Angolan president fires finance minister over economic slump

José Eduardo dos Santos, president of Angola, has fired Armando Manuel, the country’s finance minister, following a slump in the country’s economic situation stemming from crashed crude oil prices.

The sack, which was announced on Monday, come two months after the Angolan government pulled out of talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over emergency funding.

A statement quoted by Reuters said Manuel, who was appointed in 2013 and whose term had been due to run to 2017, would be replaced by Archer Mangueira, capital markets commission head.

Over the last two years, Manuel had presided over an economic slump caused by a sharp drop in oil prices that sapped dollar inflows, hammered the kwanza — the Angolan currency — and led heavy government borrowing.

Like Angola, Nigeria has also been hit by the plunge in crude oil prices and a rapid depreciation of the local currency.

The kwanza slid more than 30 percent against the dollar in 2015, and in January the central bank allowed for another 15 percent, weakening to 155 against the dollar.

Nigeria has seen a depreciation of over 40 percent on the naira against the dollar in 2016.

Angola’s inflation had soared from 11 percent in August 2015 to 35 percent in July 2016, while Nigeria’s is from 9.3 to 17.1 percent within the same period.

Dino Melaye, senator representing Kogi West, called for the removal of Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s finance minister over her “gross incompetence”.

“The finance minister has not only displayed gross incompetence on the job, she also lacks the basic and rudimentary grasp of economic fundamentals necessary to run a critical sector of the Nigerian economy like the finance ministry,” he had said.

“It is time for her to go now and pave way for a qualified and experienced person to steer the Nigerian economy away from the dark woods it has sunk presently under her stewardship.”

Like the Nigerian president, dos Santos is getting unpopular by the day due to the economic hardship caused by the fall in oil prices.