English

T

he historic struggle
between the media
and the government in Angola has
for a long time been
primarily driven by
the constant need
to obstruct inspection and hinder
transparency, because the disclosure of any ill in Angola
would uncover someone profiting handsomely from it, directly or indirectly.
A well-articulated system of patronage
has hitherto ensured that the system is
cohesive and defended against accusations of corruption, counting on support
from the government, the judiciary, the
military and the business sector. This institutionalised architecture of corruption
at the highest levels poses the biggest
threat to meaningful change with the
helm in the hands of its new president,
João Lourenço.
Against this background, a key development in Portugal brings welcome relief
in the form of a ruling by the Lisbon Appeals Court, to the effect that Portugal
can now investigate funds belonging to
Angolan elites, regardless of whether or
not such funds are the subject of a court
case in Angola. Before this ruling, Portugal could investigate only cases where
the funds were already the subject of
an investigation in Angola. The new ruling however, states that as long as funds
entering Portugal raise suspicion, then
Portuguese authorities can look into
their provenance and how they were
obtained.
Just before the general elections in August 2017, the Sindicato de Jornalistas
Angolanos (SJA) criticised public media for being partial in its analysis programmes, with guests that overwhelmingly favoured the People’s Movement
for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA)

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So This is Democracy? 2017

position. The daily Jornal de Angola
was spared, with SJA Secretary-General
Cândido Teixeira citing its “exemplary
performance”. ONG Handeka, an NGO
created recently, monitored electoral
coverage from 23-27 July 2017 and
found that the state media favoured
the MPLA. On the other hand, the former National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) radio
transformed into Rádio Despertar, was
accused of being biased in favour of
UNITA.

The historic struggle
between the media
and the government in
Angola has for a long
time been primarily
driven by the constant
need to obstruct
inspection and hinder
transparency, because
the disclosure of any
ill in Angola would
uncover someone
profiting handsomely
from it, directly or
indirectly.

Select target paragraph3