AKE Press Release Angola

According to risk mitigation firm AKE, Angola is largely safe for business, despite the recent attack on the Togo football team in the Cabinda area.

AKE ranks the northern enclave of Cabinda as ‘highly unstable’, but continues to regard the rest of Angola as one of the more secure countries for doing business in sub-Saharan Africa.

AKE Africa analyst Hanna-Caroline Imig explains that “Cabinda is separated from the rest of Angola by a strip of land belonging to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Conditions are very different from the rest of the country.”

Three people were killed and eight injured in the region on 8 January during a machine gun attack against the bus of the Togo football team.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), a guerrilla and political movement fighting for the independence of Cabinda.

In the past, the FLEC has usually targeted government installations and the oil industry. Their aim is to put pressure on the government to redistribute wealth and grant greater political autonomy to the region.

“Although the province is rich in petroleum resources, the lack of development continues to fuel discontent among the local population” according to Imig.

“The Togo football team presented a highly visible and attractive target for a rebel group seeking maximum publicity for its cause.”

AKE advises against road travel throughout the Cabinda region.

Despite a recent improvement in overall stability in Cabinda following a peace agreement in 2006, the latest attack highlights ongoing instability. Personnel working in the oil industry in this part of the country are strongly advised to consider their security arrangements.

However, according to Imig, Luanda is still largely safe and the likelihood of an attack of this scale taking place anywhere other than the Cabinda region is low.

In general, AKE recommends personnel obtain sufficient insurance as well as proper travel safety training before travelling to Angola, and especially the Cabinda region.

AKE will be holding its next one-day travel safety course in Aberdeen on 20 January 2010.