akin  to  modern  slavery)  from  their  supply  chains.  In  addition,  the 
Commission’s  negotiating  directives  for  the  SIFA  include  a  commitment  that  the  future 
agreement  will  contribute  to  sustainable  development  and  responsible  investment, 
including  the  respect  for  relevant  internationally  recognised  labour  and  environmental 
standards, and CSR/RBC instruments, as well as related due diligence guidance in supply 
chains.  Accordingly,  the  EU’s  text  proposal  for  the  SIFA  includes  provisions  on  the 
promotion of due diligence in supply chains, the uptake of CSR practices and the use of 
international  instruments  in  this  area.  Therefore,  subject  to  the  outcome  of  the 
negotiations, it can be assumed that the future agreement will encourage the uptake of 
CSR/RBC practices by Angolan companies and foreign investors in the country. 

Moreover, large Angolan companies, including those operating in agriculture and exporting 
their products, have developed their own CSR practices.87 This was echoed in interviews 
conducted  for  this  study.  Stakeholders  provided  examples  of  Angolan  companies  from 
diverse sectors, including agriculture (coffee producers, food processing and beverages), 
detergents, telecoms and banking, implementing CSR practices, such as support to local 
communities  and  small-scale  farmers  (to  set  up  cooperatives),  providing  funds  to 
organisations  clearing  landmines,  giving  school  meals  and  school  kits  to  disadvantaged 
children,  promoting  sport  activities  for  children  and  adolescents,  refurbishing  schools, 
providing nutrition advice and others. These findings suggest that the anticipated positive 
impacts  of Angola’s accession to the EPA on  exports and economic diversification in the 
longer term would also encourage more companies to pursue CSR practices, which become 
an element of the company’s image and a must in order not to lag behind market leaders 
or direct competitors. 

A  recent  study  analysing  the  Angolan  banana  and  other  fruits  sector  observed  that  an 
increase in the use of certification schemes in particular in the banana sector globally would 
mean a need for Angolan producers to join such schemes if they wish to export e.g., to the 
EU. At the time of the study, one exporter adhered to the Global Gap scheme while some 
others were in the process of starting certification and were applying basic principles of the 
scheme (Van den Broek et al. 2019). This suggests that export opportunities to be brought 
about by the accession  to the EPA, including in bananas (as estimated by the economic 
model)  and  other  fruits,  could  encourage  the  use  of  sustainability  certification  schemes 
and related practices in respect of environment, labour standards and working conditions. 

Finally, as the example of  some Latin American countries (including Colombia, Ecuador, 
and Peru) demonstrates, EU assistance projects promoting CSR practices may contribute 
to  an  increase  in  their  use.  Therefore,  the  EU  should  consider  the  implementation  of  a 
similar project in the SADC region or in Angola specifically, starting from awareness raising 
and training to be followed by development and application of CSR practices in companies, 
in  particular  those  producing  for  exports,  as  part  of  the  national  programme  of  export 
diversification. 

Current  practice  in  Angola  suggests  that  foreign  investment  by  companies  whose 
headquarters follow CSR practices promote them also in subsidiaries. Also, an increasing 

86   See 

opens 

“Nestlé 

2012), 
https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/news/8511/nestle-opens-first-factory-in-angola/;  https://www.nestle-
esar.com/re-sustainability;  BP 
at 
https://www.bp.com/en/ global/corporate/sustainability/reporting-centre-and-archive/archive.html 

in  Angola  Sustainability  Reports 

Food  Magazine 

Angola”,  New 

2016-2018, 

available 

(August 

factory 

first 

in 

87   See e.g. http://www.grupolider-ao.com/en; https://turiagro.com 

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global  application  of  CSR/RBC  practices  and  adherence  to  sustainability  certification 
schemes in certain sectors, including agriculture, is likely to require adherence of Angolan 
companies, in particular those intending to export to the EU, to CSR practices and schemes. 
With Angolan exports to the EU expected to be higher under the EPA than under the GSP, 
CSR practices and their contribution to sustainable development will be fostered. Moreover, 
based on the EU text proposal the SIFA is likely to include commitments to internationally 
recognised  instruments  in  CSR/RBC  and  due  diligence  guidance  in  supply  chains 
encouraging the application of CSR/RBC practices in Angola. 

In  this  context,  EU  technical  assistance  promoting  the  use  of  CSR/RBC  practices  and 
supporting capacity building in their application may play an important role. 

4.3  Human Rights Impact of Angola’s Participation in the EPA 

Based on the literature review, the baseline analysis of the human rights situation and the 
findings of the economic impact analysis, the screening exercise for potential impacts of 
Angola’s  accession  to  the  EU-SADC  EPA  on  human  rights  (see  Annex  E  for  details)  has 
shown that impacts on the human rights situation in Angola could accrue in specific sectors 
(no impact in the EU is expected): 

•  The impact on the right to work is expected to be twofold. First, a limited impact on 
this  right  is  expected  due  to  minor  shifts  in  employment  predicted  by  the  economic 
analysis  (see  section  4.1.3.1.  for  a  detailed  overview  for  all  the  sectors).  Second, 
depending on investment flows, in sectors benefitting from EU employment, additional 
jobs may be created, positively affecting their right to work. The right to an adequate 
standard of living, being linked, among others, to employment, is also expected to 
have a mixed limited impact from the accession. 

• 

In case of increased investment, facilitated by the EPA and the SIFA, into sectors that 
require land as a resource, e.g. agriculture or mining, it is possible that, combined with 
the existing vulnerabilities related to water pollution or land grabbing for commercial 
use, there may be an impact on the right to own property, right to food, right to 
water,  right  to  health  if  the  practice  of  land  grabbing  is  not  addressed  by  the 
Government  of  Angola  at  the  legislative  and  policy  level  and  if  the  laws  are  not 
effectively implemented. Since existing vulnerabilities primarily affect such vulnerable 
population groups as indigenous peoples, minorities, persons with low income, women 
and  children,  their  rights  may  be  put  under  pressure  (see  detailed  analysis  below 
regarding the right to own property and the right to food). However, SIFA provisions 
proposed by the EU regarding transparency principles under Chapter II (Predictability 
and Transparency), in particular Article 2.4(2c) on the transparency of the investment 
framework, extend to issues related to land acquisition and could encourage Angola to 
address issues with land ownership rights. 

•  Additionally, the economic analysis reports that accession is likely to lead to a decrease 
in tariff revenues (up to 1.8% of total government revenues in the ambitious scenario), 
affecting (already scarce) public funds that matter for protection of the most vulnerable 
population groups. While the informality rate is rather high and only a small part of the 
population is covered by social security, it may still have a minor impact on their rights 
and possibly their access to basic services. In percentage terms, the expected revenue 
impact is equal to 5.6% of the total budget for education and healthcare combined. 

The  detailed  analysis  focuses  on  the  right  to  own  property  and  the  right  to  food. 
Possible impacts on the right to water and  right to health both stem from pollution and 
environmental impact of business activities and are therefore primarily covered under the 
environmental analysis (section 4.4). 

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4.3.1  Right to own property 

The EPA does not explicitly refer to the right to own property, so there is no direct effect 
of  the  Agreement  on  this  right.  However,  accession  to  the  EPA  and  the  SIFA  include 
commitments that might lead to increased investment activities in sectors that require vast 
land resources, thereby affecting land rights. Next to that, results of the economic analysis 
have  indicated  that  production  in  the  banana  sector  (which  requires  extensive  land 
resources) is  expected to be slightly higher as a result of Angola’s accession to the EPA 
than if Angola moved to the GSP general arrangement. 

International human rights framework 

The right to own property is recognised in several international human rights instruments. 
Article 17 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) states: “Everyone has the 
right  to  own  property,  alone  as  well  as  in  association  with  others  and  no  one  shall  be 
arbitrarily deprived of his or her property”. Article 5 of the International Convention on the 
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) states: “Everyone has the right 
to non-discrimination and equality before the law in the enjoyment of the rights to  own 
property  alone  as  well  as  in  association  with  others  and  to  inherit”.  Other  international 
human  rights  conventions  that  recognise  property  rights  are  the  Convention  on  the 
Elimination  of  All  Forms  of  Discrimination  against  Women  (CEDAW;  Art.  16),  the 
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All migrant Workers and Members of Their 
Families (Art. 15) and the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Regional human 
rights  instruments  like  the  EU  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  (Art.  17),  the  European 
Convention  on  Human  Rights  (Protocol  No.  1,  Art.1)  and  the  African  Charter  on  Human 
and Peoples’ Rights (Art. 14) also guarantee the right to own property. Obligations of the 
states regarding the right to own property include an obligation to respect – which means 
that the state has to protect its citizens against arbitrary expropriation of private property – 
and  a  positive  obligation  to  protect  the  right  to  own  property,  that  is  to  adopt  the 
appropriate legislation and protect against violations of land rights by third parties.88 

Angola  has  ratified  the  ICERD,  the  Banjul  Charter,  the  CEDAW  and  the  1951  Refugee 
Convention  that  guarantee  protection  of  the  right  to  own  property  and  has,  therefore, 
accepted legally binding obligations in relation to this right (see the table on the status of 
ratifications in annex E). 

Current situation 

The Constitution of Angola recognises collective and customary land ownership and use. 
Article 37 states: “The state shall respect and protect the property and any other rights of 
private  individuals,  corporate  bodies,  and  local  communities,  and  temporary  civil 
requisition and expropriation for public use shall only be permitted upon prompt payment 
of just compensation under the terms of the Constitution and the law”. The 2004 Land Law 
(Lei de Terra) also recognises customary land ownership of rural communities and states 
that  expropriation  for  public  use  shall  only  be  permitted  upon  just  compensation.  The 
Environmental Law (Lei de Bases do Ambiente) contains provisions that require projects 
that  may  have  significant  negative  environmental  or  social  impacts  to  carry  out  impact 
assessments.  

However,  despite  Angola’s  international  commitments  and  national  legal  guarantees 
regarding  protection  of  the  right  to  own  property,  very  few  traditional  communities  in 
Angola have been able to register their land (Orani and Schermers 2017; FAO 2020), and 
incidents  of  rural  communities  losing  their  lands  to  commercial  farming  in  Angola  have 

88   See the discussion on state obligations in relation to the right to own property in Mchangama (2011). 

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been  reported  by  various  organisations.89  Amnesty  International  notes  in  particular 
incidents  of  forced  eviction  in  Cunene,  Ombadja  and  Curoca  provinces  in  2016,  when 
families  were  forcibly  evicted  from  their  land  as  part  of  the  government’s  2020 
Agroindustrial Horizonte project; it is reported that land was expropriated without the free, 
prior and informed consent (FPIC) of the affected communities, no environmental or social 
impact  assessments  had  been  carried  out,  and  no  fair  compensation  has  been  provided 
(Amnesty International 2019). The UN Human Rights Committee stated in 2019 that access 
to land by some members of ethnic and indigenous communities are negatively impacted 
by  development/business  activities  by  companies.90  Through  the  DCI  –  Food  Security 
instrument, the EU, in cooperation with international organisations (FAO), supports Angola 
in strengthening capacity for better land tenure.91 

Potential impact of Angola’s participation in the EPA on the right to own property 

Due to the already existing vulnerabilities regarding land rights in Angola and reports of 
an increasing practice of extending business activities at the expense of land eviction from 
local communities, it is possible that there will be an increased pressure on the enjoyment 
of the right to own property by Angolan citizens.  

As said, the EPA does  not contain explicit provisions pertaining to the right to property. 
However, economic analysis indicates minor increase in output for bananas, production of 
which requires vast land resources. While in absolute terms this increase is limited, given 
the pre-existing vulnerabilities described above, the enjoyment of the right to property by 
affected communities may be disrupted, affecting especially farmers and traditional local 
communities whose livelihood depends on land. The effect is, however, not expected to be 
significant. A more pronounced impact is possible from increased investment as a result of 
accession  to  the  EPA  and  signing  of  SIFA  which  might  spread  to  a  more  diverse  set  of 
agricultural  subsectors  and  mining,  among  others,  creating  a  broader  impact  on  land 
rights. 

A literature overview of most recent reports related to the impact of business activities on 
the right to own property in Angola shows that there is a concern about the deterioration 
of land rights in the country due to the increase in development projects.92  

Throughout the consultations, some stakeholders expressed concern that land rights may 
be affected by growing investment and increase in production in agricultural products as a 
result  of  Angola’s  participation  in  the  EPA.  These  concerns  are  based  on  previous 
experiences  with  international  companies  operating  on  the  territory  of  Angola  (e.g., 
Amnesty  International  2019)  and  on  the  knowledge  that  the  current  system  does  not 
provide  sufficient  protection  of  the  right  to  own  property  for  some  communities  whose 
livelihood  depends  on  the  lands  they  occupy.  In  particular,  comments  were  made  with 
respect to the ineffective implementation of the legal requirements regarding the impact 
assessment  of projects  that may have major impacts  on the life  of certain  communities 
and  the  fact  that  land  without  title  is  considered  to  be  a  property  of  the  state  (with  no 
exception  for  pastoralists  or  traditional  communities)  and  in  that  case  it  can  be 
expropriated  without  just  compensation.  Historically,  also  affected  by  the  conflict,  most 

89   See  e.g.  US  Department  of  State  (2021);  “Freedom  in  the  World  2020.  Angola”,  Freedom  House, 
https://freedomhouse.org/country/angola/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 03 July 2021]; “Angola Overview”, 
Amnesty International, www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/angola [accessed 12 July 2021]. 

90   United  Nations  (2019):  Concluding  observations  on  the  second  periodic  report  of  Angola,  UN  Doc. 

CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2*. 

91   “Strengthened  capacity  for  better  land  tenure  and  natural  resources  governance  in  Angola”,  European 
Commission, 11 July 2019, https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/projects/strengthened-capacity-
better-land-tenure-and-natural-resources-governance-angola_en [accessed 23 June 2021]. 

92   United  Nations  (2019):  Concluding  observations  on  the  second  periodic  report  of  Angola,  UN  Doc. 
CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2*;  Cain  (2019);  “Indigenous  peoples  in  Angola”,  IWGIA,  https://www.iwgia.org/en/ 
angola.html [accessed 10 July 2021]. 

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land in Angola is held under customary title and people do not have documents proving 
their rights to it. Two thirds of Angola’s population live in rural areas, and one third of the 
population  depends  on  subsistence  agriculture.  Angola  was  once  the  fourth  largest 
producer of coffee in the world, while also being active in growing cotton, tobacco, palm 
oils and citrus fruits (Foley 2007). The diversification of economy by means of increased 
agricultural  production  has  been  put  at  the  core  of  the  government  strategy,93  and 
stakeholders note that it has created setbacks for some of the most vulnerable population 
groups.  

In  the  context  of  the  accession  to  the  EPA,  the  effect  is  not  direct  and  expected  to  be 
small –  in  line  also  with  the  quantitative  assessment.  However,  in  the  framework  of 
diversification  of  the  Angolan  economy  and  taking  into  account  that  the  EU  is  the  main 
destination for agricultural goods from ACP partners,94 it is possible that the quantitative 
estimates of the  economic effects may be underestimated  and the agri-food sector may 
have a bigger potential for growth than expected, with subsequent effects on sectors that 
require land. 

To sum up, the findings suggest that the accession of Angola to the EPA is not expected to 
have  a  significant  impact  on  the  right  to  own  property  overall.  In  the  context  of  the 
Agreement,  the  right  to  own  property  may  be  indirectly  affected  via  changes  in  sector 
output  (agriculture).  Especially  in  the  context  of  weak  implementation  of  land  rights  in 
Angola,  the  lack  of  practice  of  seeking  FPIC  as  well  as  the  limited  implementation  of 
environmental and social impact assessments guaranteed by the law, it is possible that the 
rights  of  local  communities  may  be  affected.  Considering  instances  mentioned  and 
concerns  reported  by  several  stakeholders,  accession  of  Angola  to  the  EPA  or  the  SIFA 
could contribute to the overall pressure on land rights in some regions in the country and 
might  play  a  minor  role  in  affecting  the  right  to  own  property  of  local  communities,  if 
property rights are not properly protected. 

In  case  due  diligence  is  not  performed  correctly,  the  impacts  of  business  operations  on 
human rights of local communities might be overlooked. Land eviction without adequate 
legal  remedies  may  also  contribute  to  food  insecurity  and  undernutrition,  indirectly 
affecting the right to food of populations evicted from their territories (see further analysis 
in the next section).  

In light of the analysis carried out, and bearing in mind that land rights are one of the key 
vulnerabilities in Angola with respect to the enjoyment of human rights, we recommend 
the following: 

•  The Angolan Government should urgently strengthen the right to property in Angola, 
including via technical assistance support from the EU. The current EU funded project 
strengthening  land  tenure  mentioned  above  expires  soon.95  A  similar  project  aimed 
specifically at strengthening land rights in Angola related to business activities could be 
a  possibility  to  flank  possible  negative  impacts.  Involvement  of  civil  society,  public 
sensitisation  on  the  land  law,  fast-track  of  the  land  rights  recognition  processes, 
strengthening  of  the  technical  capacity  of  the  national  and  local  governments  in  the 
implementation of the legal framework are crucial for the protection of land rights of 
rural communities and most vulnerable groups. 

93   “Angola seeks to roll back oil dependency o diversify economy through agriculture”, Victor Muisyo/AfricaNews, 
22  August  2017,  https://www.africanews.com/2017/08/22/angola-seeks-to-roll-back-oil-dependency-to-
diversify-economy-through/ [accessed 25 June 2021]. 

94   “Economic  Partnerships”,  European  Commission,  https://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/ 

development/economic-partnerships/ [accessed 24 June 2021]. 

95  “Strengthened  capacity  for  better  land  tenure  and  natural  resources  governance  in  Angola”,  European 
Commission, 11 July 2019, https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/projects/strengthened-capacity-
better-land-tenure-and-natural-resources-governance-angola_en [accessed 23 June 2021] 

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•  The  Government  should  also  ensure  that  effective  consultation  processes  (FPIC) 
consistently  take  place,  backed  by  appropriate  environmental  and  social  impact 
assessments guaranteed by the law. A monitoring body should be established to have 
oversight  over  the  implementation  and  provide  regular  reports  of  the  practice  and 
records possible violations. The reports should be publicly available, involving non-state 
actors and affected communities.  

•  The responsibility by the Parties to respect human rights should be included, e.g. in the 
Preamble. An explicit reference to legitimate tenure and protecting property and land 
rights in Article 5.6 could be considered. 

4.3.2  Right to adequate food 

The EPA does not  explicitly refer to the  right to food.  However,  commitments regarding 
progressive trade liberalisation and trade facilitation of (agricultural) goods might have an 
indirect  impact  on  the  right  to  food,  including  via  the  importation  of  food  and  via  land 
rights.  The  results  of  the  economic  analysis  indicate  that  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA 
would lead to an increase in trade in several agricultural sub-sectors – mostly imports, but 
also exports of some food products. 

International human rights framework 

The  right  to  food  is  recognised  in  several  international  instruments.  The  UDHR  contains 
provisions related to the right to food in the context of the right to an adequate standard 
of living. Article 25(1) states that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate 
for the health of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care 
and  necessary  social  services”.  The  International  Covenant  on  Economic,  Social,  and 
Cultural  Rights  (ICESCR)  addresses  the  right  to  food  in  Article  11.  The  CESCR  General 
Comment No. 12 provides that “the right to an adequate food is realised when every man, 
woman and child, alone or in community with others, has physical and economic access at 
all times to an adequate food or means for its procurement”. Next to that, the Committee 
specifies the core content of the right to food: availability of food in a quantity and quality 
sufficient  to  satisfy  the  dietary  needs  of  individuals,  free  from  adverse  substances,  and 
acceptable within given culture; accessibility of such food in ways that are sustainable and 
that do not interfere with the enjoyment of other human rights (General Comment No. 12 
para.  8).  Obligations  of  the  states  with  respect  to  right  to  food  include  the  adoption  of 
necessary  measures  for  its  progressive  realisation  based  on  the  principle  of  non-
retrospection,  without  discrimination,  while  respecting,  protecting  and  fulfilling  it,  even 
through international cooperation and assistance (Pinto 2013). Also, the AAAQ (availability, 
accessibility,  acceptability  and  quality)  framework  supports  the  operationalisation  of  the 
right to food.  

Angola  recognises  its  international  obligations  with  respect  to  the  right  to  food  through 
ratification of the relevant international instruments. In particular, Angola has ratified the 
ICESCR and has, therefore, accepted legally binding obligations in relation to the right to 
food.96 

Current situation 

The  Constitution  of  Angola  does  not  explicitly  recognise  the  right  to  adequate  food. 
Nonetheless, implicit guarantees are included in Article 77, which covers health and social 
protection,  and  in  Articles  80  to  82  on  the  rights  of  the  child,  youth,  and  the  elderly. 
Moreover, the right to food can be derived through broader human rights, e.g. the right to 
life. Article 30 of the Constitution states that “the state shall respect and protect human 
life, which is inviolable. Also, as Article 13 of the Constitution states that any approved or 

96   For details, see Annex E. 

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ratified  international  treaties  and  agreements  shall  come  into  force  in  the  Angolan  legal 
system, and the country has ratified the ICESCR, this includes the guarantees regarding 
the right to food under ICESCR Article 11. But there is no special domestic framework law 
on the right to food as such.97 

The  national  policy  framework  that  contributes  to  the  realisation  of  the  right  to  food  in 
Angola  includes  the  2009  National  Strategy  for  Food  and  Nutrition  Security  (Estratégia 
Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional de Angola,  ENSAN), which is coordinated 
by several ministries and involves civil society. The Strategy addresses all the dimensions 
of food security and includes specific objectives on how to achieve it. However, the ENSAN 
has  not  entered  its  implementation  stage  yet  due  to  institutional  limitations  and  lack  of 
public resources (Pinto 2013; Governo de Angola 2021). The FAO has been working with 
the Angolan Ministry of Agriculture since 1999; and is currently working on ENSAN II, to 
cover the period 2022-2030. 

According  to  the  2020  Global  Hunger  Index,  Angola  scored  26.8  in  the  level  of  hunger, 
categorised as serious.98 The Global Food Security Index ranked Angola as 97th out of 113 
countries,  highlighting  that  24.9%  of  the  population  are  under  the  global  poverty  line, 
affecting food affordability in the country.99 According to the UN Committee on the Rights 
of the Child, chronic undernutrition of children under 5 years of age increased from 29% 
in 2007 to 38% in 2016; and malnutrition is associated with 45% of child deaths.100 The 
UN World Food Programme  states that Angola is a resource rich country that has  every 
opportunity  to  a  more  sustainable  growth  in  providing  its  own  food  sources.  The  main 
issues with the right to food in Angola lie in the limited dietary diversity, poor sanitation 
and  hygiene  conditions,  as  well  as  frequent  droughts.101  Amnesty  International  (2019) 
states that the right to food in Angola is also impacted by large-scale commercial projects 
that  require  vast  land  resources.  Land  acquisitions  without  prior  consultation  or 
compensation has affected the ability of communities from affected areas to produce food 
for subsistence (e.g. in Gambos, Huila province). Human rights indicators pertaining to the 
right to food show that Angola faces high levels of malnutrition illustrating the vulnerable 
situation in the country. 

Potential impact of Angola’s participation in the EPA on the right to food 

The potential impact of the EPA on the right to adequate food is mainly linked to domestic 
food production and imports of food and – in the second instance – also to land rights. 

According to the economic analysis, the removal of tariffs on imports from the EU will lead 
to significant increases in imports of food products for Angola. For example, total imports 
(under the full liberalisation scenario) are estimated to increase by 72% (€58 million) for 
meat  and  fish,  45%  (€46  million)  for  beverages,  68%  (€24  million)  for  preparations  of 
vegetables,  and  19%  (€21  million)  for  milling  products;  bilateral  imports  from  the  EU 
increase even more, at the expense of imports from other sources (see Table 4 in section 
4.1.1). Conversely, the effect  on  Angola’s  exports  of food products is more limited, and 
does not relate to an actual increase, at least in the short term (as modelled), but rather 
the avoidance of a decrease in exports resulting from the loss of EBA preferences.  

The impact on the right to food of these changes is twofold. First, for Angolan consumers, 
access  to  high  quality  agricultural  produce  coming  from  the  EU  is  expected  to  increase, 

97   United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2016) : Concluding observations on the 

fourth and fifth periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. E/C.12/AGO/CO/4-5. 

98   The Global Hunger Index (2020). Angola: https://www.globalhungerindex.org/angola.html 
99   Global Food Security Index (2020), Angola: https://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/Country/Details#Angola  
100  UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the combined fifth to seventh 

periodic reports of Angola, UN Doc. CRC/C/AGO/CO/5-7. 

101  UN  World  Food  Programme  (2020).  Country  Brief  for  Angola:  https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-

0000121206/download/?_ga=2.244874821.1935800153.1610981420-31930762.1610981420 

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which  supports  the  right  to  food.  Second,  as  food  exports  will  not  actually  increase, 
availability of food for Angolan consumption will not be affected. 

An  indirect  impact  on  the  right  to  food  from  land  rights  could  stem  from  investment 
facilitation  under  the  SIFA  and,  in  the  long  run,  from  trade  facilitation  under  the  EPA, 
leading to an increase in larger-scale commercial production for exports that require more 
land  resources.  This  is  of  particular  relevance  for  the  communities  that  rely  on  family 
agriculture for their subsistence and may lead to challenges regarding the ability to support 
themselves.  Additionally,  increased  investment  in  the  food  supply  chain  and  food 
conservation triggered by the SIFA may play a positive role in tackling food vulnerability 
in Angola. 

As mentioned above, the literature review points to a severe situation in Angola regarding 
the right to food. The current situation indicates a high prevalence of hunger, exacerbated 
by the pandemic.102  

Throughout the consultations, some stakeholders expressed concern that the right to food 
of rural and traditional local communities might be put under pressure as a consequence 
of growing investment and increase in production in agricultural products as linked to land 
rights.  These  concerns  are  based  on  previous  experiences  with  international  companies 
operating in the territory of Angola and on the knowledge that the current domestic system 
does not provide sufficient protection of the right to own property for some communities 
whose  livelihood  depends  on  the  lands  they  occupy  (see  the  analysis  in  the  previous 
section). 

Based on the economic analysis, the literature review and stakeholder consultations, the 
right  to  food  is  likely  to  be  impacted  positively  overall:  imports  of  high-quality  EU  food 
products  are  expected  to  increase,  allowing  Angolan  consumers  access  to  high-quality 
food. Lower prices due to increased competition from EU food products entering the market 
could  also  result,  assuming  sufficient  competition  in  the  distribution  services  sector. 
Conversely, domestic food production is not expected to be diverted by increased exports. 
While food availability would not be impacted, the situation for domestic producers might 
marginally deteriorate due to EU competition. The projected increase in imports of EU food 
would  seem  to  lead  to  higher  levels  of  food  import  dependency  for  Angola.  However, 
because the increases in imports (trade creation) from the EU are mostly the result of trade 
diversion away from other regions in the world, Angola’s overall food import dependency 
does not increase. So food security is an element that would warrant further investigation. 
While food dependency can be a concern, it can also help the country diversify the risk of 
domestic  crop  failures.  Finally,  in  the  context  of  weak  implementation  of  land  rights  in 
Angola,  it  is  possible  that  the  right  to  food  of  local  communities  may  be  affected  less 
favourably as a result of agricultural investments that might be triggered by the EPA in the 
longer term and by the SIFA.  

In light of the analysis carried out, we recommend the following: 

•  We recommend the EU and Angola to further look at the agricultural sectors that are 
promising for Angolan exports and for the EU to support those sectors to become more 
competitive and thrive, possible via a national competitiveness enhancing programme 
together with other key international donors and stakeholders.  

for 

102  See UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the combined fifth to seventh 
periodic  reports  of  Angola,  UN  Doc.  CRC/C/AGO/CO/5-7;  “Drought  forces  families  to  leave  their  homes  in 
the  Cunene  province”,  World  Vision,  07  October  2019, 
search 
https://www.wvi.org/stories/southern-africa-hunger-emergency-response/drought-forces-families-leave-
their-homes-search [accessed 25 June 2021]; UNICEF (2021); “Acute hunger set to soar in over 20 countries, 
warn  FAO  and  WFP”,  FAO,  23  March  2021,  http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1382490/icode/ 
[accessed 25 June 2021]. 

food  and  water 

in 

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•  We recommend Angola to look into the issue of food security and for the EU and Angola 
to work together in EPA implementation to ensure that the Agreement is used as a tool 
to enhance Angola’s food security, reducing the risk of spiking food prices, hunger and 
adverse economic effects in times when environmental conditions hurt crop production. 
•  We recommend that the EU engages further in technical assistance programmes it has 
set  up  to  support  Angolan  agricultural  producers  to  reach  scale  and  navigate  the 
customs and regulatory paths to export successfully to the EU, for example, linking the 
Train  For  Trade  programme  directly  to  the  Agreement.  This  recommendation  aligns 
with the one derived from the economic impact analysis and reinforces it from the point 
of view of enhancing food security. 

4.4  Environmental Sustainability of Angola’s Participation in the EPA 

Angola’s  accession  to  the  EU-SADC  EPA  could  have  various  impacts  on  various 
environmental areas. These would be triggered through two main impact channels: first, 
changes in economic activity caused by accession to the EPA could lead to effects on the 
various impact areas studied. These effects are discussed in most of the following sections 
(4.4.1 to 4.4.8), impact area by impact area. Second, the provisions in the EPA, particularly 
in the TSD Chapter, also may create direct legal obligations on Angola with regard to its 
environmental regime. This potential impact is addressed in section 4.4.9. Because both 
impact  channels  primarily  affect  Angola,  the  following  analysis  also  concentrates  on 
impacts there. 

4.4.1  Impact on climate change 

The UN report on Angola’s progress towards reaching the sustainable development goals 
(SDGs) identifies climate action as one of the two areas where Angola is well on its way to 
achieve the long-term goals defined.103 However, USAID identifies climate change as a risk 
as it is likely to exacerbate many ongoing challenges in Angola, including expanding the 
range and transmission period for disease vectors, further stress to marine resources and 
impact on agri-food opportunities.104 The World Bank flags that natural hazards in the form 
of flooding, erosion, droughts, and epidemics are expected to become worse as the climate 
changes. It also mentions that sea level rise poses a major threat to its coastal population, 
where it is estimated that 50% of Angolans reside.105 The UN World Food Programme (WFP) 
warned in March 2021 that hunger is on the rise in Angola, as the country experiences its 
worst episode of drought in four decades in the south-western provinces.106 

Angola  ratified  the  Paris  Agreement  on  16  Nov  2020  and  submitted  its  first  national 
communication  on  6  Feb  2012.  In  May  2021,  Angola  published  its  first  NDC  in  which  it 
commits  to  an  unconditional  reduction  of  GHG  emissions  of  up  to  14%  by  2025  as 
compared to the Business As Usual (BAU) scenario (base year 2015), and an additional 
10% conditional reduction. This corresponds to estimated mitigation levels of 15.4 MtCO2eq 
in 2025 from unconditional measures and a further 11.1 MtCO2eq from conditional measures 
(Government  of  Angola  2021).  The  submission  and  effective  implementation  of  NDCs  is 
also  referred  to  in  the  post-Cotonou  Agreement  where  Parties  agree  to  effectively 
implement the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate  Change (UNFCCC) and 
the Paris Agreement as well as to track progress towards their NDCs and formulation of 
mid-century, long-term low GHG emission development strategies (Articles 57f). 

103  SDG dashboards, Angola. Available at https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/profiles/ago  
104  USAID, Climate risk in Angola: country risk profile, October 2018, available at https://www.climatelinks.org/ 

sites/default/files/asset/document/2018_USAID-CCIS-Project_Climate-Risk-Profile-Angola.pdf 

105  World 

Angola 
https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/angola  

knowledge 

Climate 

portal, 

Bank 

country 

summary, 

available 

at 

106   “Hunger worsens in Angola due to drought”, WFP, 26 March 2021, available at https://www.wfp.org/news/ 

hunger-worsens-angola-due-drought 

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Angola’s total GHG emissions have increased 8% in 2005-2018, which is the net effect of 
a decrease in emissions from agriculture (8% decrease) and from land use change (6% 
decrease, mainly from lower burning of biomass as firewood or charcoal for heating water, 
cooking and home lighting) and an increase in GHG emissions in all other activities. The 
highest relative increase occurred in industrial processes (+128%; 1.39 Mt in 2018). The 
highest  absolute  increase  occurred  in  energy  (+13.77  Mt;  +46%).107  The  trend  in  GHG 
emissions was curbed in 2015 when total emissions started to decrease. The total decrease 
in  2015-2018  was  10.4%;  with  emissions  from  energy  consumption  decreasing  16.4%. 
This decrease is mainly a result of the economic recession and the significant drop in oil 
prices, but as the decrease in emissions were significantly higher than decrease in GDP, 
some  structural improvements seem to take place. Economic data shows an increase in 
the  services  and  construction  sector  increasing  and  a  decrease  in  the  manufacturing 
sector.108 A large part of national CO2 emissions stems from exports, mainly of petroleum 
products. Whereas total national emissions keep rising, the emissions related to national 
consumption have been flattened.109 

Recognising the positive correlation between economic diversification in Angola and GHG 
emission  reductions,  and  recalling  the  specific  mentioning  of  stimulating  economic 
diversification in the EU-SADC EPA, Angola’s accession to the EPA could provide a further 
positive stimulant. Considering the small anticipated direct effects of the EPA on Angola’s 
production  structure  in  the  short  to  medium  terms,  the  EPA’s  effect  on  Angola’s  GHG 
emissions is however expected to be limited. A positive effect on GHG emissions could be 
increased,  however,  especially  when  low-carbon  technologies  and  low-carbon  economic 
activities are stimulated. The Parties could facilitate this by further continued dialogue on 
the  removal  of  obstacles  to  trade  or  investment  in  low-carbon  technologies,  goods  and 
services,  in  particular  trade  in  renewable  energy  goods  and  –  if  the  EU-SADC  EPA  was 
expanded  to  services  and  investment  –  investment  in  these  areas  as  well  as  renewable 
energy  related  services  (see  further  details  below).  Angola  also  identifies  increase  in 
renewable energy as one of the two main opportunities for GHG emission reductions; the 
second one being reforestation.110 

The Government of Angola aims to have 70% of energy production from renewable sources 
by  2025.  In  the  period  2015-2019,  Angola’s  total  installed  renewable  energy  capacity 
increased  from  1,017  MW  to  2,763  MW,  mainly  as  a  result  of  improved  exploitation  of 
hydropower.111 The national renewable energy strategy defined renewable energy targets 
for  2025,  with  an  additional  aim  to  diversify  renewable  energy  production  and  thus 
stimulate production other than large scale hydro power. The AfDB identified one of the 
key  needs  to  achieving  these  targets  to  be  establishing  and  institutionalizing  supportive 
regulatory  frameworks  to  bring  in  credible  Independent  Power  Producers  (IPPs).  The 
Angolan Government has undertaken various reforms to improve the investment climate, 
including  the  adoption  of  the  renewable  energy  strategy  and  new  laws  regarding 
procurement and electricity distribution to support IPPs. In addition, the electricity tariff 
regime has been revised and the energy subsidy system has been reformed. The AfDB is 
providing further support through its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to develop 
and  implement  a  regulatory  and  institutional  framework  that  would  encourage  private 

107  WRI, Climate Watch data, available at https://www.climatewatchdata.org/countries/AGO 
108  Lloyds  Bank  (2021),  The  economic  context  of  Angola,  available  at  https://www.lloydsbanktrade.com/en/ 

market-potential/angola/economical-context [accessed 3 June 2021]. 

109 Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser (2020), CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, OurWorldInData.org. Available at 
https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions  The  Angola  CO2  country  profile 
available at https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/angola Our World in Data is a collaborative effort between 
researchers at the University of Oxford and the non-profit organization Global Change Data Lab. 

110  Angola’s Initial National Communication to the UNFCCC, 2012. 
111  “Angola: African Development Bank funds $530 million electricity project to expand renewable energy and 
regional  connectivity”,  Africanews,  16  March  2021,  available  at  https://www.africanews.com/2021/03/16/ 
angola-african-development-bank-funds-530-million-electricity-project-to-expand-renewable-energy-and-
regional-connectivity/ [accessed 3 June 2021]. 

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renewable energy investment.112 The AfDB also provides financing for a transmission line 
to facilitate a surplus of more than 1,000 MW of mostly renewable power from the north 
of Angola to be transmitted to the south of the country which currently mainly relies on 
diesel generators.113 The impact of the EPA in this area is expected to be limited, as neither 
services  nor  investment  nor  public  procurement  are  covered.  However,  the  SIFA  could 
support further investment, especially by smaller players in the renewable energy market 
(where  the  EU  has  a  strong  global  standing),  by  enhancing  the  transparency  and 
predictability of the country’s investment framework. 

Reforestation  is  a  key  challenge  to  Angola.  The  country  has  had  an  average  annual 
deforestation  rate  of  about  0.20  to  0.25%  in  the  last  decades.  Data  from  Global  Forest 
Watch mentions that just in 2020, the country lost 248 thousand hectares of tree cover, 
equivalent to 85.9 Mt of CO₂eq. Total decrease in 2002-2020 was 5.3% of primary forest, 
releasing an average of 52.2 Mt per year into the atmosphere.114 The National Biodiversity 
Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2007-2012 set a goal to increase the country's protected 
area  but  this  target  has  not  been  achieved  (Ministry  of  Urban  Affairs  and  Environment 
2007; National Directorate of Biodiversity 2019) (for more detail see section 4.4.7 below). 
The NDC published in May 2021 includes a target for reforestation of 227,000 hectares by 
2025. The economic modelling predicts a (small) increase in output of the agri-food sector 
because  of accession to the EPA, which could  bring a further  challenge to achieving the 
targeted share of protected area or planned contribution from reforestation, and therewith 
achieving of this part of GHG emission reductions. It is therefore important to ensure that 
any increase in agri-food production does not lead to further land use change. This could 
be achieved by improving efficiency of production, facilitated by support to the use of clean 
production  technology.  With  respect  to  forestry,  the  high  recent  growth  in  sustainable 
timber  production  and  its  high  export  potential  are  seen  as  an  opportunity  for 
environmental  preservation,  including  climate  change  (see  more  detail  in  section  4.4.7 
below). 

In  conclusion,  the  direct  effects  of  accession  to  the  EU-SADC  EPA  on  Angola’s  GHG 
emissions, and climate change in general, are expected to be limited: some positive effects 
stemming from the EPA’s contribution towards diversifying Angola’s economy away from 
oil are noted. On the other hand, potential increases in agri-food production could have a 
mixed effect on GHG emissions, including through potential land use change (deforestation 
for  agricultural  export-oriented  production  purposes).  The  economic  modelling  predicts, 
however, that such changes as direct effects of the EPA will be limited. 

There is attention to address climate change in Angola, but the country could strengthen 
its  regulatory  and  policy  framework.  Such  strengthening  could  include  setting  further 
specific  targets,  improve  data  to  further  focus  its  understanding  of  the  challenges  and 
needs, and strengthen implementation of existing targets. With a wide range of needs and 
lack of resources, Angola could clearly benefit from international support. In future, such 
cooperation between the EU and Angola could for example be implemented through regular 
discussions  between  the  Angolan  Government  and  the  EU  in  the  framework  of  the  EPA 
Trade and Development Committee and address: 

• 

the  importance  of  the  UNFCCC  Paris  Agreement  and  alignment  to  its  objectives, 
including  a  commitment  to  actively  report  on  progress  in  addressing  climate  change 
impacts; 

•  an explicit recognition of negative impacts of climate change on biodiversity; 

112  AfDB (2020), Angola - Angola Renewable Energy Program - Enabling Environment - SEFA Appraisal Report, 
https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/angola-angola-renewable-energy-program-enabling-

at 

available 
environment-sefa-appraisal-report  

113  See footnote 111. 
114  Global Deforestation Rates & Statistics by Country, https://globalforestwatch.org [accessed on 4 June 2021]. 

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• 

•  a  commitment  to  continued  cooperation  in  the  framework  of  SADC  Climate  Services 
Centre to improve expertise on options to address climate change and the interaction 
between climate change, biodiversity and agricultural production, including formulation 
of training activities to expand such knowledge to various economic sectors; 
the importance of supporting climate friendly trade products in general, and the role of 
clean  technologies  for  sustainable  agricultural  production  specifically,  with  a  view  on 
supporting  food  security,  improving  biodiversity  and  providing  cleaner  energy 
production; and 
the promotion clean technology in trade relations and agreeing to explore opportunities 
to  provide  support  to  clean  technology  (and  phase  out  unsustainable  production) 
through  measures  such  as  green  government  procurement,  phasing  out  of 
environmentally harmful subsidies, or differential tariff structures. 

• 

The EU could also consider to provide technical and financial assistance to Angola in line 
with the above, in particular to support further development of renewable energy and of 
the expansion of clean technologies for sustainable agriculture, thereby avoiding land use 
change and ensuring low emission-intense agricultural production. 

4.4.2  Impact on air quality 

Limited information is available on Angola’s air quality. UNEP conducted a review in 2015, 
concluding that Angola had no national air quality legislation or control policy in place and 
had  not  defined  national  ambient  air  quality  standards  (UNEP,  n.d.).  Defining  such 
standards is included in the list of measures defined in the National Environmental Quality 
Program (Programa Nacional de Qualidade Ambiental, PNQA) that came into force in May 
2020. The PNQA also includes plans for adoption of new regulation, adopting an air quality 
index, as well as improved monitoring (more detail in Annex F).115 

International organisations report that air pollution is a moderate challenge in Angola. The 
WHO Global Health Observatory database shows that the age-standardized mortality rate 
attributed  to  household  and  ambient  air  pollution  in  Angola  was  118.5  per  100,000  in 
2016.116 IndexMundi quotes data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 reporting 
a  steady  decrease  in  the  annual  mean  concentration  of  fine  particulate  matter  (PM2.5) 
from 36.45 µg/m3 in 1990 to 32.39 µg/m3 in 2017. Despite the decrease, this significantly 
exceeds the WHO recommended maximum of 10 µg/m3.117 Consistent datasets on coarse 
particulate matter (PM10) emissions could not be retrieved, but all data found indicated 
levels well above the WHO recommended maximum of 20 µg/m3. 

Key  contributors  to  poor  air  quality  in  Angola  include  oil  and  gas  exploration,  mining, 
vehicle emissions, and agricultural waste burning.118 A large part of emissions is attributed 
to exports of oil and gas.  

One of the main reasons of poor household air pollution seems to be the high proportion 
of  the  population  with  primary  reliance  on  polluting  fuels  and  technologies  for  cooking: 
52.3% in 2018, according to the World Bank.119 Yet government policies supporting LPG 
and natural gas have resulted in Angola having one of the highest shares of access to clean 
cooking  in  sub-Saharan  Africa  (IEA  2019).  Assuming  increased  investment  and  trade 

115  See 

“National  Environmental  Quality  Program 

in  Angola”, 

Legal500.com,  20 

July  2020, 

https://www.legal500.com/developments/thought-leadership/national-environmental-quality-program-in-
angola/ [accessed 15 June 2021] 

116  https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/ambient-and-household-air-pollution-

attributable-death-rate-(per-100-000-population-age-standardized) [accessed 15 June 2021] 

117  https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/angola/indicator/EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3 [accessed 15 June 2021] 
118  IAMAT, https://www.iamat.org/country/angola/risk/air-pollution [accessed 15 June 2021] 
119  https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.CFT.ACCS.ZS?locations=AO [accessed 15 June 2021] 

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opportunities  would  lead  to  an  increase  in  economic  prosperity,  a  higher  share  of  the 
population could be expected to be able to afford clean fuels for cooking. 

The EPA is expected to have a very small, but positive effect on air quality in in Angola, 
because it fosters the export on non-oil related products toward less polluting products – 
but as mentioned the direct and short- to medium-term effect is limited; as is the impact 
on  GDP  and  hence  household  incomes  (and  thus  the  ability  to  switch  to  clean  fuels  for 
cooking).  

To  maximise  the  expected  positive  effects  it  is  important  to  pay  attention  to  clean 
technologies and phasing out unsustainable production. Cooperation between the EU and 
Angola in the framework of the EU-SADC EPA aimed at improving air quality could: 

•  Recognise the importance of the National Environmental Quality Program (PNQA) that 

came into force in May 2020; 

•  Exchange  expertise  in  development  of  a  National  Emission  Plan,  formulation  of  air 
quality  legislation  and  national  air  quality  standards,  monitoring  of  emissions  and 
legislative oversight; 

•  Promote clean technology in trade relations and agreeing to explore  opportunities to 
provide support to clean technology (and phase out unsustainable production) through 
measures  such  as  green  government  procurement,  phasing  out  of  environmentally 
harmful subsidies, or differential tariff structures. 

4.4.3  Impact on use of energy 

Energy use in Angola is growing fast. Average annual growth in energy consumption in the 
past decade has been more than 15% due to higher living standards, government efforts 
to  expand  electricity  coverage  and  an  increase  in  available  generation  capacity:  Total 
energy supply in the country more than doubled in the period 2005-2018. Whereas in this 
period the amount of renewable supply increased by 33%, energy production from oil more 
than quadrupled, reducing the share of renewable supply in total production from 71% in 
2005 to 46% in 2018 (IEA 2020), although the share of renewables in electricity generation 
is higher. 

Until  2025,  demand  is  expected  to  grow  further  at  a  substantial  rate,  with  the  overall 
system load reaching 7,200 MW – more than four times the current level.120 This growth 
is closely linked to the country’s expected growth in industry, especially in energy-intensive 
activities such as iron ore and other mining exploration. Energy demand from industry is 
expected to grow from a current 9% of energy demand to 25% of total consumption by 
2025.121 

The main parts of the national regulatory framework are the 2011 National Energy Security 
Strategy and Policy, the 2015 Government’s Power Sector Long-Term Vision and the 2015 
Renewable  Energy  Strategy  (AfDB  2020).  Targets  include  an  increase  in  generation 
capacity to 7.5 GW in 2022 and 9.9 GW by 2025, with about 75% of the increase to come 
from renewables. This however requires substantial investments, estimated at USD 13.6 
billion in the period 2018–2022, increasing to USD 23.1 billion in the period 2022–2025. 
Plans also include an increase in the national  electricity access  rate of currently 45% to 
around 50% by 2022 and 60% by 2025 (AEMP 2019). World Bank data122 illustrates that 

120  This is the expected capacity. The Government strategy document includes an even higher target of 9.9 GW 

by 2025, as discussed below. 

121  Africa  Oil  and  Power,  Power Generation  in Angola,  https://www.africaoilandpower.com/2020/01/03/power-

generation-in-angola/ [accessed 15 June 2021] 

122  https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS?locations=AO [accessed 15 June 2021] 

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electricity access rates have steadily increased over the years (more detail is included in 
Annex F). 

Current energy prices are subsidised. Gasoline and diesel prices are the second lowest in 
Africa  after  Algeria,  and  electricity  tariffs  are  below  production  cost  (IEA  2019).  The 
Government’s energy strategy mentions opportunities to improve efficiency in electricity 
consumption and production to be strongly connected to the completion of power sector 
restructuring. Measures taken to this end include unbundling of the power sector (decree 
from  2014),  assigning  responsibilities  of  market  oversight  to  utility  GAMEK,  and  cutting 
electricity subsidies by 85% (June 2019). The latter should improve financial viability of 
utilities  and  improve  the  sector’s  attractiveness  to  independent  power  producers  (IPPs). 
Government  plans  target  achieving  full  cost-reflective  tariffs  by  2025.123  Various 
international donors provide support to Angola’s power sector restructuring, including the 
EU who supported the preparation of standard forms of Power Purchase Contracts (PPA) 
for sales between the single-buyer (PRODEL) and IPPs. These contracts will be extended 
to  IPPs  for  renewable  energy  (AfDB  2020).  The  AfDB  is  financing  an  Energy  Sector 
Efficiency and Expansion Program, among others supporting construction of a transmission 
line  and  improving  utility  revenue  through  installation  of  prepaid  meters.  These  will  be 
crucial  elements  in  increasing  IPP  investments.  Angola’s  power  sector  vision  includes 
attracting up to USD 3 billion of private investments by 2022 and up to USD 9 billion by 
2025 (AEMP 2019; AfDB 2020). 

Based on the economic analysis, no noticeable direct impact of the EPA on the output of 
energy-intensive  sectors  in  Angola  is  expected,  nor  a  change  in  the  economic  structure 
that would impact on energy consumption. As such, the expected related environmental 
impacts  are  also  expected  to  be  negligible.  However,  it  is  important  to  ensure  that 
strengthened EU-Angola cooperation will be in line with the ongoing restructuring of the 
sector, supporting energy sector efficiency and the growth in clean energy technologies in 
the Angolan energy sector. This will be facilitated, as noted above, also by the SIFA but is 
likely to require flanking measures in terms of promoting investment in renewable energy 
in Angola among potential EU investors. 

4.4.4  Impact on water quality and resources 

Angola  has  significant  challenges  in  water  quality  and  resources,  with  a  relatively  low 
access to drinking water and a large informal market for water supply. Water availability 
is  relatively good, with  internal  renewable water  resources per capita being 4,969 cubic 
meters per year in 2017 and a low percentage of freshwater withdrawal as a share of total 
actual renewable water resources (0.48%).124 However, the challenge is in ensuring clean 
drinking water. The main legislation to regulate water in Angola is the National Water Law 
which  was  introduced  shortly  after  signing  of  the  peace  accords.  The  Law  introduced  a 
water sector reform, acknowledging water as an economic and social good.125  

Angola  was  the  last  country  in  the  SADC  region  to  establish  a  Water  Partnership.  With 
support  from  UNEP  the  SADC  Water  Department  developed  a  roadmap  for  Integrated 
Water  Resources  Management  (IWRM)  in  2007  and  launched  the  Angolan  Water 
Partnership (Neto and ACADIR-Angola 2009). Also in 2007 the “Water for All Program” was 
launched to achieve the MDGs for water supply. The plan aimed to ensure drinking water 
access for 80% of the population with a guaranteed minimum daily intake of 40 litres of 
water per capita. However, the programme’s own assessment in 2015 concluded that only 
50.3% of the target population was achieved, that many of the installed systems remain 

123  “Country  Commercial  Guide  Angola:  Energy”,  US  International  Trade  Administration,  13  October  2019, 

https://www.trade.gov/knowledge-product/angola-energy [accessed 15 June 2021] 

124  FAO AQUASTAT data, available at WDI, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ER.H2O.INTR.PC?locations=AO 

and https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ER.H2O.FWTL.ZS?locations=AO [accessed 15 June 2021] 

125  http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/ang63753.pdf [accessed 15 June 2021] 

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non-functional and that communities still rely on conventional unimproved water sources 
and the informal market. In Luanda, water selling is the largest sub-sector of the extensive 
informal  economy,  involving  extractors,  transporters  and  retailers  (Cain  and  Baptista 
2020). The UNICEF WASH programme reports that in 2017 44% of the Angolan population 
did not have access to clean drinking water – an improvement from 59% in the year 2000 
but still significantly higher than the global average of 30%.126 

The PNQA that came into force in May 2020 includes several measures to improve water 
quality,  such  as  establishing  various  standards  on  drinking  water  quality,  collecting 
information on the sources of water contamination and monitoring of water quality, and 
promoting compliance  with the water quality index (for more detail see Annex F). 127 No 
data has been obtained on actual achievement of these measures. 

International donor support focuses on addressing water supply challenges and ensuring 
long-term  financial  and  operational  sustainability  of  the  sector.  For  example  the  World 
Bank, the African Development Fund (AFD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) co-
funded the Angola Water Sector Institutional Development Project (WSIDP) that supported 
institutional reforms, created and strengthened six new water supply utilities, installed new 
water  infrastructure,  improved  the  utilities’  financial  and  operational  performance  and 
created a new regulator and a new water resources management institution. The project 
now  focuses  on  scaling  up  the  infrastructure  activities,  providing  further  institutional 
strengthening and incorporating sanitation activities.128 

It  appears  that  the  main  reasons  for  water  pollution  are  the  lack  of  infrastructure  and 
enforced  regulations  of  treatment  of  domestic  and  industrial  waste,  which  is  said  to  be 
often  discharged  directly  into  the  rivers  and  ocean.  However,  no  data  sources  could  be 
found to support such statements. As mentioned above, the PNQA includes measures to 
collecting information on the sources of contamination of Angola’s main water bodies. 

Changes  in  production  volumes  and  structures  caused  by  trade  agreements  can 
significantly  impact  the  levels  of  water  use  and  water  pollution  and  thereby  aggravate 
existing  problems.  Although  the  economic  analysis  undertaken  for  this  study  does  not 
expect such changes to result from Angola’s accession to the EPA, it could still be that this 
is underestimated and the currently vulnerable situation would be further threatened.  

In that perspective it is recommended, first, that the Parties recognise the importance of 
data collection efforts and Angola implements (with EU support) a signalling system that 
facilitates acting upon changes in water scarcity or water quality. Moreover, strengthened 
cooperation  between  the  EU  and  Angola  could  be  used  to  explore  opportunities  for 
enhanced support to cleaner production technologies with lower levels of water use, lower 
levels of wastewater or higher levels of wastewater treatment. Specific examples could be 
support to technologies with higher irrigation efficiency, to share knowledge on option for 
food  production  to  shift  to  crops  with  lower  water  intensity  and  to  ensure  that  export-
oriented commercial farming does not come at the expense of drinking water access for 
the local population.  

With  respect  to  industrial  or  agricultural  activities,  the  EU  and  Angola  should  pursue  an 
active knowledge exchange on wastewater treatment or capacity building to improve the 
quality  of  monitoring  and  inspection.  A  specific  example  relates  to  bananas,  one  of  the 
main products expected to benefit from Angola’s accession to the EPA. Bananas are among 
the  crops  that  have  the  highest  water  footprint,  according  to  the  FAO  (1986),  but  good 

126  https://data.unicef.org/topic/water-and-sanitation/drinking-water/ [accessed 15 June 2021] 
127  See footnote 115. 
128  “Building Water Institutions: Water Supply Services, Regulation and Policy in Angola”, World Bank, 08 April 
2019, https://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2019/04/08/building-water-institutions-in-angola [accessed 15 
June 2021] 

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water management practices can significantly reduce this (FAO 2017). No information has 
been  found  on  Angola’s  water  footprint  of  the  banana  production  industry  but  where 
relevant  attention  may  be  given  to  improving  monitoring  of  data  on  water  consumption 
and to sharing knowledge on improved water management opportunities. 

4.4.5  Impact on land use and soil quality 

Challenges  with  respect  to  land  use  and  soil  quality  seem  to  concentrate  mainly  on  the 
impacts  of  land  use  change  on  biodiversity  and  climate  change.  Angola  has  a  diverse 
landscape, ranging from tropical rainforests in the north to savannah deserts in the south 
and  eastern  parts  of  the  country.  A  dry  coastal  strip  runs  from  the  northern  capital  of 
Luanda to the southern border with Namibia. The internal highlands are prime agricultural 
land (USAID 2016). In 2017, according to FAO 47.5% of Angola’s land was classified as 
agricultural area and 46.2% as forest area.129 Most of Angola’s soil (over 76%) is classified 
as from low-fertility land soil groups. Sandy arenosols cover more than 53% of the country 
and  ferralsols  derived  from  underlying  rocks  cover  approximately  23%.  The  natural 
vegetation in these areas is predominantly miombo woodlands  (Huntley et al. 2019). As 
mentioned  earlier  (section  4.4.1)  land-use,  land-use  change  and  forestry  (LULUCF) 
activities  have  strongly  impacted  GHG  emissions,  especially  the  deforestation  (lowering 
the CO2 absorption capacity) and the related burning of biomass as firewood or charcoal 
for heating water, cooking and home lighting. This also has a significant impact on Angola’s 
rich biodiversity.  

Further analysis has been included in the sections on climate change (section 4.4.1) and 
biodiversity (section 4.4.7 below) as well as in the case study on biodiversity (Annex B.3).  

4.4.6  Impact on waste and waste management 

Little information is available on waste and waste management in Angola. The World Bank 
reports that Angola’s per capita waste generation rate is 0.46 kg/capita/day which is equal 
to  the  average  of  Sub-Saharan  Africa  and  lower  than  the  world  average  of  0.74 
kg/capita/day (Kaza et al. 2018). 

Angola  has  various  regulations  on  waste,  but  implementation  has  been  a  problem.  The 
2012  Regulation  on  Waste  Management  includes  a  legal  definition  of  waste,  waste 
characteristics, a list of types of waste, and a categorisation of waste into hazardous and 
non-hazardous waste. It furthermore sets out requirements for the preparation of waste 
management plans and registration of hazardous waste (cf. VDA 2012). However, despite 
these  monitoring  requirements,  no  data  could  be  identified  on  amounts  of  industrial  or 
hazardous waste. Similarly, in 2012 the Strategic Plan for the Management of Urban Waste 
was  adopted,  and  in  2014  this  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  National  Waste  Agency. 
However,  implementation  of  the  Strategy  is  not  taking  place  at  local  government 
(municipal) level. In 2014, two further strategic plans were adopted: the Strategic Plan on 
Construction  Waste  and  the  Strategic  Plan  on  Medical  Waste.  But  no  detailed  data  on 
amounts of waste or landfilling are available (ACCP 2019).  

Luanda province has a landfill since 2007. In April 2021, the authorities of the province of 
Luanda signed contracts with seven companies to improve the management of solid waste 
in Luanda.130 Construction of new landfills in other provinces has been delayed due to the 
economic crisis, and waste is still deposited in dumps (Maria, Góis, and Leitão 2020) (more 
details in Annex F). 

129  http://faostat.fao.org/static/syb/syb_7.pdf 
130  “Angola: Luanda province entrusts waste management to seven companies”, Inès Magoum/Afrik21, 1 April 
https://www.afrik21.africa/en/angola-luanda-province-entrusts-waste-management-to-seven-

2021, 
companies/ [accessed 15 June 2021] 

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Increases in GDP and welfare often go hand in hand with an increase in the amounts of 
waste produced. Although the economic analysis expects no tangible increase in GDP as a 
result of tariff changes associated with Angola’s accession to the EPA, it does identify the 
long-term  potential  for  an  increase  in  GDP  from  the  EPA  and  the  SIFA  resulting  from 
increasing competitiveness and economic diversification. However, as these effects would 
materialise only in the long run, the EPA’s impact on waste production in Angola is assessed 
as negligible. 

A positive impact of the EPA on waste management in Angola could arise from the  TSD 
Chapter. In Article 8, the Parties commit to implement their obligations under the MEAs 
that  they  have  ratified.  Angola  ratified  the  Basel  Convention  on  the  Control  of 
Transboundary Movements of  Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal in  2017 but has not 
yet  provided  a  national  report  on  the  status  of  implementation  and  has  not  issued  a 
definition of hazardous  waste in the scope  of the Convention, despite  the fact that such 
definition is included in the national legislation. The situation is similar for the Stockholm 
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants: Angola ratified the Convention in 2006, but 
to date has not published a national report. Angola has also signed, but not yet ratified, 
the Rotterdam Convention to facilitate informed decision-making with regard to trade in 
hazardous chemicals, and has also not ratified the Minamata Convention on mercury. UNEP 
in 2019 also signalled the implementation of these conventions in Angola as a challenge, 
mentioning that the country’s institutions do not have adequate capacity or coordination 
mechanisms,  while  partnerships  with  the  private  sector  remain  very  weak.  To  address 
these  challenges,  the  UNEP  launched  a  three-year  Chemicals  and  Waste  Management 
Programme  focused  on  establishing  a  sustainable,  integrated,  and  coherent  national 
structure to better manage chemicals. The project established a National Chemicals and 
Waste Management Coordinating Unit at the Ministry of Environment. Further project goals 
are  to  establish  public-private  partnerships  in  several  areas  of  waste  management, 
undertake an awareness-raising and education campaign on sound chemicals and waste 
management,  and  mainstreaming  chemicals  and  waste  management  into  Angola’s 
development goals.131 

In  sum,  although  accession  to  the  EU-SADC  EPA  is  not  expected  to  lead  to  substantial 
increased waste production in the foreseeable future, the TSD provisions in the Agreement 
create an obligation to effectively implement ratified MEAs, which Angola has not done so 
far  with  regard  to  the  Rotterdam  and  Stockholm  Conventions,  likely  due  to  capacity 
constraints. To support implementation, the EU could provide support to Angola in meeting 
the requirements under these Conventions. In addition, the Government of Angola and the 
EU  could  emphasise  the  importance  of  ratification  of  the  Rotterdam  and  Minamata 
conventions  and  express  their  support  to  the  various  ongoing  activities  to  improve 
monitoring  of  waste  and  improvement  of  waste  management.  The  EU  and  Angola  could 
furthermore  agree  to  ensure  that  an  increase  in  trade  would  not  result  in  additional 
uncontrolled waste production. 

4.4.7  Biodiversity impact 

Angola  is  among  the  countries  with  the  highest  biodiversity  in  Africa.  The  National 
Biodiversity  Strategy  and  Action  Plan  for  Angola  2019-2025  (Governo  de  Angola  2020) 
indicates  that,  according  to  the  International  Union  for  Conservation  of  Nature  (IUCN), 
Angolan  biodiversity  counts  with  about  5,000  species  of  plants  in  the  country,  of  which 
1,260 are endemic. Much of Angola’s biodiversity (flora and fauna) lies in the forested area. 
Angola has not carried out a national forest inventory and therefore statistics on forested 
land cover are not known. Available estimates range from 19-56% of the national territory 
(USDA Forest Service 2013). Older official Government statistics provide estimates of 53 

131  “Partnering  to  Strengthen  Chemicals  and  Waste  management  in  Angola”,  UNEP,  4  July  2019, 
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/partnering-strengthen-chemicals-and-waste-management-
angola [accessed 15 June 2021] 

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million  hectares  of  forests  corresponding  to  43.3%  of  the  total  land  area  (FAO  2009). 
Angola also has a large planted area, 18% or 2.2 million hectares, of productive forests 
mainly planted with Eucalyptus and Pinus species. 

Deforestation is a major concern, with high impacts on biodiversity and climate change. 
The Ministry of Environment reports a deforestation rate of about 0.20 to 0.25% (National 
Directorate  of  Biodiversity  2019).  The  primary  cause  identified  for  this  deforestation  is 
illegal  logging  by  foreign  companies  and  ‘slash  and  burn’  subsistence  farmers.  Various 
sources report on increases in illegal logging in the Angolan planted forests and large-scale 
loss of tree cover (for  details see Annex F). On the other hand, UNCTAD and the  World 
Bank identify sustainable wood production as a green product with high potential that could 
be a driver of socioeconomic transformation and environmental preservation in Angola.132 
The key factors for realising this potential are foreign investments and community forestry 
projects,  but  lack  of  funds  and  a  lack  of  understanding  of  sustainable  practices  are  the 
main challenges. 

Angola  has  been  a  party  to  the  Convention  on  Biological  Diversity  (CBD)  since  1994.  It 
adopted the Aichi goals on biodiversity conservation and actively reports on the progress 
to meeting these goals. In its 6th CBD report, the Government estimates that 30% of its 
biodiversity measures taken at national level are effective, 60% partially effective and 10% 
ineffective. In 2018, the Red List of endangered Species of Angola was elaborated (National 
Directorate of Biodiversity 2019). The NBSAP targeted an update of this list by 2020, but 
such update to date does not seem available. 

While  biodiversity  in  marine  and  coastal  environments  are  recognised  in  principle,  the 
formal actions to define protected areas to date do not include these areas, only land areas 
(National Directorate of Biodiversity 2019). Research published in 2014 concluded that 102 
out of 133 identified ecosystem types in marine areas had no protection at all (Holness et 
al. 2014). The IUCN identifies overfishing as the main cause of bony fish species becoming 
extinct, with other threats including the degradation of habitats, pollution, climate change 
and invasive species (Polidoro, Ralph, and Strongin 2016). The report highlights the limited 
capacity for fisheries surveillance and enforcement in the region, leading to illegal fishing 
and overfishing that counteracts national and regional management efforts. 

Government plans include the creation of a network of marine protected areas and a plan 
for  actual  protection,  as  well  as  adding  two  new  Marine  Ecological  or  Biological  Areas 
(National Directorate of Biodiversity 2019). The Angolan National Development Plan 2018-
2022 highlights fisheries infrastructure as fundamental areas for investment. Protection of 
marine ecosystems is also explicitly included in the post-Cotonou Agreement, where Parties 
reaffirm the universal and unified character of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 
(UNCLOS)  as  the  basis  for  national,  regional  and  global  action  and  cooperation  in  the 
marine  and  maritime  sectors.  More  specifically  they  also  agree  to  strengthen  ocean 
governance, to promote and improve the protection and restoration of marine ecosystems 
and the conservation and sustainable management of marine resources, and to promote 
sustainable fisheries management at national, regional and global levels. UNCTAD agrees 
with the potential for sustainable fishery, identifying fishing as the second most promising 
green  product  in  Angola  that  have  the  highest  potential  to  be  drivers  of  socioeconomic 
transformation and environmental preservation in Angola (UNCTAD 2018). 

The economic analysis concludes that Angola’s accession to the EPA will lead to increased 
output of the agri-food and fishing sectors – specifically production and export of frozen 
shrimp  and  bananas.  Although  this  “increase”  rather  means  that  a  decrease  is  avoided 

132  UNCTAD (2018); also see “Sustainable practices are integral to the success of developing Angola’s forestry 
sector”, 
January  2017,  https://blogs.worldbank.org/ 
nasikiliza/sustainable-practices-are-integral-to-the-success-of-developing-angolas-forestry-sector  [accessed 
15 June 2021] 

José  Evangelista/World  Bank  Blogs,  11 

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(that would occur if Angola did not accede to the EPA), considering existing vulnerabilities 
it is important to avoid any increased deforestation or overexploitation of fishing waters, 
including in the long term.  

It is therefore recommended to use increased cooperation and commitments to sustainable 
trade  to  support  sustainable  development  of  food  production  areas  and  of  vulnerable 
marine areas. To this end, the EU and Angola could ensure effective implementation of the 
post-Cotonou Agreement such as the promise to support the conservation and sustainable 
management and use of natural resources, including land, water, forest, biodiversity and 
ecosystems. The parties should jointly work on promoting the sustainable governance of 
tenure of land, fisheries and forests, as well as promote sustainable food production and 
sustainable  fishing,  for  example  by  information  campaigns  on  sustainable  production 
methods, agreements on knowledge exchange and promotion of sustainable technologies, 
use  of  active  monitoring  systems  and  promotion  of  certified  production.  In  the  area  of 
forestry, a forest partnership could be considered between the EU and Angola.133 

4.4.8  Impact on ecosystem services and protected areas 

The analysis of ecosystem services and protected areas in Angola provides a mixed picture. 
The Yale Environmental Performance Index 2020134 ranks Angola 158 out of 181 countries. 
It  shows  relatively  high  ranks  for  Angola’s  ecosystem  services  (94),  fisheries  (51)  and 
climate change (97), very low ranks for pollution emissions because of the growth in SO2 
(174) and NOX emissions (176), and low ranks for all other categories. The relatively good 
rank for ecosystem services is mainly due to low wetland losses (rank 53). Wetlands and 
mangroves  have  been  identified  as  vulnerable  ecosystems  in  Angola  and  currently  11 
wetlands  are  identified.  Angola’s  CBD  report  indicates  the  plan  to  ratify  the  RAMSAR 
convention to protect wetlands (National Directorate of Biodiversity 2019), but this has not 
been implemented do date.  

Legally protected areas (National Parks and Game Reserves) in Angola were established 
from  the  1930s  and  occupied  6%  of  the  country’s  terrestrial  area  at  the  time  of 
independence in 1975 (Huntley et al. 2019). During the civil war, these were exposed to 
serious  neglect,  poaching  and  land  invasions.  By  2011,  the  protected  area  system  had 
increased again to 9% of national territory. In 2019, Angola reported to have 12.58% of 
its national territory as protected areas, which falls short of the target of 15% set in the 
NBSAP for 2012 (National Directorate of Biodiversity 2019). 

Angola’s rank for tree cover loss (89) appears relatively good, but Angola’s forest area has 
steadily decreased over the years, as reported above. Much of the loss of forest area has 
been  due  to  clearing  for  small-scale  crop  farming.  Other  losses  have  come  from  the 
harvesting of charcoal, wood fuel, timber production, and runaway bush fires. Fires have 
also been a main cause in grassland loss over the year (Mendelsohn 2019). Legislation on 
the  protection  and  management  of  forest  and  wildlife  resources  has  been  updated  in 
2017.135 The updated Law applies also to biological diversity and related activities, but does 
not apply to aquatic biological resources, genetic  resources and  conservation areas that 
are governed by special legislation. 

An increase in GDP and welfare could lower the pressure on low-efficiency use of natural 
resources for cooking, heating and lighting. On the other hand, it could threaten wetlands 
and other protected land areas as a result of the need to expand infrastructure to facilitate 

133  Forest partnerships are a pillar of the Green Alliances foreseen under the European Green Deal, comprising a 
holistic approach to protect, restore and ensure the sustainable use of the world’s forests and in particular 
key tropical forests. More information at https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/intpa/items/682194  

134  Available at https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2020/country/ago 
135  Law No. 6/17 on Forest and Wildlife Basic Legislation. Available at http://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/ 

en/c/LEX-FAOC162520/ 

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increased  trade.  As  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  is  however  not  expected  to  lead  to 
noticeable changes in GDP in the foreseeable future, its impact on ecosystem services and 
protected areas is assessed as negligible. 

4.4.9  Impact of the EPA TSD Chapter 

In  the  TSD  chapter  of  the  EU-SADC  EPA,  the  Parties  recognise  the  value  of  Multilateral 
Environmental Agreements (MEAs) as a priority objective of international cooperation (Art. 
8(1)).  Furthermore,  they  reaffirm  their  commitment  to  implement  their  obligations  in 
respect of the MEAs that they have ratified (Art. 8(2)). The EPA also states that, although 
it  recognises  the  Parties’  right  to  regulate,  that  a  “Party  shall  not  derogate  from,  or 
persistently fail to effectively enforce, its environmental […] laws” to “encourage trade or 
investment  by  weakening  or  reducing  domestic  levels  of  […]  environmental  protection” 
(Art. 9(3)). The EPA does not, however, require the Parties to ratify any MEAs. 

Around 250 MEAs have been agreed that deal with one or more environmental issues. Out 
of these, the WTO’s Committee on Trade and the Environment has identified MEAs that are 
directly  related  to  trade,  as  evidenced  by  the  inclusion  of  provisions  to  control  trade  in 
order  to  prevent  damage  to  the  environment.136  The  EU  and  Angola  (and  other  SADC 
countries) are parties to most of these MEAs. Details on the status or date of ratification 
of Angola for these MEAs are provided in Annex F. It shows among others: 

•  Angola has ratified the three conventions relevant to climate change and the two 

• 

conventions relevant to air pollution; 
In the area of waste and chemicals there is a mixed picture, with two conventions 
ratified  (Basel  Convention  and  Stockholm  Convention)  and  two  conventions  not 
ratified (Rotterdam Convention and Minamata Convention); 

•  A  mixed  picture  also  occurs  in  the  area  of  biodiversity:  Angola  ratified  the  very 
important CBD and two of the three implementing protocols relevant to trade, as 
well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna 
and  Flora  (CITES)  and  UNCLOS.  But  it  did  not  ratify  some  of  the  implementing 
agreements of the latter. 

Given the EPA provision on environmental sustainability in the TSD chapter, Angola would 
be encouraged to pursue effective implementation of all the MEAs which the country has 
already ratified. Recognising that especially the effective implementation of conventions in 
the area of climate change is very high on the EU agenda, options could be explored to 
provide technical assistance to support Angola in its implementation process. 

Although  not  a  legal  requirement  under  the  EPA,  for  reasons  of  policy  coherence 
membership in the EPA would also encourage Angola’s ratification of those trade-related 
MEAs which it has not yet ratified. EU support in this context could further facilitate such 
a  move,  and  could  be  negotiated  in  a  separate  bilateral  agreement  linked  to  Angola’s 
accession to the EPA. In this context, it should be noted that environmental sustainability 
and  climate  change  is  also  one  of  the  six  objectives  of  the  new  Partnership  Agreement 
between the EU and Members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States 
(the “post-Cotonou Agreement”), which also includes provisions to address environmental 
protection and effective conservation, sustainable management of natural resources, and 
climate change.137 

136  Matrix  on  trade-related  measures  pursuant  to  selected  multilateral  environmental  agreements, 
WT/CTE/W/160. The matrix is updated from time to time and contains around 20 MEAs; the latest version is 
WT/CTE/W/160/Rev.9, 19 March 2021. 

137  Negotiated Agreement text initialled by the EU and OACPS chief negotiators on 15th April 2021. Available at 
https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/system/files/negotiated-agreement-text-initialled-by-eu-

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4.5  Angola’s Administrative Capacity for EPA Implementation 

Although the EPA is restricted primarily to trade in goods, the implementation of its various 
provisions  and  the  obligations  that  these  create  for  the  Parties  cover  a  wide  range  of 
technical issues. In line with the structuring  of the analysis in the SIA, they  cover tariff 
liberalisation as well as a range of NTMs, including quantitative restrictions, management 
of TRQs, TBTs (standards and regulations, conformity assessment), implementation of SPS 
issues, customs and trade facilitation (including rules of origin, valuation, verification, etc.), 
and  trade  defence.138  A  more  comprehensive  analysis  of  administrative  capacities  is 
presented in Annex G. 

4.5.1  Tariffs, quantitative restrictions and TRQs 

Angola does not presently have any preferential tariffs in place. Although the 2020 customs 
tariffs139 foresees such preferences for imports from SADC and the members of the AfCFTA 
(Article  60),  these  are  not  yet  applicable  –  Angola  has  not  yet  ratified  the  SADC  Trade 
Protocol,  and  although  it  has  ratified  the  AfCFTA,  and  in  principle  trade  under  AfCFTA 
preferences started in 2021, in practice its implementation has not yet begun. 

Nevertheless, with the potential exception of the application of rules of origin (see below) 
there is no indication that the AGT would face challenges in the application of preferential 
duties on imports from the EU; the current tariff book already foresees a complex system 
of tariff exemptions and suspensions, the enforcement of which would appear to be more 
complex than tariff preferences under the EPA.  

There are also no indications that the country would face problems in implementing a tariff 
reduction schedule with decreasing tariffs over time. 

Quantitative restrictions and TRQs are currently not used in Angola. The use of the former 
is however envisaged in Presidential Decree 23/19, which establishes quantitative import 
restrictions  for  a  number  of  products  covered  in  PRODESI  from  2022  onwards  (see  the 
analysis in section 1.3 of Annex C to the main report). This would require the introduction 
and  operation  of  a  quota  management  system  to  ensure  that  any  restrictions  are  non-
discriminatory. Experience in other countries has shown that such quota management (the 
same  applies  to  the  quotas  in  TRQ  systems)  can  be  quite  complex.  Therefore, 
administration of any potential quantitative restrictions or quotas that might be introduced 
is likely to face challenges, at least initially; and would benefit from assistance. At the same 
time,  considering  the  distortions  and  inefficiencies  associated  with  any  quantitative 
restrictions, a first-best option would be an agreement between the EU and Angola that no 
such restrictions will be applied in the future. 

To  sum  up,  while  no  administrative  capacity  constraints  for  the  operation  of  EPA  tariff 
preferences  or  gradual  reduction  of  preferential  tariffs  are  found,  the  potential 
implementation of quantitative restrictions or TRQs  contemplated by Angolan authorities 
would likely face challenges due to the lack of experience of the Angolan authorities. Based 
on economic efficiency considerations, it is recommended that Angola commits as part of 
its accession to the EPA not to use such instruments. 

oacps-chief-negotiators-20210415_en.pdf. The EU and the Government of Angola are both signing parties to 
this agreement. 

138  Other areas, such as public procurement or intellectual property rights, could also be covered if Angola agrees 
with  the  EU  to  incorporate  these  areas  in  its  accession  package  to  the  EPA.  An  assessment  of  the 
administrative capacity in these areas has not been undertaken. 

139  Presidential Legislative Decree 10/19 of 24 November 2019. 

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4.5.2  SPS and TBT measures 

Whereas Angola’s regulatory framework addressing SPS issues is relatively well developed 
and recent, as mentioned in the analysis of non-tariff issues in section 1.3 of Annex C to 
the main report, enforcement and administration capacity is limited. Examples illustrating 
the weaknesses in relation to SPS and TBT issues are:140 

•  The role of scientific research and education in the implementation of SPS measures is 

non-existent; 

•  Procedures for conducting risk assessment, in updating SPS measures, as well as risk 
assessment  units  that  can  determine  acceptable  levels  of  protection,  are  not  yet 
established or defined; 

•  With respect to pest and disease control, no defined programmes for surveying these 
areas  exist  due  to  human  resources  and  infrastructure  constraints,  affecting  both 
exports and effective import control; 

•  The  absence  of  phytosanitary  surveys  prevents  knowledge  about  and  designation  of 
areas free or not of pests and diseases of economic importance, negatively affecting 
exports; 

•  Conformity assessment of imports at the border is hampered by inadequately trained 
and equipped inspectors. The recently established National Institute of Quality Control 
(Instituto Nacional de Controlo de Qualidade, INACOQ)141 also lacks the capacity to do 
so. Pest risk assessments are not undertaken; 
In terms of strengthening conformity assessment (both for the domestic market and 
exports), an Angolan Association of Laboratories (Associação Angolana de Laboratórios) 
was planned to be established, but does not appear to be functioning; 

• 

•  Although a number of laboratories offer their services in Angola (e.g. INACOQ/LANCOQ, 
Bromangol,  AmbiÁfrica,  Laboratório  Central  do  Ministério  da  Agricultura,  ISQapave), 
many  exporters  have  to  resort  to  certification  services  in  e.g.  South  Africa  or  the 
destination country, which increases costs and trade times, and sometimes prevents 
exports altogether. 

During the consultations, the Director of INACOQ described the constraints that the only 
INACOQ laboratory faces and expressed the need to obtain technical assistance. According 
to the Director, INACOQ needs help in the development of institutional capabilities, training 
of human resources, technical assistance for the implementation of ISO standards, process 
auditing,  laboratory  skills  around  microbiology,  molecular  biology  and  physiology.  The 
laboratory  itself  also  needs  deep  reforms,  such  as  improving  infrastructure,  purchasing 
new equipment, implementing the laboratory network for the rest of the provinces, training 
staff in certification processes, etc. 

In sum, the country’s quality infrastructure (in a broad sense, comprising both SPS and 
TBT  matters)  is  underdeveloped  in  all  respects.  It  neither  allows  an  effective  control  of 
imports,  ensuring  human,  animal  and  plant  safety  against  imported  pests  and  sub-
standard  quality  products,  nor  does  it  provide  internationally  accredited  conformity 
assessment  services  that  potential  exporters  of  many  goods,  especially  agricultural 
products, would require to access foreign markets. Challenges exist in all areas: buildings 
and equipment, technology, accreditation, human resources, and finances. 

Considering that quality requirements are a key issue for accessing the EU market (and 
are getting more demanding still e.g. in the context of the Farm to Fork strategy), and that 
the  Angolan  quality  infrastructure  has  in  many  case  not  been  able  to  allow  exports, 
particularly of agricultural products, to the EU under the EBA arrangement, we conclude 

140  The listed gaps regarding SPS issues are largely based on presentations made at the joint WTO/Ministry of 
Trade workshop “Seminário Nacional – O Acordo Sobre a Aplicação de Medidas Sanitárias e Fitossanitárias da 
OMC (Acordo SPS)”, 11-12 December 2019 in Luanda. 

141  INACOQ was created in 2021 to replace the former National Laboratory of Quality Control (LANCOQ) 

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that addressing these constraints will be an important element in ensuring that Angolan 
exporters can make use of the preferential access to the EU market  under the EPA. We 
note  that  already  technical  assistance  under  the  11th  EDF  in  this  area  is  planned  in  the 
project  “Support  to  safety  and  quality  standards  towards  a  national  sustainable  and 
inclusive  economic  growth  in  Angola”,  expected  to  start  in  2022  or  early  2023.  Such 
support will be crucial for Angola to expand and diversify exports to the EU under the EPA. 

4.5.3  Customs control 

One challenge related to customs control in Angola relates to informal cross-border trade 
and  contraband.  Stakeholders  consulted,  both  from  the  public  and  private  sectors, 
considered that it is "a major problem in Angola, as it upends the supply chain of products, 
causes  disorganisation  and  promotes  tax  evasion.”  The  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 
Industry is presently conducting a diagnostic study on cross-border trade in collaboration 
with the International Trade Centre. 

The  EPA  foresees  extensive  cooperation  on  customs  matters,  as  well  as  “the  necessary 
support  for  the  SADC  EPA  States'  customs  administrations  to  effectively  implement  this 
Agreement”  (Art.  41(d)).  Administrative  assistance  shall  be  provided  in  line  with  Article 
42(3)). Protocol 2 of the EPA is dedicated to administrative assistance in customs matters 
and includes details on the scope of support, procedures to request it, and implementation. 
Furthermore, Article 48 specifically refers to support to the SADC EPA countries’ customs 
administrations,  in  particular  with  respect  to  modern  customs  techniques  (e.g.  risk 
management,  post 
release  controls,  customs  automation),  customs  valuation, 
classification and rules of origin, transit, transparency, and implementation of international 
instruments and standards. 

With regard to specific areas where capacity building might be needed, we note that; 

•  The  Angolan  customs  (AGT)  does  not  presently  have  any  experience  in  determining 
whether imports into Angola comply with preferential rules of origin, because at present 
no preferential trade agreements are in place; 

•  Risk-based customs control operations are at an infant stage still – this is also relevant 

for cross-border trade operations; 

•  Customs automation also is still work in progress (see next section). 

Although  Angola’s  customs  operations  are  overall  well  advanced,  accession  to  the  EPA 
would  enable  Angola  to  request  support  in  certain  customs  issues,  in  particular  for 
addressing the constraints with respect to determining preferential origin of imports, risk-
based operations, and customs automation. Interviewed stakeholders suggested that the 
EU “could help reduce the level of informal trade by technical assistance for establishing a 
comprehensive  programme  for  formalising  trade  based  on  European  experience,  and 
through promoting actions that encourage operators and traders to abide by the rules.” 

4.5.4  Trade facilitation 

Angola’s  work  on  trade  facilitation  issues  started  relatively  late,  but  has  progressed 
substantially in the lead-up to its acceptance of the WTO TFA (see the analysis in section 
1.3 of Annex C to the main report). In terms of institutional structures, only in 2018 the 
National Trade Facilitation Committee (Comité Nacional da Facilitação do Comércio, CNFC) 
was created, through Presidential Decree 176/18 of 27 July 2018.  The CNFC  consists  of 
members appointed by eight ministries, the central bank (Banco Nacional de Angola, BNA), 
business  associations  and  the  Brokers  Association  (CDOA).  According  to  the  Decree 
establishing the Committee, the CNFC includes the following institutes: Ministry of Industry 
and Trade, Ministry of Economy and Planning, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of the Interior, 
Ministry of Transport,  Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture  and Fisheries, Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, National Bank of Angola, Business Associations and the CDOA. 

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According  to  the  latest  CNFC  report,  of  2020,  among  the  activities  carried  out  by  the 
Committee are the following:  

• 

Implementation  of  the  pilot  phase  of  the  Authorized  Economic  Operator  (AEO) 
programme, whose operation was approved by Presidential Decree No. 293/18 of 03 
December 2018. By December 2020, 20 AEOs were certified;  

•  Publication of Presidential Decree 234/20 of 16 September 2020, which approves the 
Coordinated  Border  Management  Committee.  The  implementation  and  regulation  of 
this  Decree  is  also  an  essential  tool  for  trade  facilitation,  cutting  red  tape  for 
international trade in Angola; 

•  Publication  of  Presidential  Decree  235/20  of  16  September  2020,  which  approves 
fundamental elements and guidelines to be observed in the conclusion of agreements 
with neighbouring countries for the  establishment and operation  of  One-Stop Border 
Posts. 

One of the main initiatives for the simplification of trade procedures is the implementation 
of the Single Window of Foreign Trade (Janela Única do Comércio Externo, JUCE), which is 
currently under development. Its launch, originally foreseen for 2021, was then advanced 
to March 2020142 but has not happened to date143 – indicating the institutional and technical 
complexity of such an initiative. For now, international trade operations in Angola remain 
very costly, whether in terms of time, documents, and costs, and entrepreneurs continue 
to face bureaucracy of all kinds in export and import operations. For example, an export 
operation requires the issuance of more than 20 documents to export a product, because 
of the intervention of many institutions. 

Considering  the  currently  high  costs  of  trade  and  the  challenges  faced  regarding  the 
implementation  of  the  Single  Window,  assistance  from  EU  customs  authorities  in  the 
development and operation of Single Windows in the framework of the EPA could provide 
an important stimulus for new companies to  start trading as the  complexity and cost  of 
exporting and importing could be reduced. 

4.5.5  Trade defence 

Although many entrepreneurs in the productive sector have notified the Ministry of Trade 
of  dumping  on  some  imported  products,  the  Government  has  not  been  able  so  far  to 
respond to these complaints because of the lack of a specialised structure to address these 
issues. 

As  mentioned,  Article  11  of  the  2020  Customs  Tariff  has  established  basic  rules  for  the 
application of safeguards and anti-dumping measures by Angola. In 2019, the Ministry of 
Trade worked on the creation of a Trade Defence Committee, which would be composed of 
technicians from various ministries and representatives of the private sector, but to date 
this body has not yet been formally established; likewise, no implementing regulations, in 
line with WTO requirements, have been prepared. In line with this, the AGT, which would 
have to implement any antidumping or safeguards measures, has no experience in doing 
so. 

142  “Angola antecipa adesão a sistema mais simplificado de licenciamento”, Jornal de Angola, 07 February 2020, 

https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/angola-antecipa-adesao-a-sistema-mais-simplificado-de-
licenciamento/ [accessed 10 August 2021]. 

143  At a CNFC meeting in August 2020 it was stated that the JUCE would be implemented, but no date for its 
launch  was  announced;  see  “Implementação  da  Janela  Única  do  Comércio  Externo  em  Angola”,  AGT,  18 
August  2020,  https://agt.minfin.gov.ao/PortalAGT/#!/sala-de-imprensa/noticias/8034/implementacao-da-
janela-unica-do-comercio-externo-em-angola#pergunta-360 [accessed 10 August 2021]. 

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In sum, no administrative capacity for implementing trade defence instruments in line with 
international  (WTO)  requirements  presently  exists,  and  efforts  at  establishing  trade 
defence institutions have not yet been successful. 

4.5.6  Structures and overall capacity of institutions 

A  general  finding  from  the  institutional  analysis  in  Annex  G  is  that  the  lack  of  clearly 
assigned  responsibilities  and  functions  to  ministries  regarding  international  trade  and 
trade-related  matters,  as  well  as  the  lack  of  well-defined  collaboration  and  coordination 
rules  and  practices  might  lead  to  difficulties  in  policy  formulation,  administration  and 
monitoring related to the implementation of the EPA. It is recommended that the Angolan 
government take measures to clarify responsibilities and functions, as well as establish a 
framework for collaboration and coordination between relevant ministries; e.g. following 
the example of the CNFC. 

Since 2018, the Government has been implementing reforms in various sectors  with the 
aim of  simplifying administrative processes (for more detail, see  section 4 of Annex  G). 
These  reforms  align  well  with  the  EPA  and  SIFA  objectives  of  enhanced  governance, 
transparency and predictability. As part of the negotiations between the EU and Angola, it 
could  be  considered  to  explicitly  refer  to  specific  reform  measures,  as  well  as  foresee 
cooperation and assistance for further improving reforms in trade related areas, such as in 
the electronic publication of relevant norms or further measures to improve the electronic 
single windows already established. 

With  respect  to  human  resources  capacities  in  the  administration,  substantial  shortages 
exist. In response, the Government has been implementing a comprehensive staff training 
programme, the “National Staff Training Plan” (Plano Nacional de Formação de Quadros, 
PNFQ). While this is commendable, it does not presently foresee specific training in issues 
related  to  trade  or  international  business.  For  example,  the  entrepreneurship  training 
focuses  on  management  as  well  as  finance  and  accounting.  Also,  no  Angolan  university 
offers  courses  related  to  the  area  of  international  economics  or  international  trade. 
Although, some senior technicians from MINDCOM have periodically attended WTO training 
courses,  both  physically  in  Geneva  and  in  online  format,  this  has  not  been  sufficient  to 
create  sufficient  technical  capacity  in  areas  related  to  international  trade,  and  the 
implementation of trade agreements in particular. 

The negotiations about EPA accession would therefore provide a good opportunity to also 
discuss  complementary  training  programmes  –  aimed  at  both  public  and  private  sector 
staff – that are specifically dedicated to trade issues, and which could be supported by the 
EU.  Measures  to  introduce  courses  in  international  trade  and  economics  in  at  least  one 
Angolan  university  –  e.g.  through  partnership  with  an  EU  university  –  could  also  be 
discussed during the negotiations and agreed in a bilateral side agreement to the EPA. 144 
A number of scholarships for public sector staff to participate in such training programmes 
should be considered. 

144  The potential role of the National School of Commerce, created under Decree No. 25/85 of 17 March 1985, to 

administer short courses for domestic trade, should also be considered in this context. 

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5  CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

5.1  Conclusions 

Overall,  the  expected  impact  of  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EU-SADC  EPA  is  assessed  as 
limited but positive in the  short term, but substantially larger and positive in the longer 
term. The longer-term impact of the SIFA is potentially even stronger (and also positive) 
than the EPA impact. The SIFA and accession to the EPA are clearly complementary. For 
Angola  to  fully  benefit  from  the  accession  to  the  EPA,  assistance  by  the  EU  (and/or  EU 
Member States) will be required, as well as a commitment by the Angolan Government to 
put  in  place  the  necessary  measures  that  will  enable  businesses  to  enhance  their 
competitiveness and produce not only for the EU export market but also for the domestic 
and regional markets, and do so in a sustainable and inclusive manner. 

This overall conclusion is grounded on the following specific findings and considerations: 

Economic impact 

A quantitative assessment of the economic impact could be made only for the short-term 
effects arising from the tariff changes associated with Angola’s accession to the EPA. 
This analysis is based on an economic partial equilibrium model. The tariff-only, short-term 
effects calculated by the model tend to undervalue the gains from the EPA.145 

Nevertheless,  the  results  show  a  net  positive  (if  limited)  impact  for  Angola:  Angola’s 
exports  as  an  EPA  member  are  estimated  to  be  higher  by  €14.3  million  (€14.5  million 
higher  to  the  EU  and  €0.2  million  lower  to  other  markets)  than  in  the  counterfactual 
situation.  Although  this  appears  small  (0.04%  of  Angola’s  total  exports),  it  means  that 
Angola will export (excluding mineral fuels and diamonds) about one quarter more to the 
EU  under  the  EPA  than  as  a  GSP  beneficiary  country  because  of  additional  tariff 
preferences.  The  results  also  show  that  accession  to  the  EPA  will  contribute,  to  a  small 
extent,  to  export  diversification,  as  non-oil,  non-mineral  exports  will  benefit  from  the 
preferences. 

Angola’s imports will increase considerably more, between €596 million and €693 million 
(6.1% to 7.1% of current total imports), depending on the degree of tariff liberalisation 
granted  to  imports  from  the  EU.  However,  with  very  few  exceptions  –  which  can  be 
addressed  through  Angola’s  exclusion  list  –  the  increased  imports  from  the  EU  do  not 
compete with domestic production in Angola. Rather, considering that a considerable share 
of imports from the EU are intermediates used by Angolan companies as inputs, their prices 
will  decline  as  a  results  of  Angola’s  tariff  cuts,  allowing  their  increased  use  by  Angolan 
companies, leading to increased productivity and competitiveness. 

145  Some  reasons  for  this  are:  First,  the  model  cannot  capture  the  impact  of  the  EPA  on  products  which  are 
currently not exported, or are exported in very small quantities – as Angola’s current export structure consists 
of only very few products, the model results do not capture the potential for diversification into new products, 
even where there is veritable potential to start exporting under the EPA. Second, the model results depend 
on the baseline trade values, which are unreliable for Angola, and based on anecdotal evidence may to too 
low.  Third,  the  model  does  not  incorporate  indirect  (positive)  effects  of  the  EPA,  such  as  positive 
competitiveness effects due to access to cheaper high-quality inputs for Angolan firms, non-tariff measures 
as well as productive capacity constraints, all of which are also addressed in the context of the EPA. Fourth, 
the model does not capture any dynamic effects expected to arise from the EPA. These are improvements in 
the productivity and competitiveness of Angolan businesses stemming from cheaper inputs, increased foreign 
investment with associated injection of capital, enhanced production processes and technologies, learning and 
knowledge  spill-overs,  etc.  Such  effects  will  positively  influence  Angola’s  trade  performance,  becoming 
increasingly important in the longer term. Last but not least, the model does not capture at all the positive 
effects of technical assistance expected to be available in association with the EPA, nor the impact of the SIFA. 

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The combined effect from changes in imports and exports is a reduction in Angola’s trade 
balance and government revenues (due to foregone import duties on goods imported from 
the EU), the latter amounting to up to €300 million, equivalent to about 1.8% of the 2019 
government budget. However, this reduction in government revenues would be phased in 
over the transition period, the length of which is to be negotiated, providing the time to 
take fiscal countermeasures. 

Short-term effects of the EPA’s provisions covering non-tariff issues are also expected to 
be limited overall, as many of these do not go beyond WTO rules. Some changes in Angola’s 
regulatory and implementation framework for NTMs could however be required, such as a 
change in the customs fee structure or ratification of the IPPC. These would contribute to 
a strengthening of the trading environment. 

Because of the limited scope of the trade changes in the short term, the short-term impact 
of  the  EPA  on  Angola’s  output  and  GDP,  as  well  as  on  the  EU’s  outermost  regions  are 
estimated  as  negligible.  Conversely,  accession  to  the  EU-SADC  EPA  would  also  develop 
Angola’s trade with other SADC EPA states as a result of the regional preferences clause. 
Under this clause, Angola would grant the other SADC EPA states the same preferences 
that it grants to the EU, and would benefit from the same preferences that the SADC EPA 
states have granted to the EU. 

Considering longer-term effects associated with Angola’s accession to the EPA (as well 
as  the  SIFA)  provides  a  more  complete  impact  assessment,  and  also  shows  stronger 
benefits  of  the  two  agreements  for  Angola.  Unfortunately,  these  effects  cannot  be 
quantified  due  to  modelling  limitations,  but  they  are  estimated  to  be  positive  and 
substantially larger than the short-term effects.  

In terms of effects on the investment climate and investment, although neither the EPA 
nor the SIFA provide for investment liberalisation, their focus on investment facilitation, 
transparency  and  predictability  of  rules  are  expected  to  substantially  strengthen  the 
investment climate and more broadly the business environment. This in turn is expected 
to foster private investment, which in turn is expected to enhance productivity and hence 
the competitiveness of  the Angolan economy  overall  – and ultimately  GDP.  The positive 
developments are also expected to partially compensate the negative tariff revenue effects 
through increased collection of domestic taxes. 

Longer-term benefits could stem from favourable rules of origin in the EPA, which facilitate 
Angola’s  insertion  into  regional  value  chains.  Also,  although  the  EPA  does  not  address 
African  regional  integration  beyond  SADC,  diagonal  cumulation  under  the  EPA  rules  of 
origin would in principle allow the coverage of African value chains involving most African 
countries. 

In sum, it is expected that both Angola and the EU gain in economic terms – the EU from 
an  expansion  in  exports,  and  Angola  from  a  relative  increase  in  non-oil,  non-diamond 
exports contributing to export diversification, as well as, in the longer-term, from increased 
competitiveness  and  the  start  to  export  new  products.  Nevertheless,  these  potential 
benefits  in  Angola  require  a  strategic  approach  on  sectors  to  focus  on,  as  well  as 
complementary technical assistance. 

Social impact 

Given  the  modest  short-term  economic  impacts,  social  impacts  in  the  short  are  also 
expected  to  be  limited,  but  somewhat  stronger,  and  on  balance  positive,  in  the  longer 
term. 

Employment effects in export-oriented sectors as well as in retail trade are positive already 
in the short term, but are limited by the small size of exporting sectors, respectively by 

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the anticipated concentration of areas where EU imports are marketed in the main cities. 
In import competing sectors, some jobs could be put at risk, but this risk can be mitigated 
by  a  corresponding  designation  of  sensitive  and  excluded  goods  by  the  Angolan 
Government during the accession negotiations.  

The impact on women depends on the specific sector and type of economic activity in which 
women are engaged; as there is no clear pattern with regard to the employment of women 
in benefitting sectors or those that could come under stress because of the EPA, there is 
no indication that the EPA’s impact on women would differ from the overall employment 
effects. 

The  impact  on  informality  is  also  expected  to  be  limited,  but  the  analysis  has  been 
hampered  by  the  lack  of  robust  and  reliable  data.  There  are  indications  that  Angolan 
exporting companies primarily rely on formal employment, and as such the EPA would, at 
least  in  the  short  to  medium  term,  have  no  impact  on  informal  employment  in  these 
sectors.  Effects  in  other  sectors,  including  retail  trade  are  less  straightforward  as,  e.g. 
informal  businesses  could  be  affected  by  stronger  competition  from  imports  and  larger, 
formal businesses. The regulatory framework (e.g., implementation of ILO Convention No. 
188 on work in fishing) may support the move towards formal jobs, but this would clearly 
be supported by policy measures to encourage the formalisation of businesses. 

The  estimated  effects  of  Angola’s  accession  to  EPA  for  consumers  are  positive,  with  an 
overall  increase  in  availability  and  diversity  of  imported  EU  goods,  including  food  and 
household  products.  Moreover,  given  an  expected  import  growth  in  intermediate  and 
capital goods, there is potential for better-quality and safe products to be manufactured in 
Angola,  including  for  the  domestic  market.  Impacts  for  welfare  and  poverty  levels  also 
seem to be positive, although they may be limited.  

With respect to labour rights and working conditions, the conclusions are as follows: 

•  The analysis of types of work carried out by children in Angola, as well as places (e.g., 
family farms, informal markets) suggests that the EPA will have no short-term effects 
for child labour, as the work happens in segments of the Angolan economy that are not 
expected to be impacted by the EPA. In the longer term, there could be indirect positive 
effects,  including  job  creation  and  income  generation  for  adult  household  members 
which  may  decrease  the  need  for  child  labour.  To  ensure  that  these  positive  effects 
occur,  Government  actions  are  needed,  as  recommended  below.  In  addition,  by 
acceding to the EPA and/or signing the SIFA Angola will reconfirm its commitment to 
implement  the  ratified  ILO  fundamental  conventions,  including  those  related  to 
elimination of child labour. 

•  Accession  to  the  EPA  is  not  expected  to  impact  trade  in  most  sectors  where  forced 
labour  has  been  reported.  There  is  thus  no  direct  link  between  the  Agreement  and 
forced labour in these sectors. However, there may be indirect impacts and additional 
ways to address the problem of violation of labour standards and working conditions in 
exporting  sectors  in  Angola  going  beyond  extraction  of  minerals.  For  example,  the 
planned introduction of a compulsory due diligence mechanism in exports to the EU, as 
well  as  the  encouragement  of  application  of  internationally  recognised  sustainability 
certification  schemes,  e.g.,  in  agriculture,  should  help  to  decrease  the  scale  of  the 
problem. 

•  Given the anticipated limited impact of the EPA on Angola’s labour market and the lack 
of a specialised TSD Committee under the EPA as a default forum to discuss the respect 
for labour standards, accession to the EPA is not likely to bring about a change in the 
situation of trade unions or, more broadly, freedom of association in Angola. The Parties 
may still raise those issues at the Trade and Development Committee  meetings, but 
based on the actual practice so far this does not seem to be very likely. On the other 

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hand, the EU text proposal for the SIFA includes provisions on the respect for ILO core 
labour  standards  as  well  as  annual  meetings  of  the  Committee  on  Investment 
Facilitation and dialogue with civil society, which would have a positive effect. 

•  Similar to freedom of association, impacts on non-discrimination at work are expected 

to be limited. 

With regard to civil society participation, any effects for Angola will depend on the text of 
the EPA and the implementation practice at the time of accession. Therefore, any prospects 
for civil society participation in the dialogue about the EPA will depend on whether progress 
will be achieved in establishing the relevant structures and practice between the EU and 
SADC  EPA  states  by  the  time  of  Angola’s  accession.  In  this  context,  we  note  the  EU’s 
proposal  in  the  SIFA  for  an  annual  dialogue  with  civil  society  held  back-to-back  with 
meetings of the Committee on Investment Facilitation. 

A  review  of  the  current  practice  in  Angola  with  respect  to  CSR  suggests  that  foreign 
investment by companies whose headquarters follow CSR practices promote them also in 
subsidiaries. Also, an increasing global application of CSR/RBC practices and adherence to 
sustainability  certification  schemes  in  certain  sectors,  including  agriculture,  is  likely  to 
require adherence of Angolan companies, in particular those intending to export to the EU, 
to CSR practices and schemes. With Angolan exports to the EU expected to be higher under 
the  EPA  than  under  the  GSP,  CSR  practices  and  their  contribution  to  sustainable 
development will be fostered. Moreover, if the EU text proposal is followed, the SIFA will 
include  commitments  to  internationally  recognised  instruments  in  CSR/RBC  and  due 
diligence guidance in supply chains encouraging the application of CSR/RBC practices in 
Angola. 

Impact on the human rights situation 

Based on a screening and scoping analysis undertaken, the potential effects of the EPA on 
the enjoyment of human rights in Angola are, overall, limited; and no effects are expected 
in the EU. This is not surprising in view of the limited economic and social impacts. A more 
detailed analysis was undertaken with regard to the potential impact on the right to own 
property and the right to adequate food in Angola. 

The analysis suggests that the accession of Angola to the EPA is not expected to have a 
significant impact on the right to own property overall. Indirect effects may however occur 
via  changes  in  sector  output  in  agriculture.  Especially  in  the  context  of  weak 
implementation of land rights in Angola, the lack of practice of seeking FPIC as well as the 
limited implementation of environmental and social impact assessments guaranteed by the 
law,  it  is  possible  that  the  rights  of  local  communities  may  be  affected.  Considering 
instances mentioned and concerns reported by several stakeholders, it cannot be excluded 
that the EPA or the SIFA contribute to the overall pressure on land rights in some regions 
in the country and might play a minor role in affecting the right to own property of local 
communities. This calls for mitigating measures, as recommended below. 

The right to food is likely to be impacted positively overall: imports of high-quality EU food 
products  are  expected  to  increase,  allowing  Angolan  consumers  access  to  high-quality 
food. Lower prices due to increased competition from EU food products entering the market 
could  also  result,  assuming  sufficient  competition  in  the  distribution  services  sector. 
Conversely, domestic food production is not expected to be diverted by increased exports. 
However, in the context of weak implementation of land rights in Angola, it is possible that 
the  right  to  food  of  local  communities  may  be  affected  less  favourably  as  a  result  of 
agricultural investments that might be triggered by the EPA in the longer term and by the 
SIFA. 

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Environmental impact 

Similar to the other impact dimensions, the environmental impact of Angola’s accession is 
expected to be limited. For example, anticipated effects on  ecosystems services, energy 
consumption, water availability and quality, air quality, and biodiversity are marginal or 
negligible. 

The  direct  effects  on  Angola’s  GHG  emissions,  and  climate  change  in  general,  are  also 
expected  to  be  limited:  some  positive  effects  would  stem  from  the  EPA’s  contribution 
towards diversifying Angola’s economy away from oil, but potential increases in agri-food 
production could have a mixed effect on GHG emissions, including through potential land 
use  change  (deforestation  for  agricultural  export-oriented  production  purposes).  The 
economic modelling predicts, however, that such changes will be limited. 

Given the EPA provisions on environmental sustainability in the TSD chapter, Angola would 
be encouraged to pursue effective implementation of all the MEAs which the country has 
already ratified. In addition, although not a legal requirement under the EPA, for reasons 
of policy coherence membership in the EPA would also encourage Angola’s ratification of 
those trade-related MEAs which it has not yet ratified. 

Although  the  environmental  impact  of  the  EPA  and  SIFA  are  estimated  to  be  limited, 
considering  existing  vulnerabilities  a  number  of  recommendations  are  proposed  on  the 
following  two  sections,  aimed  at  ensuring  that  any  negative  environmental  effects  that 
might be caused by the agreements are avoided or mitigated. 

Administrative capacity for EPA implementation 

Based  on  the  analysis  undertaken,  some  areas,  such  as  the  implementation  of  tariff 
preferences  or  a  number  of  other  elements  of  customs  operations  would  pose  no 
implementation challenges. However, in a number of other areas, capacity constraints have 
been identified. These include the following ones: 

Although  Angola’s  customs  operations  are  overall  well  advanced,  capacity  constraints 
appear to exist with respect to origin verification (as Angola does not, so far, operate any 
preferential  trade  arrangements),  risk-based  operations,  and  customs  automation.  Also, 
challenges  have  been  faced  in  the  implementation  of  the  electronic  Single  Window  for 
trade. In addition, no administrative capacity for implementing trade defence instruments 
in line with international (WTO) requirements presently exists, and efforts at establishing 
trade defence institutions have not yet been successful. 

The  country’s  quality  infrastructure  (comprising  both  SPS  and  TBT  matters)  is 
underdeveloped in all respects. It neither allows an effective control of imports, ensuring 
human, animal and plant safety against imported pests and sub-standard quality products, 
nor does it provide internationally accredited conformity assessment services that potential 
exporters of many goods, especially agricultural products, would require to access foreign 
markets. Challenges exist in all areas: buildings and equipment, technology, accreditation, 
human resources, and finances. 

Accession to the EPA will provide an important catalyst for EU support to Angola in relation 
to  enhancements  of  these  elements  of  the  trade  regulatory  framework  and  its 
implementation. 

5.2  Recommendations for Negotiations 

The  scope  of  negotiations  on  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  is  relatively  limited. 
Nevertheless,  a  number  of  issues  require  careful  consideration  and  addressing  in  the 
negotiation process. We recommend the following: 

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•  The  Angolan  government  should  carefully  consider  which  goods  to  exclude  from  its 
market  access  offer,  and  for  which  goods  to  request  transition  periods  for  tariff 
reductions. Government revenue considerations and limiting import competition for key 
domestic sectors should guide these considerations. 

•  Considering the absence  of any implementation experience with quotas and TRQs in 
Angola, as well as economic efficiency considerations, it is recommended that as part 
of its accession package to the EPA Angola follows the  example  of most  other SADC 
EPA states and commits not to use such instruments. 

•  Angola and the EU should discuss priority areas for technical assistance and support 
already during the accession negotiations. Suggested priorities for assistance that have 
been derived from the SIA analysis are mentioned in the next section. 

•  To highlight the importance of environmental issues, considering the European Green 
Deal and the need for EU trade policy to align with it, Angola and the EU should ensure 
effective implementation of the post-Cotonou  Agreement, which includes  referrals to 
the  relevant  MEAs.  The  Parties  should  jointly  work  on  TSD  matters  and  use  existing 
tools (i.e. the EPA Trade and Development Committee, the upcoming EPA review and 
monitoring  process)  to  avoid  or  mitigate  potential  negative  environmental  effects 
stemming  from  the  EPA.  They  should  also  support  climate  friendly  trade  products  in 
general,  and  the  role  of  clean  technologies  for  sustainable  agricultural  production 
specifically,  with  a  view  on  improving  biodiversity  and  providing  cleaner  energy 
production.  The  Parties  should  continue  cooperation  on  trade-related  environmental 
matters,  promote  clean  technology  in  trade  relations,  and  explore  opportunities  to 
provide support to clean technology (and phase out unsustainable production). 

With respect to the SIFA negotiations: 

•  We note that in the EU’s text proposal a relatively high number of articles and provisions 
qualify obligations of the Parties by providing that these apply “the extent practicable”. 
Considering that the potential benefits of the SIFA only materialise if the provisions are 
actually implemented, the use of soft provisions in the SIFA  should be minimised as 
much  as  possible.  This  may  require  that  the  EU  agrees  to  binding  commitments  for 
technical assistance to ensure the “practicability” of certain measures mentioned in the 
SIFA. 

•  Angola and the EU should aim at including strong enforceable provisions on investment 
and sustainable development, as currently foreseen in the EU text proposal for Chapter 
V.  

•  The responsibility by the Parties to respect human rights should be included, e.g. in the 
Preamble. An explicit reference to legitimate tenure and protecting property and land 
rights in Article 5.6 could be considered. While the recognition of land rights is primarily 
a state responsibility, clear land rights and their respect is beneficial not only to local 
communities but also to sustainable businesses. 

5.3  Recommendations for Support and Flanking Measures, including Technical 

Assistance 

To ensure that the potential benefits offered by the EPA and the SIFA are actually reaped, 
and that the potential challenges and costs are minimised, the following recommendations 
primarily directed at the Angolan Government are proposed: 

•  To mitigate the government revenue effects, the Angolan Government should, during 
the  transition  period  in  which  tariffs  are  gradually  reduced,  develop  and  implement 
fiscal  measures  aimed  at  increasing  other  revenues,  thereby  compensating  lower 

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import duty collection. The EU should be prepared to provide technical support for this, 
including through twinning arrangements between the AGT and revenue authorities in 
EU Member States. 

•  To benefit from regional integration opportunities provided under the EPA, the Angolan 
Government should prepare a specific strategy and prioritise specific value chains that 
can be developed within the context of Angola’s trade with SADC countries. 

•  To  maximise  the  longer-term  benefits  from  export-driven  employment  generation, 
complementary policy measures are needed: These include a need for investment in 
vocational  training,  notably  for  young  people  to  develop  skills  required  for  new  job 
profiles  and  the  new  organisation  of  work,  e.g.,  involving  a  more  frequent  use  of 
machinery. 

•  The positive contribution of the EPA on the creation of formal businesses and jobs would 
be  facilitated  if  the  Angolan  Government  takes  steps  to  improve  the  business 
environment, notably procedures related to setting up and running a formal business 
formal  employment  with  written  contracts,  social  security 
and  encouraging 
contributions  and  the  observance  of  health  and  safety  at  work  requirements.  In 
addition, the Government should take steps such as supporting creation of cooperatives 
and  developing  the  trade  infrastructure  to  enable  access  to  markets  and  facilitating 
access  to  finance  for  small-scale  food  producers  to  help  them  to  sustain  their 
livelihoods. 

•  The above-mentioned Government measures would also help to ensure that the EPA 
contributes  to  the  reduction  of  child  labour  in  Angola.  In  parallel,  we  recommend 
awareness  raising  campaigns  directed  at  adults  (to  understand  the  negative 
consequences of child labour) and facilitated access to school and social assistance for 
children from poor families. Similar support, including assistance in meeting relevant 
product standards, will be needed to avoid potential negative impacts for small farms 
and poor families, e.g., being pushed out from the local or domestic market by imports 
or  respectively,  larger,  or  formal  undertakings.  The  Angolan  Government  and 
enforcement  agencies  should  also  enhance  efforts  to  address  trafficking  in  persons, 
forced labour, hazardous child labour and other illegal activities, and address poverty 
and  other  reasons  of  child  labour,  as  outlined  above.  EU  technical  assistance  should 
support these actions. 

•  The Angolan Government should urgently strengthen the right to property, specifically 
land  rights  related  to  business  activities:  The  involvement  of  civil  society,  public 
sensitisation  on  the  land  law,  fast-tracking  of  the  land  rights  recognition  processes, 
strengthening  of  the  technical  capacity  of  the  national  and  local  governments  in  the 
implementation of the legal framework are all crucial for the protection of land rights 
of rural communities and most vulnerable groups. The Government should also ensure 
that  effective  consultation  processes  (FPIC)  consistently  take  place,  backed  by 
appropriate  environmental  and  social  impact  assessments  guaranteed  by  the  law.  A 
monitoring body should be established to have oversight over the implementation and 
provide  regular  reports  of  the  practice  and  records  possible  violations.  The  reports 
should be publicly available, involving non-state actors and affected communities. The 
EU should continue to provide assistance on these matters. 

•  The EU and Angola should ensure that the EPA is used as a tool to enhance Angola’s 
food security, reducing the risk of spiking food prices, hunger and adverse economic 
effects in times when environmental conditions hurt crop production. 

Areas where Angola would benefit from technical assistance by the EU and EU Member 
States  have  been  identified  throughout  this  report.  Such  support  should  address 
administrative capacity constraints likely to affect the implementation of the EPA and the 

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SIFA, as well as broader productive capacity constraints. Examples of the former include 
support  for  the  upgrading  of  the  quality  infrastructure,  customs  matters  (e.g.  risk 
assessment, origin verification, or related to the operation and the mutual recognition of 
AEO  programmes)  or  trade  defence  instruments,  while  the  latter  would  comprise 
assistance for private sector associations and businesses in upgrading their operations. As 
indicated  above,  it  would  be  preferable  if  the  EU  and  Angola  could  address  technical 
assistance needs already as part of the EPA accession and SIFA negotiations, and agree 
on  the  broad  lines  of  support.  Based  on  the  analysis  undertaken,  the  following  areas  of 
technical assistance are recommended as priorities: 

•  Support should be provided to address the identified constraints faced with respect to 
customs  management,  including  origin  verification,  risk-based  operations,  customs 
automation,  and  the  implementation  of  the  electronic  single  window  for  trade. 
Interviewed  stakeholders  also  suggested  that  the  EU  “could  help  reduce  the  level  of 
informal trade by technical assistance for establishing a comprehensive programme for 
formalising trade based on European experience, and through promoting actions that 
encourage operators and traders to abide by the rules." 

•  Considering that quality requirements are a key issue for accessing the EU market (and 
are getting more demanding still e.g. in the context of the Farm to Fork strategy), EU 
support in overcoming the constraints in Angola’s quality infrastructure – covering SPS 
issues and TBTs – is an important element to ensure that Angolan exporters can make 
use  of  the  preferential  access  to  the  EU  market  under  the  EPA.  Already,  technical 
assistance in this area is provided, but such support will need to continue for Angola to 
expand and diversify exports to the EU under the EPA. 

•  More broadly, the provision of trade training programmes – aimed at both public and 
private sector staff – should be considered, as well as support to introduce courses in 
international  trade  and  economics  in  at  least  one  Angolan  university,  e.g.  through 
partnership with an EU university. A number of scholarships for public sector staff to 
participate in such course should be considered. 

•  To  ensure  that  violations  of  labour  rights  are  addressed  and  are  not  used  as  an 
illegitimate competitive advantage in the context of EU-Angola trade relations, better 
monitoring  by  labour  inspection  and  trade  unions  is  needed.  The  EU  could  provide 
financial and technical assistance to inspection services, e.g. to support the hiring of 
additional inspectors to bring them to the overall number recommended by the ILO, to 
train them, and to equip them. More broadly, EU technical assistance implemented in 
cooperation with the ILO could support the development of domestic dialogue between 
the Government and social partners on matters related to respect for labour standards 
and working conditions. 

•  EU  technical  assistance  promoting  the  use  of  CSR/RBC  practices  and  supporting 

capacity building in their application is also considered important. 

•  To complement commitments on reducing the environmental footprint of trade under 
the EPA, the EU should provide technical and financial assistance to Angola, in particular 
to  support  further  development  of  renewable  energy  and  of  the  expansion  of  clean 
technologies  for sustainable agriculture and fishing, thereby  ensuring  effective water 
management, avoiding threats to biodiversity loss and land use change, and ensuring 
low emission-intense agricultural production and fishery. In addition, support towards 
Angola’s  ratification  of  the  remaining  trade-related  MEAs  and  in  the  effective 
implementation could be considered. 

Finally, a general recommendation relates to public-private dialogue: to create a common 
understanding on the EPA, the Angolan Government should make an effort to engage into 
dialogue with social partners and other civil society organisations on the reform process 

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and accession to the EPA. Moreover, the EU should continue providing technical assistance 
to further develop capacity of civil society in Angola, and the EU civil society, including the 
EESC,  should  involve  Angolan  counterparts  in  a  dialogue  on  trade,  sustainable 
development and the EPA. 

The EU and its Member States already have a strong track record in providing trade related 
assistance to Angola. However, further targeted report in the context of Angola’s accession 
to the EPA – provided both to companies and private sector organisations, and the public 
sector  –  to  overcome  the  identified  constraints  and  complement  support  programmes 
implemented  by  the  Government  would  help  ensure  that  the  benefits  of  the  EPA  for 
Angola’s  competitiveness  are  maximised.  Specifically,  support  to  Angolan  agricultural 
producers would be helpful to reach scale and navigate the customs and regulatory paths 
to export successfully to the EU; at the same time, it would contribute to enhanced food 
security. 

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da Agricultura e Florestas. https://assets.website-
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Ministério da Indústria e Comércio. 2021. ‘Plano de Desenvolvimento Industrial de Angola 2025’. 

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———. 2019. ‘Informal Cross Border Trade’. Namibia Statistics Agency. 

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Angola. https://www.cbd.int/doc/nr/nr-06/ao-nr-06-en.pdf. 

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Osman, Rehab O. M. 2015. ‘SADC Trade with the European Union from a Preferential to a 
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ANNEXES 

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Annex A: Consultations report 

[see separate file] 

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Annex B: Case studies 

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Annex B.1: Impact of Angola’s Accession to the EPA on the Fishery Sector 

[see separate file] 

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Annex B.2: Impact of Angola’s Accession to the EPA on Agrifood Value Chains 

[see separate file] 

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Annex B.3: Impact of Angola’s Accession to the EPA on Biodiversity and Deforestation 

[see separate file] 

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Annex B.4: Impact of Angola’s Accession to the EPA on Child Labour and Children’s 
Rights 

[see separate file] 

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Annex C: Background Analysis for Economic Impact Assessment 

This annex provides information and research that complements the analysis undertaken 
in the main report. The annex is not meant to be read on a stand-alone basis but should 
always be considered in combination with the main report. 

1.1  Assessment of the Impact on Trade 

1.1.1  Current status in Angola: Trade performance 

Overall Exports and Trade Balance 

Angola’s  trade  performance  over  time  is  almost  entirely  related  to  the  world  oil  price. 
Changes in export values, and in particular the reduction in export revenues from 2012 to 
2016, and again from 2018 to 2020 (Figure 1), was largely been caused by the changes in 
the international oil price, which dropped sharply from USD 109 per barrel in 2013 to USD 
44 in 2016 before recovering to USD 71 in 2018, and then dropping again to USD 42 in 
2020 during the covid-pandemic (Figure 2); during the first five months of 2021, the price 
has  recovered  somewhat,  the  average  being  63  USD  per  barrel.  Indeed,  a  simple 
simulation of Angola’s exports holding the oil price constant at the 2010 level shows that 
export  volatility  would  have  been  limited  (with  the  exception  of  the  outlier  year  2015; 
Figure 3). It also  shows, however, a lack  of dynamism in exports  –  exports would have 
decreased at an average rate of 2.1% per year over the period 2010 to 2020 (and by 3.7% 
over the period 2016 to 2020). This shows that export growth and diversification, which 
has been the  objective  of numerous policies and strategies during the  past decade, has 
not yet been achieved. 

Figure  1:  Angolan  exports,  2010-2020  
(USD billion) 

Figure  2:  Europe  Brent  Spot  Price  FOB, 
2010-2020  (USD  per  barrel,  annual 
averages) 

70.9

67.7

66.4

52.6

58.7

44.7

42.0

34.8

34.8

28.1

22.6

80.0

70.0

60.0

50.0

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0

111.63 108.56

98.97

120

111.26

100

79.61

71.06

64.36

52.32

54.25

43.67

41.76

80

60

40

20

0

Source:  ITC  TradeMap.  2020  data  based  on  mirror 
statistics (imports reported by Angola’s partners). 

Source: US Energy Information Administration based 
on Thomson Reuters146 

146  https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=rbrte&f=a [accessed 28 June 2021]. 

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Figure  3:  Simulated  Angolan  exports  with 
constant  2010  oil  price,  2010-2020  (USD 
billion) 

Figure  4:  Angola  –  goods  exports, 
imports, and trade balance, 2010-2020 (% 
of GDP) 

66.7

50.950.0

47.9

47.5

49.550.3

46.7

42.742.5

80.0

70.0

60.0

52.6

50.0

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0

70.0

60.0

50.0

60.4 60.2

55.5

49.9

40.0

40.5 42.1

30.0

20.0

10.0

0.0

40.6

40.2 39.1

37.0

30.7

28.6 27.3 28.3

21.0

19.9 18.1 18.5 19.3 19.617.8
10.7

14.4

16.5

12.9 11.8

24.6 23.2

15.6 15.9

2010201120122013201420152016201720182019

Exports

Imports

Trade Balance

Source: Own calculations based on ITC TradeMap and 
US Energy Information Administration. 

Source: Authors’ calculations based on World 
Development Indicators. 

Decreasing oil export revenues also had a negative impact on the country’s trade balance. 
With the share  of  exports in GDP dropping by more than 30 percentage points between 
2011 and 2016, from 60% to 27.2%, and imports largely remaining at about 20% of GDP 
during  much  of  the  period,  before  dropping  to  about  12%  in  2016  and  2017,  the  trade 
balance decreased from 42% of GDP in 2011 to 11% in 2015 (Figure 4). Nevertheless, it 
has somewhat recovered since, to more than 20% of GDP. It is also worthwhile to note 
that the trade balance remained positive in each year despite the sharp drop in oil prices, 
not least due to an adjustment of imports, which were reduced, in absolute values, from a 
peak USD 28.6 billion in 2014 to USD 13.0 billion in 2016, and have remained at about 
USD  15  billion  since.  On  the  negative  side,  however,  the  reduction  in  imports  is  not 
necessarily  the  result  of  a  policy  choice,  but  rather  a  reflection  of  the  country’s  foreign 
currency  shortage. In addition, the import  squeeze has also not  only  affected goods for 
consumption  but  also  investment  goods,  thereby  weakening  the  productive  sector  and 
affecting the capacity of non-oil sectors to compete domestically and on export markets. 

Export performance of non-oil, non-diamond products 

The dominance of mineral fuels and diamonds in Angola’s exports is discussed in the main 
report. What is of interest in relation to the EPA as well as the policy objective of export 
diversification, is the export performance of non-oil, non-diamond products, as this allows 
drawing conclusions regarding their future exports in the context of the EPA and its related 
measures. 

These exports declined substantially from USD 988 million in 2016 to USD 458 million in 
2019,  and  then  again  to  USD  325  million  in  2020  during  the  covid-19  pandemic; 
representing an annual average decline by 24.3%. Non-oil, non-diamond products include 
a  wide  range  of  products,  ranging  from  agricultural  commodities  to  sophisticated 
machinery (Figure 5a). However, among these exports, a large share actually constitutes 
re-exports  of  products  previously  imported,  including  the  sale  of  used  machinery  and 
equipment. Unfortunately, Angola’s trade statistics presently do not distinguish between 
re-exports and genuine domestic exports. However, based on research and interviews, a 
number  of product categories can be identified as re-exports and  excluded from further 
analysis.  Among  the  remaining  products,  fish  and  crustaceans  (13%  of  non-oil,  non-
diamond exports in 2019-2020), wood (11%), stone (6%), and beverages (5%) were the 
leading exports in 2019 and 2020 (Figure 5b). 

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2020

2019

2016

117

273

0%

10%

20%

84 Machinery
25 Salt, stone
89 Ships
72 Iron and steel

Sustainability impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

Figure 5: Most important Angolan non-oil, non-diamond exports, 2016-2020 (USD M) 

a) All non-oil, non-diamond exports 

63

51

36

28

18

13

15

7

9

12

54

48

17

19

24

16

21

18

14

73

111

45

35

80

34

57

99

52

139

6

170

30%

40%
60%
50%
03 Fish and crustaceans
85 Electrical machinery
90 Optical equipment
Others

70%

80%

90%

100%

44 Wood, wood articles
22 Beverages
73 Articles of iron/steel

b) All non-oil, non-diamond exports, excl. obvious re-exports 

2020

51

36

28

13

9

12

4
2

5

3

2019

54

48

17

24

18

14

20

8

6

6

162

243

2016

45

35

80

57

139

6
7
5
2
6

607

20%

10%

0%
03 Fish and crustaceans
22 Beverages
11 Flours
64 Footwear

30%

40%

50%

60%

44 Wood, wood articles
73 Articles of iron/steel
17 Sugars
Others

70%

100%

90%

80%
25 Salt, stone
72 Iron and steel
23 Food waste, animal feed

Source: Own calculations based on AGT data: https://agt.minfin.gov.ao/PortalAGT/#!/estatisticas/estatistica-do-
comercio-externo. 

The  performance  on  non-oil,  non-diamond  exports  over  the  past  five  years  has  been 
diverse (Figure 6). Whereas some sector exports have grown very rapidly, such as fruits 
(241%  per  year  from  2016  to  2019;  and  142%  from  2016  to  2020),  others,  including 
“traditional” non-oil exports have seen low growth, such as fisheries (7% and 3% per year, 
respectively), or even contracted, such as beverages (-25% and -32%) or salt and stone 
(-41%  and  -23%).  As  expected,  a  large  majority  of  export  products  suffered  from  the 
pandemic; in fact  only  salt and stone as  well  as articles  of  stone and plaster performed 
better in 2020 than a year before. 

Figure 6: Average annual growth rates of selected Angolan non-oil, non-diamond exports, 
2016-2020 

241%

142%

300%

250%

200%

150%

100%

50%

0%

-50%

-100%

63% 62% 52% 50%

10% 15% 21%

34% 27%

18%

-15%

11% 7%
55% 1% 3%

-25%

-41%
-32% -23%

-23%

-24%

CAGR 2016-19
CAGR 2016-20

Source: Own calculations based on AGT data: https://agt.minfin.gov.ao/PortalAGT/#!/estatisticas/estatistica-do-
comercio-externo. 

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Finally, to consider recent developments regarding the level of export diversification, three 
simple indicators have been used: the number of different products exported from Angola 
in a year; the number of new exports introduced in a year (i.e. those that were not exported 
the year before), and the survival rate of exports (i.e. products that were exported over at 
least  two  consecutive  years).  Applying  different  thresholds  for  minimum  export  values, 
Figure  7  shows  mostly  negative  trends:  the  number  of  different  products  exported  has 
declined over the period 2016 to 2020 regardless of the threshold value applied – and this 
is  a  trend  that  is  independent  of  the  pandemic  but  has  been  consistent  across  the  five 
years: in 2016, 1,047 different non-oil, non-diamond products with an export value of USD 
10,000 or more were shipped to the world; in 2020 only 748. For products with an export 
value  of  USD  1  million  or  more,  the  number  declined  from  141  in  2016  to  48  in  2020. 
Similarly,  the  survival  rate  decreased  in  every  year  of  the  period  considered.  Only  the 
attempts at exporting new products at small scale showed a broadly stable trend: in 2017, 
263 products were exported (at a value of at least USD 10,000) that had not been exported 
in  2016.  In  2020,  this  was  the  case  for  203  products.  But  few  of  these  products  were 
exported at large scale: only 16 new products worth at least USD 1 million were exported 
in 2020. 

Figure  7: Number of different non-oil, non-diamond products exported by Angola to the 
world, at HS 6-digit level, 2016-2020 

a) Export value threshold: USD 10,000 

b) Export value threshold: USD 1 million 

1,047

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

971

708

849

627

833

562

748

545

263

222

271

203

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

141

139

91

48

91

65

78

53

26

25

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2016

2017

2018

2019

Number of exported products

Number of exported products

Number of new export products

Number of new export products

48
32

16
2020

Number of exports exported over 2
consecutive years

Number of exports exported over 2
consecutive years

Source: Own calculations based on AGT data: https://agt.minfin.gov.ao/PortalAGT/#!/estatisticas/estatistica-do-
comercio-externo. 

Applying the same indicator only to exports to the EU (Figure 8) shows roughly the same 
pattern, with the exception of 2020 and (partly) 2019, where the negative trend could be 
stopped. But overall, the behaviour of Angola’s non-oil, non-diamond exports to the EU is 
not  much  difference  from  Angola’s  non-oil,  non-diamond  exports  to  the  world  –  and  no 
steps were made towards export diversification in the past five years. 

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Figure  8: Number of different non-oil, non-diamond products exported by Angola to the 
EU, at HS 6-digit level, 2016-2020 

a) Threshold: USD 10,000 

b) Threshold: USD 1,000,000 

500

400

300

200

100

0

430

427

297

189

266

161

211

130

205

118

108

81

2016

2019
Number of exported products

2017

2018

87

2020

55

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

43

27

16

11
9

2016

2017
Number of exported products

2
2018

14

6

8

2019

10
6

4
2020

Number of new export products

Number of exports exported over 2
consecutive years

Number of new export products

Number of exports exported over 2 consecutive
years

Source: Own calculations based on AGT data: https://agt.minfin.gov.ao/PortalAGT/#!/estatisticas/estatistica-do-
comercio-externo. 

1.1.2  EPA impact 

The expected impact of Angola’s accession to the EPA on its trade is presented in the main 
report. Complementing  this analysis, Table 1 shows the impact of Angola’s accession to 
the  EU-SADC  EPA  on  the  most  (positively)  affected  exported  products.  It  compares  the 
exports  that  would  occur  in  the  “baseline”  (in  the  absence  of  accession  to  the  EPA  i.e. 
trading with the EU as a standard GSP beneficiary country) with the situation that would 
occur if it accedes. As the Table shows, the total export gains accrue to the same products 
that also see the growth in bilateral exports (see  Table 5 in the main report). The main 
four  benefactors  are  frozen  shrimps  (HS  code  030617;  +€5.3  million),  ethyl  alcohol 
(220710;  +€3.8  million),  wheat  brans  (230230;  +€2.0  million),  and  bananas  (080390; 
+€1.7 million). A number of other products also benefit but at very modest amounts – well 
below €0.5 million. 

Table  1:  Impact  of  EU  tariff  liberalisation  on  Angola’s  total  exports,  by  product  (all 
scenarios) 

Product code and description 

030617  Crustaceans; frozen, shrimps and prawns, excluding... 
220710  Undenatured ethyl alcohol; of an alcoholic strength... 
230230  Bran, sharps and other residues; of wheat, whether... 
080390  Fruit, edible; bananas, other than plantains, fres... 
740811  Copper; wire, of refined copper, of which the maxi... 
030614  Crustaceans; frozen, crabs, in shell or not, smoke... 
870324  Vehicles; with only spark-ignition internal combus... 
110710  Malt; not roasted 
030357  Fish; frozen, swordfish (Xiphias gladius), excludi... 
870423  Vehicles; compression-ignition internal combustion... 
740829  Copper; wire, of copper alloys (other than copper-... 
Others 
Total 

Source: Own calculations based on DG TRADE modelling. 

1.2  Assessment of Wider Economic Impact 

1.2.1  Impact on Domestic Production 

Baseline 
(€ M) 

Change 
(€ M) 

Change 
(%) 

12.8 
0.0 
5.6 
1.0 
1.1 
3.5 
0.3 
0.0 
0.3 
0.9 
0.2 
35,366.7 
35,392.4 

5.3 
3.8 
2.0 
1.7 
0.3 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.3 
14.3 

41 
61,859 
36 
164 
32 
6 
70 
20,213 
33 
10 
41 
0.0 
0.04 

PRODESI contains a list of 55 products and product groups (“PRODESI products”). Table 2 
shows  the  impacts  on  Angola’s  imports  of  these  products  under  the  different  policy 

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scenarios.147 It shows that, in the baseline, PRODESI products account for 13% of Angola’s 
total imports (€1.3 billion out of €9.7 billion), with imports of these products from the EU 
being  below  average,  at  6%  (€152  million  out  of  €2.6  billion).  In  the  full  liberalisation 
scenario,  Angola’s  total  imports  of  PRODESI  products  would  be  higher  by  €120  million 
(9.5% compared to the baseline; and 17% of the total import increase), with the highest 
increases  in  absolute  terms  being  in  imports  of  wheat  flour,  bleaches,  juices  and  soft 
drinks, pork, and plasters. In the conservative liberalisation scenario, where Angola would 
exclude  a  higher  number  of  products,  including  several  PRODESI  ones,  the  increase  in 
PRODESI product imports would only be €28 million (2.2% compared to the baseline; and 
4.7% of the total import increase). 

Table 2: Impact of EPA on Angola’s imports of products targeted by PRODESI (€ million) 

Note: Column “EUR” indicates Angola’s imports from the EU; “ROW” its imports from the rest of the world. 
Source: Own calculations based on DG TRADE modelling. 

147  This calculation is only an approximation, as PRODESI products are not defined in terms of HS codes, and 
therefore the study authors had to prepare a correspondence table between PRODESI products and the HS 
based on best judgement. 

Page C–6 

ProductEURROWTotalEURROWTotalEURROWTotalEURROWTotalWheat flour10.928.239.126.1-5.820.30.00.00.026.1-5.820.3Bleaches9.737.747.441.4-26.514.941.4-26.514.941.4-26.514.9Juices and softdrinks4.94.59.416.8-3.913.00.00.00.016.5-3.712.8Pork9.927.937.818.3-5.912.41.6-1.40.218.2-5.912.4Glue cements, mortars, plasters and the like9.811.321.114.3-2.811.514.3-2.811.514.3-2.811.5Construction paint6.711.618.218.0-8.49.60.00.00.018.0-8.49.6Sanitary towels1.518.119.612.8-6.66.20.00.00.012.8-6.66.2Napkins, toilet paper, kitchen rolls2.11.83.97.0-1.55.50.00.00.06.9-1.45.5Soy cooking oil52.029.881.815.4-10.74.70.00.00.015.4-10.74.7Milk11.80.612.44.0-0.13.90.00.00.04.0-0.13.9Blue soap1.320.721.96.2-2.93.30.00.00.02.6-2.00.5Cement1.21.62.83.3-0.62.70.00.00.00.00.00.0Tempered, laminated, multi-layered or otherwise worked glass2.12.44.63.2-1.02.30.00.00.03.2-1.02.3Onions0.16.06.12.7-0.72.00.00.00.02.7-0.72.0Chicken meat9.3283.4292.710.0-8.02.00.00.00.010.0-8.02.0Maize grain0.37.67.91.9-0.51.40.00.00.01.9-0.51.4Bulk sugar3.789.593.23.9-3.30.70.00.00.03.9-3.30.7Salt1.51.32.81.7-1.10.60.00.00.00.00.00.0Spaghetti pasta1.164.665.73.3-2.70.60.00.00.03.1-2.60.5Sardinella0.516.316.71.3-0.80.51.3-0.80.51.3-0.80.5Potatoes0.82.43.21.0-0.50.50.00.00.01.0-0.50.5Table water0.40.00.40.40.00.30.00.00.00.30.00.2Maize flour0.113.713.80.4-0.10.30.4-0.10.30.4-0.10.3Glass packaging for various purposes2.82.55.31.2-1.00.21.2-1.00.21.2-1.00.2Clinker1.56.88.30.2-0.10.20.00.00.00.00.00.0Beans0.94.65.50.7-0.50.10.00.00.00.7-0.50.1Construction steel rod (larger than 8mm)0.41.01.30.4-0.30.10.00.00.00.4-0.30.1Garlic0.02.12.10.3-0.20.10.00.00.00.00.00.0Mango0.00.40.40.4-0.20.10.00.00.00.00.00.0Beer0.50.00.50.20.00.10.00.00.00.20.00.1Cabbage0.00.10.10.20.00.10.10.00.10.10.00.1Carrots0.00.91.00.3-0.20.10.00.00.00.00.00.0Horse mackerel0.179.980.10.4-0.40.10.4-0.40.10.4-0.40.1Honey0.20.00.20.10.00.10.00.00.00.10.00.1Palm oil0.65.86.30.3-0.30.10.00.00.00.3-0.30.1Pepper0.40.10.50.10.00.00.00.00.00.10.00.0Tomatos0.00.10.10.1-0.10.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Lettuce0.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Manioc flour0.00.20.20.10.00.00.10.00.00.10.00.0Goat meat0.10.50.60.1-0.10.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Tilapia (cacussus)0.03.83.80.1-0.10.00.1-0.10.00.1-0.10.0Sweet potatoes0.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Eggs0.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Pineapple0.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Sunflower cooking oil0.4107.5107.90.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Peanut oil0.00.10.10.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Banana0.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Cassava0.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Dried beef0.06.76.70.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Rice1.2208.9210.20.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Detergents0.96.37.20.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0Total PRODESI products151.91,119.51,271.4218.7-98.1120.661.0-33.127.9207.6-94.2113.4Other products2,430.96,024.58,455.51,103.9-531.4572.51,093.5-525.3568.21,103.6-531.3572.3Total2,582.87,144.09,726.81,322.6-629.5693.01,154.5-558.4596.11,311.2-625.4685.7Baseline importsImport change full lib.Import change cons.Import change amb. 
 
 
Sustainability impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

Table 3: Correspondence table PRODESI products - HS 

Name 
in 
Decree 23/19 
Banana 

Beans 

Beans 

Beans 

Beans 

Beans 

Beans 

Beans 

Beer 
Bleaches 

Bleaches 

Blue soap 

Blue soap 

HS code  HS description 

080310 
080390 
070820  Vegetables, leguminous; beans (vigna spp., phaseolus spp.), shelled or unshelled, 

Fruit, edible; plantains, fresh or dried 
Fruit, edible; bananas, other than plantains, fresh or dried 

fresh or chilled 

071022  Vegetables, leguminous; beans (vigna spp., phaseolus spp.), shelled or unshelled, 

uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water, frozen 

071331  Vegetables,  leguminous;  beans  of  the  species  vigna  mungo  (l.)  hepper  or  vigna 

radiata (l.) wilczek, shelled, whether or not skinned or split, dried 

071332  Vegetables, leguminous; small red (adzuki) beans (phaseolus or vigna angularis), 

shelled, whether or not skinned or split, dried 

071333  Vegetables,  leguminous;  kidney  beans,  including  white  pea  beans  (phaseolus 

vulgaris), shelled, whether or not skinned or split, dried 

071334  Vegetables,  leguminous;  bambara  beans  (Vigna  subterranea  or  Voandzeia 

subterranea), shelled, whether or not skinned or split, dried 

071350  Vegetables, leguminous; broad beans (vicia faba var. major) and horse beans (vicia 
faba var. equina and vicia faba var. minor), shelled, whether or not skinned or split, 
dried 

220300  Beer; made from malt 
340220  Washing and cleaning preparations; surface-active, whether or not containing soap 

(excluding those of heading no. 3401), put up for retail sale 

340290  Washing and cleaning preparations; surface-active, whether or not containing soap 
(excluding  those  of  heading  no.  3401),  including  auxiliary  washing  preparations, 
not for retail sale 

340111  Soap  and  organic  surface-active  products;  in  the  form  of  bars,  cakes,  moulded 
shapes, and paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered 
with soap or detergent, for toilet use (including medicated products) 

340119  Soap  and  organic  surface-active  products;  in  the  form  of  bars,  cakes,  moulded 
shapes, and paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered 
with soap or detergent, not for toilet use 

Bulk sugar 

170112  Sugars; beet sugar, raw, in solid form, not containing added flavouring or colouring 

matter 

Bulk sugar 

170113  Sugars; cane sugar, raw, in solid form, as specified in Subheading Note 2 to this 

chapter, not containing added flavouring or colouring matter 

Bulk sugar 

170114  Sugars; cane sugar, raw, in solid form, other than as specified in Subheading Note 

2 to this chapter, not containing added flavouring or colouring matter 

Bulk sugar 

170191  Sugars;  sucrose,  chemically  pure,  in  solid  form,  containing  added  flavouring  or 

colouring matter 

Bulk sugar 

170199  Sugars; sucrose, chemically pure, in solid form, not containing added flavouring or 

colouring matter 

Cabbage 
Cabbage 
Cabbage 
Carrots 
Cassava 

Cement 
Cement 
Cement 

070410  Vegetables, brassica; cauliflowers and headed broccoli, fresh or chilled 
070420  Vegetables, brassica; brussel sprouts, fresh or chilled 
070490  Vegetables, brassica; edible, n.e.c. in heading no. 0704, fresh or chilled 
070610  Vegetables, root; carrots and turnips, fresh or chilled 
071410  Vegetable roots and tubers; manioc (cassava), with high starch or inulin content, 

fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not sliced or in the form of pellets 

252321  Cement; portland, white, whether or not artificially coloured 
252329  Cement; portland, other than white, whether or not artificially coloured 
252330  Cement;  aluminous  (ciment  fondu),  whether  or  not  coloured  or  in  the  form  of 

clinkers 

Cement 
Chicken meat 

252390  Cement; hydraulic kinds n.e.c. in heading no. 2523 
020711  Meat and edible offal; of fowls of the species Gallus domesticus, not cut in pieces, 

fresh or chilled 

Chicken meat 

020712  Meat and edible offal; of fowls of the species Gallus domesticus, not cut in pieces, 

frozen 

Chicken meat 

020713  Meat and edible offal; of fowls of the species Gallus domesticus, cuts and offal, fresh 

or chilled 

Chicken meat 

020714  Meat  and  edible  offal;  of  fowls  of  the  species  Gallus  domesticus,  cuts  and  offal, 

frozen 

Clinker 
Construction 
paint 
Construction 
paint 
Construction 
paint 

252310  Cement clinkers (whether or not coloured) 
320810  Paints and varnishes; based on polyesters, dispersed or dissolved in a non-aqueous 

medium 

320820  Paints and varnishes; based on acrylic or vinyl polymers, dispersed or dissolved in 

a non-aqueous medium 

320890  Paints and varnishes; based on polymers n.e.c. in heading no. 3208, dispersed or 

dissolved in a non-aqueous medium 

Page C–7 

 
 
Sustainability Impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

Name 
in 
Decree 23/19 
Construction 
paint 
Construction 
paint 
Construction 
steel rod (larger 
than 8mm) 

Detergents 

HS code  HS description 

320910  Paints and varnishes; based on acrylic or vinyl polymers, dispersed or dissolved in 

an aqueous medium 

320990  Paints and varnishes; (based on polymers other than acrylic or vinyl), dispersed or 

721310 

721320 

dissolved in an aqueous medium 
Iron  or  non-alloy  steel;  bars  and  rods,  hot-rolled,  in  irregularly  wound  coils, 
containing  indentations, ribs, grooves or  other  deformations produced  during  the 
rolling process 
Iron or non-alloy steel; bars and rods, hot-rolled, in irregularly wound coils, of free-
cutting steel 
Iron or non-alloy steel; bars and rods, hot-rolled, in irregularly wound coils, n.e.c. 
in  heading  no.  7213,  of  circular  cross-section  measuring  less  than  14mm  in 
diameter 
Iron or non-alloy steel; bars and rods, hot-rolled, in irregularly wound coils, n.e.c. 
in heading no. 7213, of circular cross-section measuring 14mm or more in diameter 
340211  Organic surface-active agents; anionic (other than soap), whether or not put up for 

721391 

721399 

retail sale 

Detergents 

340212  Organic  surface-active  agents;  cationic  (other  than  soap), whether  or  not  put  up 

for retail sale 

Detergents 

340213  Organic surface-active agents; non-ionic (other than soap), whether or not put up 

for retail sale 

Detergents 

340219  Organic  surface-active  agents;  whether  or  not  put  up  for  retail  sale,  n.e.c.  in 

heading no. 3402 

Dried beef 
Eggs 

021020  Meat; salted, in brine, dried or smoked, of bovine animals 
040711  Birds'  eggs,  in  shell;  fresh,  fertilised  eggs  for  incubation,  of  fowls  of  the  species 

Eggs 

Eggs 

Eggs 

Gallus domesticus (domestic hens) 

040719  Birds'  eggs,  in  shell;  fresh, fertilised  eggs for  incubation, other  than  fowls of  the 

species Gallus domesticus (domestic hens) 

040721  Birds'  eggs,  in  shell;  fresh,  not  for  incubation,  of  fowls  of  the  species  Gallus 

domesticus (domestic hens) 

040729  Birds' eggs, in shell; fresh, not for incubation, other than fowls of the species Gallus 

domesticus (domestic hens) 

Eggs 
Garlic 
Glass packaging 
various 
for 
purposes 

040790  Birds' eggs, in shell; preserved or cooked 
070320  Vegetables, alliaceous; garlic, fresh or chilled 
701010  Glass; ampoules, of a kind used for the conveyance or packing of goods 
701020  Glass; stoppers, lids and other closures 
701090  Glass; carboys, bottles, flasks, jars, pots, phials and other containers of glass, (not 

ampoules), used for the conveyance or packing of goods 

Glue  cements, 
mortars, 
plasters and the 
like 

252010  Gypsum; anhydrite 
252020  Plasters;  (consisting  of  calcined  gypsum  or  calcium  sulphate),  whether  or  not 

coloured, with or without small quantities of accelerators or retarders 

680911  Plaster, or plaster compositions; boards, sheets, panels, tiles and similar articles, 

faced or reinforced with paper or paperboard only, not ornamented 

680919  Plaster, or plaster compositions; boards, sheets, panels, tiles and similar articles, 

(other than faced or reinforced with paper or paperboard only), not ornamented 

680990  Plaster articles or articles of compositions based on plaster; n.e.c. in heading no. 

6809 

381600  Refractory  cements,  mortars,  concretes  and  similar  compositions;  other  than 

products of heading no. 3801 

Goat meat 
Goat meat 
Goat meat 
Honey 
Horse mackerel  030245 

Horse mackerel  030355 

Horse mackerel  160415 

382440  Cements, mortars or concretes; their prepared additives 
382450  Mortars and concretes; non-refractory 
020450  Meat; of goats, fresh, chilled or frozen 
020680  Offal, edible; of sheep, goats, horses, asses, mules or hinnies, fresh or chilled 
020690  Offal, edible; of sheep, goats, horses, asses, mules or hinnies, frozen 
040900  Honey; natural 

Fish; fresh or chilled, jack and horse mackerel (Trachurus spp.), excluding fillets, 
fish meat of 0304, and edible fish offal of subheadings 0302.91 to 0302.99 
Fish; frozen, jack and horse mackerel (Trachurus spp.), excluding fillets, fish meat 
of 0304, and edible fish offal of subheadings 0303.91 to 0303.99 
Fish  preparations;  mackerel,  prepared  or  preserved,  whole  or  in  pieces  (but  not 
minced) 

Horse mackerel  030554  Dried  herrings,  anchovies,  sardines,  sardinella,  brisling  or  sprats,  mackerel  (incl 
Indian, jack, or horse), seerfishes, jacks, crevalles, cobia, silver pomfrets, Pacific 
saury, scads, capelin, swordfish, Kawakawa, bonitos, marlins, sailfishes, spearfish 
220210  Waters; including mineral and aerated, containing added sugar or other sweetening 

and 

matter or flavoured 

220291  Non-alcoholic beverages; non-alcoholic beer 

Juices 
softdrinks 

Page C–8 

 
Sustainability impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

Name 
in 
Decree 23/19 

HS code  HS description 

220299  Non-alcoholic beverages; other than non-alcoholic beer, n.e.c. in item no. 2202.10, 

200911 

200912 

200919 

200921 

200929 

200931 

Juices 
softdrinks 

Juices 
softdrinks 
Juices 
softdrinks 
Juices 
softdrinks 
Juices 
softdrinks 
Juices 
softdrinks 
Juices 
softdrinks 
Juices 
softdrinks 
Juices 
softdrinks 

Juices 
softdrinks 

and 

200939 

and 

200941 

and 

200949 

and 

200950 

and 

200961 

and 

200969 

and 

200971 

and 

200979 

and 

200981 

and 

200989 

200990 

not including fruit or vegetable juices of heading no. 2009 
Juice; orange, frozen, unfermented, (not containing added spirit), whether or not 
containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 
Juice;  orange,  not  frozen,  of  a  Brix  value  not  exceeding  20,  unfermented,  not 
containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening 
matter 
Juice; orange, not frozen, of a Brix value exceeding 20, unfermented, not containing 
added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 
Juice; grapefruit (including pomelo), of a Brix value not exceeding 20, unfermented, 
(not  containing  added  spirit),  whether  or  not  containing  added  sugar  or  other 
sweetening matter 
Juice;  grapefruit  (including  pomelo),  of  a  Brix  value  exceeding  20,  unfermented, 
not  containing  added  spirit,  whether  or  not  containing  added  sugar  or  other 
sweetening matter 
Juice;  of  single  citrus  fruit  (excluding  orange  or  grapefruit),  of  a  Brix  value  not 
exceeding 20, unfermented, not containing added spirit, whether or not containing 
added sugar or other sweetening matter 
Juice;  of  single  citrus  fruit  (excluding  orange  or  grapefruit),  of  a  Brix  value 
exceeding 20, unfermented, not containing added spirit, whether or not containing 
added sugar or other sweetening matter 
Juice;  pineapple,  of  a  Brix value  not exceeding 20,  unfermented,  (not  containing 
added spirit), whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 
Juice; pineapple, of a Brix value exceeding 20, unfermented, not containing added 
spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 
Juice; tomato, unfermented, not containing added spirit, whether or not containing 
added sugar or other sweetening matter 
Juice; grape, of a Brix value not exceeding 30, unfermented, (not containing added 
spirit), whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 
Juice;  grape,  of  a  Brix  value  exceeding  30,  unfermented,  not  containing  added 
spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 
Juice; apple, of a Brix value not exceeding 20, unfermented, (not containing added 
spirit), whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 
Juice; apple, of a Brix value exceeding 20, unfermented, not containing added spirit, 
whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 
Juice;  Cranberry  (Vaccinium macrocarpon,  Vaccinium  oxycoccos, Vaccinium vitis-
idaea) juice, unfermented, not containing added spirit, whether or not containing 
added sugar or other sweetening matter 
Juice; of any single fruit or vegetable n.e.c. in heading no. 2009, unfermented, not 
containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening 
matter 
Juices; mixtures of fruits or vegetables, unfermented, not containing added spirit, 
whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 

and 

Juices 
softdrinks 
Lettuce 
Lettuce 
Lettuce 
Lettuce 
Maize flour 
Maize grain 
Maize grain 
Mango 
Manioc flour 
Manioc flour 
Milk 

Milk 

Napkins, 
toilet 
paper,  kitchen 
rolls 

Fruit, edible; guavas, mangoes and mangosteens, fresh or dried 

070511  Vegetables; cabbage (head) lettuce (lactuca sativa), fresh or chilled 
070519  Vegetables; lettuce (lactuca sativa), (other than cabbage lettuce), fresh or chilled 
070521  Vegetables; witloff chicory (cichorium intybus var. foliosum), fresh or chilled 
070529  Vegetables; chicory (cichorium spp.), (other than witloof chicory), fresh or chilled 
110220  Cereal flour; of maize (corn) 
100510  Cereals; maize (corn), seed 
100590  Cereals; maize (corn), other than seed 
080450 
110290  Cereal flours; other than wheat, meslin, and maize (corn) 
110814  Starch; manioc (cassava) 
040110  Dairy produce; milk and cream, not concentrated, not containing added sugar or 
other sweetening matter, of a fat content, by weight, not exceeding 1% 
040120  Dairy produce; milk and cream, not concentrated, not containing added sugar or 
other  sweetening  matter,  of  a  fat  content,  by  weight,  exceeding  1%  but  not 
exceeding 6% 
481810  Paper articles; toilet paper 
481820  Paper articles; handkerchiefs, cleansing or facial tissues and towels 
481830  Paper articles; tablecloths and serviettes, of paper, cellulose wadding or fibres 
481850  Paper articles; apparel and clothing accessories of paper, cellulose wadding or fibres 
481890  Paper articles; articles of paper, cellulose wadding or fibres, n.e.c. in heading no. 

4818 

Onions 
Palm oil 

070310  Vegetables, alliaceous; onions and shallots, fresh or chilled 
151211  Vegetable  oils;  sunflower  seed  or  safflower  oil  and  their  fractions,  crude,  not 

chemically modified 

Page C–9 

 
Sustainability Impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

Name 
in 
Decree 23/19 
Palm oil 

HS code  HS description 

151219  Vegetable oils; sunflower seed or safflower oil and their fractions, other than crude, 

whether or not refined, but not chemically modified 

Peanut oil 
Peanut oil 

150810  Vegetable oils; ground-nut oil and its fractions, crude, not chemically modified 
150890  Vegetable oils; ground-nut oil and its fractions, other  than crude, whether or not 

Pepper 
Pepper 
Pepper 
Pepper 
Pineapple 
Pork 
Pork 
Pork 
Pork 
Pork 
Pork 
Pork 
Pork 
Pork 
Potatoes 
Potatoes 
Rice 
Rice 
Rice 
Rice 
Salt 

refined, but not chemically modified 

Fruit, edible; pineapples, fresh or dried 

090411  Spices; pepper (of the genus piper), neither crushed nor ground 
090412  Spices; pepper (of the genus piper), crushed or ground 
090421  Spices; fruits of the genus Capsicum or Pimenta, dried, neither crushed nor ground 
090422  Spices; fruits of the genus Capsicum or Pimenta, crushed or ground 
080430 
020311  Meat; of swine, carcasses and half-carcasses, fresh or chilled 
020312  Meat; of swine, hams, shoulders and cuts thereof, with bone in, fresh or chilled 
020319  Meat; of swine, n.e.c. in item no. 0203.1, fresh or chilled 
020321  Meat; of swine, carcasses and half-carcasses, frozen 
020322  Meat; of swine, hams, shoulders and cuts thereof, with bone in, frozen 
020329  Meat; of swine, n.e.c. in item no. 0203.2, frozen 
020630  Offal, edible; of swine, fresh or chilled 
020641  Offal, edible; of swine, livers, frozen 
020649  Offal, edible; of swine, (other than livers), frozen 
070110  Vegetables; seed potatoes, fresh or chilled 
070190  Vegetables; potatoes (other than seed), fresh or chilled 
100610  Cereals; rice in the husk (paddy or rough) 
100620  Cereals; husked (brown) rice 
100630  Cereals; rice, semi-milled or wholly milled, whether or not polished or glazed 
100640  Cereals; rice, broken 
250100  Salt (including table salt and denatured salt); pure sodium chloride whether or not 

in aqueous solution; sea water 

Sanitary towels  961900  Sanitary  towels  (pads)  and  tampons,  napkins  and  napkin  liners  for  babies  and 

Sardinella 

030353 

Sardinella 

030243 

Sardinella 

160413 

similar articles, of any material 
Fish; frozen,  sardines  (Sardina  pilchardus, Sardinops  spp.),  sardinella  (Sardinella 
spp.), brisling or sprats (Sprattus sprattus), excluding fillets, fish meat of 0304, and 
edible fish offal of subheadings 0303.91 to 0303.99 
Fish;  fresh  or  chilled,  sardines  (Sardina  pilchardus,  Sardinops  spp.),  sardinella 
(Sardinella spp.), brisling or sprats (Sprattus sprattus), excluding fillets, fish meat 
of 0304, and edible fish offal of subheadings 0302.91 to 0302.99 
Fish preparations; sardines, sardinella and brisling or sprats, prepared or preserved, 
whole or in pieces (but not minced) 

Soy cooking oil  150710  Vegetable oils; soya-bean oil and its fractions, crude, whether or not degummed, 

not chemically modified 

Soy cooking oil  150790  Vegetable  oils;  soya-bean  oil  and  its  fractions,  other  than  crude,  whether  or  not 

Spaghetti pasta  190211 

Spaghetti pasta  190219 

refined, but not chemically modified 
Food  preparations;  pasta,  containing  eggs,  uncooked,  not  stuffed  or  otherwise 
prepared 
Food preparations; pasta, uncooked (excluding that containing eggs), not stuffed 
or otherwise prepared 

Sunflower 
cooking oil 

151110  Vegetable oils; palm oil and its fractions, crude, not chemically modified 
151190  Vegetable oils; palm oil and its fractions, other than crude, whether or not refined, 

but not chemically modified 

Sweet potatoes  071420  Vegetable  roots  and  tubers;  sweet  potatoes,  with  high  starch  or  inulin  content, 

fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not sliced or in the form of pellets 

Table water 

220110  Waters; mineral and aerated, including natural or artificial, (not containing added 

sugar or other sweetening matter nor flavoured) 

Table water 

220190  Waters;  other  than  mineral  and  aerated,  (not  containing  added  sugar  or  other 

sweetening matter nor flavoured), ice and snow 

Tempered, 
laminated, 
multi-layered or 
otherwise 
worked glass 

700600  Glass of  heading  no. 7003, 7004 or 7005;  bent,  edge-worked,  engraved, drilled, 

enamelled or otherwise worked, but not framed or fitted with other materials 

700711  Glass;  safety  glass,  toughened  (tempered),  of  size  and  shape  suitable  for 

incorporation in vehicles, aircraft, spacecraft or vessels 

700719  Glass;  safety  glass,  toughened  (tempered),  (not  of  a  size and  shape  suitable  for 

incorporation in vehicles, aircraft, spacecraft or vessels) 

700721  Glass;  safety  glass,  laminated,  of  size  and  shape  suitable  for  incorporation  in 

vehicles, aircraft, spacecraft or vessels 

700729  Glass; safety glass, laminated, (not of a size and shape suitable for incorporation 

Tilapia 
(cacussus) 

030271 

in vehicles, aircraft, spacecraft or vessels) 
Fish;  fresh  or  chilled,  tilapias  (Oreochromis  spp.),  excluding  fillets,  fish  meat  of 
0304, and edible fish offal of subheadings 0302.91 to 0302.99 

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Name 
in 
Decree 23/19 

HS code  HS description 

030323 

030431 
030451 

030461 
030493 

030531 

030544 

Fish; frozen, tilapias (Oreochromis spp.), excluding fillets, fish meat of 0304, and 
edible fish offal of subheadings 0303.91 to 0303.99 
Fish fillets; fresh or chilled, tilapias (Oreochromis spp.) 
Fish meat, excluding fillets, whether or not minced; fresh or chilled, tilapias, catfish, 
carp, eels, Nile perch, and snakeheads 
Fish fillets; frozen, tilapias (Oreochromis spp.) 
Fish meat, excluding fillets, whether or not minced; frozen, tilapias, catfish, carp, 
eels, Nile perch, and snakeheads 
Fish fillets; dried, salted or in brine, but not smoked, tilapias, catfish, carp, eels, 
Nile perch, and snakeheads 
Fish;  smoked,  whether  or  not  cooked  before  or  during  smoking,  tilapias,  catfish, 
carp, eels, Nile perch, and snakeheads, includes fillets, but excludes edible fish offal 

Tomatos 
Wheat flour 
Source: Own preparation. 

070200  Vegetables; tomatoes, fresh or chilled 
110100  Wheat or meslin flour 

1.2.2  Impact on the Business Environment and Investment 

1.2.2.1  EPA provisions and implementation experience, and SIFA scope 

The  EU-SADC  EPA  does  not  presently  comprise  investment,  apart  from  a  cooperation 
commitment, and a provision that an investment agreement might be negotiated in the 
future (Art. 74); this has not happened to date. 

The  bilateral  Sustainable  Investment  Facilitation  Agreement  (SIFA)  being  negotiated 
between  the  EU  and  Angola  thus  complements  the  EPA.  As  the  concept  of  investment 
facilitation is relatively new in international law and practice – a WTO IFA is also currently 
being negotiated, and the EU’s negotiations with Angola on the SIFA are among the first 
bilateral  investment  facilitation  agreement  negotiations  of  the  EU148  –  there  is  some 
uncertainty about the scope and contents of the SIFA, and also the extent to which it would 
go beyond the WTO IFA (and also whether Angola would join the WTO IFA). Based on the 
EU Council’s Negotiation Directives,149 the previous Commission proposal,150 and the text 
proposal for the Agreement issued by the Commission,151 the SIFA will aim at improving 
the investment climate and facilitate investment, especially for MSMEs, and be based on 
“principles  of  non-discrimination,  openness,  transparency  and  stability”  (Negotiation 
Directives,  §2).  It  is  expected  to  cover  rules  on  transparency  and  good  administrative 
practices  related  to  investment,  as  well  as  cooperation  on  investment  issues  with  a 
particular focus on investment contribution to sustainable development. It would however 
not  cover  investment  liberalisation,  investment  protection,  or  an  investor-state  dispute 
settlement  mechanism.152  It  would  also  not  cover  portfolio  and  other  short-term  capital 
movements. 

Based on the EU’s text proposal, the SIFA is expected to cover specific provisions on, inter 
alia: 

•  Regarding predictability and transparency (Chapter II): 

148  Provisions  on  investment  facilitation  are  also  being  negotiated  with  the  with  five  countries  of  Eastern  and 

Southern Africa (ESA) in the context of the “deepening” of the existing EPA. 

149  Council  of  the  European  Union:  Negotiation  directives  for  the  negotiation  of  an  agreement  on  investment 

facilitation with the Republic of Angola, 8441/21 ADD 1, 10 May 2021. 

150  European Commission: Recommendation for a Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations with 

Angola for an agreement on investment facilitation, COM(2021) 138 final, 23 March 2021. 

151  EU’s 

textual  proposal 

for 

the  SIFA  of  14  June  2021  (updated  on  23  September  2021), 

https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/159654.htm. 
152  See Art. 1.2(4) of the EU’s textual proposal for the SIFA. 

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o 

o 

the requirement for official publication of all measures related to investment, where 
possible  in  advance  of  measures  being  taken  and  providing  the  opportunity  to 
comment (Art 2.3);  
the  requirement  to  publish  electronically  –  where  possible  in  a  single  portal  – 
relevant rules and competent authorities relevant for investment, guidance on the 
investment process, and information about investment incentives (Art 2.4f), as well 
as support foreign investors in establishing links to domestic suppliers (Art. 2.6); 

•  Regarding the Streamlining of Authorisation Procedures (Chapter III): 

o  Publication of necessary information for applications and the authorisation process 

(Art. 3.8); 

o  Providing one-stop shops for investment authorisations, where practicable; applying 
reasonable application timeframes; accepting electronic applications and notarised 
copies  of  documents  rather  than  originals;  transparency  and  timeliness  of 
processing applications; and objectivity and impartiality of authorisation decisions 
(Art. 3.1-3.5; 3.7; 3.9); 

o  Publication of application fees and setting of reasonable fee levels (Art. 3.6), 

•  Regarding Focal Points and Stakeholders’ Involvement (Chapter IV): 

o  Operation of “investment facilitation focal points” providing relevant information to 

potential foreign investors (Art. 4.1); 

o  Operation  of  easily  accessible,  transparent  and  timely  mechanisms  to  resolve 
problems for (potential) investors arising from investment-related measures (Art. 
4.2); 

o  Ongoing coordination among agencies responsible for regulating and implementing 

o 

investment measures, coordinated by a lead agency (Art. 4.3); 
Impact assessments of major changes in investment regulations, as well as regular 
reviews of fees, and investment measures in general, with appropriate consultation 
of stakeholders are encouraged (Art. 4.4f); 

•  Regarding the relation between Investment and Sustainable Development (Chapter V): 

o  While the Parties’ right to regulate is confirmed, they commit to strive for high levels 
of  environmental  and  labour  protection,  and  to  not  reduce  or  weaken  levels  of 
protection, or to waive, derogate or fail to implement environmental or labour laws 
(Art. 5.2); 

o  The  Parties  commit  to  the  effective  implementation  of  the  ILO  fundamental 
conventions,  including  in  export  processing  zones,  and  other  ratified  ILO 
conventions,  as  well  as  to  establish  and  maintain  an  effective  labour  inspection 
system  for  all  sectors.  No  commitment  is  made  to  ratify  additional  ILO  or  other 
labour conventions apart from the ILO fundamental conventions (Art. 5.3); 

o  The  Parties  also  commit  to  effectively  implement  the  UNFCCC  and  the  Paris 
Agreement,  as  well  as  other  ratified  MEAs.  No  commitment  is  made  to  ratify 
additional MEAs (Art. 5.4-5.5); 

o  The Parties furthermore commit to facilitating investment conducive to sustainable 
development  and  in  a  way  consistent  with  conservation,  sustainable  forest 
management,  and  sustainable  management  of  marine  biological  resources  and 
ecosystems (Art 5.6); 

o  They also commit to “promote the uptake by enterprises and investors of corporate 
social  responsibility  or  responsible  business  practices”  and  to  “support  the 
dissemination  and  use  of  relevant  internationally  agreed  [CSR  and  RBC] 
instruments that have been endorsed or are supported by the Parties” (Art. 5.7); 

o  Finally, Chapter V includes the intention of the Parties to implement the SIFA “in a 

manner that promotes and enhances gender equality” (Art. 5.8). 

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•  Regarding Cooperation and Institutional Provisions (Chapter VII): 

o  The Parties “recognise the importance of technical assistance and capacity-building 
and commit to cooperate  on  strengthening the investment climate in  Angola and 
supporting  the  implementation  of  this  Agreement”  (Art.  7.1(1));  the  EU  would 
provide technical assistance within the framework of EU development cooperation; 
o  For  oversight of the SIFA’s implementation, a  bilateral Committee  on  Investment 

Facilitation would be established (Art. 7.2-7.4). 

1.2.2.2  Current status in Angola 

Investment 

Investment  in  the  Angolan  economy  increased  until  the  collapse  of  the  oil  price  in 
2014/2015, reaching USD 40 billion in these two years (Figure 9). Since then it declined 
to  just  USD  12  billion.  Although  both  public  and  private  investment  decreased,  the 
government’s  capacity  in  particular  was  affected,  and  accordingly  the  share  of  public 
investment in total investment decreased from more than 40% in 2014 to less than 20% 
in recent years. The limited investment capacity by the government is likely to continue in 
the  coming  years,  which  means  that  much  of  the  needed  capital  for  economic 
diversification  must  come  from  private  sources,  both  domestic  in  foreign.  This,  in  turn, 
requires  a  conducive  business  environment  and  investment  climate  –  this  is  discussed 
below. 

Figure 9: Angola public and private investment, 2010-2020 (USD million) 

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

0

-10,000

21,445

25,484

16,499

7,130

8,135

8,687

19,858

23,047

34,994

23,648

21,562

15,886 17,012

4,737

3,876

7,907

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

13,969

3,271

2018

9,736
2,248
2019

Government Investment

Private Investment

Net FDI flows

Source: UCAN-CEIC (2019) and BNA/DES (FDI data) 

In the past decade, foreign direct investment (FDI) has contributed little to the country’s 
overall investment capital: With the exception of 2014 and 2015, Angola has seen net FDI 
outflows every year since 2010 (Figure 9) – resulting in a substantial decline in FDI inward 
stocks from USD 43 billion in 2011 to less than USD 17 billion in 2020 (Figure 10); EU FDI 
in Angola did not behave structurally different from total FDI in the country (Figure 11). 
This is primarily the result of the dominance of investment in the oil sector in combination 
with the response of oil-sector investments to world oil price fluctuations. Over the period 
2012 to 2018, on average 97% of all inward FDI was in the petroleum sector (UCAN-CEIC 
2019, 90). In addition, of the small share of non-oil inward FDI in 2016 and 2017, 86% 
was in diamond mining, meaning that FDI in non-oil, non-diamond activities was minimal. 
In this regard, UCAN-CEIC notes that “the sectors with the greatest potential to generate 
employment and income for the people are those that have received the least foreign direct 
investment, such as agriculture and industry” (UCAN-CEIC 2019, 90). 

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Figure  10:  Angola  FDI  stocks,  2010-2020  
(USD million) 

Figure  11:  Angola  FDI  flows:  total  and 
to/from EU, 2010-2020 (USD million) 

50,000
45,000
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0

Inward stock

Outward stock

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

-5,000

-10,000

Inward flow

Outward flow

Outward flow to EU

Inward flow from EU

Source:  UNCTAD  FDIStat;  World  Investment  Report 
2021. 

Source: UNCTAD FDIStat; World Investment Report 
2021; and Eurostat, EU direct investment flows, 
breakdown by partner country and economic activity 

Non-oil sector FDI inflows were positive in 2018 to 2020, being above USD 600 million in 
2018  and  2019,  and  slightly  above  USD  100  million  in  2020  (Figure  12a).  These  three 
years  also  showed  positive  developments  as  no  foreign  investment  was  withdrawn. 
Nevertheless, these FDI inflows were too low by far to counter the outflows of oil-sector 
FDI in the same three years, at USD 14.0 billion in 2018, USD 12.2 billion in 2019, and 
USD 8.2 billion in 2020 (Figure 12a). 

Figure 12: Angola FDI inflows, 2010-2020, oil and non-oil sector (USD million) 

a) Non-oil FDI inflows 

b) Oil sector FDI inflows 

800.0

600.0

400.0

200.0

0.0

-200.0

-400.0

-600.0

-800.0

-1,000.0

0
1
0
2

1
1
0
2

2
1
0
2

3
1
0
2

4
1
0
2

5
1
0
2

6
1
0
2

7
1
0
2

8
1
0
2

9
1
0
2

0
2
0
2

20,000.0

15,000.0

10,000.0

5,000.0

0.0

-5,000.0

-10,000.0

-15,000.0

-20,000.0

-25,000.0

0
1
0
2

1
1
0
2

2
1
0
2

3
1
0
2

4
1
0
2

5
1
0
2

6
1
0
2

7
1
0
2

8
1
0
2

9
1
0
2

0
2
0
2

Entry

Exit

Non-Oil Sector net inflows

Entry
Exit
Oil Sector net inflows

Source: BNA/DES 

In  terms  of  (non-oil,  non-diamond)  investment  proposals  registered  with  the  Private 
Investment and Export Promotion Agency (Agência de Investimento Privado e Promoção 
das  Exportações,  AIPEX)  in  2018  to  2020,  a  positive  trend  can  be  seen:  a  total  of  341 
proposals  were  registered  –  71  in  2018,  168  in  2019,  and  102  (despite  the  covid-19 
pandemic) in 2020 (AIPEX 2020). The cumulative value of projects was USD 3.3 billion, of 
which about USD 1.9 billion from foreign sources. More than half of the investment value 
(USD  1.8  billion)  was  in  industry,  followed  by  construction  (USD  686  million)  and 
agriculture (USD 213 million) (Figure 13a). The most important foreign investors were, by 
value, South Africa, China and the UAE, followed by the EU, with a total project value of 

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USD 63 million. In terms of the number of projects, the EU is the most important foreign 
investor  (59  projects).  This  also  implies,  that  the  average  recent  EU-invested  project  is 
small,  at  about  USD  1  million,  with  projects  driven  mostly  by  SMEs  –  for  which  clear, 
predictable and transparent rules  for investment and business operation are particularly 
important.  Therefore,  Angola’s  environment  for  investment  and  business  operation  is 
analysed next. 

Figure 13: Investment projects registered with AIPEX, 2018-2020 

a) By sector (USD million) 

b) By origin 

Hotels and tourism; 31

Other services; 116

Health; 131

Education; 
30

Telecommunications; 
26

Fisheries; 132

Trading services; 
145

Agriculture; 
213

Construction; 
686

Industry; 
1766

75

Value 
(USD million)

753

66

49

63
99

206

125

1405

Nr of projects

3

21

59

18

676

Angola

UAE

Others

South Africa

China

EU

Mixed origin

Source: Own calculations based on AIPEX (2020). 

Business  environment,  investment  climate,  and  current  status  of  investment 
facilitation 

The  business  environment  in  Angola  is  difficult.  In  terms  of  doing  business,  the  overall 
ranking of Angola in the global rankings has not been good. According to the latest World 
Bank Doing Business Index, which refers to the situation in mid-2019, Angola was ranked 
177  out  of  190  economies,  and  well  below  some  regional  peers  (Fehler!  Ungültiger 
Eigenverweis  auf  Textmarke.a);  in  2011,  Angola’s  rank  was  163.  In  the  2019  World 
Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), Angola’s rank was 136 out of 141 
economy – next to Mozambique’s rank (137) but well below other  regional comparators 
(Fehler!  Ungültiger  Eigenverweis  auf  Textmarke.b).  With  the  exception  of  “Paying 
Taxes” and “Dealing with Construction Permits” (in Doing Business) respectively “Market 
Size”  (in  the  GCI),  Angola’s  rankings  across  all  the  various  dimensions  of  the  business 
environment indices are at the very low end. 

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Figure  14:  Angola’s  performance  in  Doing  Business  Index  and  Global  Competitiveness 
Index, against selected regional comparator countries 

a)  Ranks  in  DB2020,  by  sub-indicator  (out  of 
190 economies) 

b)  Ranks  in  GCI  2019,  by sub-indicator  (out  of 
141 economies) 

Innovation
capacity

140

Business
dynamism

138

Market size

69

GCI

0
136
20
40
60
80
100
120
140

Institutions

135

Infrastructure

126

123

ICT adoption

Ease of Doing
Business
0

177

Resolving
Insolvency

168

Starting a
Business

146

Dealing with
Construction
Permits

120

156

Getting Electricity

50

100

150

200

Enforcing
Contracts

186

Trading across
Borders

174

Paying Taxes

106

147

Protecting
Minority
Investors

Financial system

138

137

Macroec stability

167

Registering
Property

185

Getting Credit

Labour market

132

129

Health

138

140

Product market

Skills

Angola

Botswana

Angola

Botswana

Mozambique

South Africa

Mozambique

South Africa

Source: DB2020: World Bank, Doing Business 2020, http://www.doingbusiness.org [accessed 13 March 2021]; 
GCI 2019: Schwab (2019) 

0

80

60

40

20

Overall DTF

Paying
Taxes

Enforcing
Contracts

Getting
Electricity

Starting a
Business

Resolving
Insolvency

Trading
across
Borders

Dealing
with
Constructi…

insolvency,  getting 

Figure  15:  Angola’s  Doing  Business  DTF 
scores by sub-index, 2012, 2016 and 2020 

The  “distance  to  frontier”  (DTF)  scores, 
which measure the difference to the world 
leader  for  any  given  Doing  Business  sub-
index,  show  that  Angola’s  performance 
varies considerably across sub-indices, and 
over 
the 
time.  Whereas  most  of 
comparatively  best  scores  –  Starting  a 
Business,  Dealing  with  Construction 
Permits,  and  Getting  Electricity –  are 
conducive  to  the  establishment  of  new 
business,  some  of  the  sub-indices  where 
the  distance  to  the  frontier  is  largest  – 
credit, 
resolving 
contract  enforcement,  and  trading  across 
borders  (Figure  15)  –  particularly  affect 
export competitiveness of domestic firms: 
First,  difficulties  in  resolving  insolvency 
have a depressing effect on the propensity 
to  create  new  firms,  and  especially  the 
type of high-growth, export oriented firms 
that Angola needs to diversify and expand 
exports.  Such  businesses  are  inherently 
risky, and difficulties in closing them will therefore deter entrepreneurs from establishing 
them in the first place, no matter how friendly the environment is for starting a business 
(and Angola performs relatively well in that regard). Second, access to finance is important 
for  export  businesses  not  only  because  they  tend  to  be  more  capital  intensive  than 
businesses targeting the domestic market but also because their working capital needs are 
higher,  given  longer  payment  delays  in  international  business  transactions.  Finally,  the 
impact  of  difficulties  in  trading  across  borders  (discussed  in  more  detail  below)  for 
exporters are self-evident. In Angola, they hurt exporters twice as the current pattern of 
industrial organisation in Angola relies to a large extent on imported inputs and machinery; 
exporters  are  thus  affected  both  when  sourcing  raw  materials  and  inputs,  and  when 
exporting finished goods. 

Source:  World  Bank,  Doing  Business,  various  years, 
http://www.doingbusiness.org  [accessed  13  March 
2021] 

Protecting
Minority
Investors

Registering
Property

Getting
Credit

DB2012

DB2016

DB2020

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To  attract  investment  aimed  at  the  diversification  of  exports,  the  domestic  business 
environment clearly needs to improve, especially in the areas that are most relevant for 
exporting businesses. 

The  government  is  intent  on  applying  measures  to  attract  private  investment  from 
abroad.153  For  this,  the  National  Development  Plan  2018-2022  presents  a  series  of 
measures, of which the following stand out (cf. UCAN-CEIC 2019, 100): 

•  Minimize barriers to entry and exit of companies from the market; 
•  Promote institutional and legislative changes that allow the improvement and make the 

application of competition policy more effective and efficient; 

•  Promote  competition  through  market  regulation  and  supervision  that  deter  practices 
restricting competition and encourage diversification and economic development; 
•  Promote the continuous improvement of the business environment, seeking to reinforce 

the attractiveness of the Angolan economy. 

In line with these efforts, a new investment law was also enacted in 2018, and in October 
2018,  the  Strategy  for  investment  promotion  and  attraction  (PROCIP)  was  adopted  to 
channel  investment  to  priority  sectors,  such  as  agriculture  (cf.  UNCTAD  2019,  4).  Also, 
AIPEX was created in 2018154 through a merger of the previous Technical Unit for Private 
Investment  (UTIP)  and  the  Angola  Investment  and  Export  Promotion  Agency  (APIEX). 
AIPEX is conceived as a one-stop-shop for investors throughout all stages of the investment 
process. Among its tasks are:155 

•  Promotion and attraction of domestic and foreign private investment that can contribute 

to Angola’s socio-economic development; 

•  Reception and monitoring of private investment proposals to be carried out in Angola; 
•  Promotion of FDI in strategic sectors of the national economy; 
•  Promotion  of  the  increase  and  diversification  of  exports  of  Angolan  products  and 

services; 

•  Contribution to the creation of favourable conditions for private investment in Angola; 
•  Supervision and control of the execution of approved private investment projects; and 
Implementation of policies and programmes to substitute imports and increase exports 
• 
(e.g. measures under PRODESI). 

In addition to providing information about Angola’s investment laws and procedures, AIPEX 
has set up an electronic platform, the Single Investment Window (Sistema Electrônico de 
Tramitação do Investimento Privado, SETIP),156 to facilitate the submission of investment 
proposals. 

In order to measure Angola’s current situation regarding investment facilitation, we apply 
the  Investment  Facilitation  Index  (IFI)  developed  by  Berger  et  al.  (2019;  2021).  This 
assesses countries’ investment facilitation measures based on 117 indicators in six areas, 
(international)  cooperation,  electronic  governance,  application  process,  focal  point  and 
review,  outward  investment,  and  regulatory  transparency  and  predictability,  on  a  range 
from  zero  (no  respective  measure)  to  two  (comprehensive  measure  in  place  for  each 
indicator). While the IFI includes 86 economies worldwide, it does not include Angola. We 
have  therefore  completed  the  IFI  score  for  Angola  applying  Berger  et  al.’s  original 

153  A comprehensive description and critical analysis of Angola’s investment climate is provided in UNCTAD’s 2019 

investment climate review (UNCTAD 2019). 
154  Presidential Decree nº 81/18 of 19 March 2018. 
155  See https://www.aipex.gov.ao/PortalAIPEX/#!/aipex/quem-somos.  
156  https://www.aipex.gov.ao/PortalAIPEX/#!/destaques/setip  

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methodology,157  and  based  on  a  review  of  Angola’s  relevant  legislation  and  manuals, 
complemented with additional research and interviews of stakeholders. 

Figure 16 compares Angola’s performance with country groups by income level, as can be 
seen,  the  current  score  (0.73  out  of  2)  is  between  low  income  (0.45)  and  lower  middle 
income  countries  (0.80),  being  closer  to  the  latter;  this  is  in  line  with  Angola’s  income 
status  on  the  brink  to  an  LMIC.  The  figure  also  shows  that  higher  income  status  is 
associated with a better investment facilitation framework (although of course the direction 
of causality is not clear). 

Figure 17 further looks at the relative strengths and weaknesses in Angola’s investment 
facilitation framework. Overall, the performance is 37% (i.e. a score of 0.73 out of 2). The 
investment  application  process,  measures  to  facilitate  Angolan  investment  abroad,  and 
electronic governance perform better than this average, not least thanks to the creation of 
electronic  single  windows  for  the  application  for  investment  projects  (SETIP)  and  the 
establishment/registration  of  businesses.158  Conversely,  the  scores  for  international 
cooperation and focal point and review are below average. 

Figure 16: IFI score – current situation in 
Angola vs country income groups 

Figure 17: Relative strengths and 
weaknesses in Angola’s investment 
facilitation framework by IFI sub-index 

2.000
1.800
1.600
1.400
1.200
1.000
0.800
0.600
0.400
0.200
0.000

0.733

0.801

0.448

1.300

1.114

Transparency
& predictability

39%

Total

37%

13%

Cooperation

Outward
investment

50%

18%

45%

Electronic
governance

Focal point &
review

52%

Application
process

Angola

LIC

LMIC

UMIC

HIC

Note:  LIC  =  Low  Income  Countries;  LMIC  =  Lower  Middle  Income  Countries;  HMIC  =  Higher  Middle  Income 
Countries; HIC = High Income Countries. 
Source: Own calculations (Angola) and Berger et al. (2019) (country groups) 

In sum, despite recent improvements to the investment regime, and investment facilitation 
in  particular,  much  remains  to  be  done.  UNCTAD’s  2019  review  of  Angola’s  investment 
climate concludes that despite the various efforts made: 

“key  gaps  and  bottlenecks  in  the  investment  climate  persist.  They  include  a  complex 
system  for  FDI  entry  and  establishment,  burdensome  operational  regulations,  the 
persistence  of  restrictive  business  practices  and  a  lack  of  institutional  capacity  and 
coordination.  These  constrain  the  country’s  ability  to  take  advantage  of  its  strategic 
location,  abundant  natural  resources  and  preferential  access  to  regional  and 
international markets, and to fully tap its huge potential to attract FDI in various sectors” 
(UNCTAD 2019, xi). 

1.2.2.3  SIFA impact 

To assess the potential impact of the SIFA on the investment facilitation framework 
in Angola, we have again used the IFI. Going through the EU text proposal, paragraph by 
paragraph, for each IFI indicator that score has been determined that would apply if the 

157  The detailed scoring file was provided to us by Berger et al. 
158  https://gue.gov.ao/portal/public/  

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provisions in the text proposal were implemented in Angola, regardless of whether they 
are best endeavour clauses or obligations of the parties. Similarly, the potential effect of 
other IFAs, including at the WTO, that might be concluded by Angola are not considered; 
therefore  the  findings  presented  here  show  the  upper  boundary  of  the  effect  which  the 
SIFA could have in Angola. 

Figure 18 summarises the effect. The overall IFI score would increase from 0.73 to 1.42, 
i.e.  improve  by  94%.  Areas  of  particular  weakness  would  benefit  even  stronger  – 
cooperation by 367%, and focal point and review by 211%. Only in the area of outward 
investment, which is not addressed in the EU text proposal for the SIFA, there would be 
no  change  for  Angola  –  in  all  other  areas,  performance  would  increase  substantially  (at 
least  by  46%,  in  the  case  of  the  investment  application  process.  These  levels  of 
improvement  place  the  SIFA  among  the  most  ambitious  international  efforts  to  codify 
investment facilitation.159 It should be noted that some aspects of the SIFA text, such as 
the clause on the establishment of a domestic supplier database, are not captured in the 
IFI. The actual benefits of the SIFA in terms  of linking investors and  domestic  suppliers 
could still be higher than reported here. 

Figure 18: Calculated effect of the SIFA on Angola’s IFI score 

1.60
1.40
1.20
1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00

1.42

367

0.73

211

94

0.11

0.02

0.36
90

0.19

0.15

0.22
46

0.21

0.07

Total

Cooperation

Electronic
governance

Application
process

Focal point &
review

0.08

0.08

0
Outward
investment

0.44

0.22

100

Transparency
&
predictability

Angola's current IFI score

Angola's IFI score with SIFA

SIFA change in % (right axis)

400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0

Source: Own preparation. 

Although  it  is  clear  that  the  SIFA  would  significantly  improve  the  Angolan  investment 
framework, as explained above, the more important question is actually what the impact 
would be on investment in Angola, i.e. to what extent would a more transparent and 
predictable investment framework attract more investment – domestic, from the EU, and 
from other countries? 

A  quantitative  analysis  of  this  impact  is  beyond  the  scope  of  the  SIA.  However,  the 
literature  clearly  shows  the  cost-saving  effects  from  increased  transparency  and 
predictability: Echandi and Sauvé (2020) provide a conceptual framework for the different 
types of costs and cost savings, while Balistreri and Olekseyuk  (2021) estimate that the 
ad valorem equivalent trade costs stemming from investment facilitation for low and middle 
income countries could be reduced by up to 56% in an ambitious WTO IFA. As noted above, 
the SIFA is among the most ambitious IFAs, and accordingly – if the measures addressed 
in it are fully implemented – the costs savings would be expected to be in the same order 
of  magnitude.  Due  to  the  cost-savings  for  investors,  more  investment  will  be  attracted, 
with positive follow-on effects for GDP and welfare (see next section). 

159  Berger  et  al.  (2019)  identify  and  analyse  different  approaches,  including  the  WTO  structured  discussions, 
CETA IFA, CPTPP IFA, and USMCA IFA. For low income countries, they find an improvement of up to 85% (for 
the CPTPP). 

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1.2.3  Impact on GDP 

1.2.3.1  EPA impact 

The  expected  changes  in  output  resulting  from  tariff  changes  resulting  from  Angola’s 
accession to the EPA are concentrated in relatively few subsectors (and even products), as 
discussed in section 4.1.3 of the main report: in terms of output oriented sectors, the main 
growing sub-sectors are bananas, fishery (crustaceans), food products (milling products), 
and chemicals (ethyl alcohol); in terms of import competing sectors, the main potentially 
contracting  ones  are  some  food  products  (wheat  flour,  non-alcoholic  beverages)  and 
household products (cleaning agents, sanitary papers). The degree to which these sectoral 
output  changes  translate  into  an  impact  on  GDP  depends  on  the  shares  of  the  affected 
sectors in Angola’s GDP. 

Table  4  shows  the  composition  of  Angola’s  GDP  by  sector,  and  Table  5  provides  more 
detailed information of the composition of industrial output by sub-sector. The sub-sectors 
and product groups whose output is affected by the EPA fall into agriculture (bananas  – 
only  a  small  part  of  the  agricultural  sector),  fishery  (crustaceans),  and  several 
manufacturing  industries  (part  of  the  food,  beverage,  chemical,  and  pulp  and  paper 
production).  Even  with  the  grossly  overestimating  assumption  that  agriculture  (5.5%), 
fishery  (2.1%)  and  manufacturing  (5.0%)  would  be  affected  in  their  entirety,  these 
cumulatively account for 12.6% of GDP in 2020. Considering also that positive and negative 
effects  expected  for  food  products  reduce  the  expected  total  net  effect,  and  that  the 
absolute values of trade and output effects even at the product level are very limited, the 
effects  of  the  tariff  changes  resulting  from  EPA  accession  on  Angola’s  GDP  are  to  be 
considered as negligible. 

Table 4: Breakdown of GDP in Angola by sector, 2014-2020 

2014 
4.2% 
2.3% 
35.9% 
1.8% 
3.2% 
0.6% 
10.6% 
14.6% 
2.2% 
1.9% 
1.3% 
9.4% 
4.9% 
7.1% 

2020 
5.5% 
2.1% 
32.6% 
2.0% 
5.0% 
1.1% 
9.2% 
15.6% 
1.9% 
2.0% 
1.5% 
8.6% 
6.0% 
7.0% 
100%  100%  100%  100% 

2018 
4.8% 
2.4% 
34.7% 
1.8% 
4.4% 
0.9% 
11.4% 
13.4% 
2.6% 
1.9% 
1.5% 
8.1% 
5.6% 
6.5% 

2019 
4.9% 
2.1% 
32.8% 
2.0% 
4.5% 
1.0% 
12.0% 
13.8% 
2.8% 
1.9% 
1.4% 
8.4% 
5.8% 
6.6% 

Agriculture and Forestry 
Fishery 
Oil Extraction and Refining 
Extraction of Diamonds & Minerals 
Manufacturing Industry 
Electricity and Water 
Construction 
Trade (wholesale, retail, import/export) 
Transport and Storage 
Post and Telecommunications 
Financial and Insurance Intermediation 
Public Administration, Defense and Mandatory Social Security 
Real Estate Services and Rental 
Other services 
All sectors 

Source: Own calculations based on INE (2021c). 

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Table 5: Breakdown of industrial sector in Angola by sub-sectors 

TOTAL INDUSTRY 

Extractive industries 

Oil Extraction 
Diamond Extraction 
Rest of Extractive Industries 

Manufacturing Industries 

Food, Beverage and Tobacco Industries 

Food industries 
Beverage and Tobacco Industries 

Textile, Clothing and Footwear Manufacturing 
Wood Industries 
Pulp and Paper Manufacturing, Editing and Printing 
Manufacturing of Petroleum Products, Chemicals and Other  
Metallurgical Industries 
Manufacture of Machinery, Equipment, Appliances and 
Automobiles 
Manufacture of Furniture, Mattresses and Others 

Production and Distribution of Electricity, Gas & Steam 

Electricity Production and Distribution 

Collection, Treatment, Distribution of Water & Sanitation 

Water Collection, Treatment and Distribution 
Source: Own calculations based on INE (2021b). 

1.2.3.2  SIFA impact 

Weight in 
industrial 
output (2010) 
100 
87.2 
85.3 
1.9 
0.0 
10.1 
5.6 
4.3 
1.3 
0.5 
0.1 
0.2 
3.4 
0.3 
0.0 

Output index 
2021Q1 
(2010= 100) 
92.6 
73.9 
73.7 
79.5 
95.2 
206.4 
207.3 
206.6 
209.7 
164.9 
91.4 
93.7 
219.5 
257.6 
125.5 

Weight 
in 
2021Q1 
100 
69.6 
67.9 
1.6 
0.0 
22.5 
12.5 
9.6 
2.9 
0.9 
0.1 
0.2 
8.1 
0.8 
0.0 

0.0 
1.7 
1.7 
0.9 
0.9 

44.8 
343.5 
343.5 
141.5 
141.5 

0.0 
6.3 
6.3 
1.4 
1.4 

As mentioned above, a quantitative assessment of the impact of the SIFA on Angola’s GDP 
is beyond the scope of this study. However, based on the finding that the SIFA is among 
the most ambitious IFAs, some lessons can be drawn from the literature. Notably, Balistreri 
and Olekseyuk (2021) have recently estimated the economic impact of various scenarios 
for  a  potential  WTO  IFA  based  on  a  CGE  analysis.  This  showed  that  GDP  in  low  income 
countries  would  increase  by  between  0.6%  (for  the  least  ambitious  scenario)  and  more 
than 2% in the “extended ambitious IFA”; welfare of low income countries would increase 
by 1% to 3.5% under these scenarios, respectively. While the overall economic effects of 
an IFA would increase with the coverage of the agreement, the analysis also shows that 
the  “benefits  are  concentrated  among  the  regions  participating  in  the  negotiations” 
(Balistreri and Olekseyuk 2021, 13). 

In sum, then, although no precise numbers can be provided (and would depend also on 
whether and what type of WTO IFA will be concluded), the economic impact for Angola of 
the SIFA is expected to be a substantial gain in GDP and welfare. 

1.2.4  Government revenue impact 

The calculation of government revenue effects caused by the tariff changes resulting from 
Angola’s accession to the EPA only consider tariff revenues and a 14% VAT assumed to be 
levied  on  all  imports.  Other  border  taxes  as  well  as  indirect  revenue  effects  (which  are 
normally positive) cannot be calculated on the basis of the PE model simulation results. 

Tariff revenue effects are calculated by multiplying, at the HS 6-digit level, the applicable 
tariffs with import values for the baseline and each of the three policy scenarios. Then, the 
results for each of the  scenarios are compared with the baseline. The same approach is 
used for the calculation of effects on VAT. Values are provided in euros (because the PE 
model uses this currency).  

Table 6 shows the details of the calculations; the results are summarised and discussed in 
the main report. 

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Table 6: Calculation of impact of EPA membership on Angola’s tariff revenues and border 
tax collection (changes compared to baseline) 

Baseline 

Full liberalisation 

Conservative 

Ambitious 

3,905 
6,514 
10,420 

0 
403 
403 

-227 
-171 
-398 

-100.0 
-29.9 
-49.7 

547 
912 
1,459 

227 
574 
801 

2,583 
7,144 
9,727 

Import (EUR M) 
From EU 
From ROW 
Total 
A. Calculation of tariff revenue effects 
Tariff revenues (EUR M) 
On imports from EU 
On imports from ROW 
Total 
Change in tariff revenues compared to baseline (EUR M) 
On imports from EU 
On imports from ROW 
Total 
Change in tariff revenues compared to baseline (%) 
On imports from EU 
On imports from ROW 
Total 
B. Calculation of effects on VAT on imports 
VAT revenues on imports (EUR M) 
On imports from EU 
On imports from ROW 
Total 
Change in VAT compared to baseline (EUR M) 
On imports from EU 
On imports from ROW 
Total 
Change in VAT compared to baseline (%) 
On imports from EU 
On imports from ROW 
Total 
C. Calculation of total border tax revenue effects (A + B) 
Total border tax revenues on imports (EUR M) 
On imports from EU 
On imports from ROW 
Total 
Change in border tax revenues compared to baseline (EUR M) 
On imports from EU 
On imports from ROW 
Total 

588 
1,574 
2,162 

362 
1,000 
1,362 

547 
1,315 
1,861 

-42 
-260 
-301 

185 
-88 
97 

51.2 
-8.8 
7.1 

3,737 
6,586 
10,323 

3,894 
6,519 
10,413 

20 
421 
441 

-207 
-153 
-360 

-91.3 
-26.6 
-44.9 

523 
922 
1,445 

162 
-78 
83 

44.7 
-7.8 
6.1 

543 
1,343 
1,886 

-45 
-231 
-276 

1 
404 
406 

-225 
-170 
-395 

-99.4 
-29.6 
-49.4 

545 
913 
1,458 

184 
-88 
96 

50.8 
-8.8 
7.1 

547 
1,317 
1,863 

-42 
-257 
-299 

Note: For VAT change calculations, it has been assumed that 14% VAT is collected on all imports; other border 
taxes are not considered.   
Source: Own calculations based on DG TRADE modelling. 

1.3  Assessment of the Impact of Non-tariff Issues 

1.3.1  Quantitative restrictions 

1.3.1.1  EPA provisions and implementation experience 

The  EPA  allows  the  use  of  quantitative  restrictions  provided  that  these  are  applied  in 
conformity  with  the  WTO  Agreement  (Art.  39).  There  is  thus  a  general  prohibition  of 
quantitative  restrictions,  but  for  certain  purposes  and  under  certain  conditions  such 
restrictions are allowed. 

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1.3.1.2  Current status in Angola 

Angola has not notified any quantitative restrictions to the WTO, and until recently applied 
no such measures outside of the usual general exceptions.160  

However,  Presidential  Decree  23/19  establishes  quantitative  import  restrictions  for  a 
number of products161 from 2022 onwards, contingent upon two conditions: first, that the 
necessary  measures  required  by  GATT  Articles  XII,  XVIII.B,  XVIII.C  and  XIX  are 
implemented and, second, that a positive evaluation by the Government of the domestic 
production capacity of these products as well as the possibility of maintaining their supply 
to consumers in Angola (Art. 11).  

Regarding the first condition, the WTO allows quantitative restrictions on imports to avert 
balance of payments problems and serious declines in monetary reserves (GATT Art. XII, 
XVIII.B); for countries with a low standard of living and in the early stages of development 
in situations where “governmental assistance is required to promote the establishment of 
a particular industry with a view to raising the general standard of living of its people, but 
that no measure consistent with the other provisions of this Agreement is practicable to 
achieve that objective” (GATT Art. XVIII.C(13)). The Angolan Government could thus claim 
that this condition is fulfilled for the products covered, in particular in consideration of the 
foreign currency shortage that also affects the country; nevertheless, a risk remains that 
an aggrieved supplying country to Angola would resort to the WTO dispute settlement body 
over a decision to introduce quantitative restrictions on this basis. 

With regard to the second condition, it appears that no evaluation of the domestic supply 
capacity  has  been  undertaken  so  far.  Accordingly,  it  would  seem  that  the  quantitative 
import  restriction  will  not  be  enforced  as  planned  from  2022.  At  the  same  time,  the 
uncertainty  for  traders  remains  over  whether  and  when  import  restrictions  would  be 
introduced. 

Decree 23/19 also limits imports of listed products to wholesalers and national producers 
of these goods (Art. 8(b)). To obtain an import licence, they need to show that they have 
conducted market research in Angola about the availability of domestically produced goods. 
Moreover, the 

“import authorization is subject to the demonstration of the prior execution of contracts 
for the purchase of domestic production, the existence of initiatives aimed at direct or 
indirect investment, or other forms of promotion of national production, as well as the 
effective settlement of purchases made to producers or the existence of a guarantee for 
its future settlement” (Art. 8(d). 

1.3.1.3  EPA Impact 

As  the  EPA  does  not  create  any  WTO-plus  obligations  for  the  Parties  with  regard  to 
quantitative restrictions or import licensing, it will have no immediate impact on Angola in 
this  regard.  At  the  same  time,  considering  the  overwhelming  evidence,  shown  in  many 
studies and analyses, that the use of tariffs is superior to quantitative restrictions, bilateral 
discussions in the framework of the EPA could be used to help the Government of Angola 
find the least disruptive measure to pursue its legitimate policy goal of protecting infant 
industries and reducing the balance of payment deficit. 

160  Such as protection of human, animal or plant life or health, public morals, national treasures, etc. 
161  The products covered are: a) sugar; b) chicken meat products; c) pork products; d) dried beef; e) rice; f) 
wheat flour; g) spaghetti pasta; h) cornmeal; i) milk; j) soap; k) tilapia; l) honey; m) soybean oil; n) palm 
oil; o) sunflower oil; and p) peanut oil. 

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1.3.2  Tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) 

1.3.2.1  EPA provisions and implementation experience 

Under the EPA, the EU applies TRQs on selected goods imported from South Africa,162 and 
SACU applies TRQs on selected goods imported from the EU (wheat and meslin; barley; 
cheese;  pig  fat;  cereal  based  food  preparations;  pork;  butter  and  other  dairy  fats;  ice 
cream;  mortadella  Bologna).163  Mozambique  does  not  face  TRQs  in  the  EU,  nor  does  it 
apply any on imports from the EU. 

1.3.2.2  Current status in Angola 

Angola  has  no  TRQs  in  place  at  present,  nor  does  it  have  any  experience  in  the 
administration of TRQs. 

1.3.2.3  EPA Impact 

It is not expected that Angola would establish TRQs on imports from the EU, and as such 
no implementation structures would have to be set up. Accordingly, Angola’s accession to 
the EPA would not have any impact in this respect. 

1.3.3  Customs procedures, rules of origin, trade facilitation 

1.3.3.1  EPA provisions and implementation experience 

Under  the  EPA,  the  Parties  agree  that  their  customs  legislation  and  procedures  shall  be 
based, to the extent possible, the Revised Kyoto Convention, the Harmonised System and 
other  international  standards  (Art.  43(1)(a)),  as  well  as  a  number  of  trade  facilitation 
principles  (Art.  43).164  Transit  trade  shall  also  be  facilitated  through,  inter  alia,  the 
operation of bonded transport regimes and regional transit arrangements (Art. 44). Soft 
provisions also relate to publication of customs laws, procedures and fees, consultations 
and cooperation with stakeholders (Art. 45). 

Specific commitments by the Parties relate to the following: 

•  Customs fees and charges “shall not exceed the cost of services rendered” (Art. 27(1)); 
•  Regarding  customs  valuation,  the  WTO  Agreement  on  Customs  Valuation  is  applied 

(Art. 46). 

Rules of origin are addressed in Protocol 1 to the EPA. According to these, goods exported 
from a SADC EPA country benefit from the EPA preferences if they are wholly obtained in 
that country (i.e. grown or manufactured 100% within the territory of the country) or, if 
using materials imported from another country, if they have been sufficiently worked or 
processed in the SADC  EPA country (Protocol 1 Art. 2). However, the  EPA also  foresees 
cumulation of origin. According to these cumulation rules, a product benefits from the EPA 
tariff  preferences  also  if  it  includes  inputs  from  other  countries  listed,  regardless  of  the 
degree  of  further  processing  (i.e.  these  inputs  are  also  considered  as  inputs  from  the 
exporting SADC EPA country). Specifically, exports from a SADC EPA country benefit from 
EPA preferences if they include inputs from the EU (“bilateral cumulation”, Protocol 1 Art. 
3), another SADC EPA State, an ACP EPA State, an EU OCT (“diagonal cumulation”)165, as 

162  See Annex I, Part I, Section B. 
163  See Annex II, Part I, Section B. 
164  The EPA does not separate customs issues from trade facilitation but combines the two, referring to “customs 

and trade facilitation”. 

165  Protocol 1 Art. 4. In this case, the conditions in Protocol 1 Art. 9(1) regarding necessary processing in the 
exporting SADC EPA country apply. Also, for diagonal cumulation to apply, the exporting SADC EPA country 

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well as inputs from EBA and some inputs (i.e. those that enjoy duty-free quota-free access 
to the EU market) from other GSP beneficiary countries.166 If inputs are used which can 
enter the EU duty-free under MFN, they also confer origin (Protocol 1 Art. 5). 

With a view to activating diagonal cumulation, two meetings of the Special Committee on 
Trade Facilitation and Customs Cooperation (SCTFCC) have allowed partners to advance 
preparatory work. 

1.3.3.2  Current status in Angola 

The current main legal basis for customs issues is the customs code of 2006.167 However, 
a new customs code is currently under development; the consultation period for the draft 
ended  on  31  August  2021.168  The  customs  legislation  is  made  with  reference  to 
international conventions and standards, such as the  Harmonised System (HS). Indeed, 
Angola has been a member of the World Customs Organisation since 1990. It has however 
been slow to ratify/implement important conventions. For example, it ratified the Revised 
Kyoto  Convention  on  23  February  2013;  and  although  it  is  a  contracting  party  to  the 
Harmonised System Convention (since 2011), its implementation of the respective latest 
versions of the HS usually happens with some delay: for the HS 2017 edition, the latest 
update by the WCO indicates that Angola’s implementation was set for August 2018, but 
confirmation remains outstanding;169 it is clear, however, that implementation has taken 
place as the 2020 tariff book explicitly refers to it. 

In  terms  of  transparency,  as  mentioned  the  customs  legislation  (laws,  decrees  and 
regulations), tariffs and manuals for traders are published on the AGT website.170 At least 
some  proposals  for  regulatory  change  are  published  online  as  well.  For  example,  the 
proposed new 2021 customs code was made available online, requesting comments from 
stakeholders. 

The current practice and experience  of Angola  with a number of specific customs issues 
seems worthwhile: 

•  The  AGT  charges  general  customs  fees  to  service  users  as  general  customs  fees. 
These are currently set at 2% of the Customs Value.171 For exports, the 2020 customs 
code establishes a general 0.5% customs fee (with different fees for hydrocarbons and 
currency) on the customs value of goods.172 This would appear to be in line neither with 
WTO rules nor the EPA, as it violates the principle that customs fees should reflect the 
cost of services. 

•  Customs valuation: Both the current customs code and the draft new customs code 
refer to Art. VII GATT and appear to be in line with the basic requirements of the WTO 

must have “entered into an arrangement or agreement on administrative cooperation with each other, which 
ensures compliance” with the rules of origin, and provided the EU with details of these arrangements (Protocol 
1 Art. 4(9)). Diagonal cumulation also excludes some products (such as goods in HS headings 1604 and 1605 
from Pacific states). 

166  Protocol 1 Art. 6; similar provisions as for diagonal cumulation under Protocol 1 Art. 4 apply. 
167  Council of Ministers Legislative Decree 5/06 of 04 October 2006. 
168  The customs code and related legislation, including the draft of the proposed new customs code, are available 

on AGT’s website at https://agt.minfin.gov.ao/PortalAGT/#!/legislacao/aduaneira. 

169  WCO: Position of Contracting Parties to the HS and non-Contracting Party Administrations on 14 July 2021, 
http://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/nomenclature/overview/position-of-contracting-parties-to-the-hs-and-
non-contracting-party-administrations.aspx  

170  https://agt.minfin.gov.ao/PortalAGT/#!/legislacao/aduaneira  
171  https://agt.minfin.gov.ao/PortalAGT/#!/servicos-aduaneiros//importacao-e-exportacao  [accessed  23  June 

2021]; also see Art. 73 of Presidential Legislative Decree 10/19 of 24 November 2019. 

172  Article 91 of Presidential Legislative Decree 10/19 of 24 November 2019. 

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Customs Valuation Agreement (cf. Arts 100ff of the current code/Arts. 146ff of the new 
draft). 

•  Risk assessment: Whereas the current (2006) customs code has hardly referred to 
risk assessment in the context of customs control, the draft new customs code would 
make it mandatory (Art. 181f). Although an in-depth assessment of current procedures 
at AGT goes well beyond the scope of the SIA, the information provided by stakeholders 
indicates that at present risk considerations play a limited role, leading to an excessive 
level of verifications and inspections. 

•  An  Authorised  Economic  Operator  (AEO)  scheme173  was  legally  introduced  in 
2018,174 with pilot implementation starting shortly thereafter. By December 2020, 20 
AEOs were certified. 

•  As Angola is not presently granting preferential market access to any trading partners, 
the  AGT  has  no  experience  in  determining  whether  imports  into  Angola  comply  with 
preferential rules of origin, although the 2021 draft customs code establishes basic 
concepts  (Art.  142).  For  exports,  in  line  with  Article  18  of  Presidential  Decree  No. 
157/20 of 3 June 2020, the exchange office of MINDCOM issues certificates of origin 
for all exported products. 

The  concept  of  trade  facilitation  goes  beyond  customs  issues.  The  WTO  defines  trade 
facilitation as the “simplification, modernization and harmonization of  export and import 
processes”.  Trade  facilitation  is  important  because  it  can  have  a  major  impact  on  the 
reduction of trade costs. 

The multilateral framework for trade facilitation is constituted by the WTO Trade Facilitation 
Agreement (TFA), which was agreed at the 9th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Bali 
and entered into force in February 2017. Angola accepted it on 09 April 2019. It has also 
notified its implementation commitments under the different categories to the  WTO and 
has for far largely progressed with implementation line with the notifications made; with 
26.9% of all commitments implemented as of 24 September 2021.175 

Although  reforms  are  progressing,  some  –  including  some  which  are  expected  to 
significantly  reduce  the  cost  of  importing  and  exporting,  such  as  the  Single  Window  for 
External Trade (JUCE) – have face challenges in implementation (see Annex G for further 
details).  As  a  result,  for  the  time  being  the  cost  of  exporting  as  well  as  importing,176 
continues  to  be  comparatively  high  (Figure  19):  Angola  lags  behind  some  regional 
competitors,  as  well  as  the  Sub-Saharan  average,  both  for  export  and  imports,  and 
regarding both documentary and border compliance costs. 

173  https://agt.minfin.gov.ao/PortalAGT/#!/servicos-aduaneiros//operador-economico-autorizado 
174  Presidential Decree No. 293/18 of 03 December 2018. 
175  See the WTO’s TFA Database at https://tfadatabase.org/members/angola [accessed 24 September 2021]. 
176  Both  are  important  to be  considered,  as discussed  above,  because exporters  typically depend on  imported 

inputs, and hence facilitating import procedures will increased export competitiveness. 

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Figure  19:  Compliance  cost  of  trading  across  the  border  in  Angola  and  comparator 
countries, as of June 2019 (USD) 

a) Cost to export 

b) Cost to import 

1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

240

825

160

602

179
317

348

250

745

786

55

1257

173

603

1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

460

1030

564

1077

287

73

676

691

60
399

63
145

67
98

Border compliance

Documentary compliance

Border compliance

Documentary compliance

Source: World Bank, Doing Business 2020, http://www.doingbusiness.org [accessed 15 June 2021] 

Similarly,  the  time  required  to  export  still  exceeds  the  time  required  in  other  regional 
countries and the Sub-Saharan African average (Figure 20). 

Figure 20: Compliance time to trade across the border in Angola and comparator countries, 
as of June 2019 (hours) 

a) Time to export 

b) Time to import 

400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0

96

164

36
66

18
5

90

74

120

128

68

92

72

97

400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0

120

242

96

126

36
87

96

72

3
4

16
9

3
6

Border compliance

Documentary compliance

Border compliance

Documentary compliance

Source: World Bank, Doing Business 2020, http://www.doingbusiness.org [accessed 15 June 2021] 

1.3.3.3  EPA Impact 

One effect of the EPA rules on customs and trade facilitation could stem from its rules of 
origin.  Specifically,  cumulation  rules  in  the  EPA  are  more  lenient  than  those  under  the 
EU’s  GSP  and  EBA.  A  detailed  comparison  goes  beyond  the  scope  of  this  study; 
nevertheless Table 7 provides an overall summary. Effectively, cumulation rules of the GSP 
would make it hard for Angolan exports to the EU to benefit from preferences if they relied 
on inputs from  other SADC countries beyond the levels  established in the conditions  for 
“sufficient working”). Therefore, the EPA provides a benefit and would be conducive to the 
development of regional value chains. At the same time, this benefit is expected to accrue 
only  in  the  long  term,  as  presently  (and  also  in  the  foreseeable  future)  all  of  Angola’s 
exports to the EU are goods “wholly obtained” in Angola. 

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Table 7: Comparison of cumulation rules in the GSP and EPA rules of origin 

Bilateral 
cumulation 

Diagonal 
cumulation 

GSP 
✓  
(more than “insufficient working or processing”) 

(✓)  
(only regional cumulation with other GSP countries in 
the same GSP group; plus extended and cross-regional 
cumulation if requested and authorised by the EU) 

EPA 
✓  
(more than “insufficient working or 
processing”) 
✓  
(inputs from other SADC EPA States, 
ACP EPA States, EU OCTs, EBA & 
GSP beneficiary countries) 

Source: Own preparation based on legal texts. 

In  terms  of  potential  requirements  for  Angola  to  change  its  customs  regime  or  its 
implementation  (leaving  aside  tariff  issues),  an  obligation  to  change  the  customs  fee 
structure  from  the  current  one  based  on  ad  valorem  fees  to  one  based  on  the  cost  of 
service provided might arise; it could also be argued that the currently different level of 
customs  fees  (2%  on  imports;  0.5%  on  exports)  constitutes  an  “indirect  protection  to 
domestic products”, which is explicitly not allowed in line with Article 27(1) of the EPA . 
Such  a  change  in  the  fee  structure  would  likely  have  a  negative  impact  on  government 
revenues177 but at the same time reduce transaction costs for traders, thereby facilitating 
trade. 

In other areas related to customs issues, the anticipated impact of the EPA is unequivocally 
positive, primarily through technical assistance: the EPA contains a commitment by the 
EU to assist SADC EPA countries in customs matters, notably those areas where Angola’s 
capacities  have  been  identified  as  being  limited,  such  as  risk  assessment,  origin 
verification, or related to the operation and the mutual recognition of AEO programmes. 

1.3.4  Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, technical barriers to trade (TBT) and 

including technical regulations 

1.3.4.1  EPA provisions and implementation experience 

EPA  rules  on  SPS  are  contained  in  Chapter  VI  of  Part  II.  The  Parties  reaffirm  their 
commitment  to  the  WTO  SPS  Agreement,  the  International  Plant  Protection  Convention 
(IPPC), the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the World Organisation for Animal Health 
(OIE) (Art. 59), the scope and definitions of which also guide the EPA SPS provisions (Art. 
61). 

Further provisions relate, among others, to the transparency and the obligation to inform 
the other Party about SPS import requirements, as well as the application of the zoning 
principle (Art. 63); exchange of information on animal diseases and plan health (Art. 64). 
In addition, Article 67 provides for cooperation, capacity building and technical assistance 
in SPS matters, although it does not include a specific commitment by the EU to provide 
support.  However,  Article  13  on  cooperation  priorities  lists  SPS  and  TBT  among  the 
priorities. 

EPA  rules  on  TBT  are  contained  in  Chapter  V  of  Part  II.  The  Parties  reaffirm  their 
commitment to the WTO TBT Agreement (Art. 51), the scope and definitions of which also 
guide the EPA TBT provisions (Art. 53). 

The Parties also undertake to cooperate, including with regional authorities, and within the 
region more generally, on matters concerning TBTs to facilitate trade (Art. 54). 

Provisions on transparency in TBT matters (Art. 55) are on a best endeavour basis, except 
for the establishment of an early warning mechanism on new or changed measures in the 

177  For  a  quantitative  assessment  of  the  magnitude  of  this  effect,  more  detailed  information  on  imports  and 

exports at transaction level would be required. 

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EU that might affect exports by the SADC EPA countries; there is no requirement by the 
SADC EPA countries to establish a similar mechanism that might affect EU exports. 

1.3.4.2  Current status in Angola 

Angola’s  regulatory  framework  addressing  SPS  issues  is  relatively  well  developed  and 
recent. Among the relevant laws and regulations are the following ones: 

•  Animal Health  Law (Law No. 4/04 of 13 August 2004):  establishes the general rules 
governing the production, trafficking, import and export of animals, their products and 
by-products throughout the national territory. 

•  Plant Health Law (Law No. 5/21 of 3 February 2021): establishes the rules aimed at 
ensuring  plant  protection  of  agricultural  and  forestry  production  and  exploitation,  as 
well as transit, trade, import and export of plants, parts of plants and regulated objects 
intended for marketing and consumption. 

•  Regulation on the subjection of Laboratory Analyses of Products  Intended for Human 
and  Animal  Consumption  (Presidential  Decree  No.  179/18  of  2  August  2018):  Lays 
down the rules applicable to laboratory analyses for products intended for human and 
animal consumption, with a view to safeguarding the public interest and the protection 
of public and animal health and the environment. 

•  Livestock Regulation (Presidential Decree No. 104/15 of 12 May): lays down the rules 
governing the exercise of the activity of livestock farms, in particular the conditions of 
general management of the holding, zoo sanitary management, veterinary medicinal 
products  and  biological  products,  food,  environment  and  infrastructure,  handling  of 
animals and their products, including wildlife farms. 

A  number  of  initiatives  to  improve  food  security  have  also  been  passed.  For  example, 
among  other  initiatives,  Council  of  Ministers  Resolution  130/09  of  29  December  2009 
approved the National Food Security Strategy (Estratégia Nacional de Segurança Alimentar 
e  Nutricional,  ENSAN)  and  corresponding  action  plans.  Presidential  Decree  176/17  of  3 
August  2017  approved  the  financing  for  the  project  “Strengthening  Resilience  and  Food 
and Nutritional Security in Angola” (Fortalecimento da Resilência e da Segurança Alimentar 
e Nutricional em Angola, FRESAN). 

The  administration  and  enforcement  of  these  laws  and  initiatives  has  however  been 
hampered  by  human  and  financial  capacity  constraints,  as  is  analysed  in  more  detail  in 
Annex G to the main report. 

In terms of regional and international commitments: 

•  Although required from SADC member states, Angola has not yet established a National 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. The functions of this Committee 
are  provisionally  exercised  by  CODEX-Angola.  Similarly,  no  representatives  for  the 
SADC SPS Coordination Committee have been appointed; 

•  At the WTO, Angola has not been active in relation to SPS measures  in general. For 
example,  no  notifications  on  SPS  measures  have  been  submitted  or  specific  trade 
concerns against other WTO members raised;178 

•  Angola is not yet a signatory to the IPPC, although it has taken steps towards accession; 
•  Angola has signed, but not ratified the Rotterdam Convention on Pesticides. 

In addition to these regulatory and administrative issues, a key impediment for Angolan 
businesses  is  their  limited  capacity  to  meet  product  safety,  quality  and  technical 
requirements in export markets. The EU, motivated by the protection of consumers and 
the  need  to  address  climate  change  and  related  issues,  is  particularly  demanding  and 

178  See http://spsims.wto.org [accessed 05 May 2021]. 

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further  tightening  requirements  in  the  context  of  e.g.  the  Farm  to  Fork  strategy.  This 
challenge  stems  both  from  capacity  limitations  of  farms  and  businesses  in  producing 
according  to  requirements  and  weaknesses  in  the  quality  infrastructure,  particularly  in 
relation  to  conformity  assessment,  with  challenges  including  human  resources  capacity, 
technical knowledge, obsolete or missing laboratory equipment, absence of accreditation, 
etc. (for further analysis, see Annex G). 

1.3.4.3  EPA Impact 

In terms of regulatory and administrative issues related to SPS measures, upon accession 
to  the  EPA,  Angola  would  likely  have  to  ratify  the  IPPC;  but  this  is  already  in  process. 
Furthermore, it would need to notify the EU about its relevant SPS norms, regulations and 
requirements (as well as  standards and technical regulations), as well  as any upcoming 
changes to them, which again should pose few challenges. More demanding might be an 
effective notification of the EU about animal diseases and plan health issues encountered 
in the country – as the administrative capacity analysis shows, e.g. the absence of sanitary 
surveys prevents the authorities from systematically identifying diseases and pests across 
the territory (see Annex G). 

To  significantly  expand  agricultural  exports  under  the  EPA,  a  strengthening  of  the 
capacities to meet EU SPS and TBT requirements is indispensable. This calls for technical 
and financial support by the EU and its member  states both for the development of the 
quality infrastructure and to businesses. Technical assistance under the 11th EDF in this 
area is provided in the project “Support to safety and quality standards towards a national 
sustainable and inclusive economic growth in Angola”.179 Such continued support will be 
crucial for Angola to expand and diversify exports to the EU under the EPA. 

The  transparency  provisions  foreseen  in  the  TBT  and  SPS  chapters  would,  if  the  proper 
domestic  mechanisms  for  onward  information  sharing  with  domestic  businesses  are  in 
place, help Angola’s export oriented businesses to adapt to changing requirements in the 
EU  on  time.  To  ensure  that  this  happens,  considering  the  administrative  constraints 
identified  in  Annex  G,  EU  support  to  establish  such  a  mechanism  might  be  required.  In 
addition,  assistance  to  Angolan  exporters  in  meeting  changed/tightened  import 
requirements in the EU could be considered. 

1.3.5 Trade defence 

1.3.5.1  EPA provisions and implementation experience 

Anti-dumping and countervailing (anti-subsidy) measures are outside of the scope of 
the EPA. Regarding these trade defence instruments, the EPA refers to the relevant WTO 
rules;  similarly,  the  dispute  settlement  provisions  under  the  EPA  do  not  apply  to  anti-
dumping and countervailing measures (Art. 32). 

With regard to multilateral safeguards, the EPA establishes no WTO-plus obligations on 
the SADC EPA countries, but the EU committed to exclude imports from SADC EPA states 
whenever it applies multilateral safeguards, including agricultural safeguards, for a period 
of five years from the entry into force of the EPA (Art. 33).180 The Joint Council is mandated 
to review the operation, and determine an extension, of this commitment.  

The EPA also foresees a number of bilateral safeguards, as follows: 

179  This project is expected to start in 2022 or early 2023 last three years. 
180  According to Article 113(8) of the EU-SADC EPA, “if pending the entry into force of this Agreement, the Parties 
decide to apply it provisionally, all references in this Agreement to the date of entry into force shall be deemed 
to refer to the date such provisional application takes effect.” 

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•  General bilateral safeguards, where as a result of the EPA preferences imports from the 
other  Party  increase  and  cause  or  threaten  to  cause  serious  injury  to  the  domestic 
industry  or  disturbances  in  the  sector.  Measures  may  consist  of  the  suspension  of 
further  tariff  reductions,  increases  in  tariffs  (up  to  MFN  rates),  or  tariff  quotas,  and 
must not exceed 2 years (Art. 34); 

•  Agricultural  safeguards  can  be  applied  by  SACU  members  for  a  limited  number  of 
products listed in Annex IV to the EPA provided that imports from the EU exceed listed 
quantities (Art. 35); 

•  Food security safeguards can be applied by SADC EPA countries “where essential for 
the  prevention  or  relief  of  critical  general  or  local  shortages  of  foodstuffs  or  other 
products in order to ensure food security of a SADC EPA State” (Art. 36); 

•  BLNS transitional safeguards can be applied, during the first 12 years of the EPA, on a 

number of sensitive goods listed in Annex V to the EPA (Art. 37); and 

• 

Infant industry protection safeguards can be applied by the SADC EPA countries except 
South Africa for a period of up to 8 years “where a product originating in the EU, as a 
result of the reduction of duties, is being imported into its territory in such increased 
quantities  and  under  such  conditions  as  to  threaten  the  establishment  of  an  infant 
industry,  or  cause  or  threaten  to  cause  disturbances  to  an  infant  industry  producing 
like or directly competitive products” (Art. 38). 

In  June  2018,  SACU  states  introduced  a  general  bilateral  safeguard  measure  on  frozen 
bone-in  chicken  cuts,  claiming  that  an  increase  in  the  volume  of  imports  from  the  EU 
caused or threatened to cause a disturbance and/or serious injury. The EU challenged the 
decision on various grounds. After bilateral consultations held in 2019 did not resolve the 
dispute,  the  European  Commission  in  April  2020  requested  the  establishment  of  an 
arbitration panel.181 

1.3.5.2  Current status in Angola 

Article  11  of  the  2020  Customs  Tariff182  establishes  basic  rules  for  the  application  of 
safeguards and anti-dumping measures. It assigns the responsibility to legislate and apply 
such measures to the Ministry of Finance and MINDCOM: 

“The Ministry of Finance may, by means of an Executive Decree, at the request of the 
Ministry of Commerce or the Ministry of Industry: 

1.  Apply safeguard measures to a particular commodity if it has been determined that 
that good is being  imported into the  national territory in  such  high quantities, in 
absolute terms, or in relation to domestic production, and in such conditions causing 
or threatening losses, records the domestic production branch of identical, similar, 
or directly competing products. 

2.  Apply the measures that are necessary to repress, neutralize or prevent the practice 
of dumping, in relation to imported goods, where such practice may cause or cause 
significant  damage  to  national  production  or  the  considerable  delay  for  the 
installation of a new branch of production in the country. 

3.  Require in the imports of certain goods the pre-action of a reasonable guarantee, 
in the form of deposit in cash, securities issued or guaranteed by the State, or by 
means of a bank guarantee or security insurance, in accordance with the terms that 
may  be  defined  by  the  Ministry  of  Finance,  to  ensure  the  assessment  of  anti-

181  See https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2020/april/tradoc_158717.pdf.  
182  Presidential Legislative Decree 10/19 of 24 November 2019, Diário de República, 29 November 2019. 

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dumping duties or countervailing duties that may be imposed, pending the defining 
verification of the facts, in all cases where dumping or subsidy is suspected.” 

No  further  regulation  or  guidance  on  the  trade  defence  regime  is  provided;  and  the 
institutional structures for the implementation of the regime have not yet been put in place 
(see Annex G for further information). 

1.3.5.3  EPA Impact 

As  the  EPA  establishes  no  obligations  on  the  Parties  on  anti-dumping  and 
countervailing  measures,  it  has  no  impact  for  Angola  regarding  such  measures. 
Nevertheless,  considering  that  the  current  trade  defence  regime  in  Angola  is 
underdeveloped regarding anti-dumping measures, and does not provide for countervailing 
measures  at  all,  it  could  be  considered  to  provide  assistance  for  the  establishment  of  a 
WTO compliant anti-dumping and countervailing measures regime. The current legal basis 
appears to fall short of the requirements established in the relevant WTO Agreements. 

Regarding multilateral safeguards, Angola’s accession to the EPA will allow it to benefit 
from the EU’s obligation to exclude the SADC EPA states from any multilateral safeguards 
applied. As, however, the EU does not apply multilateral safeguards in practice, this is a 
rather  theoretical  benefit.  For  the  establishment  of  a  functioning  Angolan  multilateral 
safeguards regime, the same considerations as made in the previous paragraph apply. 

With regard to bilateral safeguards, Angola could in principle resort to general bilateral 
safeguards, food security safeguards and infant industry protection safeguards; but again, 
a  functioning  trade  defence  regime  would  be  required.  In  the  accession  negotiations, 
Angola could also aim at providing a list of certain sensitive products (such as wheat flour) 
which could be covered under the agricultural safeguards. 

1.3.6 Public procurement 

1.3.6.1  EPA provisions and implementation experience 

EPA provisions on government procurement are restricted to cooperation; the Parties make 
no  commitments  towards  opening  their  respective  government  procurement  markets 
(Article 17). 

1.3.6.2  Current status in Angola 

Decree  23/19  establishes  that  domestic  producers  of  goods  listed  in  the  Decree  benefit 
from  preferences  in  public  procurement  (Art.  5(2)).  In  addition,  state  entities  or  their 
suppliers  can  import  listed  products  only  “after  exhausting  all  possibilities  of  their 
acquisition  in  Angola”  (Art.  13(1)).  The  extent  to  which  the  Decree  is  implemented  in 
practice could however not be established. 

With respect to international agreements, Angola is not a Party to the WTO Government 
Procurement Agreement (GPA). 

1.3.6.3  EPA Impact 

As the EPA does not create any obligations by the Parties in terms of public procurement, 
no impact on Angola is expected. 

1.4  Regional Integration 

Angola’s trade  with other SADC countries has  been  relatively  small in recent  years.  The 
share exports to SADC decreased from 5.1% in 2016 to 1.5% in 2020; if only non-oil, non-
diamond exports are considered, the importance of SADC as a market for Angola is more 

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important  –  but  the  majority  of  exports  is  destined  for  the  DR  Congo,  which  is  not 
participating in the SADC Trade Protocol; about 15% of NOND exports go there; whereas 
the other SADC countries together accounted for between 2% and 6% of Angola’s NOND 
exports (Figure 21). Angola’s exports to the rest of Africa are also limited, accounting for 
less  than  1%  of  total  exports.  And  although  African  markets  are  important  for  Angola’s 
NOND exports, their share has declined from 23% of total NOND exports in 2018 to 12% 
in  2020.  In  principle,  in  2021  application  of  the  AfCFTA  started  and  should  lead  to 
increasing exports to the continent; however, as implementation modalities are still in the 
making, it remains to be seen how big the effect of the AfCFTA on Angola’s exports will be. 

Figure 21: Angola’s exports to SADC and Africa, 2016-20 (USD million and % of total) 

a) Total exports of Angola 

b) Non-oil, non-diamond exports (excl. HS 27 % 71) 

45,000

40,000

35,000

30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

0.4%

0.4%

0.8%

0.6%

84% 89%

90%

88%

0.4%

90%

5.1% 4.9% 2.2% 1.5%
10% 6%

1.5%
7% 10% 8%
2020
2019
2018

2016

2017

1,200

1,000

8%

800

600

400

200

0

46%

14%

6%

17%

38%

2%
17%

24% 30%

23% 14%

12%

36% 42%
42%
3%
5%
7%
19% 25%
14%
16% 17% 24%

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

EU

SADC

Other

Africa

EU DR Congo

SADC TP Other

Africa

Source: Own calculations based on AGT 

The importance of SADC as a supplier for Angola is relatively higher, about 6% to 8% of 
Angola’s imports are form other SADC countries, and this share has been quite stable over 
time in recent years (Figure 22). In absolute terms, as Angola’s total imports have been 
declining, the value of imports from SADC has declined proportionately. At the same time, 
imports from other African countries have decreased faster than average since 2018, so 
that their share in Angola’s total imports declined from 7.7% in 2018 to 2.4% in 2020.  

Angola’s trade balance  with SADC has switched from a surplus until 2017 to a deficit in 
2019 and 2020 (Figure  23) because Angola’s exports to SADC decreased faster than its 
imports  from  SADC.  The  trade  balance  with  the  rest  of  Africa  has  been  consistently 
negative  since  2016  but  improved  substantially  since  2018,  reducing  the  then  deficit  of 
USD 1 billion to USD 128 million in 2020 – although against a very low level of trade with 
Angola  in  that  year,  of  slightly  above  USD  300  million  (exports  and  imports  combined). 
Both accession to the SADC Trade Protocol and the full implementation would be expected 
to contribute to growing trade with SADC and the rest of Africa. 

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Figure 22: Angola’s imports from SADC and 
Africa, 2016-20 (USD million & % of total) 

Figure  23:  Angola’s  trade  balance  with 
SADC and Africa, 2016-20 (USD million) 

16,000

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2.2%

60%

7.8%

7.7%

6.1%

4.4%

51% 56%

49%

2.4%

7.4%

6.0%

5.7%

59%

1,500

1,000

500

0

-500

-1,000

-1,500

2,000

30%

35% 30% 41%

6.7%

31%

0

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

EU

SADC

Other

Africa

Source: Own calculations based on AGT 

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Exports to SADC

Imports from SADC

Exports to other Africa

Imports from other Africa

Balance SADC

Balance other Africa

Following  the  Mid-Term  Review  (MTR)  of  the  implementation  of  the  SADC  Regional 
Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2015-2020, which was carried out by the 
SADC Secretariat (Aug 2019), it was found that a key milestone in the consolidation of the 
SADC Free Trade Area (FTA) in the first three years of the RISDP implementation has been 
on tariff phase down where all but two Parties to the SADC Trade Protocol have completed 
or are on track to complete the envisaged phase out. Moreover, by end 2017 intra-SADC 
trade  rose  from  USD  58  billion  (2008)  to  just  above  USD  78  billion  (2017)  i.e.  ranging 
between 15%-21% of the region’s total trade with the world, which was significantly lower 
than ASEAN (30%), the EU (60%) and NAFTA (40%). However, intra-SADC trade, though 
small, has been on the rise since 2000 before starting to drop in 2014. The average annual 
increase in Intra-SADC trade for the period 2008-2017 was 4.34%. Over the period 2007-
2017 Intra-SADC exports as a percentage of total exports of goods increased from 15.3% 
to reach 22.4% whilst that of imports increased from 17.5% to 20.6%. The SADC Customs 
Union (CU) was originally set to be established in 2010, but was delayed partly due to the 
delayed  start  of  the  implementation  of  the  FTA  itself;  more  recently,  the  different  EPA 
configurations within SADC and their corresponding negotiations at least slowed progress 
to establish the SADC CU. According to the MTR, supply side constraints, inadequate trade- 
related infrastructure and other trade policy instruments such as Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) 
and restrictive rules of origin in particular on items  of textiles and clothing, are some of 
the main causes of the relatively stagnant growth in the levels of intra-SADC trade. 

1.5  Impact on EU Outermost Regions 

The  nine  outermost  regions  (ORs)  of  the  EU  consist  of  six  French  overseas  territories 
(French  Guiana,  Guadeloupe,  Martinique,  Mayotte,  La  Réunion  and  Saint  Martin),  two 
Portuguese autonomous regions (the Azores and Madeira) and one Spanish autonomous 
community (the Canary Islands). Table 8 shows the values of exports and imports to/from 
the EU and Angola for eight ORs183 in the last five years. In general, with the exception of 
Madeira and to a certain extent French Guiana, the ORs’ imports from the EU (as well as 
total imports) are much larger than their exports. Second, trade with Angola of any of the 

183  The French Statistical Service does not provide data for Saint Martin; accordingly, it is excluded from the 

analysis. 

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ORs is insignificant; given cultural ties, this might be different for the Azores and Madeira, 
but no trade data by country could be obtained for these two ORs. 

In general, therefore, given the minimal trade between the ORs and Angola, the effect of 
Angola’s accession to the EPA on trade between Angola and the  ORs is estimated to be 
negligible. 

Table 8: Value of exports/imports to/from the EU and Angola for eight ORs (€ million) 

Note: Trade values with EU exclude France for Guadeloupe, Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and La Réunion; Spain 
for  Canary  Islands;  and  Portugal  for  Azores  and  Madeira;  for  Azores  and  Madeira,  no  breakdown  of  ROW  by 
country is available. 
Source: Own compilation based on Foreign Trade Statistics of France (http://lekiosque.finances.gouv.fr/ 
portail_default.asp), Foreign Trade Statistics of Spain (http://datacomex.comercio.es/), and National Institute 
of Statistics of Portugal (https://ine.pt/xportal/xmain?xpid=INE&xpgid=ine_base_dados). 

A  potential  impact  of  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  on  the  ORs  could  exist  at  the 
sector/product level. As the PE model does not represent the ORs as a separate region, a 
matching analysis between OR and Angolan exports has been used to estimate this impact. 
The logic is the following: if OR exports to the EU compete with Angolan exports to the EU, 
there  could  be  a  negative  effect  for  the  ORs  in  the  sectors  where  Angola’s  exports  are 
expanding. Conversely, no impact on OR imports, even at the sector or product level, is 
expected because of the negligible effect of the Angola’s accession to the EPA on EU trade, 
and the non-existent exports by Angola to the ORs. 

Table 9 lists the main exports of ORs to the EU, highlighting those that may face stronger 
competition from Angola as a SADC EPA country when compared to being a GSP beneficiary 
country,  based  on  the  PE  model  results:  this  applies  to  bananas  and  crustaceans. 
Nevertheless,  considering  the  small  absolute  increases  in  Angola’s  exports  of  these 
products to the EU (not reaching €10 million for any product), their effect on the EU market 
(increase in supply) will be negligible. It is also to be considered that EPA accession would 
reinstate (respectively continue) the preferences in the EU market that Angola currently 

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2015201620172018201920152016201720182019AzoresEU63.553.951.257.179.6134.6133.599.1ROW40.530.036.933.535.845.843.743.6Canary IslandsAGO1.23.40.60.30.3EU255.0261.9250.2301.8342.31,826.92,074.82,514.52,729.62,335.8ROW2,190.11,794.42,410.22,604.92,331.51,138.71,293.81,761.21,222.21,187.5GuadeloupeAGO0.0EU27.927.131.019.018.8240.2281.0291.7ROW26.333.638.345.429.5588.5630.7745.2GuianaAGOEU21.725.913.0297.4251.5438.0448.5427.5ROW472.776.8881.2267.2559.0289.5340.2440.5MadeiraEU110.698.8153.2229.7272.1130.8158.1152.6ROW83.964.3105.0140.8119.518.421.219.5MartiniqueAGO0.0EU3.97.26.06.57.5223.4210.4233.3ROW54.232.329.030.143.0703.5734.4708.7MayotteAGO0.0EU0.20.10.01.70.363.364.275.1ROW5.14.45.34.04.5179.8191.6208.0RéunionAGO1.2EU58.869.780.655.454.8618.2614.7624.5ROW106.8113.686.569.872.61,199.01,332.81,343.6ExportsImports 
 
Sustainability Impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
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already  enjoys  as  an  LDC/EBA  beneficiary  country  –  therefore,  the  calculated  export 
increases compared to the baseline are not actually export increases but help maintain the 
current level of exports (and would only in the long run lead to export increases, as supply 
side  constraints  are  overcome).  For  the  foreseeable  future,  Angola’s  shares  in  total  EU 
imports of any of the goods considered (bananas, crustaceans) will remain insignificant. 
We therefore conclude that Angola’s accession to the EU-SADC EPA will have no impact on 
the ORs. 

Table 9: Top export sectors/products from ORs to the EU 

Mayotte 

Martinique 

French Guiana 

OR 
Guadeloupe 

La Réunion 
Canary Islands 

Export sectors 
Sugar (about 50% of total exports), waste, bananas/tropical fruits, yachts, perfumes, 
spirits 
Aircraft  &  spacecraft  (about  80%  of  total  exports),  other  equipment,  machinery  and 
motor vehicles 
Waste (about 30% of total exports), yachts, spirits (about 10%), machinery, vehicles, 
motors 
Electrical  equipment,  motors,  meat,  jewellery  –  due  to  very  low  exports  strong 
fluctuations from year to year 
Sugar (about 50% of total exports), spirits, waste, canned fish, car parts 
Vegetables  (about  25%  of  total  exports),  aircraft  &  spacecraft,  vehicles,  machinery, 
essential oils, fish and crustaceans 
Animals  (about  30%  of  total  exports),  fish  and  crustaceans,  dairy  products, 
processed food and beverages, meat and fish preparations, machinery 
Processed  food  and  beverages  (about  30%  of  total  exports),  transport  equipment, 
boats, alcoholic beverages; animals, fish and crustaceans 
Note: Products potentially facing more competition on the EU market as a result of Angola’s accession to the 
EPA are in bold. 
Source: Own compilation based on Foreign Trade Statistics of France (http://lekiosque.finances.gouv.fr/ 
portail_default.asp), Foreign Trade Statistics of Spain (http://datacomex.comercio.es/), and National Institute 
of Statistics of Portugal (https://ine.pt/xportal/xmain?xpid=INE&xpgid=ine_base_dados). 

Madeira 

Azores 

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Annex D: Background Analysis for Social, Labour & Gender Impact Assessment 

Annex D.1: Baseline for Social Impact Analysis 

Employment 

Factors  influencing  the  situation  on  the  labour  market  include  macroeconomic 
developments, as well as the performance of the oil sector. With the third largest GDP in 
sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria and South Africa, Angola is the second biggest oil producer 
on the African continent (Société Générale 2021184), and mineral fuels represented 95.7% 
of Angolan exports in 2019, i.e., USD 32.8 billion out of a total export value of USD 33.8 
billion (ITC Trade Map, OPEC, 2019). Thanks to high oil prices, until the early 2010s the 
country experienced one of the highest rates of economic growth in the world after a three-
decade long civil war. However, without a diversified economy, Angola became vulnerable 
to changes in the global oil market, and the fall of the world oil price in 2014 (which reduced 
oil  revenues  from  35.3%  in  2013/2014  to  17.5%  of  GDP  in  2017)  caused  a  severe 
economic  slowdown  and  recession  in  the  country,  followed  by  the  Government’s 
stabilisation programme (African Development Bank Group, 2020). The situation has most 
recently been exacerbated by stringent measures put in place by the Angolan Government 
to contain COVID-19 (IMF, 2020). Entering its fourth year of recession in 2019, according 
to the National Institute of Statistics, in the first quarter of 2021 GDP fell by -3.4%.185 

In the last few years, the Government started planning activities, such as improvement in 
business environment and the ease of doing business, support for entrepreneurship and 
establishment of new enterprises, attracting foreign investment, economy diversification 
and actions supporting education, including vocational and technical training, which may 
contribute to job creation and strengthen independence from the oil sector. In this context, 
the  National  Development  Plan  2018-2022  foresees  actions  in  areas  such  as  education, 
human resources development, social protection, employment, working conditions, export 
diversification,  import  substitution,  business  environment,  productivity,  and  support  for 
production, all of which are likely to shape the labour market, prospects for employment 
creation and job quality in the coming years (Governo de Angola, 2018). In 2018-2019, 
86.9%  of  the  working  age  population186  (15-64 years  of  age)  were  economically  active, 
i.e., either employed or unemployed but actively looking for a job (88.4% among men and 
85.5% among women). The rate of inactivity, i.e., persons being for a longer term outside 
the labour market, was 13.5% (11.6% among men and 15.1% among women). The labour 
market participation rate (or economic activity rate) was higher in the rural areas (90.7% 
compared  to  84.6%  in  urban  areas).  In  2015-2016,  the  total  participation  rate  was  the 
same,  at  87%.  Out  of  the  economically  active  persons,  in  2018-2019,  71.0%  were 
employed187  and  29.0%  unemployed  (27.4%  among  men  and  30.6%  among  women, 
36.5%  in  urban  areas  and  17.1%  in  rural  ones)  (INE,  2020  and  2017).  In  2020, 
unemployment  increased  to  34%,  and  among  youth  to  56.4%,  up  from  from  54.2%  in 
2019 (AfDB, 2021). In 2021, the labour market participation rate increased to 90.1%, the 
employment  rate  came  close  again  to  pre-COVID  levels  (at  69.5%),  and  the  same 
happened  to  unemployment  rate  (falling  to  30.5%)  (INE,  2021).  In  2015-2016,  the 
unemployment rate was lower, at 20%.  

184  References for this annex are provided at the end of the annex. 
185  https://www.ine.gov.ao/inicio/estatisticas  
186  In 2018-2019, the working age (15-64 years) population in Angola was 15.7 million, the economically active 

population 13.6 million. 9.7 million persons worked and 3.9 million were unemployed (INE, 2020). 

187  Among those working, 48.3% were self-employed, 21.5% worked as non-paid family member in subsistence 
economy, 18.5% in private sector, 11.2% in public sector and 0.5% in cooperatives and others (INE, 2020). 

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Across provinces, in 2018-2019 the labour market participation rate was lowest in Cunene 
(78%) and  Cabinda (80.8%) and highest in Cuanza Norte (94%),  Lunda Norte, Moxico, 
Cuando Cubango, and Huíla (all 92%-93%).188 

Figure 1: Administrative map of Angola (provinces) 

Source: Nations Online Project: https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/angola_map2.htm  

Across  sectors,  in  2018-2019,  agriculture,  forestry,  and  fisheries  accounted  for  46%  of 
total  employment,  followed  by  wholesale  and  retail  trade  and  repair  of  vehicles  (21%), 
public  administration,  defence,  and  social  security  (9.0%),  transport,  storage,  and 

188  In 2015-2016, the overview across provinces looked quite differently, with the lowest rates being recorded 
e.g.,  in  Cuando  Cubango  (77%)  and  Lunda  Norte  (78%)  and  the  highest  one  (95%)  in  Cuanza  Sul  (INE, 
2017). 

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communication (5.0%), domestic service and other services (4.6%), industry, energy, and 
water  supply  (4.6%),  education  (3.9%),  construction  (3.5%),  health  care  and  social 
services (0.9%) and financial activities (0.7%) (INE, 2020; 2017).189 In 2017 and 2018 
(jointly),  76,000  jobs  were  created  in  private  sector:  21,550  in  transport,  19,910  in 
construction, 9,780 in agriculture, 6,590 in industry, 4,930 in trade, 3,950 in the hospitality 
sector, 2,850 in information and telecommunication technology, 2,200 in water and energy 
supply, 2,070 in mining, and 460 in fisheries (Ministério da Administração Pública, Trabalho 
e Segurança Social, 2019). 

In the Human Development Index, Angola ranked 148th out of 189 countries in 2020.190 
The illiteracy rate in the country is estimated at 25%, and the population with low education 
level  (mainly  women)  lives  predominantly  in  rural  areas.  In  this  context,  the  National 
Development Plan 2018-2022 sets out actions to reduce illiteracy and improve education 
quality  at  all  levels,  including  vocational  and  technical  training,  and  national  system  of 
qualifications. It also envisages support for employability (with focused actions for youth) 
through  better  employment  services  and  support  for  establishment  and  operation  of 
MSMEs, notably in sectors chosen for export promotion, i.e., agriculture, forestry, fisheries 
and  marine  resources,  extractive  industry,  extraction  and  processing  of  oil  and  gas, 
processing industry and tourism (Governo de Angola, 2018). 

Sectors  important  for  the  Angolan  economy  and  employment,  i.e.,  agriculture  and 
fisheries, are presented in detail in two dedicated case studies (Annexes B1 and B2) and 
below. In addition, below we provide data regarding another sector being of importance 
from the employment point of view, i.e., retail trade. 

Given that the economic model estimates that exports of bananas to the EU will be higher 
thanks to the Angola’s accession to the EPA (than in its absence), the description below 
focuses  mainly  on  this  part  of  the  sector.  Accordingly,  production  in  the  banana  sector 
reached 4.0 million tonnes in 2018/2019 in Angola (Statista, 2021) accounting for 76% of 
the  total  fruit  production  in  the  country,  with  pineapple  taking  11%,  citrus  fruits  7.8%, 
mango 4.5% and avocado 1%. 66% of the total production came from family undertakings 
and 34% from agricultural enterprises. The main provinces accounting jointly for around 
60% of fruit production in Angola include Benguela, Cuanza Sul, Uíge, Bengo and Cabinda 
(MINAGRIF, 2019). Out of these, Cuanza Sul and Benguela have poverty levels at around 
the  country’s  average  (38%-44%),  while  Uige  and  Bengo  display  higher  levels  (44%-
56%).  At  the  same  time,  Benguela,  Cuanza  Sul  and  Uige  belong  to  provinces  with  the 
highest population density and therefore a large group of poor people (e.g., 1.1 million in 
Cuanza Sul) (World Bank, 2020). Some  of large farms  cultivating fruits and vegetables, 
including bananas exported to the EU are located in Cuanza Sul and  Zaire (close to the 
border  with  Bengo  province)  and  mark  areas  with  potential  for  jobs.  Large  enterprises 
cultivating  fruits  and  vegetables  and  having  banana  plantations  employ  up  to  a  few 
thousand workers each, e.g., 3,500 (AFP, Shine, 2018) or 4,500 (Macao Magazine March 
2020).  Export  in  bananas  to  the  EU  started  after  the  end  of  the  civil  war  in  2016  with 
shipments to Portugal (Quartz Africa, May 2016).  

Given  the  risk  of  increased  competition  on  the  Angolan  market  (in  the  long  term)  with 
imported goods, food producers from several provinces in Angola mentioned the need for 
transport means and improved infrastructure (mainly roads) which would help them to sell 
products  in  towns  and  cities  (in  order  not  to  be  limited  to  the  local  market),  access  to 
finance and to storage space to keep the produce fresh, and an opportunity of business-
to-business  contacts  with  intermediaries  who  would  buy  their  products  and  sell  them  in 

189  In 2015-2016, 34% worked in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, 20% in wholesale and retail trade and repair 
of  vehicles,  12%  in  domestic  services,  9%  in  public  administration,  defence  and  social  security,  5%  in 
construction,  5%  in  other  services,  3%  in  transport,  storage  and  communication,  3%  in  industry,  3%  in 
production of goods and services for own use and 2% in education (INE, 2017). 

190  http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/latest-human-development-index-ranking  

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other  parts  of  the  country  (Angop,  March  2021).  In  2020,  UNDP  and  the  Angolan 
Government launched a pilot project in six informal markets to address COVID-19 related 
challenges and in a longer-term to ensure secure conditions for people to operate there 
(UNDP, May 2020). 

Regarding the fisheries sector, and in particular frozen shrimps, crabs, and prawns, almost 
all Angolan exports in those groups were destined on the EU market in the last few years 
(for further data regarding exports in the fisheries sector, see the dedicated case study). 
The economic model estimates an export increase of frozen shrimps and prawns thanks to 
the Angola’s accession to the EPA (compared to being GSP beneficiary), which in practical 
terms means a return to the current situation and exports comparable with 2019. In 2018-
2020, annual maximum catch permits issued by the Angolan Government were allocated 
to 25 vessels, each with up to 60 persons of crew (which means the total employment of 
up to 1,500 persons) (Diario de Noticias, January 2018, FAO 2011). In 2016, the whole 
fisheries sector engaged 125,442 persons, out of whom 8% (20,000) were women (FAO, 
2018).  Shrimp  breeding,  both  for  the  Angolan  market  and  exports  also  takes  place  in 
aquaculture farms (Ventura Industrial Group). Regarding employment, in aquaculture, in 
2019, 66 enterprises provided around 800 jobs (on average, it is estimated that each of 
enterprises  had  12  employees).  The  fisheries  sector  is  linked  to  ports  in  provinces  with 
high poverty levels, i.e., Benguela and Cuanza Sul, and in addition in Luanda and Namibe. 

Regarding  the  retail  trade  sector,  in  2015,  some  70%-80%  of  trade  in  food  followed 
through  informal  street  vendors  and  informal  markets,  often  specialising  in  one  product 
category. That market share has been retained until 2020. The formal segment includes 
small neighbourhood markets, grocery stores, supermarkets and specialised high-end food 
stores  owned  by  Angolans  and  foreign  retail  chains.  The  latter  recorded  a  period  of 
expansion between 2000 and 2016, with sales in formal stores increasing the market share 
from 5% in 2000 to 20%-30%, accompanying an increase in domestic food production, 
and with food imports falling from 90% (prior to 2013) to 60% of the food offer in retail 
stores in 2015. Challenges include an unfavourable business environment, corruption, skills 
shortages, and gaps in infrastructure (the latter means that formal stores do not expand 
beyond key cities). The economic recession slowed down the sector’s development, with 
the  volatile  exchange  rate  and  high  inflation  meaning  high  prices  of  imported  food  and 
inputs and increasing rental prices. Some retailers were not able to keep the whole range 
of products in stores and subsidised food prices reduced own profits. Retailers present on 
the  Angolan  formal  market  include  investors  from  Angola,  Portugal,  Brazil,  and  South 
Africa.  The  whole  retail  sector  provides  in  total  1.7  million  jobs  (African  Business 
Information, 2015 and 2020). In the informal part of the sector, importers sell products 
from own warehouses and supply suburbs of cities and rural areas. Moreover, small-scale 
resellers buy products abroad and resell them in retail outlets (Lloyds Bank, 2021). Small-
scale farmers sell their products, incl. fruits and vegetables, in informal markets, which in 
many areas represent the main source of food supply for the population (UNDP, May 2020). 
Recent developments in the sector could directly or indirectly facilitate trade in general or 
with the EU under the EPA in particular: e.g., as a result of investment in public housing, 
45,000 apartments were built in Kilamba (30km from downtown Luanda) creating demand 
for furniture and other durable household goods. Vehicle sales grew by 20% annually in 
2017-2019.  There  is  also  increasing  demand  for  food  and  beverages,  while  high  import 
duties mean attractiveness of goods produced locally, incl. through foreign investment, or 
imported (like the EU goods potentially in the future) with reduced tariffs. Angola is one of 
the  top  beer  consumers  in  Africa  and  the  second  biggest  market  for  spirits  and  wine 
(Afpedia, 2019). The beverage industry in Angola provided 56,000 direct and indirect jobs 
in 2016 (African Business Inf., 2016). 

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Informality191 

Informality started increasing in the 1980s with the move from a centrally managed to a 
market economy, and continued over the following decades, as a result of market failures 
(lack of adequate reforms, salaries being insufficient to secure decent income and inability 
of public and private sector to generate enough formal jobs), migratory flows during the 
military conflict and a decreasing supply of goods and services provided by the state. In 
2010, 50% of value of goods and services traded in the capital, Luanda originated from 
the informal market. In 2010s, the Government launched a series of legislative and non-
legislative  measures  aiming  to  encourage  the  formalisation  of  economy,  including  the 
simplification of procedures to establish and run MSMEs, facilitating their access to markets 
and new market opportunities, incl. development of new products and services, access to 
financial services, incl. microcredits, purchase by the Government of agricultural products 
from farmers, and others (Ernesto, 2015). According to national data, in 2020 80.4% of 
economically active persons in Angola were in informal employment (65.4% in urban areas 
and  93.7%  in  rural  areas,  70.5%  among  men  and  90%  among  women)  (INE,  2021). 
According  to  the  World  Bank,  in  2018-2019,  72.4%  of  economically  active  persons  in 
Angola were in a situation of informality, not being covered by labour legislation nor social 
security (74.7% of women and 65.6% of men) (World Bank, 2020; INE, 2020). It was also 
estimated that the informal sector contributed around 40% to the national GDP (Governo 
de  Angola,  2018).  Activities  prevailing  in  the  informal  sector  include  trade,  transport  of 
persons  and  goods,  services  (personal  services,  repair  and  maintenance,  leisure  and 
entertainment, and craftsmen), construction, and production of beverages and processed 
food  (Lopes,  2014).  According  to  the  World  Bank,  an  informality  rate  above  70%  is 
common in the hospitality sector, agriculture, industry, and construction, while it reaches 
50%  in  mining,  around  30%  in  water  and  energy  supply,  and  is  the  lowest  in  financial 
services (20%) (World Bank, 2020). To address the situation and to support the transition 
from  the  informal  to  the  formal  economy,  the  National  Development  Plan  2018-2020 
proposed  a  strategy  and  an  action  plan  in  this  area,  including  support  for  creation  and 
operation  of  cooperatives  (e.g.,  in  agriculture,  fisheries,  industry  and  transport)  and 
MSMEs, their inclusion into the tax system, and support in access to funding and digital 
services. It also envisaged devising targeted actions facilitating the formalisation of certain 
groups, e.g., street vendors, or domestic service workers (Governo de Angola, 2018).  

The difficulty of setting up and running a business is considered as one of the factors behind 
the high informality rate in Angola. The country ranked 177th out of 190 countries in the 
2020 World Bank “Doing Business” index, with some categories, such as getting credit or 
enforcing  contracts  placing  Angola  at  the  bottom  of  the  table,  at  185th  and  186th  place, 
respectively. (Similarly low scores the country received for trading across borders in which 
cost, and time of documentary and border compliance were considered, giving Angola 174th 
place) (World Bank Group, 2020a). Earlier, the Government and local authorities, notably 
in the capital, undertook a series of activities aimed at reducing the informal economy in 
retail  trade  (by  opening  formal  markets,  closing  informal  ones,  and  removing  informal 
vendors  from  the  streets)  and  transport  (by  introducing  public  bus  transport  to  replace 
informal  minibuses  and  taxis)  (Lopes,  2014).  The  2019-2022  Decent  Work  Country 
Programme  implemented  with  the  ILO  established  the  transition  from  informal  towards 
formal economy and employment among the three areas for action (the other two being 

191  According to a definition used by the ILO, informal economy is understood as  enterprises and workers not 
covered  or  insufficiently  covered by  formal  arrangements and  includes  also self-employed.  Informal sector 
means  enterprises  which  have  not  been  registered  and  usually  do  not  comply  either  with  the  domestic 
legislation related to payment of taxes, and social security contributions, working conditions, e.g., minimum 
wages or health and safety at work and others. Informal employment relates to situations where a person is 
not offered a written contract, social security contributions (e.g., to a pension scheme or health care) are not 
paid, wages are usually low and there are no protections related, e.g., to unemployment, illness, or accidents 
at work (ILO, 2015a). 

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support  for  young  people’s  employability,  and  social  dialogue  and  collective  bargaining) 
and proposed the extension of social security coverage to informal workers (ILO, 2019). 

In the coffee sector, work is mostly informal, in particular on small family plantations and 
larger farms but with traditional production systems. In the latter, permanent workers are 
complemented with seasonal ones, hired for a day, a week, or a month, mainly during the 
harvest season. Large and modern undertakings offer permanent jobs. They also employ 
migrant workers (Bessou et al., 2020). 

In  shrimp  production,  there  is  very  little  information  available  which  would  suggest  job 
characteristics.  In  aquaculture,  covering  both,  fish  and  shrimps,  there  are  15  large 
companies and 51 of a smaller size, most of them informal (PRODESI, 2020). The latter 
would suggest an informal nature of jobs as well, while the likelihood of formal jobs may 
be higher in larger formal companies involved in international trade given a need for them 
to comply with SPS standards, be on a list of companies approved for exports (to the EU), 
have (at least potentially) a higher exposure to inspections and consider (again, at least 
potentially) labour-related aspects in the context of image and customer expectations. In 
the maritime fisheries, one of the PRODESI publications suggests an informal character of 
enterprises (vessels), (PRODESI, 2020) which, in turn, would suggest informal nature of 
jobs, while the 2004 Law on Fisheries (Aquatic Biological Resources Law) requires them to 
obtain licences for operation in certain areas and catch limits, observe health and safety 
at  work  conditions  and  buy  insurance  policies,  including  against  accidents  at  work.  The 
latter would not imply automatically that jobs will be formal but would nevertheless suggest 
better working conditions. In 2016, Angola ratified the ILO Convention No. 188 on work in 
fishing, which applies to all fishers and all fishing vessels operating in commercial finishing. 
It requires a written work agreement to be signed by every fisher and the vessel owner 
(or a Party employing the fisher) and outlines working conditions, being in line with detailed 
requirements set out by the Convention. Implementation of this Convention by Angola and 
its observance by vessel owners, would mean that all jobs in commercial maritime fishing 
should be formal. In this context, it is to note that the General Labour Law in Angola does 
not  require  a  written  form  of  job  contracts,  except  in  a  few  cases,  e.g.,  when  hiring  a 
person  who  will  work  on  a  vessel,  which  again  suggests  a  formal  nature  of  work  in  the 
fisheries sector. In the report published in 2021, the ILO Committee of Experts provided 
comments on the first report of the Government of Angola in relation to implementation of 
the Convention No. 188. The Committee noted that the General Labour Law is not fully in 
conformity with the Convention and should be aligned with it. One of the provisions that 
will need a change relates to written work agreements and envisages that a contract with 
a fisher shall  be concluded in a written form except when the duration of the  voyage is 
estimated to be up to  21 days.  The  Committee observed there should be no  exceptions 
from the rule on a written form of the work agreement and requested the Government to 
take the necessary measures to ensure that this right of fishers is respected in all cases 
irrespective of the duration of the voyage. Another comment related to the scope of the 
application  of  the  Convention,  where  the  Government  suggested  full  application  of  the 
Convention to industrial fishing, and partial application for semi-industrial, artisanal, and 
inland waters fishing (CEACR, 2021). 

Poverty and inequality 

Factors influencing the current situation in Angola related to poverty and inequality include 
e.g. Angola’s recent past with the civil war ended in 2002, when over decades investment 
in education and skills development was very low (up to 75% of teachers did not receive 
any preparation for their profession, the literacy rate among youth is only at 75%, 1 in 6 
school-age children does not attend school and only 6% of secondary school-age girls in 
rural areas are enrolled in school). In addition, the civil war damaged a large part of the 
infrastructure, incl. roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals, and still today, rural areas are 
poorly connected with the rest of the country. The road network, with a density of 6 km/100 
km2, is one of the least developed in Southern Africa. The rural access index is the fourth 

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lowest in the world after South-Sudan, Chad, and Mali, and only 17% of classified urban 
roads  are  paved.  This  in  turn  means  limited  access  to  markets,  food  and  education  or 
health  care  facilities.  Moreover,  the  structure  of  the  economy,  highly  dependent  on  oil 
extraction and exports, and vulnerable to external shocks, has not benefited a larger part 
of the population from the export revenues. Conversely, the vulnerability of revenues and 
high dependence on food imports mean that food availability and prices are instable (World 
Bank, 2020).  

In 2018-2019, 40.6% of the Angolan population lived in poverty (the poverty rate in urban 
areas  was  29.8%  and  in  rural  areas  57.2%)  (INE,  2019).  Poverty  outside  the  capital  is 
mainly related to low-productivity subsistence farming and rural areas, while in urban areas 
it  is  linked  to  unemployment  and  informality  (World  Bank,  2020).  A  survey  from  2008-
2009  showed  a  poverty  rate  of  36.6%,  which  would  suggest  that  over  the  last  decade 
poverty levels in Angola increased (INE, 2013). Moreover, given the increase in population, 
the absolute number of people living in poverty increased (World Bank, 2020). Differences 
in poverty rates between provinces (Figure 2) range from 20% (Luanda) to 62% (Cunene 
and Moxico), with Namibe, Benguela, Malanje, Cuanza Norte and Bengo having incidences 
between 42% and 48%. However, the largest number of poor people live in the coastal 
provinces, where the population density is the highest (Benguela, Huila, Huambo, Cuanza 
Sul, Luanda and Uige). In addition, over a third of all the poor people in Angola live in three 
provinces:  Huila  (1.3  million),  Huambo  (1.1  million)  and  Cuanza  Sul  (1.1  million).  Two 
provinces (Huila and Lunda Sul) have also been highlighted for severity of poverty among 
their inhabitants. While Lunda Sul displays mainly urban poverty and has a small, but very 
deprived rural population, Huila is largely a rural area (World Bank, 2020). 

According  to  a  2018-2019  survey  about  incomes  and  expenditures,  large  differences  in 
income levels prevail between urban and rural areas. While the average monthly income 
nationally was AOA 15,454, in urban areas it was AOA 19,090 and in rural ones AOA 9,149. 
The average monthly income per person among the poorest 20% of the Angolan population 
in 2018-2019 was AOA 1,783, among the best-off 20% it was AOA 48,946, which means 
that the former represents around 3.6% of the latter (if incomes from the whole population 
are taken into account, the richest 20% own 63% of the total, while the poorest 20% have 
only 2% of it). The survey results suggest that poverty incidence in Angola increases with 
age (the highest, 45.3%, being among people of 45-54 years of age) and gaps in education 
(56.5% among persons not having completed any education and 17.3% among those with 
at  least  the  secondary  education).  Moreover,  while  in  households  without  dependent 
children the poverty rate is 17.3%, in households with three or more children it increases 
to 48.1%. It is also correlated with the number of household members and is five times 
higher  in  households  with  seven  or  more  members  compared  to  those  with  one  or  two 
persons. Moreover, salaried employees, in particular working in the public sector, are half 
as likely to be in poverty than self-employed persons (INE, 2019).  

The Government planned to take actions removing 3 million persons from extreme poverty 
by 2022, investing annually €160 million in the framework of the Plan for Monitoring and 
Combating Poverty linked to the Integrated Plan for Local Development and Fight against 
Poverty  2018-2022.  The  areas  for  action  included:  1)  provision  of  basic  services  (e.g., 
school  meals,  basic  health  care  services,  water  supply  and  maintenance  of  physical 
infrastructure), 2) support for family farming and entrepreneurship, incl. MSMEs; 3) social 
communication,  mobilisation,  and  consultation;  4)  employment  generation;  5)  social 
reintegration of former members of military groups, 6) decentralisation of administration 
and delivery of support through partnership with local authorities (Observador, on plans of 
Angolan Government, 2018). 

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Figure 2: Poverty in Angola in 2018-2019 by provinces 

Source: INE (2019). 

However,  the  falling  oil  prices  and  COVID-19  are  likely  to  put  further  pressures  on  the 
Angolan economy and society, in particular in urban areas, given the large informal sector, 
job  and  income  losses,  reduced  working  hours,  closure  of  hospitality  venues,  social 
distancing measures, additional expenditures on health care, and vulnerability to external 
shocks and their influence on inflation rate and food prices (IMF, 2020; World Bank, 2020). 

Consumers, incomes, and expenditures 

Factors influencing the current consumer situation in Angola include the macroeconomic 
events  of  2014-2015  and  the  stabilisation  programme  of  the  Government,  impacting 
negatively  on  consumer  purchasing  power  (inflation  rate  of  42%  in  2016)  and  price 
volatility  of  consumer  products,  given  high  dependence  on  oil  exports  and  food  imports 
covering more than 80% of consumption needs (ILO, 2019; World Bank, 2020). According 
to the 2018-2019 survey about incomes and expenditures, the largest part of the overall 
average  income  (48.3%)  in  urban  areas  comes  from  salaried  employment,  followed  by 
transfers  (14.7%),  whereas  in  rural  areas,  32.7%  come  from  production  of  goods  and 
services  for  own  consumption,  and  income  from  self-employment  (30.3%).  Households 
headed by a man had on average higher incomes (AOA 16,396) than those led by a woman 
(AOA  12,832).  Income  increased  also  with  the  level  of  education  of  the  head  of  the 

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household (in the case of them having at least the secondary education, the income was 
four times higher than in the case of no completed education and three times higher than 
in the case of completed primary one). Higher incomes were also related with work in the 
public  sector.  Regarding  sectors  of  economic  activity,  the  highest  incomes  were  related 
with work in mining (AOA 30,961), followed by services (AOA 25,737), while a few sectors 
reported incomes of AOA 14,000 to AOA 18,000 (transport and communication, processing 
industry, construction, trade, and financial services). Agriculture and fisheries featured on 
the lower end of the scale, with AOA 8,064.  

Whereas the national  Gini coefficient192 is 0.59 for the  whole country, income inequality 
levels  across  provinces  range  from  around  0.5  to  0.67.  Regarding  composition  of 
expenditures in 2018-2019, food took 43.2% of disposable income. Non-food expenditures 
related mainly to dwelling maintenance (22%), rent (14%), health (14%), furniture and 
durable goods (13%), while other categories, such as clothes, transport, education, and 
leisure accounted for between 3% and 5% each (INE, 2019). 

Labour standards 

Angola has ratified all eight ILO fundamental conventions and two priority ones (No. 81 on 
labour  inspection  and  No.  144  on  tripartite  consultations).  In  2013-2017,  Angola  was 
highlighted every year by the ILO Committee on the Application of Standards for failing to 
meet the reporting obligations or the obligation of submitting ILO instruments to competent 
national authorities. In 2019, Angola failed to provide seven Government reports due on 
fundamental, governance and technical conventions, including No. 87 and 98 on freedom 
of association and the right to collective bargaining, No. 100 on equal pay for work of equal 
value  and  No.  81  on  labour  inspection.  The  ILO  emphasised  on  those  occasions  that  if 
needed,  countries  being  in  such  a  situation  may  ask  the  ILO  for  technical  assistance  in 
meeting their reporting obligations (Angola subsequently submitted the reports in 2020, 
except for convention No. 100). 

Child  labour  (Conventions  No.  138  and  182):  The  ILO  Committee  of  Experts  noted  in 
2018 that children in Angola are involved in the worst forms of child labour, including work 
in diamond mines, fishing industry and in streets and being subject to commercial sexual 
exploitation. On the positive side, the Committee noted an increasing enrolment in primary 
and secondary education (CEACR, 2018). According to the 2019 Report of the US Labour 
Department,  the  Angolan  Government  adopted  the  Law  on  the  Protection  of  Victims  of 
Trafficking in Persons and the National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in 
Persons  to  ensure  comprehensive  protection  to  victims  of  trafficking,  incl.  measures  to 
protect child victims. Moreover, national awareness raising campaigns were conducted to 
combat  the  worst  forms  of  child  labour  and  children’s  involvement  in  criminal  activities 
(Jornal de Angola, 15 July 2020), and registry offices were opened in maternity wards in 
hospitals to register births to facilitate the identification of children and their later school 
enrolment.  In  addition,  the  Ministry  of  Justice  and  Human  Rights  announced  a  mobile 
campaign in specific pilot areas aimed at registering all Angolans by the end of 2022 (US 
Dep.  of  Labour,  2019).  According  to  INAC,  the  National  Children  Institute,  only  25%  of 
children aged 5 years and less in Angola have been registered (Folha 8, December 2019).  

In 2008-2009, 20% of  children in Angola aged 5-17 years were involved in child labour 
(10.6% in urban areas and 31.8% in rural areas). Their share was related to the level of 
family welfare, with 25.9% of children from the poorest 20% of families being involved in 
child  labour  compared  to  11.1%  from  the  richest  20%.  Around  two  thirds  of  working 

192  The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent an income or wealth distribution 
among the residents of a given country or region and is the most commonly used measure of inequality. Zero 
expresses perfect equality, where all values are the same (e.g. everyone has the same income) and 1 (or 
100%) maximal inequality among values (e.g. one person has all the income or consumption, and all others 
have none). 

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children attended school (INE, 2011). In 2015-2016, still 23% of children aged 5-17 years 
were involved in child labour and 70% attended school. Work included farming activities, 
incl. cultivation of rice and vegetables, fishing, cattle herding and production of charcoal. 
In industry, children worked in coal and diamond mining, and slaughtering of animals, and 
in services and utilities, in construction, domestic service and street work (selling products, 
car washing, shoe cleaning and carrying heavy loads). In 2019, the National Association 
of Street Vendors reported that nearly 50% of street vendors in the country are children 
under  the  age  of  18  (US  Dep.  of  Labour,  2019).  Child  labour  rates  were  higher  in  rural 
areas (32%) than in urban ones (19%). Regionally, the provinces Cuanza-Sul (45%) and 
Cuando  Cubango  (39%)  had  the  highest  rates  of  child  labour  (Angop,  July  2018;  Nova 
Gazeta, June 2019). Other provinces registering child labour include Luanda, Bengo, Huíla, 
Benguela, Huambo, Cabinda, Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul.  

Moreover, there are cases of violence against children and children’s rights going beyond 
child labour, including children abandoned by fathers or parents (with the result of living 
in poverty and not being registered), physical, psychological or sexual violence, trafficking 
in children, and others (Jornal de Angola, 12 July 2020 and Leite, O. RR, June 2020). While 
education is free up to ninth grade, families often face informal fees, such as payment for 
books  and  to  school  officials.  Moreover,  there  the  number  of  teachers  is  insufficient, 
infrastructure is underdeveloped, and children without a birth certificate can attend school 
only up to sixth grade.  

An institutional set up to protect children’s rights is in place but requires strengthening (US 
Department of Labour, 2019). The National Action Plan to Eradicate Child Labour has been 
elaborated foreseeing better access to education and professional training for children and 
young people, and mapping regions in the  country with  child labour  occurrence, and its 
types  (O  País,  19  June  2019,  Bento,  D.).  Angola  has  also  participated  in  cooperation  of 
Portuguese-speaking countries in combating child labour (ILO, IPEC, Angola). 

In the fishing sector, cases of child labour have been reported in artisanal fishing, including 
activities, such as cleaning fish for deep freezing or sun drying (US Department of Labour, 
2019). We did not manage to find evidence which would either confirm or exclude presence 
of child labour in the commercial finishing. However, we note that Angola ratified in 2016 
the ILO Convention No. 188 (Work in Fishing) which sets the minimum age for work on 
board of a commercial fishing vessel at 16 years of age and for the light work, at 15 years. 
Hazardous work is prohibited for persons under 18 years of age. While Angola’s legislation 
is not fully in line with the Convention, it establishes that a seafarer’s document may only 
be  granted  to  a  person  over  18  years  of  age,  while  a  certificate  of  fitness  needed  for 
maritime fishing, may be issued for persons under 18 years of age (CEACR, 2021). 

In agriculture, child labour is often related to subsistence family farming or the strive to 
meet basic needs, most recently with paid work in provinces of Namibe, Huíla and Cunene, 
where drought and hunger have contributed to disintegration of many families and forced 
children and adolescents to look for food. It is estimated that in the province of Namibe 
around  50,000  children  are  in  such  a  situation,  many  of  whom  have  come  from  other 
provinces, incl. Huíla and Huambo (Angop, May 2021). We did not manage to identify data 
which would either confirm or exclude child labour’s presence on large farms producing for 
exports, incl. to the EU, however, other evidence suggests its lower likelihood there. 

Children aged 11-14 years are also engaged in retail trade in streets (e.g., in the province 
of Cunene and the capital, Luanda) and informal markets, selling mainly food (e.g., bread, 
fish, or nuts) and drinks (tea, coffee, or fresh water). Poverty and the need to support the 
household’s budget is the main reason for them to start. Others include disintegration of 
families, violence, being abandoned by parents or lack of interest from parents or other 
family members (Jornal de Angola, 12 June 2018; 15 July 2020, 20 July 2020; 12 June 
2021). 

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Child labour has also been reported in the mining sector, incl. diamond extraction. In 2018 
and 2021 reports spoke about children as young as 12 years of age (the majority of them 
originating from the DR Congo) working in illegal diamond mining and extraction of other 
natural resources in Angolan provinces at the border with the DR Congo (Malanje, Lunda 
Norte and Lunda Sul, Cuanza-Sul, Cuando Cubango, Bié, Moxico, Zaire and Uíge) (Ecclesia, 
Nov 2018; DW, July 2021). 

There are also ongoing activities to address child labour and ensure protection of children’s 
rights. The National Children’s Institute (INAC) supported by UNICEF has set up a national 
hotline (SOS Crianca) for reporting cases of violence, exploitation (incl. child labour) and 
abuse against children and works to strengthen capacities of frontline service providers. In 
2020,  the  hotline  received  135,179  reports  about  violence  of  children’s  rights,  including 
14,196  cases  of  child  labour.  The  highest  number  of  reported  cases  came  from  Luanda 
(46,602), followed by provinces of Benguela (17,913), Huambo (13,358), Huila (11,697), 
Bié  (9,808)  and  Zaire  (8,433)  (INAC,  MASFAMU,  2020).  UNICEF  (with  funding  from  the 
EU) has also supported INAC and the Ministry of Social Action, Family and Promotion of 
Women to develop procedures to address violence against children, incl. child labour, with 
defined roles and responsibilities of ministries and other institutions, incl. schools, health 
care services, local authorities, police, judiciary, border police and others and actions to 
take at each stage of a procedure (INAC, MASFAMU, 2019). It aims is to guide practitioners 
in  handling  cases  of  different  nature,  incl.  child  labour  exploitation.  The  development  of 
procedures involved multi-sector consultation and in addition, around 1,000 professionals 
from participating entities received in-service training to mainstream the uptake of these 
new instruments for case management. As part of technical assistance, UNICEF has also 
been supporting INE in the development of questionnaires on child labour that will be used 
during the household survey (Multiple Indicator and Health Survey) to determine the scale 
and  nature  of  the  problem  (information  provided  by  UNICEF)  INAC  and  NGOs  organise 
awareness raising campaigns to inform families of working children and local communities 
about negative impacts of child labour, notably if children do not attend school. 

Non-discrimination (Conventions No. 100 and 111) focuses on groups of workers who 
are  or  may  be  disadvantaged  on  the  Angolan  labour  market,  e.g.,  youth  and  migrant 
workers (the situation of women is discussed separately in Annex D2). In this context, the 
National Development Plan 2018-2022 and the ILO Decent Work Country Programme both 
foresee  initiatives  to  support  employability  of  young  people,  but  also  their  broader 
participation in the social and economic development of the country, incl. through voluntary 
work, activities in associations, and entrepreneurship. They also acknowledge the need for 
coordination between initiatives to diversify the economy and exports through support to 
selected sectors and skills development to prepare people to take jobs in these sectors or 
set up their own enterprises (Governo de Angola, 2018; ILO, 2019).  

In its 2019 Report, the ILO Committee of Experts noted with regret regarding Convention 
No. 111 that despite it raising for a few years the need to amend the General Labour Act 
in  Angola  to  fully  reflect  provisions  of  the  convention  related,  e.g.,  to  grounds  of 
discrimination or removing restrictions in women’s access to work, the new General Labour 
Act  adopted  in  2015  did  not  include  any  of  the  requested  amendments.  Regarding 
Convention No. 100, the Committee of Experts noted that while the new General Labour 
Act included some of the amendments requested by the Committee, it had nevertheless 
missed  the  opportunity  to  bring  its  provisions  fully  in  conformity  with  the  Convention 
(CEACR, 2019).  

Regarding youth, in 2018-2019, around 38% of people of 15-24 years of age were present 
in the labour market in Angola. It was worrisome that 12.3% of youth of 15-17 years of 
age only worked (i.e., did not continue education) and 24.1% of those between 15 and 24 
years  of  age  were  not  in  employment,  education,  nor  training  (across  provinces,  the 
highest  rate,  46.4%,  was  registered  in  Cunene  and  the  lowest  in  Uige,  11.5%).  Youth 

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unemployment  was  high  (51.8%),  and  68.5%  of  young  people  worked  in  informal  jobs 
(INE, 2020).  

Regarding migrant workers, in 2013, around 184,000 citizens of other countries lived in 
Angola with a working visa (in 2011, there were 316,000). Most of them originated in China 
(103,000) followed by Portugal (23,000), Vietnam (18,900), Brazil (6,500), Cuba, the US, 
Philippines, India, France, the UK, and South Africa. In 2016, the total number of migrant 
workers increased to 206,000 and the proportions between national groups have changed, 
with an increasing number of Europeans and a decreasing number of migrants from Asia 
(INE, 2018). 

Limited information is available regarding employment of migrant workers in Angola. Some 
evidence  suggests  that  they  are  hired  on  larger  farms  and  in  modern  undertakings  in 
agriculture, e.g., in the fruits and vegetables sector (Jornal de Angola, 19 July 2020) or on 
coffee plantations (Bessou et al., 2020), i.e., in sectors which may experience increase in 
exports to the EU thanks to the accession to the EPA compared to a situation without the 
Agreement. Moreover, medical staff from other countries is present in Angola and there 
are claims that they are offered better conditions than Angolans working in this profession 
(VOA, July 2021). Findings from a study conducted in 2016-2017, complemented in 2018 
by a survey  carried out in 37 companies in the construction  sector and in production of 
construction  materials,  suggest  that  staff  at  the  management  level  comes  mainly  from 
countries owning the companies, i.e., Brazil, China, and Portugal. Angolan companies also 
hire foreigners as having more experience in the sector and in management. Only in 3 out 
of  37  companies  Angolan  citizens  represented  a  majority  in  the  management  roles.  In 
other  jobs,  Angolan  workers  represented  a  majority,  but  the  proportion  to  migrants 
depended on the ownership of the company, i.e., in Chinese companies, Chinese workers 
represented 29% of staff in the construction sector and 22% in production of construction 
materials, while in other companies, migrant workers represented 15% and 8% of staff in 
the two sectors respectively. Moreover, the study revealed that over time, the proportion 
of Angolan workers to foreigners was increasing, as skills were developed (Oya, Wanda, 
2018). 

In October 2020, a Presidential Decree established that recruitment in oil extraction should 
give a preference to Angolan workers. However, there is a consideration that for it to be 
effective, there will be a need for vocational training and skills development for Angolan 
workers to increase their employability in the existing and new jobs in the sector and to 
be able to compete with migrant workers (DW, October 2020). Finally, there is evidence 
that  in  diamond  extraction,  notably  in  illegal  activities,  migrant  workers  (children  and 
adults) are employed, originating mainly in the DR Congo (Ecclesia, November 2018). 

Forced labour (Conventions No. 29 and 105): The Angolan Constitution and the General 
Labour Act prohibit forced and compulsory labour, and the Criminal Code foresees up to 
12 years of imprisonment for trafficking in persons for sexual or labour purposes. Penalties 
are  also  foreseen  for  agency  intermediaries  and  employers  who  confiscate  the  identity 
documents of workers, change contracts without workers’ consent or withhold payment of 
wages  (Meusalario.org,  Trabalhos  Forçados).  In  its  2018  Report,  the  ILO  Committee  of 
Experts requested Angola to bring certain legislative acts in line with the Convention No. 
105, including the Act on Strikes, to avoid a situation that taking part in a strike which is 
lawful in the light of the ILO Conventions, but can be considered illegal according to the 
Angolan domestic legislation can be sanctioned with imprisonment and forced labour (the 
latter  can  by  imposed  in  Angola  on  prisoners)  (CEACR  2018).  According  to  the  US 
Department of State (2020), Angola has improved its  record in addressing trafficking in 
persons  by  increasing  the  number  of  prosecuted  traffickers  and  enhancing  cross-border 
cooperation.  Moreover,  law  enforcement  and  social  services  have  referred  all  identified 
victims  of  trafficking  to  care  services  (compared  to  referring  only  half  of  them  in  the 
previous year). The anti-trafficking commission finalised and launched a five-year national 
action plan with dedicated resources for its implementation. Recommendations for further 

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efforts include training front officials in identifying victims of trafficking, in particular from 
vulnerable groups and foreign citizens, as well as enhanced work in prosecuting traffickers. 
Moreover,  Angola  should  use  the  SADC  data  collection  tool  to  improve  work  to  collect, 
synthesize, and analyse data related to nationwide law enforcement and victim protection 
(US Department of State, 2020). 

According to the Global Slavery Index, around 199,000 persons in Angola are estimated to 
live or work in conditions of modern slavery (2018 Global Slavery Index). Past evidence 
includes cases of individual companies, as well as certain sectors. For example, in 2017, a 
Brazilian  construction  company  and  its  two  subsidiaries  were  sentenced  to  pay  USD  10 
million as a compensation for damage related to trafficking in persons and employing 400 
workers in conditions akin to slavery at the construction site of a sugar and ethanol factory 
in the Angolan province of Malanje (VOA, March 2017; BBC News March 2017). In 2018, a 
company in the fisheries sector in the province of Benguela owned by Chinese investors 
was accused of applying working conditions close to slavery to its over 400 workers. This 
included long working hours, a limited time to see the family and a risk of being fired upon 
a delayed return among others. The local authorities gave the company 15 days to address 
the problems (RFI, July 2018; VOA, July 2018). The same company was accused again in 
2020 of applying modern slavery after it reportedly had not allowed the workers to leave 
the premises for three months. The company and some workers explained this was due to 
COVID-19 and should be seen as an attempt to avoid contacts with people from outside 
the factory (VOA, June 2020). Extraction of diamonds is also linked with forced labour and 
child labour (Anti-slavery; O novo jornal, July 2018). In 2018, reports spoke about children 
as young as 12 years of age (the majority of them originating from the DR Congo) working 
in  illegal  diamond  mining  and  extraction  of  other  natural  resources  in  the  northern  and 
eastern provinces of Angola along the border with the DR Congo (Malanje, Lunda Norte, 
Lunda Sul, Cuanza-Sul, Cuando Cubango, Bié, Moxico, Zaire and Uíge). Also in 2018, the 
Angolan  Government  deported  500,000  Congolese  citizens,  including  80,000  children 
(most of them not accompanied, which suggests that they may have entered the Angolan 
territory  as  victims  of  trafficking  in  persons  to  be  used  as  a  cheap  source  of  labour) 
(Ecclesia, November 2018). Trafficking in children of 12 and more years of age has also 
been  reported  in  2021,  for  extraction  of  diamonds  and  other  minerals,  as  well  as  other 
forms of work in Angola and abroad. Traffickers have used children in criminal activities 
given that children (due to young age) cannot be prosecuted. The provinces  of Luanda, 
Benguela  and  those  at  the  borders  (Cunene,  Lunda  Norte,  Namibe,  Uíje  and  Zaire)  are 
most at risk of human trafficking. In Cunene, for example, due to drought, in some villages 
children have been forced to leave school and go for long distances to find water, dig wells, 
or look after cattle in pastures. Non-accompanied children may then easily fall victims of 
human trafficking and be taken to any of the neighbouring countries or further (including 
to Europe) to work in domestic service and other forms of hazardous or forced labour (DW, 
July 2021). 

Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining (Conventions No. 87 and 
98): The Angolan Constitution guarantees freedom of association and the right to strike 
(further provisions are included in the 2015 General Labour Act and the 1992 Trade Unions 
Act)  (Meusalario.org/Angola,  Sindicatos).  However,  new  legislative  proposals  considered 
by the Government in  2019 (the new Act  on  Strikes and  an amendment to the General 
Labour  Act)  were  likely  to  limit  the  possibility  to  exercise  the  right  to  strike  (by  putting 
limits on its scope and duration) and freedom to form trade unions (by setting up a large 
minimum  number  of  workers  to  establish  a  trade  union).  Moreover,  workers  exercising 
trade union activity could be dismissed (O Pais, 7 June 2019, Teixeira M.). The proposals 
were criticised by trade unions (National Union of Angolan Workers – UNTA, and General 
Centre of Independent and Free Unions of Angola – CGSILA) as a step backwards in the 
respect of worker rights and violation of ILO conventions No. 87 and 98 (Vanguarda, May 
2019). In its 2021 Report, the ILO Committee of Experts took note of the ongoing revision 
of  the  1992  Trade  Unions  Act  and  1991  Act  on  Strikes  and  expressed  the  hope  that  its 
comments suggesting amendments to their previous versions would be taken on board. 

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The  Committee  requested  information  and,  when  needed,  legislative  changes  regarding 
measures  to  ensure  respect  for  the  right  to  organise  of  civil  servants,  promotion  of 
collective bargaining and penalties for acts of trade union discrimination (CEACR, 2021). 

Trade unions are present in different sectors in Angola, both public and private, and seem 
to  be  active,  advocating  respect  for  workers’  rights.  For  example,  in  July  2021,  a  trade 
union  representing  medical  staff  drew  attention  to  difficult  working  conditions  in  the 
province  of  Malanje,  including  long  working  hours,  low  wages  and  the  lack  of  medical 
equipment  and  medicines  in  hospitals  and  health  care  centres,  and  reportedly  a 
discriminatory treatment of Angolan staff compared to foreigners (VOA, July 2021). In May 
2021,  trade  unions  representing  public  sector  staff  (administration,  health  care  and 
services) launched a strike against low wages. It was put on hold after two days due to 
beginning of negotiations with the Government. The latter had three  months to present 
solutions (VOA, May 2021). In 2018 and 2020, a trade union representing workers in the 
fisheries sector raised the issue of working conditions akin to modern slavery in a company 
owned by Chinese investors (VOA, June 2020). In early 2021, trade unions submitted a 
proposal  for  revision  of  the  General  Labour  Act  to  better  balance  the  rights  of  workers 
compared  to  employers  (there  was,  however,  no  reaction  by  the  Government  for  four 
months and only later it suggested an evaluation of the implementation of the Act before 
any changes were considered). Later in 2021, trade unions raised the problem of low wages 
and salaries not being paid to public servants for seven months, as well as the lack of social 
protection of workers (DW, May 2021). Also in 2021, the Government and the Institute of 
Professional Development of public sector staff appealed to trade unions to add to their 
priorities  cooperation  with  the  Government  and  other  relevant  institutions  in  support  of 
professional development of public sector employees to equip them in the knowledge and 
skills necessary to carry out reforms and projects underpinning sustainable development 
of the country (Angop, April 2021). In 2018, international trade unions (ITUC) intervened 
after the Government of Angola had announced suspension of salary payments to 64,000 
public sector workers due to missing documents in their personal files, such as photos or 
residency  certificates,  which  however  they  had  already  submitted  as  part  of  the 
recruitment process. ITUC flagged that the decision had not been consulted with the social 
partners  and  was  in  breach  of  ILO  Convention  No.  26  on  minimum  wage  fixing,  which 
Angola had ratified (ITUC, June 2018). Also in 2018, a trade union representing workers 
of  the  justice  sector  announced  a  strike  and  engaged  in  talks  with  the  Government  to 
improve  working  conditions  in  the  sector,  including  wage  update,  career  development, 
promotions, confirmation of permanent employment and others. The Government admitted 
that in the past, there had not been much of engagement with trade unions in the justice 
sector and that such dialogue should commence (Jornal de Angola, 23 May 2018). In 2018, 
trade  unions  representing  workers  in  enterprises  producing  machinery  for  agriculture 
announced strike due to non-payment of wages. In addition, trade unions in the transport 
sector prepared a case for the labour tribunal due to the non-payment of social security 
contributions for workers (resulting in the lack of pensions). They also expressed concern 
that some workers in the sector had not had performance appraisals for up to 10 years 
(Jornal de Angola, 24 Aug 2018). Also in 2018, the National Union of Workers of Angola 
informed  about  problems  with  trade  union  registration  and  practices  in  public  sector 
companies (e.g., infrastructure and airports) to intervene in the  election  of members of 
trade union commissions (ITUC, Feb 2018). 

Working conditions: The General Labour Act outlines provisions regarding wages, incl. 
the mechanism of setting a minimum wage, which is established by a Decree of the Council 
of  Ministers  upon  a  proposal  of  the  Minister  of  Protection,  Labour  and  Finance  following 
recommendations  of  the  National  Council  of  Social  Dialogue,  composed  of  employers, 
workers, and government representatives. The minimum wage level takes into account the 
price  index,  the  average  wage  level  in  the  country,  living  conditions  of  certain  groups, 
productivity, economic development and the need to achieve and keep a high employment 
level.  It  is  often  set  separately  for  agriculture,  transport,  services  and  the  processing 
industry,  and  commerce  and  extraction  industry.  Regarding  contracts,  the  Act  does  not 

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require to have them in a written form, except in a few cases, e.g., when hiring a foreign 
employee, a person who will work on a vessel, or in domestic service. There are permanent 
and fixed-term contracts, whereas the latter can be renewed several times, up to five years 
in  total  in  the  case  of  large  businesses  and  up  to  ten  years  in  the  case  of  MSMEs.  The 
General Labour Act envisages a working week of up to 44 hours, with eight hours a day. 
In cases of intermittent work or work requiring just presence at the workplace, the total 
number of working hours within a week can be extended up to 54 hours, with 9 to 10 hours 
a day.193 Work in overtime should be compensated with an additional payment, above the 
normal hourly rate, in line with rates provided by the legislation,  ranging from 110%  of 
the normal rate in microenterprises (for the first 30 extra hours) to 150% of the normal 
rate in large enterprises (for hours going beyond 30 in total, the legislation envisages rates 
from 110% to 175%) (Ahmad, Barros, WageIndicator, 2020). In 2008-2009, the working 
week in Angola was on average of 39 hours (poor people worked on average 35 hours and 
not poor, 41). Longer hours (42) were related to higher levels of education, urban areas 
(44),  and  private  sector  (45)  and  the  longest  ones  to  work  in  sectors,  incl.  trade  (48), 
extractive  industries  (48),  construction  (46),  transport  (46),  financial  activities  (45), 
fisheries  (44)  and  hotels  and  restaurants.  The  shortest  working  week  was  recorded  in 
education (29), agriculture (33), health care and social services (37) (INE, 2013).  

In 2017, 1.6 million workers out of 9.7 million, i.e. 16.5%, were covered by social security, 
while in 2018, that group increased to 1.7 million. The General Labour Act also includes 
provisions  about  Occupational  Safety  and  Health  (OSH)  and  imposes  on  employers  an 
obligation  to  adapt  working  facilities  and  conditions  in  a  way  to  reduce  risks.  They  also 
need  to  integrate  OSH  activities  into  daily  management  of  the  undertaking.  Companies 
with over 50 workers need to organise OSH services, incl. personnel and training (Ahmad, 
Barros, WageIndicator, 2020). In 2017, 1,096 accidents at work were registered, incl. 926 
light,  144  serious  and  26  fatal.  Out  of  these,  333  (i.e.,  30.4%)  were  registered  in 
construction, 225 (20.5%) in trade, 138 (i.e., 12.6%) in provision of services, 124 (i.e., 
11.3%) in industry, 63 in energy, 47 in transport, and 27 in mining. In 2018, the overall 
number increased to 1,499 (1,094 light, 365 serious and 40 fatal).  

Regarding  the  enforcement  of  labour  legislation,  in  2017  labour  inspection  carried  out 
inspections in 5,384 enterprises covering in total 152,189 workers. In 2018, the number 
of inspected enterprises increased to 5,791 and the number of workers to 161,687. The 
highest number of inspected enterprises operated in trade (46.7%), followed by services 
(21.2%),  industry  (11.4%),  construction,  health  care  and  agriculture  (Ministério  da 
Administração Pública, Trabalho e Segurança Social, 2019). Angola has ratified ILO Labour 
Inspection Convention No. 81 but did not provide a report due in 2019 on this convention. 
The National Union of Angolan Workers  submitted to the ILO  observations, according to 
which  the  labour  inspection  in  the  country  is  weak,  with  a  low  number  of  inspectors 
compared  to  the  number  of  enterprises  to  inspect,  low  salaries  for  inspectors  and 
insufficient means of transportation for the conduct of inspections (CEACR, 2020). In its 
2021  Report,  the  Committee  of  Experts  noted  information  provided  by  the  Government 
regarding the increase of the total number of labour inspectors from 144 in 2016 to 277 in 
2021. They include 56 managers, 130 senior technical experts and others at lower grades. 
They work in 18 provincial offices and in the central authority. The latter provides offices, 
facilities, and equipment for conducting inspections. The Government admitted that there 
is  an  insufficient  number  of  vehicles  serving  as  transport  means  for  inspectors.  The 
Committee requested further data regarding working conditions of labour inspectors, incl. 
salary  levels.  It  also  noted  that  a  report  of  labour  inspection  services  has  not  been 
communicated by Angola since 2016 (CEACR, 2021). The National Development Plan 2018-
2022 foresees the improvement of working conditions by improving the operation of labour 
inspection  services  (increased  number  of  inspectors,  professional  development,  and 

193  Meusalario.org/Angola, Trabalhos Forçados: https://meusalario.org/angola/lei-geral-do-trabalho/tratamento-

justo/trabalho-forcado 

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increased  number  of  inspections)  and  a  focus  on  health  and  safety  at  work  (awareness 
raising actions leading to reduction in the number of accidents at work and occupational 
diseases) (Governo de Angola, 2018). 

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 

According  to  a  2013  UNDP  report  outlining  the  CSR  landscape  in  Angola,  based  on 
information from a sample of 100 companies present in Angola, CSR activities were carried 
out  at  least  in  nine  sectors  represented  in  the  sample.  These  included  oil  and  gas, 
construction,  banking,  transport,  telecommunications,  beverages,  insurance,  mining, 
infrastructure, and agro-industry. In the oil and gas sector, which was most advanced in 
CSR  practices,  all  surveyed  companies  had  a  CSR  strategy  and  a  unit  in  the  company 
responsible for sustainability or CSR activities, all were aware as well and followed Global 
Compact  principles,  and  spending  related  to  CSR  was  focused  mainly  on  education  and 
health. Companies in other sectors were less advanced in implementing CSR practices and 
there was a larger dispersion of the situation within each sector. CSR-related expenditures 
were  directed  towards  health  of  employees,  training  programmes,  youth  support, 
promoting  gender  equality,  supporting  local  economic  development,  environment 
protection,  etc.  (UNDP,  2013).  Moreover,  individual  companies,  e.g.,  BP  publish 
sustainability reports outlining activities and impacts of their operation on safety, human 
rights, society, and environment (BP in Angola, 2018). 

Civil society participation 

Compared to other, more comprehensive TSD chapters, the one in the EU-SADC EPA does 
not include provisions requiring the establishment of civil society Domestic Advisory Groups 
(DAGs),  nor  holding  Civil  Society  Forum  meetings.  Under  other  EU  FTAs,  these  bring 
together  annually  representatives  of  the  Parties  and  their  civil  society  to  discuss  the 
implementation of the TSD chapter and impacts of the FTA on sustainable development. 
Article  10  of  the  EPA  only  states  that  “Dialogue  and  cooperation  on  this  Chapter  by  the 
Parties,  through  the  Trade  and  Development  Committee,  may  involve  other  relevant 
authorities and stakeholders”. 

So far, upon the EU and civil society initiative, one Civil Society Forum meeting took place 
in 2017 (SADC-EU EPA, Civil Society Forum 2017) and over the last few years, the Trade 
and Development Committee discussed the possibility to establish a Joint Platform for Civil 
Society  Dialogue,  however,  without  any  tangible  outcomes  (TDC,  February  2018;  TDC, 
November 2018; TDC, February 2019; TDC, February 2020). 

The European civil society, including the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) 
has been advocating since 2017 inclusion of civil society of all Parties into a dialogue about 
the EPA, its implementation, including TSD chapter and impacts. The EESC representatives 
participated in the Civil Society Forum/High Level  Dialogue with civil society from SADC 
countries in 2017 (SADC-EU EPA, Civil Society Forum 2017) and in 2018, an EESC member 
(Chair  of the EESC EU-ACP Follow-up  Committee) delivered a presentation at the  Trade 
and Development Committee meeting on civil society role in implementation of EU trade 
agreements and an EU civil society dialogue (led by the EESC) with African economic and 
social interest groups (TDC, November 2018). Moreover, an EESC representative spoke at 
the first meeting of the EU-SADC Joint Council in 2019 and the Council in its Communique 
(paragraph  No.  10)  “noted  the  importance  of  participation  of  non-State  Actors  in  the 
implementation of the EU-SADC EPA and the commitment undertaken to co-facilitate the 
organisation of a meeting at least once per year of non-state actors’ representatives from 
both  the  EU  and  the  SADC  EPA  States  to  discuss  EPA-related  issues  and  EPA 
implementation” (EU-SADC Joint Council, 2019). 

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Annex D.2: Baseline for Gender Impact Analysis 

Overall framework and situation of women in Angola 

In the Global Gender Gap Index 2020, Angola ranked 118th out of 153 countries, and 96th 
in the category “Economic participation and Opportunity” for women (WEF, 2020). Angola 
has signed and ratified several regional and international treaties and protocols geared at 
promoting  gender  equality,  such  as  CEDAW’s  Optional  Protocol  in  2007,  the  Maputo 
Protocol  (2007),  SADC’s  Protocol  on  Gender  and  Development  (2008),  African  Union’s 
Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa and AU’s Gender Policy, amongst others 
(UNCTAD, 2013). Angola has also ratified two related ILO fundamental conventions, No. 
100 on equal pay and No. 111 on non-discrimination at work. The national legal and policy 
framework relevant for women includes also National Policy on Gender Equality and Equity 
(Decree 222/2013), National Programme for Support of Rural Women (Decree 138/2012) 
and the Strategy for advocacy and resource mobilisation for its implementation, National 
Development Plan 2018-2022, and Action Plans to support rural women and family (INE, 
2018a).  The  7th  periodic  report  of  Angola  on  its  implementation  of  CEDAW’s  provisions 
stated that the country had made progressive steps to promote female representation in 
politics (women making up 30.5% of Members of Parliament) (UNHR, 2019). Under the 
consecutive  National  Development  Plans,  policy  measures  aim  at  addressing  the 
underrepresentation of women in all decision-making spheres, eliminating gender gaps in 
education, supporting employability and entrepreneurship of women, incl. women in rural 
areas, and raising awareness in local communities of gender equality (UN Women; Governo 
de Angola, 2018). While customary laws related to land tenure and inheritance (as well as 
limited  legal  protection  on  inheritance  and  property)  have  for  long  been  governed  by 
traditional practices that discriminate against women, the issue was still discussed in 2019 
(UNCTAD, 2013; UNHR, 2019). Other gendered barriers faced by Angolan women and girls 
that  remain  to  be  addressed  are  embedded  in  patriarchal  norms  and  traditional-cultural 
practices, such as child marriage, dowry practices, criminalisation of abortion, girls’ access 
to  science,  technology,  engineering  and  mathematics,  and  all  forms  of  gender-based 
violence  (34.8%  of  the  Angolan  female  population  aged  15+  have  experienced  gender 
based  violence  by  an  intimate  partner  between  2005-2018)  (UN  Women,  2018,  UNHR, 
2019; SADC, 2020). 

Women as workers 

In 2018-2019, 85.5% of women of working age (15-64 years) in Angola were economically 
active, compared to 88.4% of men. Out of these, 69.4% women worked (72.6% among 
men) and 30.6% were unemployed (27.4% among men). Across sectors, 51.4% of women 
worked  in  agriculture,  fisheries,  and  forestry  (40.5%  of  men),  30.1%  in  wholesale  and 
retail trade (12.0% of men), 6.7% in other services, incl. domestic service (2.5% among 
men),  3.7%  in  public  administration,  defence  and  social  security  (14.5%  among  men), 
2.3% in  education (4.6% among men), 2.0%  in industry, and  energy and water supply 
(7.2% among men), 1.4% in transport, storage and communication (8.8% among men), 
0.8% in health care and social services (1.0% among men), 0.4% in financial activities, 
consulting  and  real  estate  (1.1%  among  men),  and  0.1%  in  construction  (7.0%  among 
men) (INE, 2020). In 2014, the literacy rate in Angola (important for employability) was 
65.5%,  with  large  differences  between  men  (79.6%)  and  women  (53%),  and  urban 
(90.2% for men and 69.3% for women) and rural areas (59.8% for men and 25.1% for 
women). Moreover, 25% of both men and women did not have any completed education, 
while  30.5%  of  women  and  55.8%  of  men  had  completed  primary  education,  11.0%  of 
women and 17% of men had completed secondary and 2.1% and 3.5% respectively had 
a university degree. In 2016, women represented 24.2% of Ministers, 29.9% of diplomats 
and 20.9% in decision-making bodies of public administration (INE, 2018a). 

Agriculture  is  and  remains  a  major  economic  sector  in  the  country,  with  over  half  of 
Angola’s poor population living in rural areas, depending mostly on subsistence farming for 

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their  livelihood  (FAO,  2014).  In  2016,  agriculture  accounted  for  around  12%  of  the 
country’s GDP. The farming sector used to employ up to 80% (now, around half) of the 
Angolan  workforce,  most  of  whom  are  women  (UNCTAD,  2013a).  Regarding  traditional 
division of work, women cleared the land to prepare the soil for agriculture and engaged 
in  local  food  trading,  while  men  were  herders  and  wage  labourers  (Countries  and  their 
Cultures). Another study describes the gender division of labour in agriculture in terms of 
men  digging  and  maintaining  ditches,  in  addition  to  clearing  the  ground,  with  women 
mostly attending to watering, weeding, thinning and harvesting activities (Tvedten, 2017). 
The  feminization  of  the  sector  and  inextricable  impoverishment  are  interlinked  with  and 
result from gender disparities in education. The lack of education and high rate of illiteracy 
among  women  trap  70%  of  the  female  population  in  Angola  in  agriculture  and  informal 
work, with hindered chances of earning a basic wage (UNCTAD, 2013). In 2018, the GNI 
per capita for women was USD 5,497, markedly lower than the USD 8,169 for men (World 
Bank Group, 2018). Poor agricultural practices and the exodus of men to urban areas to 
achieve  better  living  conditions  also  leave  women  with  gendered  barriers  such  as  the 
double burden of paid and unpaid care work, leading into time poverty (UNCTAD, 2013a). 
From another angle, agriculture has a substantial development and growth potential, with 
58  million  hectares  of  fertile  land  available  for  exploitation,  which  could  help  to  return 
Angola to its once pre-independence self-sufficiency in food production and to create job 
opportunities, incl. for women. However, constraints include the poor state of infrastructure 
like  roads,  and  the  need  to  demine  land  (UNCTAD,  2016).194  Noteworthy,  in  2017,  the 
HALO project was devised to employ and train 100 women to clear landmines and make 
Angola’s lands safe again (The Halo Trust). 

What used to be the third main pillar of Angola’s economy, the fisheries sector, has today 
decreased in relevance. Nonetheless, it accounted to 3.7% of Angola’s GDP in 2017, with 
forecasted  growth  of  4.7%-8.3%  by  2022,  based  on  the  Angolan  2018-2022  National 
Development  Plan.  In  2017,  production  amounted  to  532,014  tons  (Export.Gov,  2019), 
and in 2016, the sector engaged 125,442 persons, out of whom 8% (20,000) were women. 
Mostly  involved  in  the  inland  sector,  (FAO,  2018)  women’s  main  fishing  activities 
encapsulate limited-gear fishing techniques like gill nets, handlines, cast nets, traps, and 
small-mesh seines, as well as artisanal fishing and fish processing (salting and smoking) 
(IFAD,  2014).  National  commitments  to  expand  production  in  fisheries  through 
investments in (i) Artisanal Fisheries (e.g., with a USD 40 million loan to Angola in 2013 
by AfDB) and (ii) aquaculture production (e.g., with a USD  11.1 million loan from IFAD) 
included  also  support  to  women  who  represent  80%  of  small-scale  fish  processors  and 
traders.  It  is  estimated  that  if  the  fisheries  sector  (fish  and  processed  fish  products) 
contributes  to  diversification  of  the  Angolan  economy  and  exports,  fish  processing  may 
offer employment opportunities for women, as it has been the case in some of the fish-
exporting  countries  (UNCTAD,  2013).  As  part  of  the  National  Development  Plan,  the 
Angolan  Government  provides  support  to  artisanal  fishing  communities,  including 
microcredits and support centres with facilities for boat maintenance, fish processing and 
docks (Export.Gov, 2019). 

Moreover, in a bid to help Angola build a more diverse, inclusive, and resilient economy, 
less dependent on oil exports, the EU and UNCTAD launched in 2018 a four-year EUR 5.5 
million project “EU-UNCTAD Joint Programme for Angola: Train for Trade II”, which among 
its six areas for action includes support to small business development and scoping of non-
oil opportunities (UNCTAD, 2018). Arts and handcraft have been mentioned among areas 

194  “The  Angolan  government  has  committed  to  clearing  its  landmines  by  2025,  and  there  is  constructive 
collaboration between the government and mine clearing agencies, but the target will be achievable only if a 
decline in funding from international donors is reversed. International funding for mine clearance in Angola 
fell by more than 80% between 2005 and 2017, and this has compounded the impact on domestic funding 
for national clearance efforts as a result of the downturn in prices for Angola’s main export commodities.” Ch. 
Vandome, Chatham House (June 2019), Mine Action in Angola: Clearing the Legacies of Conflict to Harness 
the  Potential  of  Peace:  https://www.chathamhouse.org/2019/06/mine-action-angola-clearing-legacies-
conflict-harness-potential-peace  

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where Angola has some potential for development. Both may represent employment and 
business chances for women.  

The industry sector of Angola is at an early stage of development with the manufacturing 
sector allotting 8.6% to the national GDP (African Economic Outlook, 2016), estimated to 
fall  to  4.8%  in  2020  (Statista,  2020).  Key  domains  are  processed  food  and  beverages, 
which  employ  a  high  percentage  of  women  who  also  sell  the  goods  in  informal  markets 
(UNCTAD, 2013). According to the National Industrialisation Program 2013-17, other key 
industry  sub  sectors  include  textiles  and  clothing,  chemical  and  paper  produce,  and 
ornamental  rocks  (Africa  Economic  Outlook,  2016).  Before  the  war,  Angola  used  to  be 
Africa’s  biggest  cotton  producer,  but  textile  factories  were  destroyed,  and  today,  even 
though the textile industry is on the recovery path, many fabric plants have closed down. 
The  textile  sector  in  Angola  depends  on  cotton  processing  and  farming  of  cotton  seeds. 
Over the last  few years, textile factories in Angola were facing challenges which had an 
impact on cotton processing and cottonseed farming, thus compelling the country to rely 
upon  imported  raw  material.  However,  new  investments  have  also  been  made  in 
establishing  textile  processing  plants,  import  of  machinery  and  cotton  cultivation 
(Fibre2Fashion.com,  2014).  This  included  cooperation  with  Japanese  investors  to  revive 
three major textile plants in Angola (Marubeni Brand Channel, 2018) with a potential to 
create over 3,000 jobs for young people, including women (Fibre2Fashion.com, 2014). 

Women as entrepreneurs 

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s (GEM) survey carried out in 2018-2019 
in 59 countries globally, Angola has the highest rate of entrepreneurs among the working 
age population from all surveyed countries, i.e., 40.3% of men and 40.7% of women of 
working age are entrepreneurs (while the global average is of 13.9% for men and 10.2% 
for  women).  23.5%  of  male  entrepreneurs  work  on  their  own  (47.8%  among  female 
entrepreneurs), while 1.1% of male entrepreneurs and 1.5% of female employ more than 
20 persons. 3.1% of male entrepreneurs export more than 25% of their production (0.5% 
of female entrepreneurs). Regarding sectors of activity, 83.2% of women-led enterprises 
operate in wholesale and retail trade (compared to 63.4% for men), 7.7% in healthcare, 
education and social services (7.2% for men), 5.0% in manufacturing and transportation 
(9.7%  for  men),  2.6%  in  financial,  professional,  consumer  and  administrative  services 
(7.9% for men), 1.2% in ICT - information and communication technology (4.9% for men), 
and  0.2%  in  agriculture  and  mining  (6.9%  for  men)  (GEM,  2019).  According  to  a  2010 
World  Bank  survey  carried  out  among  360  Angolan  companies,  corruption  has  been 
considered  as  the  biggest  obstacle  in  running  business  by  24.8%  of  female  managers 
(29.3% among men), access to finance was mentioned by 18.5% (12.4% among men), 
followed by access to electricity (15.4% of women and 5.2% of men), business licensing 
and permits (10.6% and 7.8%), access to land (8.9% and 18.1%), transportation (6.2% 
and  1.2%),  informal  economy  practices  as  competitors  (4.5%  and  4.7%),  inadequately 
educated  workforce  (4.0%  and  4.4%),  and  customs  and  trade  regulations  (0.9%  and 
6.8%)  (World  Bank,  2010).  There  are  some  training  opportunities  available  for  female 
entrepreneurs,  e.g.,  through  the  Entrepreneurial  Women  of  Angola  scheme  run  by  the 
Angolan Federation of Women Entrepreneurs in cooperation with sponsors (Total, Angola). 

Doing  Business  2020  indicators  also  reveal  gender  parity  when  it  comes  to  procedures, 
time and cost involved in starting a business in Angola. Noteworthy, no minimum capital 
payment is required, in contrast to most countries in the world, when launching a business 
in  Angola  (World  Bank  Group,  2020a),  a  fact  that  encourages  and  facilitates 
entrepreneurial  initiatives,  especially  for  poor  women.  The  availability  and  ease  of 
accessing micro-financing loans from banks benefit women, who make up 60% of clients. 
The loans can be as low as €180 with interest rates ranging between 2-4%. Usually, all is 
paid off within two years (Euronews, 2019). Hundreds of small women-headed businesses 
concentrated in local markets, tend to use the micro loans to travel and buy goods (known 
as  ‘suitcase  traders’)  like  clothes  and  shoes  from  Brazil,  US,  China,  Thailand  and  other 

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parts of the world, to sell to women in Angola (BBC, 2017, Euronews, 2019). GEM 2018-
2019,  together  with  the  Mastercard  Index  of  Women  Entrepreneurs  2020  Report,  rated 
Angola  high  on  the  variable:  (i)  social  norms  that  regard  risk  taking,  innovation, 
individuality and creativeness in entrepreneurship as positive, and amongst the lowest for 
(ii)  fear  of  failure  -  which  may  both  (variables)  be  drivers  for  women  (i)  to  launch 
businesses already at a young age (as per working age group) and (ii) to take relative risks 
and/or  loans  to  start  or  scale  up  their  businesses  (Mastercard  Index  of  Women 
Entrepreneurs, 2020). 

With respect to migration, whereas historically Angola used to be a sending country, the 
ratification of the peace treaty in 2002 gave way to more political stability and economic 
growth  in  the  country,  a  situation  that  since  has  enticed  migrants  to  seek  economic 
opportunities in and send remittance from Angola, including a high percentage of women 
coming  from  West  Africa,  especially  from  the  DR  Congo.  In  2017,  reportedly  330,818 
women migrated to Angola. Cross-border trade is also very popular among women, as well 
as local trade activities whereby women mostly engage as street vendors. They sell food, 
water,  drinks,  furniture,  and  clothes,  while  their  male  counterparts  run  shops  (Chico, 
2020). In 2012, Luanda’s local authorities announced the end of informal street trading in 
the capital, a decision with considerable gendered impacts, given that most female street 
traders had come to Luanda being displaced from rural areas during the war and lived in 
extreme  poverty.  Human  rights  organisations,  e.g.  HRW,  reported  afterwards  physical 
violence  against  female  street  sellers,  incl.  pregnant  women,  and  extortion  of  money, 
carried out by police and government officials. According to local authorities, street vendors 
were supposed to be registered and moved to formal marketplaces (HRW, 2013). However, 
informal retail trade remained in Luanda, due to the economic situation in the country and 
low level  of  education,  being for many an  only option to generate income. In 2017, the 
local  authorities  returned  to  the  idea  of  ending  informal  trade  in  the  capital  (VOA, 
November 2017). 

Women as traders 

Regarding  engagement  in  trade,  the  2010  World  Bank  Enterprise  Survey  indicated  that 
2.5%  of  women-led  enterprises  and  5.9%  led  by  men  exported  directly  or  indirectly  at 
least 10% of their sales, however, when reply was narrowed down to direct exports, this 
related only to 2.4% of enterprises led by men (0% among those led by women). The use 
of imported inputs or supplies declared 57.8% enterprises led by women and 60.7% led 
by men. Regarding proportion of foreign inputs in the total of inputs used, it was 18,9% 
for women-led enterprises and 26% for those led by men (World Bank, 2010). 

Informal cross-border trade reports estimate value of informal cross border trade between 
Namibia and Angola, amounting in 2014 to N$11.1 million (USD 0.75 million) in exports 
mainly  destined  to  the  Angolan  market.  The  exported  goods  comprised  mostly  of  items 
usually traded by female street traders and women in small-scale businesses such as: fish 
and  processed  fish  (16.2%),  fruits  and  vegetables  (9.7%),  processed  food  and  spices 
(4.9%),  clothes  and  footwear  (4.9%)  and  non-alcoholic  beverages  (3.9%)  (Namibia 
Statistics Agency, 2014). In 2019, Angola was the first Namibia’s trading partner in cross-
border informal trade, with Namibia’s exports worth of N$ 8.5 million and imports worth 
N$ 2.4 million. Women represented 38.4% of all informal traders (i.e., across all Namibia’s 
borders).  While  Namibia  exported  mainly  cooking  oil  (10.8%),  prepared  foods  (10%), 
detergents and other chemical products (8.5%) and fuel (8.2%), with vegetables following 
with 5.5%, it imported prepared foods (13.4%), beverages (11.9%), vegetables (11%), 
footwear (8.4%), cosmetics (8.3%), clothing, cooking oil, fish, sugar, and other categories 
(each of which had a share below 4%) (Namibia Statistics Agency, 2019). 

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lima/documents/publication/wcms_245619.pdf 

ILO (2009), The informal economy in Africa: Promoting transition to formality: Challenges and strategies: 

https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---
emp_policy/documents/publication/wcms_127814.pdf 

ILO, IPEC, Angola, https://www.ilo.org/ipec/Regionsandcountries/Africa/angola/lang--en/index.htm  

INAC, MASFAMU (2020), Estatística das denúncias recepcionadas pelo call center sos - criança a nível nacional 

durante o ano de 2020 [.pdf dcument shared by UNICEF] 

INAC, MASFAMU (2019), Fluxos e parámetros para o atendimento a criancas e adolescentes vitimas de 

violencia [.pdf document shared by UNICEF] 

INE, Instituto Nacional de Estatística (2021), Indicadores de emprego e desemprego. Inquérito ao Emprego em 

Angola: 
https://www.ine.gov.ao/Arquivos/arquivosCarregados//Carregados/Publicacao_637590609235730113.
pdf  

INE (2020), Indicadores de emprego e desemprego. Inquérito sobre Despesas, Receitas e Emprego em Angola 

(IDREA 2018/2019): 
https://www.ine.gov.ao/images/Publicacao_Emprego_Desemprego_IDREA_VFINAL_03_07_2020.pdf 

INE (2019), Relatório de Pobreza para Angola: 

https://www.ine.gov.ao/images/Relatorio_PobrezaIDR_FINAL_Portugues_DID.pdf 

INE (2018), Anuário de estatísticas sociais, dados de 2011-2016: 

https://www.ine.gov.ao/images/Populacao_Sociedade/ANUARIO_ESTATISTICA_SOCIAIS_2011_2016.
pdf 

INE (2018a), Homens e mulheres em Angola: 

https://www.ine.gov.ao/images/Populacao_Sociedade/Estudos_tematicos/Estudo_Tematico_-
_Homens_e_Mulheres_em_Angola.pdf 

INE (2017), Relatório sobre emprego. Inquérito de indicadores múltiplos e de saúde, 2015-2016: 

https://www.ine.gov.ao/images/Populacao_Sociedade/Relatorio_Pop_mundial/RELATORIO_FINAL_IIM
S2015_2016__EMPREGO_DG_INE.pdf 

INE (2013), Inquérito Integrado sobre o Bem-Estar da População, IBEP (2008-2009) Vol IV: 

https://www.ine.gov.ao/images/Populacao_Sociedade/Estudos_tematicos/IBEP_Volume_IV.pdf 

INE (2011), Inquérito Integrado sobre o Bem-Estar da População, IBEP (2008-2009) Vol II: 

https://www.ine.gov.ao/images/Populacao_Sociedade/IBEP_Relatorio_de_Tabelas_Vol.II.pdf 

International Monetary Fund (September 2020), Angola: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Oil Price 

Shock: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/09/18/na-angola-confronting-the-covid-19-
pandemic-and-the-oil-price-shock  

ITUC (June 2018), Angola: Government Suspends Salaries of Thousands of Public Sector Workers: 

https://www.ituc-csi.org/angola-government-suspends  

Jansen Marion, Peters Ralf, Salazar-Xirinachs José Manuel, ILO (2011), Trade and Employment. From Myths to 

Facts: 
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/%40ed_emp/documents/publication/wcms_162297.pdf 

ITUC (February 2018), Tácticas antisindicales en las empresas públicas: https://survey.ituc-

csi.org/Angola.html?lang=es#tabs-3  

Jodoin, S. & Pollack, C. (2019). Children’s Rights, International Trade Law and Economic Globalisation. In C. 

Fenton-Glynn (Ed.), Children’s Rights and Sustainable Development: Interpreting the UNCRC for 
Future Generations. Cambridge University Press: doi:10.1017/9781108140348.012  

Jornal de Angola (12 June 2021), Mais de três mil crianças envolvidas em trabalho infantil: 

https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/mais-de-tres-mil-criancas-envolvidas-em-trabalho-infantil/  

Jornal de Angola (15 January 2021), “Mercado informal é o de maior risco em qualidade sanitária”: 

https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/mercado-informal-e-o-de-maior-risco-em-qualidade-
sanitaria/  

Jornal de Angola (19 July 2020), Fazenda Girassol inicia embalagem de banana para exportar: 

https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/fazenda-girassol-inicia-embalagem-de-banana-para-
exportar/  

Jornal de Angola (15 July 2020), Covid-19: Pandemia aumenta desemprego e trabalho infantil em Luanda: 
https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/covid-19-pandemia-aumenta-desemprego-e-trabalho-
infantil-em-luanda/  

Jornal de Angola (12 July 2020), Cresce o número de crianças expostas ao trabalho infantil: 

https://jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/cresce-o-numero-de-criancas-expostas-ao-trabalho-infantil/  

Jornal de Angola (10 March 2020), Empresárias vencem obstáculos e incentivam outras mulheres: 

https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/empresarias-vencem-obstaculos-e-incentivam-outras-
mulheres/  

Jornal de Angola (24 August 2018), Salários em atraso preocupam sindicato: 

https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/detalhes.php?id=411655  

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Jornal de Angola (12 June 2018), Trabalho infantil é realidade mundial: 

https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/detalhes.php?id=406468  

Jornal de Angola (23 May 2018), Justiça aberta a negociações com sindicato: 

https://www.jornaldeangola.ao/ao/noticias/detalhes.php?id=405097  

KUP (July 2018), Angolanos Submetidos A Trabalho Escravo Em Benguela: 

https://kwachaunitapress.com/2018/07/27/angolanos-submetidos-a-trabalho-escravo-em-benguela/  

Leite O. (June 2020), RR, Ser criança em Angola. Milhões sem registo e fuga à paternidade é drama “muito 

grande”: https://rr.sapo.pt/2020/06/01/mundo/ser-crianca-em-angola-milhoes-sem-registo-e-fuga-a-
paternidade-e-drama-muito-grande/noticia/195112/  

Lexology Employment and Labour Law in Angola: https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=1fb030a2-

cd87-4cff-a824-
5c87f7f11f0a#:~:text=Angola%20has%20numerous%20regulations%20governing,be%20foreign%20
non%2Dresident%20individuals 

Lind-Haldorsson, O. & R. O’Donnell (2016). The EU and Child Protection Systems: The Role and the Impact of 

the EU in Advancing Children’s Protection Rights, In Iusmen, I., & Stalford, H. (Eds.). The EU as a 
Children’s Rights Actor: Law, Policy and Structural Dimensions. Opladen; Berlin; Toronto: Verlag 
Barbara Budrich. doi:10.2307/j.ctvddzwhd  

Lloyds Bank (2021), The distribution network in Angola: https://www.lloydsbanktrade.com/en/market-

potential/angola/distribution  

Lopes, C., M. (2014,), A economia informal em Angola: breve panorâmica, Revista Angolana de Socialogia 

(accessed in October 2020): https://journals.openedition.org/ras/1094#tocto1n2  

Macao Magazine (March 2020), Cropping up: https://macaomagazine.net/cropping-up/  

Marubeni Brand Channel, (2018), A visit to Rehabilitating Angolan textile factories, Youtube.com, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFSUKbuh1yU 

The Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs 2020 Report, 

https://www.mastercard.com/news/media/1ulpy5at/ma_miwe-report-2020.pdf 

Mercado (February 2021), Economia cria 640 mil empregos informais e destrói 2900 formais: 

https://mercado.co.ao/economia/economia-cria-640-mil-empregos-informais-e-destroi-2900-formais-
HE1006786  

Meusalario.org/Angola, Trabalhos Forçados: https://meusalario.org/angola/lei-geral-do-trabalho/tratamento-

justo/trabalho-forcado 

Meusalario.org/Angola, Sindicatos: https://meusalario.org/angola/lei-geral-do-trabalho/sindicatos 

Ministério da Administração Pública, Trabalho e Segurança Social (2019), Anuário de estatísticas do trabalho 

estruturado e segurança social 2018: 
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S_EMPREGO_E_TRABALHO_ESTRUTURADO_REV_SC_21_08_2020.pdf 

Ministério da Agricultura e Florestas, MINAGRIF (2019), Relatório de resultados  

da campanha agrícola 2018/2019: https://assets.website-
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AGRICOLA%202018-2019.pdf  

Ministerio do Planeamento (2007), Angola 2025, Angola um país com futuro: 

http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/ang184675.pdf  

Namibia Statistics Agency, (2019), Informal Cross Border Trade: 

https://d3rp5jatom3eyn.cloudfront.net/cms/assets/documents/Informal_Cross_Border_Trade_Survey_
(ICBTS)_2019.pdf  

Namibia Statistics Agency, (2014), Informal Cross Border Trade, 

https://d3rp5jatom3eyn.cloudfront.net/cms/assets/documents/Informal_Crossborder_Trade_Report.p
df  

Nestle RE Sustainability: https://www.nestle-esar.com/re-sustainability  

New Food Magazine (August 2012), Nestlé opens first factory in Angola: 

https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/news/8511/nestle-opens-first-factory-in-angola/  

Nova Gazeta (June, 2019), Duas em cada 10 crianças trabalham: https://www.novagazeta.co.ao/artigo/duas-

em-cada-10-criancas-trabalham  

Nova lei das pescas (2004), Lei dos recursos biologicos aquaticos: 

https://www.informea.org/sites/default/files/legislation/ang50971.pdf  

O novo jornal (July 2018), Angola é o segundo país lusófono com mais escravos modernos exploracao de 

diamantes agrava risco de trabalhos forcados: https://novojornal.co.ao/sociedade/interior/angola-e-o-
segundo-pais-lusofono-com-mais-escravos-modernos-exploracao-de-diamantes-agrava-risco-de-
trabalhos-forcados-57016.html  

Observador (August 2018), Governo angolano quer tirar da pobreza extrema três milhões de pessoas até 2022: 

https://observador.pt/2018/10/17/governo-angolano-quer-tirar-da-pobreza-extrema-tres-milhoes-de-
pessoas-ate-2022/ 

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ONgoma (20 June 2017), Andrade, L., A agricultura é o sector que maior quantidade de emprego gera, afirma 
Domingos Veloso: https://www.ongoma.news/artigo/a-agricultura-e-o-sector-que-maior-quantidade-
de-emprego-gera-afirma-domingos-veloso  

O Pais (19 June 2019), Bento, D., Plano de Erradicação do Trabalho Infantil prevê devolver dignidade às 

crianças desfavorecidas:  Link to the Article 

O Pais (7 June 2019), Teixeira M., “Direitos fundamentais à greve e à liberdade sindical limitados nas propostas 

de lei”: https://opais.co.ao/index.php/2019/06/07/direitos-fundamentais-a-greve-e-a-liberdade-
sindical-limitados-nas-propostas-de-lei/ 

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) (2019), Angola: Facts and Figures, 

https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/147.htm 

Oya, C., Wanda, F. (2018), Condições de emprego em Angola. Construção de obras  

públicas e indústria de materiais de construção: 
https://www.soas.ac.uk/idcea/publications/reports/file141202.pdf  

Pacatolo, C. (2021), (“PROVÁVEIS”) Impactos sociais e nos direitos humanos da adesão de Angola ao APE-

AFIS. Pobreza como privação de direitos sociais de cidadania em Angola (presentation delivered at the 
workshop for the study, on 22 July 2021) 

PRODESI (2020), O estudo da cadeia de valor do sector das pescas em Angola: 

https://prodesi.ao/uploads/RELATORIO_VOLUME3_PESCAS.pdf  

PRODESI (2017), Plano de Desenvolvimento de Médio Prazo do  

Sector Agrário: 2018 – 2022: 
https://prodesi.ao/uploads/PLANO_DESENVOLVIMENTO_MEDIO_PRAZO_SECTOR_AGRARIO_2018_20
22.pdf  

Projeto Eduka+ Angola (2019), O trabalho infantil e suas consequências no desenvolvimento de crianças e 

adolescentes angolanos: 
http://anais.unievangelica.edu.br/index.php/extensao/article/view/4961/2968  

Projeto Eduka+ Angola (2019a), Empoderamento da mulher angolana: uma perspectiva transcultural a partir 

do projeto eduka+ Angola: 
http://anais.unievangelica.edu.br/index.php/extensao/article/view/4956/2966  

pt.countryeconomy.com (2020), Angola - Pirâmide etária: 

https://pt.countryeconomy.com/demografia/estrutura-populacional/angola  

UniEVANGÉLICA (2018), A qualidade de vida e o brincar de crianças angolanas: 
https://downloads.editoracientifica.org/articles/210303581.pdf  

Quartz Africa (May 2016), Chutel, L., Could Angola’s first banana exports in 40 years save its economy?: 

https://qz.com/africa/691237/could-angolas-first-banana-exports-in-40-years-save-its-economy/  

RFI (July 2018), Angola: Trabalho escravo em empresa de pesca? https://www.rfi.fr/pt/angola/20180726-

angola-trabalho-escravo-em-empresa-de-pesca-angolanos-benguela-peixe  

SADC, (2020), Selected Economic and Social Indicators 2019, 

https://www.sadc.int/files/2916/0102/7136/Selected_Indicators_2020_September_11v2.pdf 

SADC (2005), Regional Strategic Indicative Development Plan (2005-2020): https://www.sadc.int/about-

sadc/overview/strategic-pl/regional-indicative-strategic-development-plan/ 

SADC-EU EPA, Civil Society Forum 2017: https://sadc-epa-outreach.com/civil-society-forum  

Severino, J., (2021), Angola e a Uniao Europeia (presentation at the workshop for this study) 

Smith, A., Tossa, G., F., (2020), A united voice for banana workers in Africa: 

https://www.bananalink.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/FES-Towards-A-United-Voice-for-
Banana-Workers-ENG-FINAL.pdf  

Société Générale (2021), Angola: Country Risk – Economy, https://import-

export.societegenerale.fr/en/country/angola/economy-country-risk 

Statista (2021), Production volume of bananas in Angola in crop year 2018/19 compared to previous crop year:  

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1155528/production-of-bananas-in-angola/  

Statista (2020), Share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Angola as of the second quarter of 2020, by 

economic activity: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1139303/share-of-gdp-in-angola-by-economic-
activity/  

Support to safety and quality standards towards a national sustainable and inclusive economic growth in 

Angola, Concept Note, Partner Country Window under the RIP Action on Jobs and Prosperity 
(document shared by the European Commission)  

The Halo Trust, 100 Women in demining Angola, https://www.halotrust.org/latest/special-projects/100-women-

in-angola/ 

Total, Angola - A bright future ahead for entrepreneurial women in Angola: 

https://www.itineraires.total.com/en/angola-bright-future-ahead-entrepreneurial-women-angola 

Trade and Development Committee (TDC) meeting (February 2020), Annotated agenda: 

https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2020/february/tradoc_158654.pdf  

Trade and Development Committee (TDC) meeting (February 2019), Annotated agenda: 
https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2020/april/tradoc_158726.pdf  

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Trade and Development Committee (TDC) meeting (November 2018), Annotated agenda: 
https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2020/april/tradoc_158725.pdf  

Trade and Development Committee (TDC) meeting (February 2018), Annotated agenda: 
https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2020/april/tradoc_158724.pdf  

Turiagro: https://turiagro.com/  

Tvedten, I. & co., (2017), Rural Poverty in Malanje, Angola, CMI Report Number 1 – May 2017, 

https://www.cmi.no/publications/file/6232-rural-poverty-in-malanje-angola.pdf 

UCCLA (União das Cidades Capitais de Língua Portuguesa), Governo angolano quer tirar da pobreza extrema 

três milhões de pessoas até 2022:  https://www.uccla.pt/noticias/governo-angolano-quer-tirar-da-
pobreza-extrema-tres-milhoes-de-pessoas-ate-2022  

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2019). Concluding observations on the 

seventh periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/7. 

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the report submitted by Angola 

under article 12 (1) of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of 
children, child prostitution and child pornography, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPSC/AGO/CO/1. 

UN Women, Angola commits to the empowerment of women and gender equality, the dignity of families and 

the advancement of women, https://www.unwomen.org/en/get-involved/step-it-
up/commitments/angola 

UN Women (2018), Global Database on Violence against Women – Angola, https://evaw-global-

database.unwomen.org/fr/countries/africa/angola 

UNCTAD, (2018), EU and UNCTAD kick-start project to help Angola diversify its trade,  

https://unctad.org/news/eu-and-unctad-kick-start-project-help-angola-diversify-its-trade 

UNCTAD (2018a), Teaching material on volume 1: unfolding the links 

module 4b, trade and gender linkages: an analysis of the Southern African Development Community 
(SADC): https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ditc2018d1_en.pdf  

UNCTAD, (2017), Trade and Gender Toolbox: http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditc2017d1_en.pdf 

UNCTAD, (2016), Trade Policy Framework – Angola, https://unctad.org/system/files/official-

document/ditctncd2015d5_en.pdf 

UNCTAD (2014), Virtual institute teaching material on trade and gender. Volume 1: Unfolding the links: 

https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/gds2014d1_en.pdf  

UNCTAD (2013), Who is benefiting from trade liberalization in Angola? A gender perspective: 

https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ditc2013d3_en.pdf  

UNCTAD, (2013a), Women’s empowerment, modernized farming recommended for Angola, 

https://unctad.org/news/womens-empowerment-modernized-farming-recommended-angola 

UNDP (2019). Human Development Indicators - Angola: http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/AGO 

UNHR, (2019), Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women considers Angola's report, 

https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24225&LangID=E 

UNDP (May 2020), Projecto nos Mercados Informais: PNUD e MAT unem forças: 

https://www.ao.undp.org/content/angola/pt/home/blog/projeto--de--mercados-informais--uma-
resposta-do-pnud-a-pandemia.html  

UNDP (2013), Corporate Social Responsibility. Current Situation in Angola: 

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/angola/docs/Publications/undp_ao_pov_csr_apr2013.pdf  

US AID, Health-related Corporate Social Responsibility in Africa: a multi-country study: 

http://www.africanstrategies4health.org/uploads/1/3/5/3/13538666/csr_technical_brief_final.pdf 

US Chamber of Commerce: Purpose and prosperity. How US businesses are creating impact in Africa: 

https://www.usafricabusinesscenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Africa-CSR-Report-Full-web.pdf 

US Department of Labour (2019), Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor: 

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/angola  

Vanguarda (May 2019), Centrais sindicais lutam contra machadada à liberdade sindical: 

https://vanguarda.co.ao/sociedade/centrais-sindicais-lutam-contra-machadada-a-liberdade-sindical-
CA561271 

Ventura Industrial Group, A criação e fornecimento sustentável de peixe tilapia e camarão para mercados locais 

de Angola e mercados e internacionais: https://pt.venturaindustrialgroup.com/aquaculture-fish-farm  

VOA (July 2021), Sindicato acusa Governo angolano de discriminar médicos nacionais:  

https://www.voaportugues.com/a/sindicato-acusa-governo-angolano-de-discrminar-m%C3%A9dicos-
nacionais/5954718.html  

VOA (May 2021), Sindicato levanta greve na função pública em Angola depois de Governo aceitar negociar: 

https://www.voaportugues.com/a/sindicato-levanta-greve-na-fun%C3%A7%C3%A3o-p%C3%BAblica-
em-angola-depois-de-governo-aceitar-negociar/5880822.html  

VOA (June 2020), Sindicato angolano acusa empresa chinesa de escravatura moderna:  

https://www.voaportugues.com/a/sindicato-angolano-acusa-empresa-chinesa-de-escravatura-
moderna/5482185.html  

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VOA (July 2018), Jovens angolanos dizem-se explorados em companhias de pesca geridas por chineses: 

https://www.voaportugues.com/a/jovens-angolanos-dizem-se-explorados-em-companhias-de-pesca-
geridas-por-chineses-/4467476.html  

VOA (November 2017), Vendedores ambulantes confrontam governador de Luanda: 

https://www.voaportugues.com/a/vendedores-de-rua-em-luanda-confronta-governador/4095668.html  

VOA (March 2017), Odebrecht condenada por trabalho escravo em Angola:  

https://www.voaportugues.com/a/odebrecht-trabalho-escravo-angola/3773639.html  

World Bank (2020), Angola Poverty Assessment: 

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/34057/Angola-Poverty-
Assessment.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y  

World Bank Group (2020a), Doing Business 2020 - Comparing Business Regulation in 190 Economies, 

https://www.doingbusiness.org/content/dam/doingBusiness/country/a/angola/AGO.pdf  

World Bank (2020b), Population, total – Angola: 

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=AO  

World Bank (2020c), Urban population (% of total population) – Angola: 

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=AO  

World Bank Group, (2018), Angola: Systemic Country Diagnostic – Creating Assets for the Poor, 

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/31443/angola-scd-03072019-
636877656084587895.pdf 

World Bank (2010) Enterprise Survey, Angola: 

https://www.enterprisesurveys.org/en/data/exploreeconomies/2010/angola#biggest-obstacle  

World Economic Forum (2020), Global Gender Gap Report 2020, 
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf  

Zarrilli, S., Bridges Africa (2017), The Case for Mainstreaming Gender in Trade Policy: 

https://ictsd.iisd.org/bridges-news/bridges-africa/news/the-case-for-mainstreaming-gender-in-trade-
policy  

Zarrilli, S., UNCTAD (2014), The Gender Dimension of Trade Case studies from Africa:  

Lesotho, Gambia, Rwanda, Angola, and Cape Verde: https://unctad.org/system/files/non-official-
document/ditc_gender_2014d04_Zarrilli_en.pdf  

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Annex E: Background Analysis for Human Rights Impact Assessment 

1 

1.1  Human Rights Profile and Baseline Analysis for Angola 

The human rights profile presented here is based on the analysis of the international human 
rights  obligations,  national  legislation  and  policy  framework  as  well  as  implementation 
issues with respect to relevant human rights. Potential links with the EPA are not included 
here. 

1.1.1  Human Rights Framework – Ratification of International Human Rights Treaties 

International human rights law lays down obligations which states are bound to respect. 
By means of ratification of international human rights treaties, states accept obligations to 
respect, protect and fulfil human rights. 

The  Constitution  of  Angola  recognises  a  vast  list  of  human  rights  as  interpreted  in  the 
international human rights treaties ratified by the state.195 Angola ratified seven out of nine 
core  international  human  rights  treaties.  It  is  a  signatory  party  to  the  International 
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CPED), and it 
did not ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant 
Workers and Members of their families (ICMW). Most recent ratifications took place in 2019 
when Angola ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial 
Discrimination (ICERD), the Torture Convention (CAT) and the Second Optional Protocol to 
the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on the abolition of death penalty. Next 
to that, the state also ratified almost all the optional protocols to these conventions (Table 
1).  As  part  of  its  reporting  obligations,  Angola  submits  reports  to  the  UN  monitoring 
bodies.196 The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees was ratified by Angola 
in  1981  with  reservations  to  Articles  17  (on  the  right  to  work)  and  26  (on  freedom  of 
movement).197 

Table 1: Ratification status of core international human rights treaties by Angola 

Human Rights Treaty 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 
- Optional Protocol to the ICCPR 
- Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR 
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) 
- Optional Protocol to the ICESCR 
Convention  against  Torture  and  Other  Cruel  Inhuman  or  Degrading  Treatment  or 
Punishment (CAT) 
 Optional Protocol to the CAT 
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
(CPED) 
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 
- Optional Protocol to the CEDAW 
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) 
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 
- Optional Protocol to the CRC on the involvement of children in the armed conflict 
- Optional Protocol to the CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography 
- Optional Protocol to the CRC on a communication procedure 
International  Convention  on  the  Protection  of  the  Rights  of  All  Migrant  Workers  and 
Members of their Families (ICMW) 
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) 
- Optional Protocol to the CRPD 

Ratified? 
✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
Signed 
✓ 

Signed 
Signed 

✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
        
        

✓ 
✓ 

195  The full text of the 2010 Constitution of Angola is available at: https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/ 

Angola_2010.pdf 

196  UN Treaty Body Database: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/LateReporting.aspx  
197  UNHCR website: https://www.unhcr.org/5d9ed32b4   

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Source: www.ohchr.org  

Angola  has  ratified  all  eight  fundamental  ILO  Conventions  that  cover  freedom  of 
association,  forced  labour,  discrimination,  and  child  labour.  It  has  ratified  one  ILO 
governance  convention  regarding  labour  inspection,  and  the  International  Labour 
Standards Convention (No. 144) will enter into force on April 21, 2021. It has not ratified 
the other two governance conventions (No. 122 and No. 129), referring to  employment 
policy  and  labour  inspection  in  agriculture.  The  ILO  Indigenous  and  Tribal  Peoples 
Convention (No. 169) is also not ratified by Angola (Table 2).  

Table 2: Ratification status of key ILO Conventions by Angola 

Convention 

C029 – Forced Labour Convention 
C087 – Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention 
C098 – Right to Organise and Collective bargaining Convention 
C100 – Equal Enumeration Convention 
C105 – Abolition of Forced Labour Convention 
C111 – Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention 
C138 – Minimum Age Convention 
C182 – Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention 
C081 – Labour Inspection Convention 
C122 – Employment Policy Convention 
C129 – Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention) 
C144 – Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention) 
C155 – Occupational Safety and Health Convention 
C169 – Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 

Source: www.ilo.org  

Ratified 
or not 

✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
✓ 
 
 
198 
 
 

Next to that, Angola has ratified all the key treaties of the African Union concerning human 
rights (Table 3) and is a member state of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ 
Rights.199 

Table 3: Status of ratifications of regional human rights treaties by Angola 

Convention 

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Banjul Charter) 
The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 
Protocol  to  the  African Charter  on  Human  and  Peoples' Rights  on  the Rights  of  Women  in  Africa 
(Maputo Protocol) 
OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa 
African Youth Charter 
African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa 
(Kampala Convention) 
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Older Persons 

Source: www.au.int 

Ratified 
or not 

✓ 
✓ 
✓ 

✓ 
✓ 
✓ 

Signed 

1.1.2  Baseline analysis of relevant human rights/issues200 

1.1.2.1  National human rights framework 

The 2010 Constitution of Angola contains provisions to a broad range of human rights by 
reference to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter of Human and 
Peoples’  Rights  and  other  international  treaties.  The  2019  Penal  Code  provides  for 
additional protection of human rights (e.g. through criminalisation of acts of discrimination 
against the LGBTI persons and de-criminalisation of same-sex relations) but also includes 

198  ILO Convention 144 entered into force for Angola on 24 April 2021. It was ratified on 24 April 2020. 
199  The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights: https://www.achpr.org/states/detail?id=2 
200  Selection of the rights is based on the list of rights provided in Annex 2 of the EC Guidelines on the analysis 

of human rights impacts in impact assessments for trade-related policy initiatives rights. 

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provisions  on  penalties  for  the  voluntary  termination  of  pregnancy  and  defamation 
provisions that put limitations on the freedom of the press. The Office of the Ombudsman 
(Provedor de Justiça) was established in 2006,201 but it has a limited mandate and limited 
financial resources to effectively comply with the Paris Principles on National Human Rights 
Institutions.202 

1.1.2.2  Cross-cutting issues 

Equality and non-discrimination 

Legal and policy framework: 

The Constitution of Angola guarantees freedom from discrimination in Articles 21 and 22. 
Non-discrimination  is  also  addressed  in  other  provisions  related  to  the  freedom  of 
conscience, religion and worship, children’s rights and the right to work (Art. 40, 41,  76 
and  80).  The  UN  Human  Rights  Council  expressed  concern,  however,  that  there  is  no 
general  law  on  equality  and  non-discrimination  that  provides  a  comprehensive  list  of 
prohibited  grounds  of  discrimination.203  The  new  Penal  Code  was  adopted  which 
criminalises discrimination based on sexual orientation.204 

Implementation issues:  

Effective protection against discrimination is lacking in Angola. The UN and international 
human  rights  organisations  report  that  stigmatisation  and  de  facto  discrimination  are 
common,  in  particular  with  respect  to  indigenous  peoples,  foreigners,  persons  with 
HIV/AIDS, persons with disabilities, LGBTI persons and women.205 The 2020 Global Gender 
Gap  Report  of  the  World  Economic  Forum  states  that  Angola  has  to  close  75.9%  of  the 
gender gap.206 Women face societal pressure which discourages them from active political 
participation.207 According to the 2020  Bertelsmann Transformation Index  report,  LGBTI 
persons also face discrimination and violence.208 

Corruption 

Legal, policy and institutional framework: 

The Penal Code criminalises acts of corruption and embezzlement. The Strategic Plan on 
the  Prevention  and  Combatting  of  Corruption  was  adopted  in  2018.  The  same  year  the 
Directorate  on  Crimes  of  Corruption  within  the  Criminal  Investigation  Service  was 

201  Website  of  the  Office  of  the  Ombudsman  in  Angola:  http://www.provedordejustica.ao/estrutura_e_ 

funcionamento.php  

202  United Nations Human Rights Committee (2019). Concluding observations on the second periodic report of 

Angola, UN Doc. CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2*. 

203  Ibid. 
204  See Código Penal Angolano: https://governo.gov.ao/fotos/frontend_1/gov_documentos/novo_codigo_penal_ 

905151145fad02b10cd11.pdf  

205  United Nations Human Rights Committee (2019). Concluding observations on the second periodic report of 
Angola,  UN  Doc.  CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2*;  Human  Rights  Watch  (2020).  World  Report  2020:  Angola: 
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/angola 

206  World  Economic  Forum  (2020).  Global  Gender  Gap  Report  2020:  http://www3.weforum.org/docs/ 

WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf  

207  Freedom  House  (2020).  Freedom  in  the  World  2020:  Angola:  https://freedomhouse.org/country/angola/ 

freedom-world/2020 

208  Bertelsmann  Foundation  (2020).  The  2020  BTI  Country  Report-  Angola:  https://www.bti-project.org/ 

content/en/downloads/reports/country_report_2020_AGO.pdf 

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established.209 In collaboration with the UNDP, various trainings aimed at anti-corruption 
were carried out.210  

Implementation issues: 

The  Corruption  Perception  Index  (CPI)  for  the  last  five  years  shows  that  the  score  for 
corruption in Angola has improved due to cooperation with international organisations and 
new legislation adopted by the authorities (from 18 in 2016 to 26 in 2019).211 The 2019 
UN Human Rights Council report states that corruption remains widespread, especially in 
the  public  sector  and  that  measures  taken  so  far  have  not  been  sufficient  to  address 
corruption problem in the country. The number of persecutions and convictions in cases on 
corruption is low.212  

Environment, and business and human rights 

Legal, policy and institutional framework: 

Article 39 of the Constitution of Angola states the right for everyone to “live in a healthy 
and  unpolluted  environment  and  the  duty  to  defend  and  preserve  it”.  Article  16  gives 
exclusive rights to the state regarding solid, liquid and gaseous natural resources in the 
territory of Angola, which determines how these resources are to be exploited. Angola has 
made  some  progress  on  environmental  policies  introducing  legislative  tools  in  order  to 
tackle  environmental  issues.  The  Mining  Code  establishes  that  mining  activities  should 
contribute to sustainable social and economic development of the communities adjacent to 
mining  sites.  The  Presidential  Order  No.  14/18  made  efforts  to  mitigate  land  related 
conflicts between rural communities and businesses.  

Implementation issues: 

Despite some progress in adopting legislative measures, the UN Committee on the Rights 
of the Child notes that there is no clear regulatory framework for the companies operating 
in the country that would make sure that business activities do not endanger environmental 
situation in the country.213 Development activities continue to impede communities from 
assessing  their  lands  that  often  result  in  inability  to  produce  food  for  subsistence. 214 
According to the Yale University’s Environmental Performance Index, Angola ranks 158 out 
of 180 surveyed countries in 2020 due to the persistent issues related to water availability, 
water quality, waste management and pollution.215  

209  United Nations Human Rights Committee (2019). Concluding observations on the second periodic report of 

Angola, UN Doc. CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2*. 

210  UNDP  (2019).  Independent  Country  Programme  Evaluation-  Angola:  https://www.undp.org/content/dam/ 

angola/docs/Publications/ICPE_ANGOLA_2018%20.pdf  

211  Transparency International (2020).  Corruption Perceptions Index – Angola: https://www.transparency.org/ 

en/cpi/2019/index/ago  

212  United Nations Human Rights Committee (2019). Concluding observations on the second periodic report of 

Angola, UN Doc. CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2*. 

213  UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the combined fifth to seventh 

periodic reports of Angola, UN Doc. CRC/C/AGO/CO/5-7. 

214  United Nations Human Rights Committee (2019). Concluding observations on the second periodic report of 

Angola, UN Doc. CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2*. 

215  Yale University (2020). The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2020- Angola: https://epi.yale.edu/sites/ 

default/files/files/AGO_EPI2020_CP.pdf  

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1.1.2.3  Civil and political rights 

Right to life, liberty and security of person216 

These rights are guaranteed under the Constitution (Art. 30 and 36). Death penalty had 
been  abolished  in  1992  and  Article  59  of  the  Constitution  explicitly  prohibits  capital 
punishment.  Torture  is  prohibited  under  Article  60  of  the  Angolan  Constitution.  In  2019 
Angola  ratified  the  UN  Torture  Convention.  It  did  not  ratify  the  Optional  Protocol  to  the 
Convention  which  gives  a  mandate  to  the  Committee  to  carry  out  visits  to  places  of 
detention  and  obliges  states  to  set  up  an  independent  domestic  National  Preventive 
Mechanism to work on the prevention of torture. The problem of landmines was addressed 
through the active cooperation with the international community and the creation of the 
National Demining Institute. The Programme for the Elimination of Landmines was adopted 
too.  

While noting the progress made by the National Demining Institute, the UN Committee of 
the  Rights  of  the  Child  notes  that  there  are  still  landmines  in  the  rural  areas  of  Angola 
which had led to casualties.217 The UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern about 
the large amount of small arms illegally possessed by the population.218  Reports of violence 
and  ill-treatment  of  the  police  and  security  forces  have  been  common.219  Amnesty 
International  reports  that  extrajudicial  killings  were  conducted  with  respect  to  persons 
suspected of illegal diamond mining.220 

Administration of justice, including impunity and the rule of law 

The 2010 Constitution provides for an independent judiciary. The Ministry of Justice and 
Human  Rights  has  made  efforts  to  improve  independence  of  prosecutors  and  judges 
through  adoption  of  the  Act  No.  2/15  which  establishes  rules  on  the  organisation  and 
operation of ordinary courts. The National Institute for Judicial Studies conducted capacity-
building programs on the importance of an independent judicial system.221 

The  UN  Human  Rights  Committee,  however,  points  to  the  reports  on  the  lack  of 
independence of the judiciary and insufficient number of trained prosecutors, judges and 
lawyers, with 95% of them working in the capital. Corruption and political pressure on the 
judiciary  is  also  reported  to  be  common.222  The  UN  Committee  on  the  Elimination  of 
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) states that access to justice for women remains 
an issue.223 According to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the juvenile justice 
system is available for children up to 16 years of age (not up to 18 years of age) and is 

216  This paragraph covers the following rights as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
and listed in Annex 2 of the EC Guidelines on the analysis of human rights impacts in impact assessments for 
trade-related policy initiatives: the right to life, the prohibition of torture, the right to liberty and security of 
person. 

217  United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the report submitted 
by  Angola  under  article  8(1)  of  the  Optional  Protocol  to  the  Convention  on  the  Rights  of  the  Child  on  the 
involvement of children in armed conflict, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/AGO/CO/1. 

218  United Nations Human Rights Committee (2019). Concluding observations on the second periodic report of 

Angola, UN Doc. CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2*. 

219  Human Rights Watch (2020). World Report 2020 – Angola: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-

chapters/angola#  

220  Amnesty  International  (2019).  Report  for  Angola:  https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/angola/ 

report-angola/   

221  U.S. Department of State (2019). Angola Human Rights Report: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/ 

2020/02/ANGOLA-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf  

222  Bertelsmann  Foundation  (2020).  The  2020  BTI  Country  Report-  Angola:  https://www.bti-project.org/ 

content/en/downloads/reports/country_report_2020_AGO.pdf 

223  United  Nations  Committee  on  the  Elimination  of  Discrimination  against  Women  (2019).  Concluding 

observations on the seventh periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/7. 

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lacking  adequate  human,  technical  and  financial  resources.224    The  U.S.  Department  of 
State notes that that the practice of informal courts when traditional community leaders 
hear criminal cases has been common.225 

Right to freedom of movement 

The Constitution provides for the freedom of movement. Local NGOs report  that despite 
some improvement, money is occasionally extorted from citizens at checkpoints. Reports 
of restrictions on the freedom of movement are particularly common in the provinces of 
Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul.226 

Right to privacy 

The  Constitution  prohibits  unlawful  interference  with  privacy  (Art.32).  The  right  to  be 
informed of any data stored is provided for in Article 69 (Habeas data). Reports of local 
NGOs  state  that  journalists,  members  of  opposition,  political  activists  and  civil 
organisations often face limitations through surveillance of their activities.227 

Freedom of association and assembly  

The  Constitution  of  Angola  recognises  the  freedom  of  association  and  assembly. 
Permissions  to  hold  public  assemblies  are  not  required  but  notifications  to  the  local 
authorities and police is obligatory.228  

The  UN  Human  Rights  Committee  and  Human  Rights  Watch  point  to  the  alleged  use  of 
excessive force by police against peaceful demonstrators,229 which is not common in pro-
government  public  events.230  The  Bertelsmann  Foundation  reports  that  the  freedom  of 
association  is  not  always  respected,  and  local  associations  are  encouraged  to  stay  ‘a-
political’.231  The  UN  Human  Rights  Council  and  the  Freedom  House  state  that  NGO 
registration  process  is  curtailed  by  extensive  delays  and  bureaucracy  and  that  NGO 
activities are being closely monitored by the authorities.232 

Prohibition of all forms of slavery 

Angola ratified the ILO Conventions on forced labour (Conventions No. 29 and No.105) and 
child  labour  (Conventions  No.  138  and  182).  The  Constitution  prohibits  slavery  under 
Article 60. A multisectoral commission to combat trafficking in persons was set up in 2014.  

The  Global  Slavery  Index  2018  estimates  that  199,000  people  are  living  in  modern 
slavery.233 The UN CEDAW states that trafficking through Angola is common for purposes 

224  UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the combined fifth to seventh 

periodic reports of Angola, UN Doc. CRC/C/AGO/CO/5-7. 

225  U.S. Department of State (2019). Angola Human Rights Report: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/ 

2020/02/ANGOLA-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf  

226  Ibid.  
227  Ibid.  
228  Ibid.  
229  United Nations Human Rights Committee (2019). Concluding observations on the second periodic report of 
Angola,  UN  Doc.  CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2*;  Human  Rights  Watch  (2020).  World  Report  2020  –  Angola: 
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/angola#. 

230  U.S. Department of State (2019). Angola Human Rights Report: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/ 

2020/02/ANGOLA-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf  

231  Bertelsmann  Foundation 

(2020).  The  2020  BTI  Country  Report-  Angola:  https://www.bti-

project.org/content/en/downloads/reports/country_report_2020_AGO.pdf 

232  United Nations Human Rights Committee (2019). Concluding observations on the second periodic report of 
Angola,  UN  Doc.  CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2*;  Freedom  House  (2020).  Freedom  in  the  World  2020:  Angola: 
https://freedomhouse.org/country/angola/ freedom-world/2020. 

233  The Global Slavery Index, Angola: https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/data/country-data/angola/ 

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of  sexual  exploitation and criminal activity.234  Next to that, the number  of prosecutions 
and convictions is very low, and complicity of law enforcement authorities in trafficking of 
women and children has been reported by both the UN CEDAW and the NGOs.235 There is 
no  early  identification  mechanism  to  identify  human  trafficking  in  place.236  Insufficient 
number of inspectors and corruption hamper progress in combatting human trafficking.  

Freedom of expression 

Article 40 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression. The 2017 Press Law gives 
authorities the right to oversee and control the media. Next to that, the law criminalises 
defamation and slander. The Human Rights Watch reports that the Angolan media is largely 
controlled  by  the  state  authorities237  and  the  Movimento  Popular  de  Libertação.238  The 
Freedom House notes that most media is owned by the government and generally reflect 
the  pro-government  views.239  Nevertheless,  some  improvements  were  made  regarding 
freedom  of  expression,  as  radio  and  print  media  were  able  to  criticise  the  government 
openly and private media was able to expand its reach to more provinces. Next to that, 
less violence was reported with respect to journalists.240 

Freedom of religion 

Article 41 of the Constitution of Angola guarantees the freedom of conscience, religion, and 
worship to all Angolan citizens. The law requires registration of religious associations. There 
are 81 recognised and 1100 unrecognised religious associations in Angola.241 Issues with 
the  freedom  of  religion  in  Angola  pertain  to  cumbersome  registration  procedures  for 
religious groups242 and closure of places of worship.243  

Right to participate in the conduct of public affairs 

The President of the Republic and the members of the national assembly are elected by 
universal suffrage according to Article 106 of the Constitution; votes are allocated through 
parties in proportional representation. The Political Parties Act No. 22/10 adopted in 2010 
establishes a minimum of 30% representation of women to hold legislative seats.244 

According  to  the  Freedom  House,  there  is  no  realistic  opportunity  for  the  opposition  to 
increase  its  support  or  gain  power  through  elections  because  the  power  held  by  the 
president and his party is too high. Since 1975 the same political party has held the power, 
but  in  recent  years  there  has  been  an  increase  in  opposition  parties.245  The  UN  CEDAW 

234  United  Nations  Committee  on  the  Elimination  of  Discrimination  against  Women  (2019).  Concluding 

observations on the seventh periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/7. 

235  Freedom  House  (2020).  Freedom  in  the  World  2020:  Angola:  https://freedomhouse.org/country/angola/ 

freedom-world/2020 

236  United  Nations  Committee  on  the  Elimination  of  Discrimination  against  Women  (2019).  Concluding 

observations on the seventh periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/7. 

237  Human 

Rights 

Watch 

(2018). 

Angola 

– 

country 

summary: 

https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/angola_1.pdf  

238  United Nations Human Rights Council (2019). Compilation on Angola, Report of the Office of the united Nations 

High commissioner for Human Rights, UN Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/34/AGO/2.  

239  Freedom  House  (2020).  Freedom  in  the  World  2020:  Angola:  https://freedomhouse.org/country/angola/ 

freedom-world/2020 

240  U.S. Department of State (2019). Angola Human Rights Report: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/ 

2020/02/ANGOLA-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf  

241  Ibid.  
242  Ibid.  
243  Human Rights Watch (2020). World Report 2019- Angola: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-

chapters/angola#  

244  United  Nations  Committee  on  the  Elimination  of  Discrimination  against  Women  (2019).  Concluding 

observations on the seventh periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/7. 

245  Freedom  House  (2020).  Freedom  in  the  World  2020:  Angola:  https://freedomhouse.org/country/angola/ 

freedom-world/2020 

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states that the actual number of women in decision-making positions reflects that the 30% 
quota is not observed.246 

1.1.2.4  Economic, social and cultural rights 

Right to work and right to just and favourable conditions of work 

Article 76 of the Angolan Constitution recognises the right to work and contains provisions 
that pertain to the right to just and favourable conditions of work, like “fair pay, rest days, 
holidays,  protection,  and  workplace  health  and  safety”.  The  2015  General  Labour  Law 
further regulates labour relations. The Executive Decree No. 128/04 (2014) approves the 
general  regulations  for  safety  and  health  at  work  and  several  other  decrees  establish 
guidelines  on  safety,  hygiene  and  health  at  work  in  specific  sectors,  e.g.  in  petroleum 
operations  or  in  the  transport  and  communications  sectors.247  The  Labour  Law  prohibits 
discrimination  at  the  workplace.  However,  the  definition  of  discrimination  is  not  clearly 
defined  in  the  law.  The  2016  Presidential  Decree  establishes  minimum  employment 
standards  for  domestic  workers,  including  compulsory  employer  contributions  to  a 
domestic  worker’s  social  security  protection.  The  Ministry  of  Public  Administration  is 
responsible for the implementation of this law. 

Various  stakeholders  note  multiple  issues  with  the  implementation  of  these  laws. 
Discrimination has been reported as common, in particular with respect to women, persons 
with  albinism,  migrants,  refugees  and  persons  with  disabilities  who  faced  difficulties  in 
finding employment. Implementation  of the laws  concerning domestic workers have not 
been optimal either, partially due to the insufficient number of labour inspectors and the 
lack  of  specially  trained  inspectors.248  The  UN  CESCR  raised  concern  about  the  high 
unemployment rate,  especially among young people in the  rural areas.249 The minimum 
wage varies per sector and is the lowest for the workers in the agricultural sector.250 The 
working  hours  are  set  for  44  per  week  in  the  private  sector  and  37  hours  in  the  public 
sector. The working hours in the private sector can reach 54 hours per week before the 
rules  on  the  overtime  pay  can  be  applied.  Due  to  the  high  levels  of  informality 
(approximately 60%), many workers are not subjected to social protection, minimum wage 
or safe working conditions.251 The minimum age to work is set at 14 years old.252 According 
to the UNDP statistics,  the labour  force participation rate for Angola is 77.5%; the total 
unemployment rate is 6.9%, with 16% of unemployment being attributed to youth; and 
child labour is recorded at 18.7%.253  

Right to form and join trade unions 

Labour relations are regulated by the General Labour Law of Angola.254 To establish a trade 
union, a 30% of workers from an economic sector have to apply for an authorisation from 
the government. The right to collective bargaining is provided for in the legislation, except 

246  United  Nations  Committee  on  the  Elimination  of  Discrimination  against  Women  (2019).  Concluding 

observations on the seventh periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/7. 

247  ILO  Country  Profile  Angola:  https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/country-profiles/ 

africa/angola/WCMS_151303/lang--en/index.htm 

248  U.S. Department of State (2019). Angola Human Rights Report: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/ 

2020/02/ANGOLA-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf  

249  United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2016).  Concluding observations on the 

fourth and fifth periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. E/C.12/AGO/CO/4-5. 

250  U.S.  Department  of  State 

(2019).  Angola  Human  Rights  Report:  https://www.state.gov/wp-

content/uploads/2020/02/ANGOLA-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf  

251  United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2016). Concluding observations on the 

fourth and fifth periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. E/C.12/AGO/CO/4-5. 

252  Ibid. 
253  United  Nations  Development  Programme 
http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/AGO 

(2019).  Human  Development 

Indicators 

-  Angola: 

254  General Labour Code of Angola: http://www.parliament.am/library/ashxatanqayinorensgreqer/ANGOLA.pdf  

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in  the  civil  service.  Prior  to  engaging  in  a  strike,  workers  need  to  negotiate  with  the 
employer  at  least  20  days  before  the  strike.  Anti-union  discrimination  is  not  allowed. 
However,  implementation  of  the  laws  has  not  been  adequate.255  Labour  courts  faced 
backlog  of  cases.  The  law  allows  government  interference  into  trade  union  activities  in 
certain instances, including interferences with the right to strike.256 The International Trade 
Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index ranks Angola as a country with systematic 
violations of labour rights.257 

Right to social security 

Article 77  of the Constitution of Angola refers  to social protection. There is no universal 
social protection system in Angola. Conditional cash transfer programmes are practiced, 
but  coverage  with  appropriate  benefits  for  all  workers  is  not  in  place.  The  Bertelsmann 
Foundation states that social safety nets are available only to a limited number of citizens 
and do not cover basic needs.258  

Right to health 

Article 77 of the Constitution contains provisions regarding health care. Government health 
expenditure  in  Angola  increased  from  6%  to  7%  but  remains  low.  Health  insurance  is 
private and therefore is largely accessible to citizens with fixed employment. Since a large 
share of workers is engaged in the work in the informal sector, a big share of population 
does not have health insurance.259 Public hospitals are understaffed and lack basic supplies, 
especially in rural areas.260 The quality of health care is also reflected in the persistently 
high rate of maternal mortality.261 The UNICEF notes that the rate of malnutrition among 
children under 5  remains high which is associated with 45% of deaths.262 Immunisation 
coverage remains low (31% in 2019), and malaria continues to be the main cause of child 
mortality in Angola.263 Water and sanitation coverage remains low too, affecting health of 
many communities.264 

Right to education 

The Constitution of Angola guarantees the right to education (Art. 79-81). The government 
expenditure  in  education  marginally  increased  from  5.78%  of  GDP  in  2018  to  5.83%  of 
GDP in 2019 but remains very low.265 The UN CESCR points out that enrolment rates to all 
school  levels  are  low,  and  dropout  rates  are  particularly  high  among  girls. 266  The  UN 
Committee on the Rights of the Child states that main reasons for children dropping out of 

255  United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2016).  Concluding observations on the 

fourth and fifth periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. E/C.12/AGO/CO/4-5. 

256  U.S. Department of State (2019). Angola Human Rights Report: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/ 

2020/02/ANGOLA-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf  

257  Based on the ITUC Global Rights Reports for 2018-2020: https://www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-global-rights-index-

2020  

258  Bertelsmann  Foundation  (2020).  The  2020  BTI  Country  Report-  Angola:  https://www.bti-project.org/ 

content/en/downloads/reports/country_report_2020_AGO.pdf 

259  Ibid. 
260  United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2016). Concluding observations on the 

fourth and fifth periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. E/C.12/AGO/CO/4-5. 

261  Ibid. 
262  UNICEF  (2019).  Country Office  Annual  Report 2019  –  Angola:  https://www.unicef.org/about/annualreport/ 

files/Angola-2019-COAR(1).pdf  

263  United Nations Human Rights Council (2019). Compilation on Angola, Report of the Office of the united Nations 

High commissioner for Human Rights, UN Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/34/AGO/2. 

264  UNICEF  (2019).  Country Office  Annual  Report 2019  –  Angola:  https://www.unicef.org/about/annualreport/ 

files/Angola-2019-COAR(1).pdf  

265  Bertelsmann  Foundation  (2020).  The  2020  BTI  Country  Report-  Angola:  https://www.bti-project.org/ 

content/en/downloads/reports/country_report_2020_AGO.pdf 

266  United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2016).  Concluding observations on the 

fourth and fifth periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. E/C.12/AGO/CO/4-5. 

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schools are the lack of teachers, poor education quality, insufficient education materials, 
lack  of  water  and  sanitation  and  overcrowded  schools.267  The  UNESCO  Institute  for 
Statistics states that compulsory education in Angola lasts for 6 years, from age 6 to 11. 
The completion rates in 2015 show that only 60% of students completed primary school, 
36%  completed  lower  secondary  school  and  19%  completed  upper  secondary  school. 268  
These numbers need to take into consideration that the birth registration rate for children 
under 5 is 25%.269 In 2014, the literacy rate for people between 15-24 years was 77.4%; 
for people between 15 years and older - 66%, and for people between 65 years and older 
- 27%.270 Gender inequality is also an issue in education as there are 60 female students 
for every 100 male ones. Due to budget cuts, schools are overcrowded and understaffed. 
There are six public universities that do not have the necessary places for all the Angolan 
youth.271 Access to education is especially difficult for indigenous peoples and minorities. 
In some regions populated by indigenous peoples, there are no schools at all.272   

Right to an adequate standard of living 

The Constitution of Angola recognises the right to an adequate standard of living. A large 
proportion  of  the  population  lives  in  poverty,  including  in  extreme  poverty  (see  also 
statistics  in  the  social  analysis).  According  to  the  data  of  the  World  Bank,  the  share  of 
persons living below $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) has increased from 34.4% in 2010 to 51.8% 
in 2018.273 The UN CEDAW expressed concern about the high rate of poverty among rural 
women.274 According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), children and refugees are 
the most vulnerable groups in terms of poverty. Cooperation activities with the Angolan 
government under the WFP allowed for supply of food to schools affected by the drought 
in the south of the country, and introduction of several measures aimed at the prevention 
and treatment of acute malnutrition caused by COVID-19 in the province of Luanda.275 The 
UN human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) report states that the National Housing 
and Urban development Programme was implemented in Angola,276 but housing remains 
unaffordable  for  most  Angolans.277  Human  Rights  Watch  states  that  following  forced 
evictions in 2013, many residents are awaiting resettlement, only few were allocated new 
housing  but  without  formalising  their  ownership.278  Amnesty  International  reports  that 
access  to  safe  drinking  water  remains  precarious  in  rural  and  urban  areas  for  a  large 
proportion of the population (see also right to water). 

267  UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the combined fifth to seventh 

periodic reports of Angola, UN Doc. CRC/C/AGO/CO/5-7. 

268  UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Angola: http://uis.unesco.org/country/AO 
269  United  Nations  Development  Programme 
http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/AGO 

(2019).  Human  Development 

Indicators 

-  Angola: 

270  UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Angola: http://uis.unesco.org/country/AO 
271  Bertelsmann  Foundation 

(2020).  The  2020  BTI  Country  Report-  Angola:  https://www.bti-

project.org/content/en/downloads/reports/country_report_2020_AGO.pdf 

272  United Nations Human Rights Council (2019). Compilation on Angola, Report of the Office of the united Nations 

High commissioner for Human Rights, UN Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/34/AGO/2. 

273  Based  on 

the  World  Bank  data:  https://databank.worldbank.org/views/reports/reportwidget.aspx? 

Report_Name=CountryProfile&Id=b450fd57&tbar=y&dd=y&inf=n&zm=n&country=AGO 

274  UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2019). Concluding observations on the 

seventh periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/7. 

275  UN  World  Food  Programme  (2020).  Country  Brief  for  Angola:  https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-

0000121206/download/?_ga=2.244874821.1935800153.1610981420-31930762.1610981420 

276  UN-HABITAT  (2019).  Documento  do  programa-país  HABITAT-MINOTH  para  o  desenvolvimento  urbano 
sustentável  de  Angola  2018-2022:  https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2019/10/31_10_2018_hcpd_-
_angola_pt.pdf  

277  UN-HABITAT  (2019).  Submission  for  the  Universal  Periodic  Review.  Angola  –  34th  Session  0ct-Nov.  2019: 

https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6808&file=EnglishTranslation  

278  Human Rights Watch (2020). World Report 2019- Angola: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-

chapters/angola#  

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Right to food 

The  Constitution  of  Angola  does  not  recognise  the  right  to  adequate  food  as  such; 
nonetheless  implicit  guarantees  can  be  derived  through  broader  human  rights,  e.g.  the 
right to life. Article 30 states that “the state shall respect and protect human life, which is 
inviolable. Next to that, Angola recognised the International Covenant on Economic, Social 
and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) which guarantees the right to food under Article 11. Article 
13 of the Constitution of Angola states that any approved or ratified international treaties 
and agreements shall come into force in the Angolan legal system. But there is no special 
framework law on the right to food as such.279 

According  to  the  2020  Global  Hunger  Index,  Angola  scored  26.8  in  the  level  of  hunger, 
categorised  as  serious.280  According  to  the  UN  Committee  on  the  Rights  of  the  Child, 
chronic  undernutrition  of  children  under  5  years  of  age  increased  from  29%  in  2007  to 
38% in 2016; and malnutrition is associated with 45% of child deaths.281 The UN World 
Food Programme states that Angola is a resource rich country that has every opportunity 
to  a  more  sustainable  growth  in  providing  its  own  food  sources.  The  main  issues  with 
Angola’s  right  to  food  lie  in  the  limited  dietary  diversity,  poor  sanitation  and  hygiene 
conditions as well as often droughts.282 Amnesty International states that the right to food 
in  Angola  is  also  impacted  by  large-scale  commercial  projects  that  require  vast  land 
resources. Land acquisitions without prior consultation or compensation has affected the 
ability of communities from affected areas to produce food for subsistence (e.g. in Gambos, 
Huila province).283 

Right to water 

The  2002  National  Water  Law  defines  water  as  a  public  good.284  Several  other  decrees 
establish  regulations  related  to  water  use,  water  quality  and  availability:  Presidential 
Decree No. 261/11, which approves the Regulation on the quality of water, the Presidential 
Decree No. 82/14 which approves the Regulation on General use of Water Resources, the 
Presidential Decree No. 126/17, which approves the National Water Plan, the Presidential 
Decree No. 140/20 which approves the National Sanitation Strategy led by Communities 
and Schools in Angola (ENSTLCEA) and others. According to the Bertelsmann Foundation, 
in  2015,  49%  of  the  Angolan  population  had  access  to  water  and  52%  to  sanitation. 285 
According to a study conducted by the UNICEF in 2015, 58% approximately 70% of schools 
are not connected to the water network and only 35% of schools have access to drinking 
water. In 2010 diarrhoeal diseases resulted in 18% of the deaths of children under five, 
making  the  lack  of  clean  water  in  schools  a  big  issue  when  it  comes  to  the  health  and 
safety of the Angolan children.286 

279  United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2016).  Concluding observations on the 

fourth and fifth periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. E/C.12/AGO/CO/4-5. 

280  The Global Hunger Index (2020). Angola: https://www.globalhungerindex.org/angola.html 
281  UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the combined fifth to seventh 

periodic reports of Angola, UN Doc. CRC/C/AGO/CO/5-7. 

282  UN  World  Food  Programme  (2020).  Country  Brief  for  Angola:  https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-

0000121206/download/?_ga=2.244874821.1935800153.1610981420-31930762.1610981420 

283  Amnesty  International  (2019).  Report  for  Angola:  https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/angola/ 

report-angola/   

284  Lei No. 6/02 (2002): http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/ang63753.pdf  
285  Bertelsmann  Foundation  (2020).  The  2020  BTI  Country  Report-  Angola:  https://www.bti-project.org/ 

content/en/downloads/reports/country_report_2020_AGO.pdf 

286  UNICEF 

(2015).  WASH 

in  Schools 

in  Angola:  https://www.unicef.org/angola/media/1001/file/ 

WASH%20in%20Schools%20in%20Angola.pdf 

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Access to safe drinking water remains problematic for 14.22 million people.287 Supply of 
water  is  complicated.288  Development  projects  in  the  agribusiness,  mining,  oil  and  gas 
sectors have significantly affected availability, accessibility and quality of water resources. 
Amnesty  International  reports  that  diversion  of  the  Kwango  River  affected  the  right  to 
water of the communities in Kwango, Xamutemba and Kapenda Kamulemba, and industrial 
pollution  (e.g.  from  oil  spills)  has  denied  communities  their  rights  to  water  and 
livelihoods.289 

1.1.2.5  Rights of specific persons or groups 

Indigenous peoples 

Angola has not ratified the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (Convention No. 
169). The Constitution does not include explicit provisions on the protection of indigenous 
peoples. According to the International Work Group for indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), there 
are  approximately  25,000  indigenous  peoples  in  Angola  (0,1%  of  the  total  population), 
which  include  the  San  and  Himba  peoples,  the  Kwisi,  the  Kwepe,  the  Kuvale  and  the 
Zemba.290  Apart  from  discrimination  and  social  exclusion,291  main  challenges  of  the 
indigenous peoples are  related to land expropriation for tourism development  or oil and 
mining projects.292 The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the UN 
Human Rights Committee urged Angolan authorities to adopt a legal framework that would 
provide  for  consultations  with  indigenous  communities  before  the  start  of  any  economic 
activity that may affect them and seek the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous 
populations  before  granting  licences  for  businesses  to  carry  out  any  activities  on  their 
ancestral lands.293 

Children 

The Constitution of Angola recognises the rights of the children in Articles 80 and 81. The 
Children’s  Act  (Law  No.25/12(2012))  includes  the  ‘11  commitments  for  children’.  Other 
legislative and policy measures that refer to the protection of children’s rights include: the 
Basic  Law  No.  17/16  on  the  education  and  teaching  system  which  requires  gradual 
extension of compulsory education from 6 years to 8 years, the 2013-2020 National Action 
Plan “Education for All”, the Law No. 25/11 which addresses domestic violence, the 2012-
2025 National Health Development Plan which contains objectives on reducing maternal, 
infant  and  child  mortality.  General  Labour  Law  states  the  minimum  age  for  work  at  14 
years  old  (with  permission  of  the  parent,  guardian  or  tutor).294  There  is  a  protection 
programme called Cartão Kikuia which aims to protect vulnerable families and families with 
low  income.  Resolution  No.  28/16  condemns  all  forms  of  violence  against  children, 
particularly sexual violence, abuse, exploitation and trafficking.295 Corporal punishment is 

287  Based on the 2015 data from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation at 

Our World in Data: https://ourworldindata.org/water-access  

288  Cain, A. & A.Cupi Baptista (2020). Community Management and the Demand for ‘Water for All’ in Angola’s 

Musseques, MDPI Publication: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/6/1592/pdf  

289  Amnesty 

International 

(2019).  Report 

for  Angola:  https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/ 

angola/report-angola/ 

290  International Working Group on Indigenous Affairs website on Angola: https://www.iwgia.org/en/angola.html  
291  United Nations Human Rights Council (2019). Compilation on Angola, Report of the Office of the united Nations 

High commissioner for Human Rights, UN Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/34/AGO/2. 

292  United Nations Human Rights Committee (2019). Concluding observations on the second periodic report of 

Angola, UN Doc. CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2*.  

293  Ibid.; and United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2016). Concluding observations 

on the fourth and fifth periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. E/C.12/AGO/CO/4-5. 

294  Lexology Employment and Labour Law in Angola: https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=1fb030a2-

cd87-4cff-a824-5c87f7f11f0a#:~:text=Angola%20has%20numerous%20regulations%20 
governing,be%20foreign%20non%2Dresident%20individuals. 

295  UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the report submitted by Angola 
under  article  12  (1)  of  the  Optional  Protocol  to  the  Convention  on  the  Rights  of  the  Child  on  the  sale  of 
children, child prostitution and child pornography, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPSC/AGO/CO/1. 

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considered a crime in all instances; however, Article 10 of the Children’s Act provides for 
the  legal  defence  of  “justifiable  correction”  for  an  assault  inflicted  upon  children  for 
disciplinary  purposes,  it  is  reported  that  corporal  punishment  is  still  being  exercised  by 
some teachers in schools.296 

Child labour remains an issue and is most common in the informal sector, as stated by the 
UN CESCR (see also statistics in the social analysis). A large number of children remain in 
street  situations.297  It  is  common  for  children  from  neighbouring  countries,  e.g.  the 
Democratic Republic of Congo, to be trafficked into the country for forced labour in mining, 
construction, domestic work and agricultural sectors. The UN Committee on the Rights of 
the  Child  notes  that  recruitment  and  use  of  children  above  the  age  of  16  years  old  in 
hostilities by armed forced and non-state armed groups remains common, as this practice 
is not explicitly prohibited or criminalised by the national legislation.298  

According to Article 24 of the Family Code, early marriage is legal and is permissible under 
exceptional  circumstances  for  boys  under  16  and  girls  under  15  years  old,  which  made 
children marriage common especially in rural areas.299 The UN Committee on the Rights of 
the Child urged Angola to amend legislation to allow marriage from 18 years old for both 
boys  and  girls.300  Birth  registration  rate  of  children  remains  low,  with  considerable 
difference  between  rural  and  urban  areas.301  Registration  of  children  of  refugees  and 
asylum  seekers  has  been  suspended  until  the  new  nationality  law  passes,  depriving 
children of these population groups of access to basic services and rights, including health 
and  education.302  The  mortality  rate  of  children  under  5  years  old  is  high  especially  in 
families  with  low  income,  families  living  in  rural  areas  or  to  mothers  without  basic 
education.  Overall,  insufficient  quality  of  health  care  services,  low  immunisation  rates, 
undertrained medical personnel, insufficient funding of public services and limited technical 
resources are among the reasons for high mortality rates.303 

Women 

Freedom  from  discrimination  based  on  sex  is  guaranteed  under  Article  22  of  the 
Constitution of Angola. Article 35 addresses equality between men and women within the 
family. However, gender-specific provisions have not been adopted.304 Steps were taken 
by the government to promote gender equality. In 2017, the Ministry of Social Action, the 
Family  and  the  Advancement  of  Women  was  created;  however  according  to  the  UN 

296  UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the combined fifth to seventh 

periodic reports of Angola, UN Doc. CRC/C/AGO/CO/5-7.  

297  United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2016).  Concluding observations on the 

fourth and fifth periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. E/C.12/AGO/CO/4-5. 

298  UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the report submitted by Angola 
under article 8(1) of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of 
children in armed conflict, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/AGO/CO/1. 

299  Freedom  House  (2020).  Freedom  in  the  World  2020:  Angola:  https://freedomhouse.org/country/ 

angola/freedom-world/2020 

300  UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the combined fifth to seventh 

periodic reports of Angola, UN Doc. CRC/C/AGO/CO/5-7.  

301  UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the report submitted by Angola 
under  article  12  (1)  of  the  Optional  Protocol  to  the  Convention  on  the  Rights  of  the  Child  on  the  sale  of 
children, child prostitution and child pornography, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPSC/AGO/CO/1. 

302  UN Human Rights Council (2017). Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants on his 

mission to Angola, UN Doc. A/HRC/35/25/Add.1. 

303  UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations on the combined fifth to seventh 

periodic reports of Angola, UN Doc. CRC/C/AGO/CO/5-7.  

304  UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2019). Concluding observations on the 

seventh periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/7. 

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Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Ministry still 
lacks a lot of human, technical and financial resources to achieve necessary progress.305  

The 2020 Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum states that Angola has 
to close 75.9% of the gender gap.306 Women face societal pressure which discourages them 
from active political participation.307 Disparities in education and literacy remain high, and 
social  legitimation  of  violence  against  women  remains  a  major  issue.  Gender-based 
violence is widespread in Angola. There is no data on the number of reported, investigated 
or prosecuted cases regarding violence against women. The UN CEDAW states that rural 
women face difficulties in obtaining identity documents and therefore do not have access 
to basic services like education, health care, employment.308 There have been reports of 
women facing discrimination in the workplace. The customary laws often leave women with 
unequal inheritance rights.309 Women jobs are concentrated in the informal sector of the 
economy, leaving them without proper level of social protection, maternity allowances, etc. 
Labour  inspections  have  not  been  effectively/sufficiently  targeting  women  situation  at 
work.310  Regarding the right of health, there is a persistently high maternal mortality rate 
caused by unsafe abortion, high incidence of malaria, limited access to health care.311 

Refugees and Migrants 

Non-discrimination provisions in the Constitution cover also migrants and refugees (Article 
21). Article 71 provides for the right to obtain asylum against political persecution. Angola 
has not ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant 
Workers  and  Members  of  their  Families  (ICMW).  Nonetheless  it  is  a  member  of  the  UN 
International Organization for migration (IOM).312 Angola has made several reservations 
to  the  1951  Convention  relating  to  the  Status  of  Refugees,  in  particular  with  respect  to 
Articles 17, on the right to work, and 26, on freedom of movement. The Law No.6 (1986) 
applies to foreign workers resident in Angola, and the Presidential Decree No. 11 (1986) 
regulates the procedure of recruitment of resident foreign workers. 

The  Bertelsmann  Foundation  states  that  many  (illegal)  immigrants  as  well  as 
undocumented  Angolans  have  faced  discrimination,  violence  and  expulsion  from  the 
country. This is mainly the case for Congolese immigrants who often work in the mining 
industry.313 According to the UN Human Rights Council, mass expulsions resulted in serious 
human  rights  violations  by  security  forces  at  the  border  and  put  many  peoples  in  a 
precarious situation.314 The UN Special Rapporteur on migrants noted that migrants often 
work in precarious conditions, and they are at heightened risk of exploitation and abuse in 

305  UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2019). Concluding observations on the 

seventh periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/7. 

306  World  Economic  Forum  (2020).  Global  Gender  Gap  Report  2020:  http://www3.weforum.org/docs/ 

WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf  

307  Freedom  House  (2020).  Freedom  in  the  World  2020:  Angola:  https://freedomhouse.org/country/ 

angola/freedom-world/2020 

308  UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2019). Concluding observations on the 

seventh periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/7. 

309  Freedom  House  (2020).  Freedom  in  the  World  2020:  Angola:  https://freedomhouse.org/country/angola/ 

freedom-world/2020 

310  UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2019). Concluding observations on the 

seventh periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AGO/CO/7. 

311  United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2016).  Concluding observations on the 

fourth and fifth periodic report of Angola, UN Doc. E/C.12/AGO/CO/4-5. 

312  UN International Organisation for Migration: https://www.iom.int/countries/angola 
313  Bertelsmann Foundation (2020). The 2020 BTI Country Report- Angola: https://www.bti-project.org/content/ 

en/downloads/reports/country_report_2020_AGO.pdf 

314  UN Human Rights Council (2017). Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants on his 

mission to Angola, UN Doc. A/HRC/35/25/Add.1. 

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the workplace. Labour inspection system does not work effectively to address the issues 
of migrants at work.315  

Persons with disabilities 

The Constitution of Angola refers to the rights of persons with disabilities in Articles 21(d), 
23, 25, 77 and 83 (on citizens with disabilities). Public policy documents referring to the 
rights  of  persons  with  disabilities  include:  Presidential  Decree  No.  12/16  (2016)  which 
establishes  regulations  on  the  employment  quotas  for  persons  with  disabilities  and  the 
recruitment procedure; Presidential Decree No. 207/14 (2014) which sets up the Strategy 
for Action to promote social inclusion of children with disabilities; the Act No. 21/12 (2012) 
on person with disabilities as well as other documents. 

According to the Humanity & Inclusion, there are about 500,000 Angolans with disabilities 
(2.5% of the total population).316 More than 80,000 persons with disabilities are survivors 
of land mines.317 The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that 
according  to  the  data  from  the  2014  General  Census,  there  are  656,258  persons  with 
disabilities  residing  in  Angola.318  Various  UN  monitoring  bodies  report  widespread 
discrimination against persons with disabilities in various spheres of life.319 

LGBTI persons 

The  Constitution  of  Angola  does  not  explicitly  refer  to  the  rights  of  the  LGBTI  persons. 
Same-sex  relations  were  seen  as  a  crime  until  2019.  In  2019  the  new  Penal  Code  was 
adopted  which  criminalises  discrimination  based  on  sexual  orientation.320  Stigmatisation 
and de facto discrimination remains common, however.321 According to the Associação Íris 
Angola,  discrimination  and  violence  against  LGBTI-persons  is  a  common  problem  in  the 
country,322  which  affects  their  access  to  basic  services  and  needs,  like  health  services, 
education or employment.323 

315  UN Human Rights Council (2017). Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants on his 

mission to Angola, UN Doc. A/HRC/35/25/Add.1. 

316  Humanity and Inclusion: https://www.hi-us.org/angola 
317  See website of MAG International: https://www.maginternational.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/angola/  
318  UN  Committee  on  the  Rights  of  Persons  with  Disabilities  (2019).  Initial  report  submitted  by  Angola  under 

article 35 of the Convention, due in 2016, UN Doc. CRPD/C/AGO/1. 

319  UN  Committee  on  the  Rights  of  Persons  with  Disabilities  (2019).  Initial  report  submitted  by  Angola  under 
article 35 of the Convention, due in 2016, UN Doc. CRPD/C/AGO/1; United Nations Committee on Economic, 
Social and Cultural Rights (2016). Concluding observations on the fourth and fifth periodic report of Angola, 
UN Doc. E/C.12/AGO/CO/4-5; and UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018). Concluding observations 
on the combined fifth to seventh periodic reports of Angola, UN Doc. CRC/C/AGO/CO/5-7. 

320  See  Código  Penal  Angolano:  https://governo.gov.ao/fotos/frontend_1/gov_documentos/novo_codigo_ 

penal_905151145fad02b10cd11.pdf  

321  United Nations Human Rights Committee (2019). Concluding observations on the second periodic report of 
Angola,  UN  Doc.  CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2*;  Human  Rights  Watch  (2020).  World  Report  2020:  Angola: 
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/angola 

322  Bertelsmann  Foundation 

(2020).  The  2020  BTI  Country  Report-  Angola:  https://www.bti-

project.org/content/en/downloads/reports/country_report_2020_AGO.pdf 

323  Arquivode  Identidade  Angolano  (2018).  Discrimination  against  Lesbian  and  Bisexual  women  in  Angola: 
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CEDAW/Shared%20Documents/AGO/INT_CEDAW_ICO_AGO_31504_ 
E.pdf  

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1.2  Screening and Scoping of Human Rights Impacts for Angola 

The main purpose of the screening and scoping exercise is to identify specific human rights 
for a detailed assessment of the potential impact of the Agreement. Based on the analysis 
of  the  legal  text  of  the  Agreement  and  desk  research,  Table  1  below  presents  specific 
human rights that are likely to be affected by the trade measures under the Agreement. 
The  human  rights  presented  in  the  table  are  drawn  from  the  International  Covenant  on 
Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural 
Rights, supplemented with references to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the 
core UN human rights treaties and conventions,324 the Charter of Fundamental Rights of 
the European Union, relevant regional human rights treaties,325 and ILO Conventions. 

In line with the EC Guidelines for Human Rights Impact Assessments, the table provides 
the following information: 

•  Specific trade measures/provisions that are expected to have an impact on human 

rights (with references to the Chapters/Sections in the Agreement); 

•  Specific  human  rights  that  are  expected  to  be  affected  (with  references  to 

international human rights law);326 
•  Short note on the potential impact; 
•  Whether the affected right is an absolute human right;327  
•  The kind of impact (direct or indirect);  
•  The degree of the impact (major or minor); 
•  Potentially affected population groups (if possible/ applicable). 

Based on the results of the screening (likely major impact), and in in line with the Terms 
of Reference, further analysis will focus on the following human rights: 

•  Right to food; 
•  Right to own property. 

Impacts  on  the  right  to  water  and  right  to  health  both  stem  from  pollution  and 
environmental impact of business activities and will, therefore, be primarily covered under 
the environmental analysis.  

324  Core  UN  human  rights  treaties  include:  International  Convention  on  the  Elimination  of  All  Forms  of  Racial 
Discrimination (ICERD), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant 
on  Economic,  Social,  and  Cultural  Rights  (ICESCR),  Convention  on  the  Elimination  of  All  Forms  of 
Discrimination again Women (CEDAW), Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 
Treatment or Punishment (CAT), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), International Convention on 
the  Protection  of  the  Rights  of  All  Migrant  Workers  and  Members  of  Their  Families  (ICMW),  International 
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPED), International Convention 
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ICRPD), and their Optional Protocols. 

325  The European Convention on Human Rights, the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights and its Maputo 

Protocol, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. 

326  In line with the Fundamental Rights Check list outlined in the Better Regulation Toolbox, it will be specified 

whether the potentially affected rights are absolute human rights or not. 

327  In line with the Better Regulation Toolbox (European Commission 2017) and more specifically, Fundamental 
Rights  Check  List  of  Tool  #28:  https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/file_import/better-regulation-
toolbox-28_en_0.pdf  

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Table 1: Screening and scoping of human rights potentially affected by the EPA in Angola328 

Trade 
measure329 

Reference  
in the EPA 

Human Right / 
normative framework 

Short explanation of the potential impact 

Liberalisation 
of tariffs for 
goods and 
services 

Part II, 
Chapter I 
Trade in 
Goods and 

Chapter IX 
Trade in 
Services and 
Investment 

Right to work 
- UDHR, Art.23, 24 
- ICESCR, Art. 6 & 7 
- CFR, Art. 15 & 31 
- ACHPR, Art. 15 

Right to an adequate 
standard of living 
- UDHR, Art. 25 
- ICESCR, Art. 11 

Facilitation 
of trade and 
investment  

Chapter IX 
Trade in 
Services and 
Investment 

Right to work 
- UDHR, Art.23, 24 
- ICESCR, Art. 6 & 7 
- CFR, Art. 15 & 31 
- ACHPR, Art. 15 

SIFA 

Access to the EU market for Angola’s exports under the EPA will be 
more  preferential  as  under  the  alternative,  i.e.  the  standard  GSP 
arrangement or the GSP+, which will be applicable if Angola does 
not joint the EPA, once Angola graduates from EBA status. As the 
differences, as well as Angola’s exports that would face duties, are 
limited,  the  impact  of  accession  on  the  right  to  work  (and 
consequently,  on  the  right  to  an  adequate  standard  of  living)  for 
Angolan  workers  in  export  sectors  is  likely  to  be  limited.  The 
removal or reduction of Angola’s tariffs on imports by the EU could 
lead to increased import competition from the EU and put pressure 
on  import-competing  sectors  in  Angola,  although  this  effect  is 
expected to be limited according to the economic impact analysis. 
Nevertheless, at sector level, a mixed impact may result for workers 
in different sectors. 
Depending on the investment flows, in sectors benefitting from EU 
investment, employment may increase, creating additional jobs for 
workers, positively affecting their right to work (and consequently 
the right to an adequate standard of living).   

Kind of 
impact 
Direct / 
indirect 
Direct 

Scale of 
impact 
major / 
minor 
Minor 

Potentially 
affected 
population group 

Workers in Angola 

Direct 

Minor 

Workers in Angola 

Right to an adequate 
standard of living 
- UDHR, Art. 25 
- ICESCR, Art. 11 
Right to own property 
- UDHR, Art. 17 
- CFR, Art. 17 
- ACHPR, Art. 14 

Right to water 
- ICESCR, Art. 11 

In case of investments into industries related to minerals, mining, 
as  well  as  agriculture,  that  all  require  land  as  a  resource,  it  is 
possible that the rights of indigenous peoples, but also communities 
from adjacent territories, will be affected. Communities residing on 
the lands that could be used because of projects boosted by foreign 
investments are likely to be affected with respect to their right to 
own property. This is particularly important as current legislation in 
Angola does not protect its citizens against forced evictions and this 
existing practice is of concern (see baseline analysis above). 
Linked  to  the  development  of  new  investment  projects,  in  case 
these  projects  are  occurring  in  minerals,  mining  and  certain 

Direct 

Minor, 
possibly 
major in 
specific 
sectors or 
areas 

Direct 

Minor, 
possibly 

Indigenous 
populations 

Rural communities 

Communities living 
in proximity to the 
development 
projects 
Communities living 
in proximity to the 

328  The table does not include rights where desk research did not indicate that they could have been affected by the Agreement. 
329  Based on UNCTAD (2015). ‘Classification of Non-Tariff Measures. 2012 Version’: http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditctab20122_en.pdf?user=46  

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Trade 
measure329 

Reference  
in the EPA 

Human Right / 
normative framework 

Short explanation of the potential impact 

agricultural  sectors,  increases  in  pollution  may  affect  the  right  to 
health  and/  or  right  to  water  for  the  communities  living  in  the 
proximity of the project sites. 

Kind of 
impact 
Direct / 
indirect 

Potentially 
affected 
population group 

development 
projects 

Scale of 
impact 
major / 
minor 
major in 
specific 
sectors or 
areas 

Land  eviction  without  adequate  legal  remedies  may  contribute  to 
food insecurity and undernutrition. This is particularly important as 
current  legislation  in  Angola  does  not  protect  its  citizens  against 
forced evictions and this existing practice is of concern (see baseline 
analysis above). 

Indirect  

Possibly 
major in 
specific 
sectors/ 
areas 

Communities living 
in proximity to the 
development 
projects 

Safeguards  provided  for  under  these  articles  may  have  a  minor 
impact, possibly contributing to improved food security. 

Indirect 

Minor 

Population in Angola 
in general 

- CESCR General Comment 
No. 15 
- ACHPR Guidelines on the 
Rights to Water in Africa 

Right to health 
- UDHR, Art. 25 
- ICESCR, Art. 12 
- CESCR General Comment 
No. 14 
- CFR, Art. 35 
- ACHPR, Art. 16 
Right to food 
- UDHR, Art. 25 
- ICESCR, Art. 11 
- CESCR General Comment 
No. 12 
- 
ACHPR/Res.431(LXV)2019 
Right to food 
- UDHR, Art. 25 
- ICESCR, Art. 11 
- CESCR General 
Comment No.12 
- 
ACHPR/Res.431(LXV)2019 

Safeguard 
measures 

Art. 36 on 
Food security 
safeguards 
Chapter VII 
regarding 
Agriculture 
(cooperation) 

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Annex F: Background Analysis for Environmental Impact Assessment 

1 

1.1  Approach 

In  line  with  the  Handbook  for  Trade  Sustainability  Impact  Assessments  (European 
Commission  Directorate-General  for  Trade  2016),  the  environmental  analysis  included 
eight  environmental  impact  dimensions:  (1)  Climate  change;  (2)  Air  quality;  (3)  Use  of 
energy;  (4)  Water  quality  and  resources;  (5)  Land  use  and  soil  quality;  (6)  Waste  and 
waste management; (7) Biodiversity; and (8) Ecosystem services and protected areas. The 
methodology for the environmental analysis was organised along the following steps: 

•  Step 1: Environmental baseline: In the first step the existing overall environmental 
situation in Angola was identified, including understanding main areas of environmental 
stress and vulnerability, legal obligations of the parties with respect to the environment 
and pre-existing conditions that severely influence environmental conditions or impact 
policy making to address environmental challenges. 

•  Step  2:  Screening  and  scoping:  This  aimed  at  identifying  how  each  of  the  eight 
environmental dimensions may be affected by the EPA. It included identifying relevant 
indicators to assess impacts for  each  of the environmental aspects and identify data 
sources to conduct the assessment; 

•  Step 3: In-depth analysis of the potential environmental impacts of the EPA, in 
comparison to baseline developments. In addition to identifying impacts this included 
identifying how the EPA may help to address environmental concerns.  

•  Step 4: Case study. One environmental case study, on biodiversity and deforestation, 
provides further details on a topic already identified as being potentially impacted by 
the EPA; 

•  Step 5: Conclusions and recommendations. 

In overall terms step 3 has been found challenging because of the limited economic impacts 
identified,  especially  with  respect  to  exports  –  and  therewith  increase  in  output  –  from 
Angola, both in terms of scale effects compared to the baseline (Angola trading with the 
EU as a GSP beneficiary country) and in terms of (at least short-term) structural effects 
from diversification in exports and output. The analysis, conclusions and recommendations 
therefore have a stronger focus on the environmental baseline, the policy framework and 
how intensified cooperation in an EPA context could contribute to national and international 
goals  and  agreements  on  the  various  environmental  aspects  included  in  this  analysis. 
Larger potential environmental effects however should not be fully ruled out. As indicated 
in  the  economic  analysis,  the  model  simulations  tend  to  underestimate  trade  impacts 
because  impacts  on  goods  that  are  currently  not  exported  are  not  included  and  as  the 
impacts  of  non-tariff  measures  are  not  captured.  The  environmental  analysis  therefore 
includes  some  qualitative  assessments  to  identify  potential  impacts,  with  a  focus  on 
impacts  of  increased  production  and  export  of  agri-food  products,  and  of  increased 
investments in clean technologies resulting from participation in a Sustainable Investment 
Facilitation Agreement (SIFA). 

1.2  Current Legal Status: Multilateral Environmental Agreements and 

Environmental Provisions in the EPA 

Around  250  Multilateral  Environmental  Agreements  (MEAs)  have  been  agreed  that  deal 
with one or more environmental issues. Out of these, the WTO’s Committee on Trade and 
the Environment has identified MEAs that are directly related to trade, as evidenced by the 

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inclusion of provisions to control trade in order to prevent damage to the environment. 330 
The  EU,  Angola  and  other  SADC  Member  States  are  parties  to  most  of  these  MEAs  and 
SADC plays an important role in supporting its Member States in implementing them. Table 
1  provides  an  overview,  along  with  information  on  the  status  or  date  of  ratification  of 
Angola  and  whether  the  MEA  is  specifically  mentioned  in  the  SADC  overview  on  their 
website.  

Table 1: Status of ratification and SADC support to trade related MEAs 

Convention 

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna 
and Flora (CITES, 1973) 
Convention  on  the  Conservation  of  Antarctic  Marine  Living  Resources 
(CCAMLR)* 
International  Convention  for  the  Conservation  of  Atlantic  Tunas 
(ICCAT)* 
United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA, 1995) 
Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA, 2009) 
International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA, 1983/1994/2006) 
International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) 
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 1992) 
Nagoya Protocol to the CBD on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair 
and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (2010) 
Cartagena Protocol to the CBD on Biosafety (2000) 
Nagoya  –  Kuala  Lumpur  Supplementary  Protocol  to  the  Cartagena 
Protocol on Liability (2010) 
Montreal  Protocol  and  the  Vienna  Convention  on  Substances  that 
Deplete the Ozone Layer 
United  Nations  Framework  Convention  on  Climate  Change  (UNFCCC, 
1992) 
The Kyoto Protocol (1997) 
The Paris Agreement (2015) 
Basel  Convention  on  the  Control  of  Transboundary  Movements  of 
Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (1989) 
Rotterdam  Convention  on  the  Prior  Informed  Consent  Procedure  for 
Certain  Hazardous  Chemicals  and  Pesticides  in  International  Trade 
(1998) 
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001) 
Minamata Convention on Mercury (2013) 

Status/date 
ratification 
Angola 
02 October 
2013 
N 

29 July 1976 

N (1) 
N 
N 
N (2) 
1 Apr 1998 
6 Feb 2017 

27 Feb 2009 
N 

17 May 2000 

Listed on 
SADC 
website 
Yes 

No 

No 

No 
No 
No 
No 
Yes 
No 

No 
No 

No 

17 May 2000 

Yes 

8 May 2007 
2020 
6 Feb 2017 (3) 

N (4) 

23 Oct 2006 
N (5) 

No 
No 
Yes 

Yes 

Yes 
No 

y
t
i
s
r
e
v
d
o
B

i

i

Air 
Pollution 
Climate 
change 

d
n
a

e
t
s
a
W

s
l
a
c
i
m
e
h
c

* Contained in WT/CTE/W/160/Rev.8 (2017) but removed in the latest WT/CTE/W/160/Rev.9 (2021) as a result 
of its regional scope. 
N: not ratified; Yes: the convention is listed on the SADC website and indicated as to be adopted by the SADC 
Member  States.  No:  the  convention  is  not  listed on  the  SADC website  (which  does  not necessarily  mean  that 
SADC Members would not have adopted the convention). 
(1)  Angola ratified  the United  Nations  Convention  on  the  Law  of  the  Sea  on 5 Dec 1990  but  not some  of  the 
implementing agreements. 
(2) The IPPC has a high number of contracting parties; a total of 199. Angola is one of the few non-contracting 
parties. 
(3) Angola has not yet ratified the 1995 ban Amendment to the Basel Convention. The African Union also adopted 
the Bamako Convention (1991) to control the movement of hazardous wastes within Africa. Angola has ratified 
this on 17 Aug 2016 
(4) Angola is a signing party to the Rotterdam Convention and in 2007 adopted a resolution implementing the 
convention. To date it has not sent its ratification of the Convention to the UN. 
(5) Angola is a signing party but to date has not ratified the Convention. 

Table 1 shows among others: 

•  Angola has ratified the three conventions relevant to climate change and the two 

conventions relevant to air pollution.  

330  Matrix  on  trade-related  measures  pursuant  to  selected  multilateral  environmental  agreements, 
WT/CTE/W/160. The matrix is updated from time to time and contains around 20 MEAs; the latest version is 
WT/CTE/W/160/Rev.9, 19 March 2021. 

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• 

In the area of waste and chemicals there is a mixed picture, with two conventions 
ratified  (Basel  Convention  and  Stockholm  Convention)  and  two  conventions  not 
ratified (Rotterdam Convention and Minamata Convention).  

•  A mixed picture also occurs in the area of biodiversity, with ratification of the very 
important  Convention  on  Biological  Diversity  (CBD)  and  two  of  the  three 
implementing protocols relevant to trade. Angola also ratified the CITES convention 
and  the  UN  Convention  on  the  Law  of  the  Sea,  but  did  not  ratify  some  of  the 
implementing agreements of the latter.  

Further  details  on  these  conventions  and  the  ratifications  by  Angola  are  included  in  the 
sections below. 

A  MEA  not  included  on  the  WTO  list  but  highly  relevant  to  Angola  is  the  United  Nations 
Convention  to  Combat  Desertification  in  those  Countries  Experiencing  Serious  Drought 
and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa. This MEA was agreed in 1994 and ratified by 
Angola on 30 Jun 1997. 

Environmental sustainability and climate change is also one of the six priority elements of 
the  new  Partnership  Agreement  between  the  EU  and  members  of  the  Organisation  of 
African, Caribbean and Pacific States (the post-Cotonou Agreement).331 The negotiations 
for this legal framework were concluded in April 2021 and include various agreements to 
address environmental protection and effective conservation, sustainable management of 
natural resources, and climate change. 

Within the context of Chapter 2 of the EU-SADC EPA on trade and sustainable development 
(TSD), signing parties recognise the value of MEAs as a priority objective of international 
cooperation.  Furthermore,  the  Parties  reaffirm  their  commitment  to  implement  their 
obligations in respect of the MEAs that they have ratified. In this light, Angola  might be 
encouraged  to  ratify  the  mentioned  MEAs  currently  not  yet  ratified  as  well  as  have  to 
pursue effective implementation of these MEAs. Recognising that especially the effective 
implementation of conventions in the area of climate change is very high on the EU agenda, 
options  could  be  explored  to  provide  technical  assistance  to  support  Angola  in  its 
implementation process. More detail is provided in the following section. 

1.3  Impact Areas 

1.3.1  Climate change 

The UN report on Angola’s progress towards reaching the sustainable development goals 
(SDGs) identifies climate action as one of the two areas where Angola is well on its way to 
achieve the long-term goals defined.332 However, climate change is seen as a risk as it is 
likely to exacerbate many ongoing challenges in Angola. USAID mentions impacts such as 
extreme rainfall events and temperature changes to expand the range and transmission 
period  for  disease  vectors,  sea  level  rise  to  affect  coastal  and  infrastructure,  warming 
oceans  to  further  stress  marine  resources  and  increased  temperatures  and  rainfall 
variability to impact agrifood opportunities.333 The World Bank flags that natural hazards 
in the form of flooding, erosion, droughts, and epidemics impede development as well, and 
are expected to become worse as the climate changes. It also mentions that sea level rise 
poses a major threat to its coastal population, where it is estimated that 50% of Angolans 

331  Negotiated 

text  available  at:  https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/system/files/negotiated-
agreement-text-initialled-by-eu-oacps-chief-negotiators-20210415_en.pdf.  The  EU  and  the  Government  of 
Angola are both signing parties to this agreement. 

332  SDG dashboards, Angola. Available at https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/profiles/ago  
333  USAID, Climate risk in Angola: country risk profile, October 2018, available at https://www.climatelinks.org/ 

sites/default/files/asset/document/2018_USAID-CCIS-Project_Climate-Risk-Profile-Angola.pdf 

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reside.334 The United Nations  World Food Programme (WFP) warned in  March 2021 that 
hunger is on the rise in Angola as the country experiences its worst episode of drought in 
four decades in the south-western provinces.335 

Angola  has  not  been  a  frontrunner  in  addressing  climate  change.  It  ratified  the  Paris 
Agreement as one of the last countries, on 16 Nov 2020. The country submitted its first 
national communication on 6 Feb 2012 and upon ratification had promised to submit an 
updated  communication  before  the  end  of  2020.336  Such  submission  and  effective 
implementation is also referred to in the post-Cotonou Agreement where Parties agree to 
effectively implement the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement as well as to track progress 
towards  their  NDCs  and  formulation  of  mid-century,  long-term  low  greenhouse  gas 
emission development strategies (Articles 57f). 

Angola’s total GHG emissions per capita in 2005 were 3.95 tons of CO2eq.337 In absolute 
numbers, SADC reported CO2 emissions per capita of 1.41 tons of CO2 in 2007 for Angola, 
ranking  7th  out  of  15  countries  for  which  data  was  available,  emitting  around  1/6th  of 
emissions per capita compared to the highest ranked country, South Africa.338 Total GHG 
emissions  have  increased  8%  in  2005-2018,  which  is  the  net  effect  of  a  decrease  in 
emissions from agriculture (8% decrease) and from land use change (6% decrease, mainly 
from lower burning of biomass as firewood or charcoal for heating water, cooking and home 
lighting)  and  an  increase  in  GHG  emissions  in  all  other  activities.  The  highest  relative 
increase occurred in industrial processes (+128%; 1.39 Mt in 2018). The highest absolute 
increase occurred in energy (+13.77 Mt; an increase of 46%).339  

There is however some reason for optimism as the steep growth in CO2 and GHG emissions 
was curbed in 2015. Total GHG emissions have decreased each year since 2015, totalling 
a decrease of 10.4% in the period 2015-2018. While the larger part of the decrease is a 
result  of  the  economic  recession  and  the  significant  drop  in  oil  prices  since  2015,  the 
optimism  comes  from  the  fact  that  decrease  in  emissions  was  significantly  higher  than 
decrease in GDP. In this the reduction in GHG emissions from energy consumption stand 
out,  with  a  decrease  of  16.4%  in  the  period  2015-2018.  This  seems  a  direct  result  of 
economic restructuring which saw the services sector and the construction sector strongly 
increase  in  this  period  while  the  manufacturing  sector  decreased.340  Our  World  in  data 
illustrates that a large part of national CO2 emissions comes from exports and that whereas 
total  national  emissions  keep  rising  the  emissions  related  to  national  consumption  have 
been flattened. Figure 1 illustrates the total cumulative CO2 emissions (graph on the left) 
and the trade corrected emission data (graph on the right). 

334  World 

Angola 
https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/angola  

knowledge 

Climate 

portal, 

Bank 

country 

summary, 

available 

at 

335   “Hunger worsens in Angola due to drought”, WFP, 26 March 2021, available at https://www.wfp.org/news/ 

hunger-worsens-angola-due-drought 

336  Submission is said to be delayed due to focusing on addressing the covid-19 crisis. 
337  WRI, Climate Watch data, available at https://www.climatewatchdata.org/countries/AGO 
338  SADC,  SADC  Climate  Change  Strategy  and  Action  Plan,  Version  24  July  2015,  available  at 

https://www.sadc.int/files/5615/9126/1263/SADC_Climate_Change_Strategy_and_Action_Plan-English.pdf 

339  WRI, Climate Watch data, available at https://www.climatewatchdata.org/countries/AGO 
340  Lloyds  Bank  (2021),  The  economic  context  of  Angola,  available  at  https://www.lloydsbanktrade.com/en/ 

market-potential/angola/economical-context [accessed 3 June 2021]. 

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Figure 1: CO2 emissions, Angola 

Source:  Hannah  Ritchie  and  Max  Roser  (2020),  CO₂  and  Greenhouse  Gas  Emissions,  OurWorldInData.org. 
Available at https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions The Angola CO2 country profile 
available at https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/angola Our World in Data is a collaborative effort between 
researchers at the University of Oxford and the non-profit organization Global Change Data Lab. 

Recognising the positive correlation between economic diversification in Angola and GHG 
emission  reductions,  and  recalling  the  specific  mentioning  of  stimulating  economic 
diversification in the EU-SADC EPA, Angola’s accession to the EPA could provide a further 
positive  stimulant,  especially  when  low-carbon  technologies  and  low-carbon  economic 
activities are stimulated. Parties could facilitate this by further continued dialogue on the 
removal  of  obstacles  to  trade  or  investment  in  low-carbon  technologies,  goods  and 
services, in particular trade or investment in renewable energy goods and – if the EU-SADC 
EPA was expanded to  services  – renewable  energy  related services (for more details on 
renewable energy potential see section 1.3.3 below). 

In its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Angola plans to reduce GHG emissions up 
to  14%  unconditionally  by  2025  as  compared  to  the  Business  As  Usual  (BAU)  scenario 
(base  year  2015).  This  corresponds  to  an  estimated  mitigation  level  of  15.4  MtCO2eq  in 
2025 (Government of Angola 2021). In addition, it is expected that through a conditional 
mitigation scenario the country could reduce an additional 10% below BAU emission levels 
by 2025 which corresponds to an additional mitigation level of 11.1 MtCO2eq in 2025. The 
NDC  indicates  the  priorities  for  climate  change  mitigation  to  be  reduction  of  fugitive 
emissions in industry (42% of targeted unconditional reductions) and increase in renewable 
energy (28%). Additional larger contributions should come from composting of municipal 
waste (13%) and reforestation (6%). 

The  national  renewable  energy  strategy  defined  targets  for  renewable  energy  to  be 
achieved by the year 2025. The specific targets of 100 MW solar PV, 370 MW of small and 
medium  hydropower,  500  MW  of  biomass  and  100  MW  wind  should  help  to  diversify 
Angola’s renewable energy production which currently mainly relies on large scale hydro 
power. The overall goal of the Government of Angola is to reach 70% of energy production 
from  renewable  sources.  In  the  period  2015-2019,  Angola’s  total  installed  renewable 
energy capacity increased from 1,017 MW to 2,763 MW, mainly as a result of improved 
exploitation of hydropower.341 The African Development Bank (AfDB) identified one of the 
key  needs  to  achieving  these  targets  to  be  establishing  and  institutionalizing  supportive 
regulatory  frameworks  to  bring  in  credible  Independent  Power  Producers  (IPPs).  The 

341  Africanews  (2021),  Angola:  African  Development  Bank  funds  $530  million  electricity  project  to  expand 
renewable  energy  and  regional  connectivity,  available  at  https://www.africanews.com/2021/03/16/angola-
african-development-bank-funds-530-million-electricity-project-to-expand-renewable-energy-and-regional-
connectivity//#:~:text=In%20the%20period%202015%2D2019,Development%20Bank%20Group%20(AfD
B) [accessed 3 June 2021]. 

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Angolan Government has undertaken various reforms to improve the investment climate, 
including  the  adoption  of  the  renewable  energy  strategy  and  new  laws  regarding 
procurement and electricity distribution to support IPPs. In addition, the electricity tariff 
regime has been revised and the energy subsidy system has been reformed. The AfDB is 
providing further support through its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to develop 
and  implement  a  regulatory  and  institutional  framework  that  would  encourage  private 
renewable energy investment.342 The AfDB also provides financing for a transmission line 
to facilitate a surplus of more than 1,000 MW of mostly renewable power from the north 
of Angola to be transmitted to the south of the countries with currently mainly relies on 
diesel generators.343 

Reforestation  should  contribute  to  a  total  of  6.45%  of  unconditional  GHG  emission 
reductions, as was defined in the NDC . In earlier years344 Angola had labelled reforestation 
to be its second priority in addressing  GHG  emission  reductions but  expectations in this 
area have now been reduced. Angola has seen its tree coverage drastically reduce, with 
an  average  annual  deforestation  rate  of  about  0.20  to  0.25%  in  the  last  decades.  Data 
from  Global  Forest  Watch  mentions  that  just  in  2020,  the  country  lost  248  thousand 
hectares of tree cover, equivalent to 85.9 Mt CO2eq. Total decrease in 2002-2020 was 5.3% 
of  primary  forest,  releasing  an  average  of  52.2Mt  per  year  into  the  atmosphere. 345  No 
explicit target has been defined on the share of tree coverage increase, but the National 
Biodiversity  Strategy  and  Action  Plan  (NBSAP)  2007-2012  set  a  goal  to  increase  the 
country's  protected  area  from  6.6%  to  around  15%  (Ministry  of  Urban  Affairs  and 
Environment 2007). This target has however not been achieved. In 2019, the Government 
reported to have achieved a share of 12.58% of protected area (for more detail see section 
1.3.7  below)  (National  Directorate  of  Biodiversity  2019).  Therewith  this  planned 
contribution  to  reducing  national  GHG  emission  levels  has  not  been  fully  achieved.  The 
NDC published in May 2021 includes a target for reforestation of 227,000 hectares by 2025, 
reducing 1,015.67 kt CO₂eq. The expected increase in output of the agri-food sector may 
bring a further challenge to achieving the targeted share of protected area and therewith 
achieving of this part of GHG emission reductions. It is therefore important to ensure that 
such increase in agri-food production does not lead to further land use change. This could 
be achieved by improving efficiency of production, facilitated by support to the use of clean 
production  technology.  With  respect  to  forestry,  the  high  recent  growth  in  sustainable 
timber  production  and  its  high  export  potential  are  seen  as  an  opportunity  for 
environmental  preservation,  including  climate  change  (see  more  detail  in  section  1.3.7 
below). 

Given  the  high  vulnerability  to  climate  change  impacts  in  some  key  economic  sectors, 
Angola’s NDC also includes priority adaptation actions that will enable the strengthening of 
the resilience of the country towards attaining its long-term strategy development goals. 
In  2011  Angola  submitted  its  national  adaptation  programme  of  action  to  the  UNFCCC, 
which mainly focused on the communication of adaptation needs and capacity building to 
address adaptation needs.346 Since then, the Ministry of Environment  with support from 
UNEP  and  the  GEF  has  worked  on  several  projects  to  implement  these  priorities.  These 
among  others  dealt  with  establishing  an  early  warning  climate  forecasting  system, 
restoring wetlands and mangroves to provide flood defences, promoting climate-resilient 

342  AfDB (2020), Angola - Angola Renewable Energy Program - Enabling Environment - SEFA Appraisal Report, 
https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/angola-angola-renewable-energy-program-enabling-

available 
environment-sefa-appraisal-report  

at 

343  See earlier footnote on Africanews (2021). 
344  Angola’s Initial National Communication to the UNFCCC, 2012. 
345  GFW, Global Deforestation Rates & Statistics by Country, GFW (globalforestwatch.org) [accessed on 4 June 

2021]. 

346  Government of Angola (2011), National adaptation programme of action under the United Nations Framework 
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Available at https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/napa/ago01.pdf  

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land  management  techniques  to  mitigate  the  impacts  of  drought  on  livelihoods,  and 
integrating adaptation into national policy.347 

All in all, it is concluded that although currently there is attention to address climate change 
in  Angola,  the  country  could  strengthen  its  regulatory  and  policy  framework,  including 
setting  further  specific  targets,  improve  data  to  further  focus  its  understanding  of  the 
challenges  and  needs,  and  strengthen  implementation  of  existing  targets.  With  a  wide 
range  of  needs  and  lack  of  resources,  Angola  could  clearly  benefit  from  international 
support. In future, such cooperation between the EU and Angola could take place in regular 
discussions  in  the  framework  of  EPA  Trade  and  Development  Committee.  This  could  for 
example include: 

•  a referral to the importance of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement and alignment to its 
objectives,  including  a  commitment  to  actively  report  on  progress  in  addressing 
climate change impacts; 

•  an explicit recognition of negative impacts of climate change on biodiversity; 
• 

commitments to continued cooperation in the framework of SADC Climate Services 
Centre  to  improve  expertise  on  options  to  address  climate  change  and  the 
interaction  between  climate  change,  biodiversity  and  agricultural  production, 
including  formulation  of  training  activities  to  expand  such  knowledge  to  various 
economic sectors; 
recognition  of  the  importance  of  supporting  climate  friendly  trade  products  in 
general, and the role of clean technologies for sustainable agricultural production 
specifically,  with  a  view  on  supporting  food  security,  improving  biodiversity  and 
providing cleaner energy production; and 

• 

•  promotion  of  clean  technology  in  trade  relations  and  agreeing  to  explore 
opportunities to provide support to clean technology (and phase out unsustainable 
production)  through  measures  such  as  green  government  procurement,  phasing 
out of environmentally harmful subsidies, or differential tariff structures. 

1.3.2  Air quality 

Limited information is available on Angola’s air quality. UNEP conducted a review in 2015 
concluding that Angola has no national air quality legislation or control policy in place and 
has  not  defined  national  ambient  air  quality  standards.348  On  19  May  2020  the  National 
Environmental  Quality  Program  (PNQA)  came  into  force  by  Presidential  Decree  138/20. 
The PNQA is especially aimed at improving the quality of life of Angolan citizens residing in 
urban, peri-urban and rural areas. It focuses on improving air, water and soil quality, while 
boosting and falling in step with the different short-, medium- and long-term Government 
plans and programs. To improve air quality, the PNQA lists the following measures:349 

•  Collecting and updating information on sources of air emissions and their impact on 

health and the environment, to prepare a National Emission Plan; 

•  Preparing a Presidential Decree to regulate emissions of air pollutants in line with 
international  commitments  and  defining  the  air  quality  standards  sought  for  the 
country; 
Implementing an air quality index for the country’s major cities; 

• 
•  Promoting and adopting clean energy and technology, including as consistent with 

the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions; 

347  UNEP  (2020),  Angola:  Ecosystem-based  Adaptation  2016-2020.  Available  at  https://wedocs.unep.org/ 

bitstream/item/f477986a-4b65-4cc3-a24e-0d6768fc9a6f/Angola%20-%20Ecosystem-
based%20Adaptation%202016-2020.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y  

348  UNEP (n.d.), Angola air quality policy, available at https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/ 

17181/Angola.pdf?sequence=1&amp%3BisAllowed= 

349  See  Legal500.com  (2020),  Natíonal  Environmental  Quality  Program  in  Angola,  20  July  2020.  Available  at 
https://www.legal500.com/developments/thought-leadership/national-environmental-quality-program-in-
angola/  

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•  Monitoring the amount of air pollutants; 
•  Measuring the concentration of pollutants in the environment; 
•  Georeferencing the main pollution affected areas; and 
•  Training air quality technicians. 

Data reported by international organisations show that air pollution is quite a challenge in 
Angola.  The  World  Bank  database  shows  that  the  age-standardized  mortality  rate 
attributed  to  household  air  pollution  and  ambient  air  pollution  in  Angola  was  185.5  per 
100,000  in  2016,  slightly  higher  than  the  average  for  lower  middle  income  countries 
(169.5).350 IndexMundi quotes data from the 2017 Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 
reporting a steady decrease in the annual mean concentration of fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) from 36.45 µg/m3 in 1990 to 32.39 µg/m3 in 2017. This significantly exceeds the 
WHO recommended maximum of 10 µg/m3.351 Consistent datasets on coarse particulate 
matter  (PM10)  emissions  could  not  be  retrieved  but  all  data  found  indicated  levels  well 
above the WHO recommended maximum of 20 µg/m3. 

Key  contributors  to  poor  air  quality  in  Angola  include  oil  and  gas  exploration,  mining, 
vehicle emissions, and agricultural waste burning.352 A large part of emissions is attributed 
to exports of oil and gas.  

One of the main reasons of poor household air pollution seems to be the high proportion 
of population with primary reliance on polluting fuels and technologies for cooking: 52.3% 
in 2018.353 Yet government policies supporting LPG and natural gas have resulted in Angola 
having  one  of  the  highest  shares  of  access  to  clean  cooking  in  sub-Saharan  Africa.354 
Assuming  increased  investment  and  trade  opportunities  would  lead  to  an  increase  in 
economic prosperity, a higher share of population could be expected to be able to afford 
clean fuels for cooking. To avoid that increased trade would lead to a further increase in 
emissions  it  is  important  to  pay  attention  to  clean  technologies  and  phasing  out 
unsustainable production. 

In future, cooperation between the EU and Angola in the framework of the EU-SADC EPA 
aimed at improving air quality could: 

•  Recognise the importance of the National Environmental Quality Program (PNQA) 

that came into force in May 2020; 

•  Exchange expertise in development of a National Emission Plan, formulation of air 
quality legislation and national air quality standards, monitoring of emissions and 
legislative oversight; 

•  Promote clean technology in trade relations and agreeing to explore opportunities 
to provide support to clean technology (and phase out unsustainable production) 
through  measures  such  as  green  government  procurement,  phasing  out  of 
environmentally harmful subsidies, or differential tariff structures. 

350  World  Bank  (n.d.),  World  Bank  database,  mortality.  Available  at  https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ 

SH.STA.AIRP.P5?locations=AO 

351  IndexMundi, Angola - PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure. Available at https://www.indexmundi.com/ 

facts/angola/indicator/EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3 accessed 15 June 2021. 

352  IAMAT,  Angola  general  health  risks:  air  pollution.  Available  at  https://www.iamat.org/country/angola/risk/ 

air-pollution#:~:text=In%20accordance%20with%20the%20World,maximum%20of%2010%20%C2%B5g 
%2Fm3 

353  World  Bank  database,  mortality.  Available  at  https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.AIRP.P5 

?locations=AO 

354  IEA Outlook 2019, Africa Energy Outlook 2019, Overview: Angola, November 2019. Available at https://iea. 

blob.core.windows.net/assets/1d996108-18cc-41d7-9da3-55496cec6310/AEO2019_ANGOLA.pdf 

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1.3.3  Use of energy 

Large  growth  is  expected  in  the  use  of  energy  in  Angola,  with  a  direct  relation  to 
international trade. Angola is the second-largest oil producer in Africa, and mineral fuels 
account for more than 90% of exports (see main report). Average annual growth in energy 
consumption in the past decade has been more than 15% due to higher living standards, 
Government efforts to expand electricity coverage and an increase in available generation 
capacity. Until 2025, demand is expected to grow at a substantial rate, with the  overall 
system load reaching 7,200 MW – more than four times the current level.355 The growth is 
closely linked to the country’s expected growth in industry, especially in energy-intensive 
activities such as iron ore and other mining exploration. Energy demand from industry is 
expected to grow from a current 9% of energy demand to 25% of total consumption by 
2025.356 Total energy supply in the country more than doubled in the period 2005-2018. 
Whereas the amount of renewable supply in this period increased by 33%, the amount of 
energy production from oil boosted, with total supply in 2018 being 4.6 times as much as 
in 2005. Consequently, the share of renewable supply in total production decreased from 
71% in 2005 to 46% in 2018.357  

Comparison  of  energy  intensity  data  in  Angola  with  data  from  neighbouring  countries 
Namibia and South Africa shows similar data for Angola and Namibia while primary energy 
consumption per GDP in South Africa is about twice as high (Figure 2). 

Figure 2: Primary energy intensity, Angola vs. Namibia and South Africa, 1966-2016 

Note: Energy intensity is measures as primary energy consumption per unit of GDP. This is measures in kWh per 
2011$ (PPP) 
Source: OurWorldInData.org 

The  National  Energy  Security  Strategy  and  Policy  was  enacted  in  2011  by  Presidential 
Decree Nr 256/11. It defined the main strategic guidelines for the energy sector along six 
axes: growth of the generation park, use of renewables, electrification and grid expansion, 
tariff review and economic-financial sustainability, redefinition of the existing institutional 
framework  by  calling  for  the  restructuring  of  the  power  sector  and  strengthening  of  the 

355  This is the expected capacity. The Government strategy document includes an even higher target of 9.9 GW 

by 2025, as discussed below. 

356  Africa  Oil  and  Power,  Power  Generation  in  Angola.  Available  at  https://www.africaoilandpower.com/ 

2020/01/03/power-generation-in-angola/ 

357  IEA (2020), World Energy Balances 2020, Available at https://www.iea.org/subscribe-to-data-services/ world-

energy-balances-and-statistics  

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operators,  promotion  of  private  investments.358  These  plans  were  further  elaborated  in, 
among  others,  the  Government’s  Power  Sector  Long-Term  Vision  and  the  Renewable 
Energy Strategy approved in 2015. Targets include an increase in generation capacity to 
7.5 GW in 2022 and 9.9 GW by 2025, of which approx. 75% of the increase is to come 
from renewables. This however requires substantial investments, estimated at USD 13.6 
billion in the period 2018 – 2022, increasing to USD 23.1 billion in the period 2022 – 2025. 
Plans also include to increase the current national electricity access rate of approx. 44% 
to around 50% by 2022 and 60% by 2025.359 

World Bank data illustrate that the challenges of increased electrification are significantly 
higher  in  rural  areas  and  that  electricity  access  rates  have  steadily  increased  over  the 
years. 

Figure 3: Access to electricity in Angola, 2000-2019 

Source: Tracking SDG7, Access to electricity, 2000-2019. Available at https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/country/ 
angola [accessed 16 June 2021] 

Current energy prices are subsidised. Gasoline and diesel prices are the second lowest in 
Africa after Algeria, and electricity tariffs are below production cost.360 As indicated by the 
Government’s  energy  strategy,  opportunities  to  improve  efficiency  in  electricity 
consumption  and  production  are  strongly  connected  to  the  completion  of  power  sector 
restructuring. In November 2014, a Presidential Decree established the unbundling of the 
power sector, creating three public utilities for electricity production, electricity transport 
and electricity distribution. In addition, the utility GAMEK was assigned the responsibility 
of  oversight  of  the  development  and  construction  of  most  major  power  projects  in  the 
country. In June 2019, the regulator IRSE cut electricity subsidies by 85%, which should 
improve  financial  viability  of  utilities  and  improve  the  sector’s  attractiveness  to 
independent  power  producers  (IPPs).  Government  plans  target  achieving  full  cost-

358  AfdB  (2020).  Angola  Renewable  Energy  Program  -  Enabling  Environment  -  SEFA  Appraisal  Report,  21 Dec 
2020. Available at https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/angola-angola-renewable-energy-program-enabling-
environment-sefa-appraisal-report  

359  AEMP (2019), The energy sector of Angola: Vision, Action Plan and Investment Opportunities. Available at 

https://africa-energy-portal.org/sites/default/files/2019-07/Angola%20AEMP%20Presentation.pdf  

360  See earlier footnote on IEA (2019) 

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reflective  tariffs  by  2025.361  To  support  power  sector  restructuring  Angola  is  receiving 
international support from various donors, including support from the EU in the preparation 
of standard forms of Power Purchase Contracts (PPA) for sales between the single-buyer 
(PRODEL)  and  IPPs.  These  contracts  will  be  extended  to  IPPs  for  renewable  energy. 362 
Another  source  of  funding  comes  from  the  AfDB,  which  is  financing  an  Energy  Sector 
Efficiency and Expansion Program, among others supporting construction of a transmission 
line  and  improving  utility  revenue  through  installation  of  prepaid  meters.  These  will  be 
crucial  elements  in  increasing  IPP  investments.  Angola’s  power  sector  vision  includes 
attracting up to USD 3 billion of private investments by 2022 and up to USD 9 billion by 
2025.363 

Given that the economic analysis does not expect significant impacts of tariff reductions 
on output of energy-intensive sectors nor a significant change in economic structure the 
impacts  on  energy  consumption  and  the  related  environmental  impacts  are  assumed  to 
also be small. However, it is important to ensure that strengthened EU-Angola cooperation 
will be in line with ongoing restructuring, support of energy sector efficiency, support to 
removal  of  market  access  barriers  and  the  growth  in  clean  energy  technologies  in  the 
Angolan energy sector.  

1.3.4  Water quality and resources 

Angola  has  significant  challenges  in  water  quality  and  resources,  with  a  relatively  low 
access to drinking water and a large informal market for water supply. Water availability 
is  relatively good, with  internal  renewable water  resources per capita being 4,969 cubic 
meters per year in 2017 and a low percentage of freshwater withdrawal as a share of total 
actual renewable water resources (0.48%).364 However, the challenge is in ensuring clean 
drinking water. The main legislation to regulate water in Angola is the National Water Law 
No  6/02  which  was  introduced  shortly  after  signing  of  the  peace  accords.  The  Law 
introduced a water sector reform, acknowledging water as an economic and social good.365  

Angola was the last country in the SADC region to establish a Water Partnership. Informal 
research by the Global Water Partnership that was published in 2006 concluded that Angola 
still did not have a water resources management policy and thereby had missed the targets 
set in 2005. As a result, the SADC Water Department in conjunction with UNEP provided 
support for the development of a roadmap for Integrated Water Resources Management 
(IWRM). In 2007, this IWRM roadmap was developed and the Angolan Water Partnership 
(PAA) was launched.366 

In 2007 the “Water for All Program” was launched to achieve the Millennium Development 
Goals (MDGs) for water supply. The plan aimed to ensure drinking water access for 80% 
of the population with a guaranteed minimum daily intake of 40 litres of water per capita. 
However,  the  programme’s  own  assessment  in  2015  concluded  that  only  50.3%  of  the 
target population was achieved, that many of the installed systems remain non-functional 
and that communities still rely on conventional unimproved water sources and the informal 
market.  In  Luanda,  water  selling  is  the  largest  sub-sector  of  the  extensive  informal 

361  Mauro  Fonseca  (undated),  Angola  –  Energy.  Published  by  the  U.S.  Commercial  Service  Angola  at  Privacy 

Shield. Available at https://www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=Angola-Electric-Power-Generation  

362  See earlier footnote AfDB (2020). 
363  See earlier footnotes on AfDB (2019) and AEMP (2019) 
364  KNOEMA, World Data Atlas. Available at https://knoema.com/atlas/Angola/topics/Water/Internal-Renewable-
and 

Water-Resources/Internal-renewable-water-resources-per-capita 
https://knoema.com/atlas/Angola/topics/Water/Pressure-on-Water-Resources/Freshwater-withdrawal 

365  http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/ang63753.pdf  
366  Global  Water  Partnership  Southern  Africa  (2009),  National  IWRM  Status  Report:  Angola.  Available  at 

https://www.gwp.org/globalassets/global/gwp-saf-files/angola-iwrm-report.pdf  

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economy,  involving  extractors,  transporters  and  retailers.367  The  UNICEF  WASH 
programme  reports that in 2017 44% of the Angolan population did not have access to 
clean  drinking  water,  an  improvement  from  59%  in  the  year  2000  but  still  significantly 
higher than the global average of 30%.368 

The PNQA that came into force in May 2020 includes several measures to improve water 
quality:369 

•  Collecting  information  on  the  sources  of  contamination  of  Angola’s  main  water 

• 

bodies and relevant impacts on health and the environment; 
Implementing  a  water  quality  index  for  water  bodies  used  as  general  population 
supply sources; 

•  Promoting  public  and  private  water  suppliers’  compliance  with  the  water  quality 

index; 

•  Setting a bathing water quality index for rivers and seas; 
•  Recovery of silted or contaminated rivers and lakes; 
•  Establishing drinking water potability standards; 
•  Establishing drinking water microbiological standards; 
•  Establishing turbidity standards for water after filtration or pre-disinfection; 
•  Establishing water potability organoleptic standards; 
•  Establishing drinking water radioactivity standards; 
•  Monitoring water quality parameters; and 
•  Training water quality technicians 

No data has been obtained on the results of the PNQA measures to improve water quality. 

International donors are providing support to address water supply challenges and ensure 
long-term  financial  and  operational  sustainability  of  the  sector.  One  of  the  main 
programmes is the Angola Water Sector Institutional Development Project (WSIDP). In the 
first  phase,  the  World  Bank  provided  support  to  institutional  reforms  and  capacity 
development while simultaneously expanding water access to historically un/underserved 
populations.  The  project  among  others  supported  the  creation  and  strengthening  of  six 
new  water  supply  utilities  that  are  providing  household  services  to  over  800,000  new 
customers. It furthermore installed 1,000 km of water infrastructure, improved the utilities’ 
financial  and  operational  performance  and  created  a  new  regulator  and  a  new  water 
resources management institution. The follow-on project, WSIDP2, is co-financed by the 
African Development Fund (AFD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). It focuses on 
scaling  up  the  infrastructure  activities,  providing  further  institutional  strengthening  and 
incorporating sanitation activities.370 Records show that several infrastructure projects are 
being tendered. 

It  appears  that  the  main  reasons  for  water  pollution  are  the  lack  of  infrastructure  and 
enforced  regulations  of  treatment  of  domestic  and  industrial  waste,  which  is  said  to  be 
often  discharged  directly  into  the  rivers  and  ocean.  However,  no  data  sources  could  be 
found to support such statements. As mentioned above, the PNQA includes measures to 
collecting information on the sources of contamination of Angola’s main water bodies. 

Changes in international trade can significantly impact the levels of water use and water 
pollution and therewith aggravate existing problems. Although the economic analysis does 

367  Cain,  A.  and  A.  Cupi  Baptista,  Community  Management  and  the  Demand  for  ‘Water  for  All’  in  Angola’s 

Musseques, MDPI, June 2020. Available at https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/6/1592/pdf 

368  UNICEF  data  on  drinking  water.  Available  at  https://data.unicef.org/topic/water-and-sanitation/drinking-

water/ 

369  See earlier footnote on Legal500.com (2020). 
370  World  Bank  (2019),  Building  Water  Institutions:  Water  Supply  Services,  Regulation  and  Policy  in  Angola. 

Available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2019/04/08/building-water-institutions-in-angola  

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not expect such changes to result from Angola’s accession to the EPA, it could still be that 
this is underestimated and the currently vulnerable situation would be further threatened. 
In that perspective it is first recommended to recognise the importance of data collection 
efforts  and  implement  a  signalling  system  that  facilitates  acting  upon  change  in  water 
scarcity or water quality. Moreover, strengthened cooperation between the EU and Angola 
could  be  used  to  explore  opportunities  for  enhanced  support  to  cleaner  production 
technologies with lower levels of water use, lower levels of wastewater or higher levels of 
wastewater treatment. Specific examples could be to provide support to technologies with 
higher  irrigation  efficiency,  to  share  knowledge  on  option  for  food  production  to  shift  to 
crops with lower water intensity and to ensure that if trade support increases commercial 
farming  this  would  not  be  at  the  expense  of  drinking  water  access  for  rural  population. 
With respect to industrial activities trade partners could pursue active knowledge exchange 
on  wastewater  treatment  or  providing  capacity  building  to  improve  the  quality  of 
monitoring  and  inspection.  A  specific  example  is  the  production  and  export  of  bananas, 
one of the main products expected to benefit from Angola’s accession to the EPA. Bananas 
are among the crops that have the highest water footprint, according to the FAO,371 and 
good  water  management  practices  can  significantly  reduce  its  water  footprint.372  No 
information has been found on Angola’s water footprint of the banana production industry 
but  where  relevant  attention  may  be  given  to  improving  monitoring  of  data  on  water 
consumption and to sharing knowledge on improved water management opportunities. 

1.3.5  Land use and soil quality 

Challenges  with  respect  to  land  use  and  soil  quality  seem  to  concentrate  mainly  on  the 
impacts  of  land  use  change  on  biodiversity  and  climate  change.  Angola  has  a  diverse 
landscape, ranging from tropical rainforests in the north to savannah deserts in the south 
and  eastern  parts  of  the  country.  A  dry  coastal  strip  runs  from  the  northern  capital  of 
Luanda to the southern border with Namibia. The internal highlands are prime agricultural 
land.373 In 2017, 47.5% of Angola’s land was classified as agricultural area and 46.2% as 
forest area.374 Most of Angola’s soil (over 76%) is classified as from low-fertility land soil 
groups. Sandy arenosols cover more than 53% of the country and ferralsols derived from 
underlying  rocks  cover  approximately  23%.  The  natural  vegetation  in  these  areas  is 
predominantly  miombo  woodlands  (Huntley  et  al.  2019).  As  mentioned  earlier  (section 
1.3.1)  Land-Use  Change  and  Forestry  (LUCF)  activities  have  strongly  impacted  GHG 
emissions,  especially  the  deforestation  (lowering  the  CO2  absorption  capacity)  and  the 
related burning of biomass as firewood or charcoal for heating water, cooking and home 
lighting. This also has significant impact on Angola’s rich biodiversity. Further analysis has 
been included in the sections on climate change (section 1.3.1) and biodiversity (section 
1.3.7 below).  

1.3.6  Waste and waste management 

Little information is available on waste and waste management in Angola. The World Bank 
reports that Angola’s per capita waste generation rate is 0.46 kg/capita/day which is equal 
to  the  average  of  Sub-Saharan  Africa  and  lower  than  the  world  average  of  0.74 
kg/capita/day.375  No  information  has  been  found  on  amounts  of  industrial  or  hazardous 
waste, despite legal monitoring requirements being in place since 2012 (see below). 

371  FAO (undated), crop water needs. Available at http://www.fao.org/3/s2022e/s2022e02.htm  
372  FAO (2017), Water footprint of the banana industry. Available at http://www.fao.org/3/i6914e/i6914e.pdf  
373  USAID  Landlinks,  Angola  country  report.  Available  at  https://www.land-links.org/wp-content/uploads/ 

2016/09/USAID_Land_Tenure_Angola_Profile.pdf 

374  FAOstat, statistics Angola. Available at http://faostat.fao.org/static/syb/syb_7.pdf 
375  World Bank (2018), What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050. Available at 

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/30317 

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The Regulation on Waste Management, published in August 2012, includes a legal definition 
of waste, waste characteristics, a list of types of waste, and a categorisation of waste into 
hazardous and non-hazardous waste. The Regulation furthermore requires that all entities 
that produce waste  or  develop activities with  waste  management must prepare a waste 
management  plan  prior  to  initiating  their  activity,  that  is  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
Minister of the Environment and is valid for a 4-year period. The Regulation requires that 
producers of hazardous waste are responsible for its collection and that the collection of 
hazardous waste requires registering the quantity, quality and destination.376 

In 2012, the Strategic Plan for the Management of Urban Waste was adopted, and in 2014 
this led to the establishment of the National Waste Agency. However, implementation of 
the Strategy is not taking place at local government (municipal) level. In 2014 two further 
strategic plans were adopted: the Strategic Plan on Construction Waste and the Strategic 
Plan on Medical Waste 2014. However, no detailed data on amounts of waste or landfilling 
are available.377 Increase in GDP and welfare often go hand in hand with an increase in the 
amounts of waste produced. Although the economic analysis expects no tangible increase 
in GDP as a result of tariff changes associated with Angola’s accession to the EPA it does 
identify a potential increase in GDP from the SIFA. 

The Luanda province is served by the Mulenvos Landfill that has been operating since 2007. 
It is estimated to receive more than 2 million tonnes per year of unselected waste. In this 
province  the  estimated  municipal  solid  waste  (MSW)  per  capita  in  2012  was  0.65 
kg/(inhabitant  day),  with  a  maximum  of  1.0  kg/(inhabitant  day)  for  the  city  of  Luanda, 
and  a  minimum  of  around  0.30  kg/(inhabitant  day)  for  suburban  municipalities. 
Construction of new landfills in other provinces is delayed due to the economic crisis and 
MSW  are  still  deposited  in  dumps  (Maria,  Góis,  and  Leitão  2020).  In  April  2021,  the 
authorities of the province of Luanda in Angola signed contracts with seven companies to 
improve the management of solid waste in Luanda.378 

Angola  ratified  the  Basel  Convention  on  the  Control  of  Transboundary  Movements  of 
Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal in 2017 but has not yet provided a national report 
on the status of implementation and has not issued a definition of hazardous waste in the 
scope  of the Convention, despite the fact that such definition is included in the national 
legislation.  The  situation  is  similar  for  the  Stockholm  Convention  on  Persistent  Organic 
Pollutants: Angola ratified the Convention in 2006 but to date has not published a national 
report.  Angola  has  signed  but  not  yet  ratified  the  Rotterdam  Convention  to  facilitate 
informed decision-making with regard to trade in hazardous chemicals and has also not 
ratified  the  Minamata  Convention  on  mercury.  UNEP  in  2019  also  signalled  the 
implementation  of  these  conventions  in  Angola  as  a  challenge,  mentioning  that  the 
country’s  institutions  do  not  have  adequate  capacity  or  coordination  mechanisms,  while 
partnerships with the private sector remain very weak. To address these challenges, the 
UNEP  launched  a  three-year  Chemicals  and  Waste  Management  Programme  focused  on 
establishing a sustainable, integrated, and coherent national structure to better manage 
chemicals.  The  project’s  first  important  goal  was  achieved:  establishing  a  National 
Chemicals  and  Waste  Management  Coordinating  Unit  at  the  Ministry  of  Environment. 
Further project goals are to establish public-private partnerships in several areas of waste 
management,  undertake  an  awareness-raising  and  education  campaign  on  sound 

376  VDA 

(2012), 

New 

Regulation 

on  Waste  Management 

in 

Angola. 

Available 

at 

https://www.vda.pt/xms/files/v1/Newsletters/Flash_VdAtlas_Angola___New_Regulation_on_Waste_Manage
ment_in_Angola_-DM_2312585_1-_-4-.PDF  

377  African Clean cities (undated), waste management profiles, Angola. Available at https://africancleancities.org/ 

assets/data/Organization/Angola_EN.pdf 

378  “Angola: Luanda province entrusts waste management to seven companies”, Inès Magoum/Afrik21, 1 April 
2021,  available  at  https://www.afrik21.africa/en/angola-luanda-province-entrusts-waste-management-to-
seven-companies/  

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chemicals and waste management, and mainstreaming chemicals and waste management 
into Angola’s development goals.379  

In the light of Angola’s accession to the EPA it is important to recognise that in Article 8 of 
the  Agreement  Parties  recognise  the  value  of  MEAs  and  commit  to  implement  their 
obligations in respect of the MEAs that they have ratified. To further strengthen this, the 
Government of Angola and the EU could emphasise the importance  of ratification of the 
Rotterdam  and  Minamata  conventions  and  express  their  support  to  the  various  ongoing 
activities to improve monitoring of waste and improvement of waste management. The EU 
and Angola could furthermore agree to ensure that an increase in trade would not result 
in additional uncontrolled waste. 

1.3.7  Biodiversity 

Angola  is  one  of  the  countries  with  the  highest  biodiversity  in  Africa.  The  National 
biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for Angola (2019-2025) indicates that , according to 
the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Angolan biodiversity is one of 
the  most  important  in  the  African  continent,  with  about  5,000  species  of  plants  in  the 
country, of which 1,260 are endemic.380 Much of Angola’s biodiversity (flora and fauna) lies 
in the forested area. As the country has not carried out a national forest inventory, actual 
statistics on forested land cover on are not known and available estimates range from 19-
56%  of  the  national  territory.381  Official  Government  statistics  mention  that  Angola  has 
approximately  53  million  hectares  of  forests  corresponding  to  43.3%  of  the  total  land 
area.382 Angola also has a large planted area, 18% or 2.2 million hectares, of productive 
forests mainly planted with Eucalyptus and Pinus species. 

Deforestation is a major concern, with high impacts on biodiversity and climate change. 
The Ministry of Environment reports in its 2019 report on biodiversity that an average of 
about 106 thousand hectares of natural forests and 370 hectares of plantations are lost 
annually,  that  is,  a  deforestation  rate  of  about  0.20  to  0.25%  (National  Directorate  of 
Biodiversity 2019). The primary cause identified for this deforestation is illegal logging by 
foreign  companies  and  ‘slash  and  burn’  subsistence  farmers.  A  news  article  using 
information from Estrela da Floresta, a company engaged in sustainable timber production, 
indicates that illegal logging is expanding in the Angolan planted forests. Satellite images 
(from the Google Earth Timeline) of the same forest areas in Angola, taken in 2015 and 
2016, indicate large-scale loss of tree cover.383  

Global Forest Watch reports that just in 2020, the country lost 248 thousand hectares of 
tree cover, equivalent to 85.9 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent of emissions. Between 2002 
and 2020, the total area of humid primary forest in Angola decreased by 5.3%, releasing 
an  average  of  52.2Mt  per  year  into  the  atmosphere.384  However,  UNCTAD  identifies 
sustainable wood production as one of the three main green products that have the highest 
potential to be drivers of socioeconomic transformation and environmental preservation in 
Angola,  and  the  top  green  product  in  terms  of  revealed  comparative  advantage.385  The 
World Bank confirms the high potential for and necessity of sustainable forestry in Angola, 

379  “Partnering  to  Strengthen  Chemicals  and  Waste  management  in  Angola”,  UNEP,  4  July  2019.  Available  at 
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/partnering-strengthen-chemicals-and-waste-management-
angola  

380  Government  of  Angola  (2020),  National  Biodiversity  Strategy  and  Action  Plan  for  Angola  (2019-2025). 

Available at https://www.cbd.int/doc/world/ao/ao-nbsap-v2-en.pdf  

381  USAID (2013). Angola Biodiversity and Tropical Forests: 118/119 Assessment. 
382  FAO (2009). National Forestry Resources Assessment for Angola. 
383  Why illegal deforestation in Angola must stop (howwemadeitinafrica.com). Accessed on 2 June 2021.  
384  GFW, Global Deforestation Rates & Statistics by Country, GFW (globalforestwatch.org). Accessed on 4 June 

2021. 

385  UNCTAD (2018), National Green Export Review of Angola. Wood, Fish, and Coffee: Baseline Report. Available 

at https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ditcted2017d8_en.pdf  

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with foreign investments and community forestry projects as their key drivers. At the same 
time it identifies a lack of funds and lack of understanding of sustainable practices as the 
main  challenges  to  the  sustainable  approach  of  wood  and  timber  production  while 
emphasising the high opportunities to introduce new technologies to improve production 
efficiency  and  improve  sustainability  of  production.386  The  NDC  targets  for  reforestation 
include a targeted amount of 227,000 hectares in the unconditional scenario and a further 
416,000  hectares  in  the  conditional  scenario  (conditional  to  availability  of  international 
financial support). Biodiversity and the threat of deforestation is also the focus of one of 
the case studies (see Annex B3).  

The main pressures and drivers of biodiversity change are: deforestation, erosion, illegal 
exploitation of natural resources, introduction of new exotic species, hunting and trafficking 
of  animals,  animal  conflict,  illegal  fishing,  weak  management  of  solid  waste,  and  other 
causes such as oil spills and discharges. Measures to preserve biological diversity include 
cooperation  between  government  and  local  communities,  for  example  by  producing 
sustainable coal, land rehabilitation through agropastoral production and preservation of 
plant  genetic  resources  of  agricultural  plants  of  food  importance  in  specialized  banks 
(National Directorate of Biodiversity 2019). 

Angola  has  been  a  party  to  the  Convention  on  Biological  Diversity  (CBD)  since  1994.  It 
adopted the AICHI goals on biodiversity conservation and actively reports on the progress 
to meeting these goals. In its 6th CBD report the Government estimates that 30% of its 
biodiversity  measures  at  national  level  are  effective,  60%  partially  effective  and  10% 
ineffective. In 2018, the Red List of endangered Species of Angola was elaborated, which 
includes three extinct species, 29 endangered ones, 100 vulnerable ones, and 18 invasive 
species (National Directorate of Biodiversity 2019). National Objective 3.3 of the NBSAP 
targeted an update of this list by 2020, but such update does not seem available. 

While biodiversity in marine and coastal environments are recognised, the formal actions 
to define protected areas to date do not include these areas but only land areas (National 
Directorate  of  Biodiversity  2019)  (see  more  detail  below).  Research  published  in  2014 
concluded  that  102  out  of  133  identified  ecosystem  types  in  marine  areas  have  no 
protection  at  all  (Holness  et  al.  2014).  IUCN’s  Eastern  Central  Atlantic  Red  List  of 
Threatened Species concluded that out of 1,288 bony fish species in marine waters from 
Mauritania  to  Angola  a  total  of  37  species  are  threatened  with  extinction  and  14  near 
threatened,  many  of  them  important  food  sources.  Overfishing  is  identified  as  the  main 
cause, other threats including the degradation of habitats, pollution, climate change and 
invasive  species.  The  report  highlights  the  severely  limited  capacity  for  fisheries 
surveillance and enforcement in the region, leading to illegal fishing and overfishing that 
counteracts national and regional management efforts - in many countries illegal catches 
represent over 40% of the reported legal catch.387  

The Government plans include the creation of a network of marine protected areas and a 
plan for actual protection, as well as adding two new Marine Ecological or Biological Areas 
(EBSAS) in addition to the two existing ones (National Directorate of Biodiversity 2019). 
The Angolan National Development Plan 2018-2022 highlights fisheries infrastructure as 
fundamental  areas  for  investment.  Protection  of  marine  ecosystems  is  also  explicitly 
included in the post-Cotonou Agreement, where Parties reaffirm the universal and unified 
character of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as the basis for national, regional 
and  global  action  and  cooperation  in  the  marine  and  maritime  sectors.  More  specifically 
they also agree to strengthen ocean governance, to promote and improve the protection 

386  Evangelista, J. (2017), Sustainable practices are integral to the success of developing Angola’s forestry sector, 
World  Bank  Blogs,  11  January  2017.  Available  at  https://blogs.worldbank.org/nasikiliza/sustainable-
practices-are-integral-to-the-success-of-developing-angolas-forestry-sector  

387  IUCN (2016). The IUCN Red list of threatened species - Red list of marine bony fishes of the Eastern Central 

Atlantic.  

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and restoration of marine ecosystems and the conservation and sustainable management 
of  marine  resources,  and  to  promote  sustainable  fisheries  management  at  national, 
regional  and  global  levels.388  UNCTAD  agrees  with  the  potential  for  sustainable  fishery, 
identifying  fishing  as  the  second  most  promising  green  product  in  Angola  that  have  the 
highest  potential  to  be  drivers  of  socioeconomic  transformation  and  environmental 
preservation in Angola.389 

Since  the  economic  analysis  concludes  that  Angola’s  accession  to  the  EPA  could  further 
enhance  agri-food  production,  including  fishing  –  specifically  production  and  export  of 
frozen shrimp and bananas – it is important to ensure that the increase of production does 
not result in increased deforestation or overexploitation of fishing waters. It is therefore 
recommended  to  use  increased  cooperation  and  commitment  to  sustainable  trade  to 
support sustainable development of food production areas and of vulnerable marine areas. 
To this end the EU and Angola could engage in regular discussions in the framework of the 
EPA  Trade  and  Development  Committee  that  build  on  all  related  elements  of  the  post-
Cotonou  Agreement  such  as  the  promise  to  support  the  conservation  and  sustainable 
management and use of natural resources, including land, water, forest, biodiversity and 
ecosystems. Where possible, discussions could also work towards achieving agreements to 
promote  the  sustainable  governance  of  tenure  of  land,  fisheries  and  forests,  as  well  as 
promote sustainable food production and sustainable fishing, for example by information 
campaigns on sustainable production methods, agreements on knowledge exchange and 
promotion of sustainable technologies, use of active monitoring systems and promotion of 
certified production.  

1.3.8  Ecosystem services and protected areas 

Analysis  on  ecosystem  services  and  protected  areas  provides  a  mixed  picture.  The  Yale 
Environmental  Performance  Index  ranks  Angola  158  out  of  181  countries.  It  gives 
reasonable score to ecosystem services (94), fisheries (51) and climate change (97), very 
low scores on pollution emissions because of the growth in SO2 (174) and NOX emissions 
(176),  and  low  scores  to  all  other  categories.390  The  reasonable  score  for  ecosystem 
services  is  mainly  due  to  the  high  score  on  low  wetland  loss  (53).391  Wetlands  and 
mangroves  have  been  identified  as  vulnerable  ecosystems  in  Angola  and  currently  11 
wetlands  are  identified.  Angola’s  CBD  report  indicates  the  plan  to  ratify  the  RAMSAR 
convention to protect wetlands (National Directorate of Biodiversity 2019), but this has not 
been implemented do date.  

Legally protected areas (National Parks and Game Reserves) in Angola were established 
from  the  1930s  and  occupied  6%  of  the  country’s  terrestrial  area  at  the  time  of 
independence in 1975 (Huntley et al. 2019). During the period of extended unrest in the 
country, these were exposed to serious neglect, poaching and land invasions. By 2011, the 
protected area system increased again to 9% of national territory. In 2019 Angola reported 
to have nine National Parks, a Regional Park and four Integral or partial Reserves, with a 
total area of of 156,910 km2, representing 12.58% of the surface of the national territory. 
This however falls short of the target of 15% set in the NBSAP for 2012.392 

The score on tree cover loss (rank 89) seems still reasonable but Angola’s forest area has 
steadily decreased over the years, from 609.8 thousand km2 in 1990 to 577.3 thousand 

388  Negotiated Agreement text initialled by the EU and OACPS chief negotiators on 15th April 2021. Available at 
https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/system/files/negotiated-agreement-text-initialled-by-eu-
oacps-chief-negotiators-20210415_en.pdf  

389  See earlier footnote UNCTAD (2018) 
390  Yale  (2020),  Environmental  Performance  Index  2020:  Angola.  Available  at  https://epi.yale.edu/epi-

results/2020/country/ago 

391  Ibid. 
392  Republic of Angola (2019). National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2019-2025). 

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km2  in  2018.393  As  concluded  in  the  section  on  biodiversity,  the  percentage  forest  area 
significantly decreased over the years. Losses of woodland are by far the most obvious and 
conspicuous of changes in Angola. Much of this loss of forest area has been due to clearing 
for  small-scale  crop  farming.  Other  losses  have  come  from  the  harvesting  of  charcoal, 
wood fuel, timber production, and runaway bush fires. Fires have also been a main cause 
in  grassland  loss  over  the  year  (Mendelsohn  2019).  Regulation  on  the  protection  and 
management of forest and wildlife resources has been updated in 2017 when Law No 6/17 
was enacted. This Law applies also to biological diversity and related activities, but does 
not apply to aquatic biological resources, genetic  resources and  conservation areas that 
are governed by special legislation.394 

Although  the  economic  analysis  shows  that  the  impact  of  tariff  changes  related  to  EPA 
accession on Angola’s GDP is negligible, it also identifies a potential increase in GDP from 
the SIFA. Such increase in  GDP and therewith welfare  could lower the pressure  on low-
efficiency use of natural resources for cooking, heating and lighting. On the other hand, 
this  may  threaten  wetlands  and  other  protected  land  areas  as  a  result  of  the  need  to 
expand infrastructure to facilitate increased trade. 

393  World  Development 

Indicators.  Available  at  https://databank.worldbank.org/reports.aspx?source=2 

&country=AGO 

394  FAOLEX  database,  Angola  Law  No.  6/17  on  Forest  and  Wildlife  Basic  Legislation.  Available  at 

http://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC162520/ 

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Annex G: Background Analysis for Administrative Capacity Assessment 

1  INTRODUCTION 

The methodology adopted for the assessment of Angola’s administrative capacities for the 
implementation  of  the  EPA  consisted  of  several  phases:  the  first  phase  was  based  on  a 
macro  analysis,  that  is,  the  organic  composition  of  the  central  government  and  the 
institutional  articulation  between  the  various  ministries  were  analysed,  considering  the 
number  of  ministries  and  their  respective  portfolios  (section  2).  The  second  phase,  the 
results of which are presented in section 3, focused on a micro-analysis, i.e., an analysis 
of the organization charts and internal processes of ministries and other administrative and 
autonomous  public  sector  bodies  as  well  as  an  assessment  of  the  specific  technical 
capacities of civil servants. Recent and current initiatives by the Angolan government to 
reform  the  public  administration  and  enhance  human  resources  capacities  were  also 
reviewed; they are summarised, and the links with the EPA are drawn, in section 4. 

The main source of information used for the administrative capacity assessment have been 
official documents published by the government. This was complemented with interviews 
of public sector representatives and staff to determine actual practices and implementation 
capacities. 

2  MACRO-ANALYSIS OF GOVERNMENT CAPABILITIES 

2.1  Government bodies/ministries 

2.1.1  Composition of the Angolan government 

20

25

30

the 

14.3%; 4

21.4%; 6

central 

Figure  1:  Number  of  ministries  in  the 
Angolan government by category, 2017 vs. 
2020 

Angolan 
Traditionally, 
government  was  seen  as  a  very  heavy 
structure, because of the many ministerial 
bodies  and  a  considerable  number  of 
autonomous public agencies and institutes, 
with  several  bodies  often  performing 
almost the same functions. In the past, the 
Angolan  government  had  about  35 
ministries. However, since 2014 there have 
been some mergers. Until 2017 there were 
28 ministries classified into five categories 
(Figure  1):  defence  and  sovereignty  (3); 
the  political-institutional  sphere  (8);  the 
economic sector (7); the social sector (6); 
and  the  infrastructure  sector  (4).  Since 
2018, 
the  ongoing  public 
administration  reforms,  some  ministries 
have  been  closed  others  have  been 
merged,  resulting  in  a  decrease  of  seven 
ministries  (25%),  leading  to  a  total  of  21 
by December 2020. This consolidation affected the ministries of the economic sector more 
than  others:  their  number  declined  from  seven  (25%  of  the  total)  to  four  (19%  of  the 
total). 

Source:  MAPTSS  (2019)  and  own  preparation;  see 
Table 6 in Annex. 

Defense and Sovereignty

Political-Institutional

following 

Infrastructure

28.6%; 8

10.7%; 3

25.0%; 7

14.3%; 3

19.0%; 4

33.3%; 7

14.3%; 3

19.0%; 4

Economic

Social

2020

2017

10

15

0

5

Each ministry has one minister and two secretaries of state, as well as a number of national 
directors and heads of departments. 

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2.1.2  Institutional roles of ministries within the government 

General assessment 

Although  by  design,  ministries  are  independent  from  each  other,  in  practice  frequent 
dependencies  are  important,  and  ministries  do  not  have  the  same  weight  within  the 
government in terms of policy-making and decision-making. Regarding the management 
of economic issues, the four ministries in this category are the Ministry of Mineral Resources 
and Petroleum, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment Culture, the Ministry of Industry 
and  Trade,  and  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Fisheries.  However,  the  design  of  the 
strategies, the validation and execution of economic programmes depends on the Ministry 
of Economy and Planning and the Ministry of Finance, both of which belong in the political-
institutional  category.  The  Ministry  of  Economy  and  Planning  is  regarded  as  a  “super 
ministry”, since it is the one that defines the reference framework for the national planning 
system, has the competence to validate the sectoral programmes of other ministries, and 
proposes  the  public  expenditures,  including  public  investment,  on  the  basis  of  the 
objectives set out in the planning instruments. 

Despite  these  (inter-)dependencies,  institutional  collaboration  and  coordination  between 
ministries is limited. In the economic sector, there is hardly any coherence between the 
sectoral plans of the ministries acting upstream and those acting downstream within the 
production chain, for example agriculture and manufacturing. This lack of coordination also 
affects the country’s trade policy, and is also likely to affect the implementation of the EPA. 

Roles in trade policy implementation 

Based on the various issues covered by the EPA, the main institutions in Angola that are 
expected to participate directly or indirectly in its implementation, and in the management 
of trade agreements more generally have been  identified. The degree of involvement of 
these institutions in the management of trade agreements was initially done through the 
analysis  of  the  respective  organic  statutes  published  in  the  official  journal  by  means  of 
Presidential Decrees. The process consisted of evaluating the attributions of each ministry 
and assessing its binding or contribution in the implementation of the components of trade 
agreements, specifically issues related to tariffs; customs, trade Facilitation and rules of 
origin; SPS and TBT measures; and trade defence instruments. 

On  that  basis,  at  government  level  our 
analysis shows that among the 21 Angolan 
ministries,  seven  have  a  high  degree  of 
involvement  in  the  implementation  of 
international  trade  matters,  and  another 
indirect 
10  have  a  moderate  or 
involvement  (Figure  2;  Table  8  and  Table 
9 in Annex provide more details). 

The  most  important  ministries  for  the 
implementation  of  commitments  resulting 
from economic or trade agreements are as 
follows: 

areas, 

•  The  Ministry  of  Economy  and 
Planning  (MEP),  whose  tasks  cover 
three 
national 
i.e. 
development planning; (ii) the national 
economic 
economy; 
integration,  development  cooperation 
and international business; 

and 

iii) 

i) 

Figure 2: Degree of participation of Angolan 
ministries in international trade matters 

None; 4; 
19%

High; 7; 
33%

Indirect; 
4; 19%

Moderate; 
6; 29%

Source:  Ministries’  organic  statutes;  see  Table  8  in 
Annex. 

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•  The  Ministry  of  Industry  and  Trade  (MINDCOM),  whose  tasks  also  cover  three 
areas, i.e. (i) manufacturing and the provision of industrial services; (ii) trade; and (iii) 
other international economic relations; 

•  The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MINAGRIP) has attributions in the fields 
of  i)  agriculture,  livestock  and  forests;  and  ii)  fisheries,  aquaculture  and  salt.  The 
Ministry proposes, formulates, conducts, implements, evaluates, and monitors policies 
in the fields of agriculture, livestock, forests, food and food safety, management and 
planning of aquatic biological resources, fishing and aquaculture activities, production, 
research,  experimentation  and  technological  innovation  in  the  area  of  the  sea, 
exploration, use, exploitation and potentiation of aquatic resources, and a sustainable 
sea economy, with a development perspective. 

It is easy to see that these responsibilities and function are closely related with each other. 
For example, there is no economic development without first planning, and there can be 
no  trade  and  international  relations  without  first  promoting  productive  activity  in 
agriculture, the industry sector, within the principle of cross-sectoral relations. At the same 
time, the portfolios of these ministries are not always clearly delineated, which may lead 
to  disagreements  over  which  ministry  is  in  charge  of  certain  policies.  Table  1  lists  the 
statutory functions of MEP and MINDCOM, which shows that the scope of functions is not 
always  clearly  separated,  and  areas  of  joint  responsibility  or  functions  are  not  always 
clearly assigned. For example, investment attraction and promotion of Angola’s economic 
interests abroad are listed as functions of MEP (in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs),  but  MINDCOM  is  not  mentioned  –  although  e.g.  trade  in  services  typically  also 
addresses investment issues, trade performance is part of the wider economic interests, 
etc. 

Table  1:  Responsibilities  of  MEP  and  MINCOM  in  relation  to  trade  and  international 
economic relations 

Responsibilities of the Ministry of Economy 
and Planning in the field of economic 
integration, development cooperation, and 
international Business 
• 

Formulate, in collaboration with the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs and other Organs of the Central 
State Traction Administration, the policies, 
strategies and instruments of economic 
integration and development cooperation. 
Coordinate the implementation of policies, 
strategies and institutions of economic 
integration and development cooperation. 
Promote abroad, in collaboration with the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Organs of 
the Central Administration of the State, the 
economic potential of Angola and the attraction 
of foreign investment; 

• 

• 

•  Make proposals for bilateral economic and 

• 

• 

business agreements. 
Formulate and develop policies to facilitate 
access for domestic companies to foreign 
markets. 
Coordinate the development of the “made in 
Angola” brand and its promotion abroad, 
contributing to an effective promotion of the 
value of the economy and national enterprises. 

Source: Organic Statutes of MEP and MINDCOM 

Responsibilities of the Ministry of Industry and 
Trade in the field of trade and international 
economic relations 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Formulate, coordinate, and implement, in 
collaboration with other state bodies, the national 
trade policy, including bilateral, regional, 
plurilateral and multilateral aspects. 
Promote the increase and diversification of 
exports. 
Promote bilateral, regional and international 
cooperation, and mobilize technical assistance in 
trade. 
Ensure, in collaboration with other state bodies, 
compliance with the obligations arising from the 
country’s membership in the WTO and other 
regional and international organisations 
specialising in the handling of trade-related 
issues. 
Coordinate, propose and ensure within the limits 
permitted by international agreements, the 
implementation of trade defence measures 
whenever they harm the commercialisation of 
national production. 
Propose the creation of trade services with the 
diplomatic representations of Angola abroad. 

In sum, the lack of clearly assigned responsibilities and functions to ministries regarding 
international  trade  and  trade-related  matters,  as  well  as  the  lack  of  well-defined 
collaboration  and  coordination  rules  and  practices  might  lead  to  difficulties  in  policy 
formulation, administration and monitoring related to the implementation of the EPA. It is 
recommended that the Angolan government take measures to clarify responsibilities and 

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functions,  as  well  as  establish  a  framework  for  collaboration  and  coordination  between 
relevant ministries; e.g. following the example of the National Trade Facilitation Committee 
(CNFC; see below). 

2.2  Other public sector bodies 

In  addition  to  the  ministries,  the  implementation  of  international  trade  (and  trade 
agreements,  including  the  EPA)  involves  numerous  public  authorities  and  agencies,  but 
also private sector entities and, last but by no means least, businesses: producers, traders, 
and services providers. A comprehensive capacity assessment of all these different actors 
would go substantially beyond the scope of the SIA. We therefore concentrate on a number 
of key administrative bodies that will play a vital role in the implementation of the EPA. 395 
Table 2 lists 11 agencies, their lead ministries, and the EPA implementation areas in which 
they  play  a  key  role.  These  agencies,  and  their  capacities  to  administer  the  mentioned 
trade issues, have been assessed. 

Table 2: Key government bodies for the implementation of the EPA 

Institution 

Lead 
Ministry 

Tariffs396  SPS & 

TBT 

General  Tax  Administration 
(AGT) 
National  Trade  Facilitation 
Committee 
National  Institute  for  Quality 
Control of Industry and Trade 
(INACOQ)397 
National  Institute  of  Quality 
Infrastructure (INIQ) 
National Food Quality Control 
Services (SNCQA) 
Food Safety Office 
Codex  Angola  Executive 
Secretariat 
National 
Economic 
Food Security (ANIESA)398 
Investment 
Promotion Agency (AIPEX) 
Regulatory Agency for Cargo 
Certification  and  Logistics 
(ARCCLA) 
Banco  Nacional  de  Angola 
(BNA) 
Source: Own preparation. 

Authority 
for 
Inspection  and 

Export 

and 

MINFIN 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 
x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

Multisectoral  

MINDCOM 

MINDCOM 

MINAGRIP 

MINAGRIP 
Multisectoral 

Multisectoral 

MEP 

MINTRANS 

Independent 

Trade issues concerned 
Customs control 
& rules of origin 
x 

Trade 
facilitation 
x 

Trade 
defence 
x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 
x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

395  The analysis here does not comprise private sector bodies, including vital organisations such as the Angolan 
Brokers Association (Câmara dos Despachantes Oficiais de Angola, CDOA) or the (former National Shippers’ 
Council).  

396  Also covers quantitative restrictions and TRQs. 
397  Instituto Nacional de Controlo de Qualidade da Indústria e Comércio, created by Presidential Decree 177/21 
of 16 July 2021, and replacing the former National Laboratory (LANCOQ); see “Laboratório de Controle de 
Qualidade deixa de supervisionar bens e consumo”, ANGOP, 21 July 2021, https://www.angop.ao/noticias/ 
economia/laboratorio-nacional-de-controle-de-qualidade-deixa-de-supervisionar-bens-e-consumo/ 
[accessed 22 September 2021]. 

398  Autoridade Nacional de Inspecção Económica e Segurança Alimentar. ANIESA was created through Presidential 
Decree No. 267/20 of 16 October 2020 and results from the merger of sectoral inspection services in industry, 
trade,  tourism,  environment,  transport,  health,  agriculture  and  fisheries.  It  also  assumes  the  functions  of  the 
former consumer protection body. 

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3  MICRO-ANALYSIS OF ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITIES 

3.1  Internal public administration structures 

3.1.1  Ministries 

In terms of the internal organisation of public sector entities, the organic structure of the 
Central and Local Services of the State was defined by Decree-Law No. 3/13 of 23 August 
2013. According to this Decree, the internal organisation of ministries and secretariats of 
state comprises the following types of organs: i) central organs of the Superior Directorate; 
ii)  Advisory  Support  Bodies;  iii)  Direct  Executive  Services/Central  Support  Bodies;  iv) 
Technical  Support  Services;  (v)  Instrumental  Support  Services;  and  vi)  Local  Executive 
Services. Table 3 provides examples of how different ministerial units, listed in the organic 
statutes approved by Presidential Decrees, relate to these types of organs. 

Table 3: Organisation structures of Angolan ministries 

Nature of organ 
Central Organs of Superior Management 
Advisory Support Bodies 

Technical Support Services 

Instrumental Support Services 

Direct Executive Services or Central Support Bodies 
Local Executive Services  

Examples of organs 
•  Ministers and Secretaries of State 
•  Superior or Advisory Board 
•  Board of Directors 
•  General Secretariat 
•  Legal Office 
•  Human Resources Office 
•  Office of Planning studies and statistics 
• 
•  Office of Institutional and Print Communication 
•  General Inspection or Inspection Office 
•  Minister's Office 
•  Office of Secretaries of State 
International Exchange Office 
• 
•  Document and Information Centre 
•  National Directorates 
•  Provincial Delegations 

Information Technology Office 

Specifically  regarding  matters  relevant  for  EPA  implementation,  Table  4  compares  the 
summary organisation charts of the MEP and MINDCOM. 

Table 4: Core organisation structures of MEP and MINDCOM 

Organ 
Central 
Support 
Bodies/ Direct 
Executive 
Services 

Technical 
Support 
Services 

MEP 
•  National Directorate of Studies and 

Planning 

•  National Directorate for Economy, 
Competitiveness and Innovation 
•  National Directorate for Integration, 

Cooperation and International Business 

•  General Secretariat 
•  Human Resources Office 
•  Legal Office 
•  Office of Organization and Information 

System 

•  Office of Institutional and Print 

Communication 

•  Office for Public and Private Partnerships 
•  Office for Population Policy 

MINDCOM 
•  National Directorate of Industry 
•  National Directorate of Internal Trade 
•  National Directorate of Foreign Trade 
•  National Directorate for Rural Trade 

Development 

•  General Secretariat 
•  Human Resources Office 
•  Office of Studies, Planning and 

Statistics 

•  Legal Office and Exchange  
Information Technology Office 
• 
•  Office of Institutional and Print 

Communication 

Source: Organic Statutes of MEP and MINDCOM 

All ministries combined have a total of 222 technical support services, and 120 executive 
services.  This  indicates  the  greater  effort  that  is  placed  on  technical  work  rather  than 
services of an executive nature. 

Overall, based on the organic statutes, the Direct Central Public Administration has about 
342 National Directorates and similar structures, 966 Departments, 201 Offices, and 1194 

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Sections, which makes a total of 2703 internal organic structures. However, this does not 
include the External Executive Services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, namely Diplomatic 
Missions,  Permanent  Missions,  Temporary  Missions,  Consular  Posts  and  Honorary 
Consulates. In total, the Public Administration has about 31,583 managers. 

3.1.2  Other public administration bodies 

In  addition  to  ministries,  autonomous  public  bodies  make  up  the  institutional  weight  of 
public administration. Public bodies include personalised services, public establishments, 
public  funds,  agencies,  public  institutions  for  scientific  research  and  technological 
development, etc. Box 4 summarises their defining characteristics and principles. 

Box 4: Defining characteristics and guiding principles of public bodies 

The essential elements of public bodies are: 
•  Nature:  legal  person  endorsed  with  legal  personality  of  public  law,  which  are  part  of  the  indirect 
administration of the State and take the form of personalised services, public establishments, agencies, 
and public foundations. 

•  Purpose:  pursuit  of  specific  administrative  functions  that  are  primarily  entrusted  to  the  State.  They 

perform non-business (non-profit) functions. 

•  Origin: legislative act or by act of public power provided for by law: Presidential Decree of the Holder of 

the Executive Power. 
•  Regime: Public law. 

The guiding principles of public bodies are: 
•  Principle of specialty: the specific purposes justifying their creation continue. 
•  Principle of personality: translated into the existence of own management bodies, and recognition of 

administrative, financial, and patrimonial autonomy, namely: 

•  Administrative autonomy: the right to carry out definitive and enforceable administrative acts subject 

to judicial review and revocation protection. 

•  Financial autonomy: the right to have own income from income from its assets or from payments paid 

by its bodies according to their own budget. 

•  Property  autonomy:  power  to  dispose  of  its  own  assets  that  is  liable  for  debts  legally  attributable  to 

public services. 

•  Principle of guiding intervention or state control: implemented through guardianship and oversight. 

3.2  General personnel profiles and technical capabilities 

In 2017, Angola’s public administration had 385,423 employees, of which 12% are from 
the central bodies, and 8% hold managerial positions (Table 5). 

Table 5: Employees in Angola’s public administration by level of administration and level 
of assignment (2017) 

Level of 
administration 
Central 
Local 
Total 

Number of employees  %  Level of 

Number of employees  % 

assignment 

47,021  12%  Employee/agent 

338,402  88%  Managerial 
385,423  100  Total 

353,840  92% 
8% 
385,423  100 

31,583 

Source: MAPTSS (2019). 

The sectors with the largest number of employees and agents are Education (169,280) and 
Health  (88,264),  followed  by  the  Justice  sector  (9,607).  Women  represent  42%  of  all 
employees. 

The  composition  of  public  administration  staff  consists  of  12  categories  and  about  51 
subcategories (Table 7 in Annex). The main categories are: a) Management and leadership 
personnel;  (b)  senior  technical  staff;  (c)  technical  staff;  (d)  medium  technical  staff;  e) 
Administrative staff; and f) Auxiliary staff. The category of "senior technical staff", which 
carries out most of the technical work, holds six positions, namely (i) Principal Advisor; ii) 
First Assessor; iii) Advisor; iv) Superior Principal Technician; v) Superior Technician of 1st 
Class and vi) Superior Technician of 2nd Class. Professional specialties vary according to 
the ministry, but the areas of social sciences (economics and management, finance, law, 

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sociology,  political  sciences),  technical  areas  (engineering,  medicine)  and  the  scientific 
technical areas (chemistry, physics and biology) predominate.  

With  respect  to  human  resources  capacities  needed  to  implement  trade  policies  and 
agreement, there is some shortage in areas related to international trade, management, 
and implementation of economic partnership agreements. This limitation results from the 
fact that no Angolan university offers courses related to the area of international economics 
or international trade. On the other hand, some specialists educated abroad in these areas 
only have theoretical knowledge, lacking practical application capabilities. 

Some senior technicians from MINDCOM have periodically attended WTO training courses, 
both physically in Geneva and in online format. However, their role in the formulation of 
strategies and plans related to the implementation of trade policy has still been limited, as 
the government has tended to outsource such work to external experts.  

4  INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY 

4.1  Public administration reform 

Since  2018,  the  current  government  has  been  implementing  reforms  in  various  sectors 
with  the  aim  of  simplifying  administrative  processes  and  improving  the  business 
environment.  

In terms of institutional organisation and improvements of administrative processes, the 
creation of the Inter-Ministerial Commission for State Reform through Presidential Decree 
No. 15/18 of 19 February 2018 stands out. This Commission has the duty to monitor the 
implementation  of  sectoral  state  reform  programmes.  To  this  end,  five  categories  of 
planned reforms were defined, namely: (i) Reform of the Public and Local Administration; 
ii) Implementation of Local Authorities; (iii) Reform of Justice and Law; iv) Reform of the 
System of Planning, Development, and Spatial Planning and Land Reorganization; and (v) 
reform of the business environment, competition and market. 

Under  the  Administrative  Reform  and  Modernisation  Program  (PREA),  a  Study  on  the 
Macro-Structure  of  Angolan  Public  Administration  2000-2017  (Estudo  Sobre  a  Macro-
Estrutura da Administração Pública Angolana, EMEAP) was prepared (MAPTSS 2019), which 
comprehensively assesses the organic composition of the government, the organization, 
operation,  legislation,  career  structure,  remuneration,  human  resources  management  in 
the  public  administration,  and  identifies  the  areas  of  improvement  and  lists  a  series  of 
recommendations to streamline administrative processes.  

In the area of trade, such reforms have included the liberalisation and streamlining of a 
number  of  intermediaries  in  the  trade  process.  For  example,  the  regime  for  customs 
brokers was liberalised  in 2006, leading also to a change in statute  of  the CDOA, which 
now  acts  as  the  Brokers  Association.399  Similarly,  the  former  National  Shippers  Council 
(Conselho Nacional de Carregadores, CNC) and the Lobito Corridor Agency were merged 
into the new Regulatory Agency for Cargo Certification and Logistics (Agência Reguladora 
de Certificação de Carga e Logística de Angola, ARCCLA) in early 2021.400 

399  According to Article 36 of Decree 05/06, “the profession of broker is exercised in all customs posts, under a 
liberal profession and free competition regime, with no limitations on the maximum or minimum number of 
brokers,  and brokers  licensed  by  the  National  Directorate of Customs carry out  its  activity  throughout  the 
national territory”. See http://www.cdoangola.org.  

400  “Reguladora  de  Certificação  de  Carga  surge  para  dinamizar  rede  logística”,  ANGOP,  12  February  2021, 
https://www.angop.ao/noticias/economia/reguladora-de-certificacao-de-carga-surge-para-dinamizar-rede-
logistica/ [accessed 12 August 2021]. 

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Also in the framework of the reform programme, one of the most recent measures is the 
publication  of  the  Draft  Simplification  of  Procedures  in  Public  Administration  (called 
SIMPLIFICA),  approved  by  Presidential  Decree  No.  161/21  of  21  June  2021.  The 
SIMPLIFICA project aims to implement the nine principles described in Presidential Decree 
No. 189/20  of 23 July  2020 which sets out the guidelines  for procedures for  simplifying 
public  administration  procedures,  specifically:  i)  simplification  of  procedures  and 
modernisation  of  services;  (ii)  publicising  procedures  for  the  exercise  of  activities;  (iii) 
services by appointment; (iv) discontinuity of the requirement of documents issued by the 
State  in  inter-administrative  relations;  v)  integration  of  services;  vi)  municipalisation  of 
services; vii) Prior Authorisation Scheme; (viii) extended or unlimited period of validity of 
documents. In general, the reform has the mission of leading to a more efficient, effective, 
unbureaucratic and modern public administration, in order to facilitate the lives of citizens 
and businesses through innovative solutions. 

These  reforms  align  well  with  the  EPA  and  SIFA  objectives  of  enhanced  governance, 
transparency and predictability. As part of the negotiations between the EU and Angola, it 
could  be  considered  to  explicitly  refer  to  specific  reform  measures,  as  well  as  foresee 
cooperation and assistance for further improving reforms in trade related areas, such as in 
the electronic publication of relevant norms or further measures to improve the electronic 
single windows already established. 

4.2  Plans to improve human resources capabilities 

In addition to the public administration reform measures, to strengthen technical human 
resources capacities the government conceived the  "National Staff  Training Plan" (Plano 
Nacional  de  Formação  de  Quadros,  PNFQ)  and  created,  through  Presidential  Decree  No. 
187/13 of 14 November 2013, the Technical Management Unit (Unidade Técnica de Gestão, 
UTG/PNFQ) for its operationalisation. The PNFQ has nine training programmes in different 
areas and for different audiences:401 

•  Training for senior management; 
•  Training for middle management; 
•  Training and capacity building of teachers and researchers for higher education and the 

national system of science, technology and innovation; 
•  Training of faculty, specialists and researchers in education; 
•  Staff Training for public administration; 
•  Training in entrepreneurship and business development for businesspersons and youth; 
•  Supporting demand for higher education through scholarships; and 
•  Vocational training. 

The complementary instrument for the implementation of the PNFQ is Presidential Decree 
No. 63/21 of 4 March 2021, which establishes a regime for granting internal and external 
scholarships  for  undergraduate  and  graduate  courses.  It  is  expected  that  the  effective 
implementation of these training programmes will increase the supply of human resources 
with the skills to meet the economic development challenges that the country needs. 

While  this  comprehensive  training  programme  is  commendable,  it  does  not  presently 
foresee specific training in issues related to trade or international business. For example, 
the entrepreneurship training focuses on management as well as finance and accounting. 
The negotiations about EPA accession would therefore provide a good opportunity to also 
discuss  complementary  training  programmes  –  aimed  at  both  public  and  private  sector 
staff – that are specifically dedicated to trade issues, and which could be supported by the 
EU.  Measures  to  introduce  courses  in  international  trade  and  economics  in  at  least  one 
Angolan  university  –  e.g.  through  partnership  with  an  EU  university  –  could  also  be 

401  See http://www.pnfq.gov.ao/programas-de-accao.  

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Sustainability impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

discussed during the negotiations and agreed in a bilateral side agreement to the EPA.402 
A number of scholarships for public sector staff to participate in such training programmes 
should be considered. 

ANNEX: TABLES 

Table 6: Angolan ministries by category, 2017 vs. 2020/21 

Organic 
classification 
Defence and 
sovereignty 

Political-
Institutional 

Ministries 2017 

Ministries 2020/2021 

1.1. Ministério da Defesa Nacional; 
1.2. Ministério do Interior; 
1.3. Ministério das Relações Exteriores. 

2.1. Ministério da Justiça e dos Direitos 

1.1. Ministério da Defesa Nacional e 

Veteranos da Pátria; 

1.2. Ministério do Interior; 
1.3. Ministério das Relações Exteriores. 
2.1. Ministério da Justiça e dos Direitos 

Humanos; 

Humanos; 

2.2. Ministério da Economia e 

2.2. Ministério da Economia e 

Planeamento; 

Planeamento; 

2.3. Ministério das Finanças; 
2.4. Ministério da Administração do 

2.3. Ministério das Finanças; 
2.4. Ministério da Administração do 

Território e Reforma do Estado; 
2.5. Ministério da Administração Pública, 
Trabalho e Segurança Social; 
2.6. Ministério do Ensino Superior, 

Território e Reforma do Estado; 
2.5. Ministério da Administração Pública, 
Trabalho e Segurança Social; 

2.6. Ministério do Ensino Superior, Ciência, 

Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação; 

Tecnologia e Inovação; 

2.7. Ministério da Comunicação Social; 
2.8. Ministério do Ordenamento do 

Território e Habitação. 

2.7. Ministério das Telecomunicações 
Tecnologias de Informação e 
Comunicação Social; 

Economic 

3.1. Ministério dos Recursos Minerais e 

3.1. Ministério dos Recursos Minerais e 

Petróleos; 

Petróleos; 

Social 

Infrastructure 

3.2. Ministério do Ambiente; 
3.3. Ministério da Indústria; 
3.4. Ministério da Agricultura e Florestas; 
3.5. Ministério do Comércio; 
3.6. Ministério do Turismo; 
3.7. Ministério das Pescas e do Mar. 
4.1. Ministério da Saúde; 
4.2. Ministério da Educação; 
4.3. Ministério da Cultura; 
4.4. Ministério da Acção Social, Família e 

3.2. Ministério da Cultura Turismo e 

Ambiente; 

3.3. Ministério do Comércio e Indústria; 
3.4. Ministério da Agricultura e Pescas 

4.1. Ministério da Saúde; 
4.2. Ministério da Educação; 
4.3 Ministério da Acção Social, Família e 

Promoção da Mulher; 

Promoção da Mulher; 

4.4. Ministério da Juventude e Desportos. 

4.5. Ministério dos Antigos Combatentes 

e Veteranos da Pátria; 

4.6. Ministério da Juventude e Desportos. 
5.1. Ministério dos Transportes; 
5.2. Ministério das Telecomunicações e 
Tecnologias de Informação; 
5.3. Ministério da Construção e Obras 

Públicas; 

5.4. Ministério da Energia e Águas. 

5.1. Ministério dos Transportes; 
5.2. Ministério das Obras Públicas e 
Ordenamento do Território; 

5.3. Ministério da Energia e Águas. 

Source: MAPTSS (2019) and own development. 

402  The potential role of the National School of Commerce, created under Decree No. 25/85 of 17 March 1985, to 

administer short courses for domestic trade, should also be considered in this context. 

Page G–9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Sustainability Impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

Professional 
speciality 
Several 
Several 

Several 

Several 

Several 

Several 

Table 7: Classification of Civil Service Personnel (ministries) 

Nr 

Career 

Position/category 

3 

4 

5 

1 
2 

Technician 

Superior 
Technician 

Medium 
Technician 

Direction 
Leadership 

Section Heads  
Principal Advisor 
First Assessor 
Advisor 
Principal Superior Technician 
Superior Technician 1st Class 
2nd Class Superior Technician 
Technical Principal Specialist 
Technical Specialist 1st 
Technical Specialist 2nd 
1st Class Technician 
2nd Class Technician 
3rd Class Technician 
1st Class Senior Medium Coach 
2nd Class Senior Medium Coach 
3rd Class Senior Medium Coach 

•  Directors 
•  Heads of Departments 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•  Middle Class Coach 
2nd Class Medium Coach 
• 
•  Medium 3rd Class Coach 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•  Midshipman  
Scribe typist 
• 
Treasurer Home  
• 
1st Class Treasurer 
• 
2nd Class Treasurer 
• 
•  Heavy Duty Driver (Main, 1st and 2nd class) 
•  Driver of Cars (Main, 1st and 2nd class) 
•  Main Operator 
• 
• 
• 
•  Main Cleaning Assistant 
• 
• 
•  Qualified 1st and 2nd class worker 
• 
• 
Source: Various Presidential Decrees creating ministries 

Principal Administrative Officer 
1st Administrative Officer 
2nd Administrative Officer 
3rd Administrative Officer 

1st and 2nd Class Operator 
Principal Administrative Assistant 
Administrative Assistant of 1st and 2nd class. 

Incumbent 
Unqualified 1st and 2nd class worker 

Unskilled 
worker 

Skilled Worker 

Administrative 

Treasurer 

Operator 

Auxiliary 

Driver 

10 

11 

12 

7 

8 

9 

6 

Administrative Cleaning Assistant of 1st and 2nd Class.  
Incumbent 

Page G–10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sustainability impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

Table 8: Participation of Angolan ministries in international trade matters 

Nº 

Ministry (2021) 

1  Ministério  da  Defesa  Nacional  e 

Veteranos da Pátria 

Degree of 
Involvement 
None 

Trade issue concerned 

N/A 

2  Ministério do Interior 
3  Ministério das Relações Exteriores 
4  Ministério  da  Justiça  e  dos  Direitos 

Indirect 
High 
Indirect 

Trade facilitation (inspection services) 
Trade negotiations 
Trade facilitation (transparency, legal certainty) 

Humanos 
5  Ministério 

da 

Economia 

e 

High 

Planeamento 

6  Ministério das Finanças 
7  Ministério  da  Administração  do 
Território e Reforma do Estado; 
8  Ministério da Administração Pública, 

Trabalho e Segurança Social 

9  Ministério  do  Ensino  Superior, 
Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação; 
10  Ministério  das  Telecomunicações 
e 
de 

Informação 

Tecnologias 
Comunicação Social; 

Trade  facilitation  (negotiations  &  business 
environment improvement), Trade defence 
Tariffs, customs, rules of origin, trade defence 
N/A 

High 
None 

None 

N/A 

Moderate 

Trade facilitation (skills improvement) 

Moderate 

Trade  facilitation  (dissemination  of  information  and 
process improvement) 

11  Ministério  dos  Recursos  Minerais  e 

Moderate 

Petróleos; 

12  Ministério  da  Cultura  Turismo  e 

Moderate 

Trade  facilitation  (increase  in  exportable  supply); 
sector support 
Environmental Impact Monitoring 

Ambiente; 
13  Ministério 
Indústria; 

do  Comércio 

e 

High 

14  Ministério da Agricultura e Pescas 
15  Ministério da Saúde; 
16  Ministério da Educação; 
17  Ministério da Acção Social, Família e 

High 
High 
Moderate 
Indirect 

Promoção da Mulher; 

18  Ministério da Juventude e Desportos. 
19  Ministério dos Transportes; 

None 
High 

20  Ministério  das  Obras  Públicas  e 

Moderate 

Ordenamento do Território; 
21  Ministério da Energia e Águas. 

Indirect 

Trade Defence, SPS, rules of origin, TBT, sector 
support 
SPS, Rules of Origin, TBT 
SPS 
Skills Improvements 
Export competitiveness (women exporters) 

N/A 
Trade Facilitation (Control of imported and exported 
quantities) 
Export 
Improvement) 
Export  competitiveness  (availability  and  cost  of 
inputs) 

competitiveness 

(infrastructure 

Source: Own preparation based on the ministries’ organic statutes (Presidential Decrees). 

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Sustainability Impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

Table 9: Official Angolan documents regulating the management of international trade  

Nr  Official Document 

Objective /Regulates what? 

Plano 
Desenvolvimento 2018-2022 

Nacional 

de 

Structuring  document  for  the  medium-term 
economic development strategy. 

Program  of  Administrative  Reform  and 
Modernization (PREA) 

in  commercial, 

Approves the Organic Statute of the Ministry of 
Economy and Planning 
Approves  the  Organic  Statute  of  the  Angolan 
Ministry of Commerce and Industry 
Approves the Organic Statute of the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs of Angola 
Approves the Organic Statute of the Ministry of 
Agriculture and Fisheries 
Aprova  o  Estatuto  Orgânico  da  Agência  de 
Investimentos  e  Promoção  de  Exportações 
(AIPEX). 
Approves the Statute of the Chamber of Official 
Brokers of Angola. 
Regulates  the  use  of  units  of  measure,  and 
instruments of measures in Angola  
Regulates  metrological  control  applicable  to 
instruments  and  measurement  methods, 
materialised  national  or  imported  measures, 
involved 
tax  or  wage 
transactions, as well as those employed in the 
field  of  safety,  health,  energy  and  in  the 
determination  of  quantities  of  prepackaged 
products 
Regulates the creation of free and similar zones 
(export  processing  zones,  Free  Ports  and  Free 
Enterprises) 
Establishes  the  General  Rules  governing  the 
production,  trafficking,  import  and  export  of 
animals, 
their  products  and  sub-products 
throughout the national territory 
It  lays  down  the  rules  for  ensuring  plant 
protection of agricultural and forestry production 
and exploitation, as well as transit, trade, import 
and export of plants, parts of flats and regulated 
objects 
and 
consumption.  
Regulation 
livestock farms 
Regulates established standards 
animal health law. 

for  marketing 

intended 

issue 

Trade 
concerned 
Economic 
Development  and 
Integration 
Trade Facilitation 

Policy 

Trade  Agreement 
Management 
Trade 
Management &SPS 
Trade  Agreement 
Management 
Trade  Agreement 
Management & SPS 
Trade  Agreement 
Management 

Trade Facilitation 

Normalization  and 
Quality Control 
Normalization  and 
Quality Control 

Trade Facilitation 

SPS 

SPS 

SPS 

SPS 

Nomenclature  of  the  Harmonised  System  of 
Tradable Goods.  

Customs tariffs 

Organic  statute  establishing  the  National  Food 
Quality Control Services (SNCQA) to ensure the 
coordination  and  management  of  food  quality 
and health control. 
Office  which  has  the  task  of  formulating, 
promoting and monitoring the implementation 
of  policies  and  strategies  in  the  field  of  food 
and nutrition security. 
It  lays  down  the  rules  applicable  to  laboratory 
analyses  for  products  intended  for  human  and 
animal 
to 
safeguarding the public interest in the protection 
of public health and the environment.  

consumption,  with  a  view 

SPS 

SPS 

SPS 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

Estudo  sobre  a  macro-estrutura 
da 
Pública 
Administração 
angolana 2000-2017 
Decreto Presidencial nº 43/18 de 
12 de Fevereiro 
Decreto  Presidencial  n.º  157/20 
de 3 de Junho 
Decreto  Presidencial  n.º  257/20 
de 13 de Outubro 
Decreto  Presidencial  n.º  177/20 
de 23 de Julho 
Decreto Presidencial n.º 81/18 de 
19 de Março. 

9 

8 

Decreto Presidencial n.º 27/97 de 
7 de Abril 
Lei nº 17/2 de 13 de Dezembro 
Lei dos Padrões de Peso e Medida 
10  Decreto  Presidencial  nº  53/04 
de 13 de Agosto - Regulamento 
geral de controle metrológico. 

11 

12 

Lei 35/20 de 12 de Outubro – Lei 
das Zonas Francas. 

Lei nº 4/04 de 13 de Agosto - Lei 
da Sanidade Animal 

14 

Lei  nº 5/21 de 3 de Fevereiro  – 
Lei da Sanidade Vegetal 

15  Decreto Presidencial n.º 104/15 

de 12 de Maio 

16  Decreto  n.º  70/08  de  11  de 
Agosto - Regulamento da Lei de 
Sanidade Animal 

17  Decreto  Legislativo  Presidencial 
nº  10/19  de  29  de  Novembro  – 
Pauta  aduaneira  dos  direitos  de 
importação e Exportação (Versão 
2017) 

18  Decreto  Presidencial  nº  138/19 

de 13 de Maio. 

19  Decreto Executivo n.º 265/ 18 de 
19  de  Jull10  -  Regulamento 
de 
Interno 
Segurança Alimentar 

do  Gabinete 

20  Decreto  Presidencial  nº  179/18 
de  2  de  Agosto  –  Regulamento 
sobre  a  sujeição  de  Análises 
Produtos 
Laboratoriais 
Destinados ao Consumo Humano 
e Animal 

dos 

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Sustainability impact assessment (SIA) in support of trade negotiations with Angola for EU-SADC EPA accession 
Final report 

Nr  Official Document 

Objective /Regulates what? 

21  Decreto Executivo 186/13 de 31 

de Maio 

22  Decreto  Presidencial  nº  324/14 
de  15  de  Dezembro  –  Aprova  o 
da 
Estatuto 
Administração  Geral  Tributária 
(AGT) 

Orgânico 

23  Despacho Presidencial nº 15 /18 
– 
Comissão 
a 
Interministerial  da  Reforma  do 
Estado 

Cria 

24  Decreto  Presidencial  nº  267/20 
de  16  de  Outubro  –  Estatuto 
Orgânico da Autoridade Nacional 
Inspecção  Económica  e 
de 
Segurança Alimentar (ANIESA) 

25  Decreto  Presidencial  nº  177/21 
de  16  de  Julho  –  Estatuto 
Orgânico do Instituto Orgânico de 
Controle  de  Qualidade  da 
Indústria e Comércio (INACOQ) 

26  Decreto Presidencial nº 95/21 de 
20  de  Abril  –  Estatuto  Orgânico 
do 
das 
Instituto  Nacional 
Infraestruturas  da  Qualidade 
(INIQ) 

27  Decreto  Presidencial  nº  176/18 
de 27 de Julho – Regulamento do 
Comité 
a 
Facilitação do Comércio 

Nacional 

para 

Rules of Procedure of the Executive Secretariat 
of CODEX Angola 
Settle and collect taxes and customs duties.  
Propose measures to regulate foreign trade. 
Control international freight traffic and means 
of transport; 

issue 

Trade 
concerned 
SPS 

Trade 
Trade Facilitation 

Defence, 

Monitorar a execução dos programas sectoriais 
de Reforma do Estado 

Trade Facilitation 

Promote  surveillance  actions  on  all  economic 
activities. 

SPS 

the 

control, 

verification, 

Implementation  of  the  general  policy  of 
conformity 
and 
supervision  of 
the  quality  standards  of 
consumer goods circulating in the commercial 
network, food and beverage industry, catering 
and 
like  and  respective  production 
processes.  
Responsible for the political implementation of 
the  Government  in  the  field  of  Promotion, 
organization,  development  and  assurance  of 
quality infrastructures, the management of the 
Angolan Quality System (SAQ), as well as the 
recognition  of  the  technical  competencies  of 
the conformity assessment bodies operating in 
the  market,  agreements  with  pre-established 
normative  references,  aligned  with  best 
practices and international standards.  
Establish  the  rules  for  the  organization  and 
functioning of the CNFC within the framework 
of  trade  facilitation  agreements  established 
between WTO members. 

SPS 

SPS  and  Technical 
Standards.  

Trade Facilitation 

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