Revenue from Angola’s oil reserves should be aiding the country’s development. But instead, it’s being used as a slush fund for government corruption. Deep in Luanda’s sewers, a group of boys show us around their home. “I’m desperate for help,” begs one. “I’m eating rubbish, surrounded by others who are sniffing glue. ” According to the latest calculations, 9% of the country’s GDP is siphoned off. Even the US ambassador admits that oil revenues are not going to “the Angolan people. ” Ordinary Angolans know they’re being ripped off by their leaders. They’re seething with resentment. In the Angolan enclave of Cabinda, this discontent has fuelled a separatist movement which has been fighting for years. With more and more Angolans asking awkward questions, there’s a risk the country will collapse into anarchy again if the corruption problem isn’t addressed.
