Angola

G

Transport

In 2001 Angola’s road system consisted of about 51,429 km (31,956 mi) of roads, of which 10 per cent was paved. Much has been destroyed, exacerbating the problems of a road network that is inadequate for so large an area, and the repair and reopening of roads, preceded by the clearing of mines is a major UN operation. In 1996 there were 197,000 passenger cars, with a ratio of 52 people per car. Ground transport is supplemented by a relatively well-developed internal air service, provided by the country’s national airline. Angola has about 2,900 km (1,740 mi) of railway. The principal line, the Benguela Railway, links mineral-rich Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Katanga province with the Atlantic port of Lobito. Because of the war, it was closed to international traffic from 1975 to 1980 and has since operated sporadically on the stretch inland of Benguela. The country’s chief ports are the cities of Benguela, Lobito, Luanda, and Namibe, but port traffic collapsed as a result of the war. There is an international airport at Luanda (the Fourth of February). The national carrier is Linhas Aéreas de Angola (TAAG).

H

Communications

The telephone system is limited to government and business use. In 2004 there was one state-owned radio service and 1 daily newspapers, the most important of which is the Jornal de Angola. The weekly Correio da Semana is also noteworthy.

V

Government

A transitional government was established in January 1975, comprising representatives of the MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, Popular Liberation Movement of Angola), the FNLA (Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola, National Front for the Liberation of Angola), UNITA (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, National Union for the Total Independence of Angola), and the Portuguese government. During the next year, and following independence from Portugal in November 1975, a battle for superiority took place between the MPLA, supported by the Soviet Union and Cuba; the FNLA supported by President Mobutu Sese Seko of then Zaïre (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo); the United States and other Western governments; and UNITA, which had South African backing. The FNLA eventually became less significant and the MPLA and UNITA became the main protagonists.

Internal security problems hampered progress until September 1992, when multi-party elections were held. After constitutional reform in 1992, the name of the country was changed from the People’s Republic of Angola to the Republic of Angola.

A

Political Parties

The country’s dominant political party originated in 1956 as the MPLA. In 1977 it was reorganized as a Marxist-Leninist party and renamed the Popular Liberation Movement of Angola-Workers’ Party; in April 1991 it formally renounced its Marxist orientation. Its rival, founded in 1966, is UNITA, which waged a civil war against the MPLA since Angola became independent.

B

Judiciary

Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president.