(Bloomberg) -- Angola will extend a cash-transfer program for low-income families as a weaker currency and sky-high inflation continue to drive up living costs in the oil-producing African nation.
The so-called Kwenda program will run until 2029, following the recent approval by the World Bank of an additional $400 million loan, President João Lourenço said in a speech Tuesday. The project, the first of its kind in Angola, began in 2020 to support the nation’s poorest during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Annual inflation in the net importer eased to 29.93% in September after reaching a seven-year high of 31% in June. A reduction in fuel subsidies and the depreciation of the kwanza against the dollar this year — making it the fifth worst-performing currency in Africa among those tracked by Bloomberg — fanned price growth.
While Angola’s recent economic growth has encouraged Lourenço’s government to move forward with “optimism,” inflationary pressures persist, he said. The president also said more work was needed to bolster local production to help lower living costs in the country of 36 million people.
“The challenges of sustained growth are still high,” said Lourenço. “We will continue to work to consolidate the restructuring of the national economy, increase national production, especially food, and reduce our dependence on external shocks.”
Angola has vast potential in terms of farming. The nation was a major food exporter before a 1975-2002 civil war, but now relies on crude for more than 90% of its export revenue.
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