Angola: Publicly Account for the US $32 Billion Unexplained Discrepancy

Salem-News.com Eye on the World report.

IMF: Angola, $32 billion in missing public funds.

(DHAKA- Bangladesh) - A US$32 billion unexplained discrepancy exists in Angola’s public funds that was reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Angola has not fully disclosed what the government is doing to trace the missing funds, which appear to be connected to the state oil company, Sonangol. This amounts to a tremendous injustice against the Angolan people.

Our goal with Eye on the World is to illustrate and highlight politically oriented problems and tragedies that traditional media channels don't have time or interest in covering.

The world has its own set of laws that were agreed upon by the ruling nations in 1948, and many people are not aware of this simple fact. At the root of the concept of world citizenry itself, is the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an overriding and supreme law that ensures many essential human rights that governments today fail to observe. Also central to any hope of human success, is the understanding of the human hierarchy of needs, as defined by Abraham Maslow- more information on this at the conclusion of this entry. We must use the Internet as a tool of justice at every junction, and we need to assist all human beings, everywhere, and not allow cultural, racial or religious preferences as determiners.

In this letter to H.E. Mr. Carlos Alberto Lopes, Minister of Finance in Luanda, República de Angola, William Gomes strongly encourages the issuance of a public clarification regarding the US$32 billion unexplained discrepancy in Angola’s public funds, without further delay. If the investigation is ongoing, Gomes asks that regular updates be issued, as it proceeds, because the Angolan people have a right to know.

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March 4, 2012 H.E. Mr. Carlos Alberto Lopes Minister of Finance Edifício do MinFin Largo da Mutamba Luanda, República de Angola Re: Angola: Publicly account for the US$32 billion unexplained discrepancy Your Excellency, I am writing to you to urge you to publicly account for the US$32 billion unexplained discrepancy in Angola’s public funds that was reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). I also urge you to fully disclose what the government is doing to trace the missing funds, which appear to be connected to the state oil company, Sonangol. I am aware that Angola’s government is working to improve accounting practices, including those of Sonangol. I recognize, moreover, that poor past practices have resulted in inconsistent reporting about government finances that may be difficult to untangle. Nevertheless, a gap in government accounts of this magnitude—equivalent to one-quarter of Angola’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—is astonishing and requires an immediate explanation. This major discrepancy came to light in December, when the IMF issued a report describing progress by the government of Angola under its 2009 Stand-By Arrangement. Although the IMF’s assessment was largely positive, the report also identified several issues of concern. In a section entitled “Clarifying the Unexplained Residual in the Budget,” the IMF report reveals that changes in the Angolan government’s bank account balances (its “fiscal accounts”) do not match up with the amounts it recorded as domestic and foreign financial transfers (its “financing flows”). For several years in a row, it appears that funds moved out of government accounts—whether as a result of spending or transfers or for some other reason—have exceeded what was officially reported at the time. In the IMF’s words, “[t]his unexplained residual shows large cumulative outflows between 2007 and 2010.” The discrepancy in government accounts totals approximately $32 billion, according to the IMF. The IMF report goes on to state that the Angolan authorities have traced a portion of the missing government funds. It cites evidence that $7.1 billion was transferred into special foreign bank accounts set up to help guarantee external loans (“escrow accounts”). This amount, however, is greater than the total value of the payments owed by the government of Angola, suggesting that the funds transfers (“outflows”) into those foreign accounts may have been carried out for a different purpose. The IMF report notes that the Angolan government, as of late 2011, was investigating the reason for the $7.1 billion in escrow account transfers and that it was also working to trace the remaining $24.9 billion. As described by the IMF, the Angolan authorities are exploring several possible explanations—all of them focused on Sonangol. One possibility identified in the report is that Sonangol has understated the funds it receives, including in connection with economic activities not currently reflected in the budget (“quasi-fiscal activity,” sometimes also known as off-budget activity). As noted in the IMF report, the Angolan government has pledged to prepare a report matching budgetary information with data on funds received from Sonangol ahead of the next IMF review, as well as take other steps to improve its management of public funds. The question of Angola’s management of public finances is of great consequence to the people of Angola and is of considerable relevance to many others. In light of the history of past problems with Angola’s finances that your ministry is working to overcome, and the continued poor ranking of Angola in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (168 out of 182 countries in 2011), I strongly encourage you to issue a public clarification regarding this matter without further delay. If the investigation is ongoing, I would urge you to issue regular updates as it proceeds. The Angolan people have a right to know. Thank you very much for your attention, and we extend our highest consideration. Respectfully, William Nicholas Gomes

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William’s Desk

www.williamgomes.org

Download: Angola- Publicly account for the US$32 billion unexplained discrepancy

William’s Desk

www.williamgomes.org

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

As children we are educated in right and wrong, we are told how to conduct ourselves; we learn both expectations and limitations, and from that point we go forth with these tools, and our individual personalities, and fail or succeed accordingly.

In school we quickly understand that without paper, there is no place to write. Once we have paper, a pen or pencil is required to move to the next point. There is a great analogy that exists between this simple concept of paper and pen, and what we know today as Maslow's hierarchy of needs- the theory in psychology proposed in Abraham Maslow's 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation.

He demonstrated how without the correct necessities, a person can do little good for themselves, and has none to offer for others. However when people are housed and have clothing, heat, food, health and security, anything is possible. However if just one of these dynamics is removed from the mix, the chance for success can be adversely affected.

Wikipedia describes Maslow's hierarchy of needs as a pyramid consisting of five levels:

The lowest level is associated with physiological needs, while the uppermost level is associated with self-actualization needs, particularly those related to identity and purpose.

The higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the lower needs in the pyramid are met. Once an individual has moved upwards to the next level, needs in the lower level will no longer be prioritized. If a lower set of needs is no longer be met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritize those needs by focusing attention on the unfulfilled needs, but will not permanently regress to the lower level.

For instance, a businessman at the esteem level who is diagnosed with cancer will spend a great deal of time concentrating on his health (physiological needs), but will continue to value his work performance (esteem needs) and will likely return to work during periods of remission.

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Special thanks to William's Desk

williamgomes.org