Mário Augusto João

Mário Augusto João rocked up in the Czech Republic 29 years ago, but little did he realise then that his destiny would include becoming Angola’s Minister for the Economy and Planning. Ready to start his career at the age of 15, Mário made his first steps at McDonald’s in Prague, where he worked for eight years. At the time, his ambition was to buy a pair of Jordan trainers and save some money, and so he continued, growing and aspiring. He has held countless positions and today the mirror reflects a resilient man who is a minister in the country of his birth. In the meantime, he aims to reinvent himself with the wisdom he has gained from the books he reads. He admits that being Minister for the Economy and Planning is a full-time occupation, although he reveals that his sporting side comes to the fore in his spare time. This is the man with valuable time and a packed diary, who carries a country of incalculable wealth on his shoulders. Here’s a look at Angol’s present and future. 

29 years ago, you began your professional career as a McDonald’s employee. Today, you are the Minister of Economy and Planning. Tell us a little about your career path.
I started my working life in 1994 at McDonald’s. I was 15 years old at the time, went on holiday to Prague and ended up working during the summer holidays. I did it again in 1995, as I had the chance to earn some money and gain some responsibility at work. In 1996, when I was now studying in the Czech Republic, I actually started working on a contract basis, albeit a partial one, and remained that way until 2004, when the opportunity arose to work at ICEP, now AICEP, the Portuguese counterpart of AIPEX. I was confronted with a thorny world of work, where career growth wasn’t straightforward and required a range of skills, including socialising. (...) But one fine day I decided that this wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Six months later, I took a course, through which I became a junior manager. I ended up asking to move to another restaurant, where the challenges were much more complex. As you can imagine, I could go on and on, but the truth is that I ended up being recommended for a second management course, this time as a middle manager, where I developed a pragmatic way of looking at and solving problems. This short story is nothing more than a snippet of my first eight years at work. One day I’ll tell you more. 

Of all the positions you’ve held to date, which has challenged you the most?
It’s true that I’ve held various positions, each one challenging in its own way. I would say that the one that forced me to reinvent myself, causing me to re-read academic books, was my current position, because it has brought a dimension that the other positions didn’t require. We’re talking about a wide range of areas such as institutional management, human resources, finance and legal affairs, as well as the most diverse programmes and planning instruments. Managing a public institution isn’t easy, but I love challenges (...) I’ve used the opportunity to minimise the many injustices I’ve experienced throughout my career in the civil service and the economy has proved complex. This challenge has taught me lessons on a daily basis, but I must confess that I have a ground-breaking team of professionals who do their very best.  

What state did you find the Angolan economy in when you took office? 
In a state of great uncertainty. At the time, it was going through a shift in economic paradigm, which until then had been based on the prioritisation of national production and complemented by the strengthening of the rule of law, the fight against corruption and a better business environment. I found an economy in recession and with the most diverse macroeconomic indicators under stress, such as inflation, the exchange rate, public debt, low credit to the economy, etc. The informal economy was practically assumed to be something traditional and normal, so the strategy adopted was to find sustainable solutions to the most diverse problems, in order to also provide more information about the market to tackle speculation and promote the purchase of national products. The Angola 2050 Long-Term Strategy and the National Development Plan were extremely challenging to produce, although the biggest challenge is to keep them up to date throughout their duration.  

Known as Angola 2025, the Long-Term Strategy [2000-2025] was extended by the government in 2019 for another 25 years. In 2000, the country was still at war... Is the reason for extending the agenda until 2050 because the plan is already out of synch with the country? 
The need to update the Long-Term Strategy to 2050 can be explained by the lag between the results achieved and the forecasts, due to internal and external factors; the change in context/assumptions and the alignment with international commitments to which Angola is a signatory, namely the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. 

Give an outline of what the implementation of the Long-Term Strategy up to 2050 will look like. 
By 2050, three fundamental pillars have been defined for the country’s development: the development of human capital, with its third pillar being A Society That Values and Empowers Its Human Capital; economic diversification, with its first pillar being A Diversified and Prosperous Economy; and the modernisation and expansion of the country’s infrastructure, with its second pillar being A Modern and Competitive Infrastructure.
The Angola 2050 strategy envisages a near quadrupling of the non-oil economy, which means that the oil and gas sector, the main driver of the economy, will be worth only 1/3 of its current value. We predict that the non-oil economy will be four times larger by 2050. Diversification will also ensure greater equality in income distribution and thus raise the standard of living for a large part of the population. 
The industry sector is expected to grow more than sevenfold between 2022-2050, accounting for 20% of GDP in 2050, surpassing the SADC average and approaching growth champion countries, such as Malaysia. 
Agribusiness will largely contribute to this growth, driven by growth in the agricultural sector. The agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors are expected to grow more than fourfold, accounting for 22% of GDP. To achieve this, crops with greater agronomic suitability and greater domestic and international demand will be selected, and the area under cultivation and productivity per hectare will be increased.
The 2050 strategy also entails a paradigm shift in the country at a social level. We expect high population growth, but at a slower pace. We’re talking about population growth from 33 million to 68 million, along with a significant reduction in the poverty rate and improved public health care. Average life expectancy will rise to 68 years. The number of doctors per 1,000 inhabitants will increase fivefold. All Angolans will have access to quality education. The number of years of schooling adjusted to the level of learning will rise to 50%, while the literacy rate (>15 years) will rise from 76% to 95%. Angolan women will be empowered to reach their full potential. Foreign direct investment (FDI) will total $560 billion, financing 60% of all investment needs. High sectoral diversification is expected, with high growth in all non-oil sectors. The trade balance will be on an even keel, with economic diversification allowing for greater domestic resilience and export capacity, offsetting a reduction in oil exports. The volume of water supply will grow tenfold, guaranteeing access to drinking water for 90% of the population (...)
Agriculture and industry will become the main economic drivers; the GDP of agriculture and livestock will grow fourfold, becoming the third largest sector of activity and the GDP of the industry sector will grow sevenfold, becoming the second largest sector of activity.

«Drawing up environmentally friendly policies without jeopardising our interests»

Over the last four years, agriculture has grown by around 5% in the country. You say that the focus will be on agribusiness, with a focus on grain production. Do you want to further develop this strategy? 
As is well known, agribusiness represents all economic activities related to the production and sale of agricultural products. It is one of the sectors that generates the most jobs in the world and is vitally important, not just for the economy, but for human development and well-being via food self-sufficiency. However, the priority is to deepen this strategy through a number of stages. One of them is production and distribution. Over the next five years, the agricultural sector is expected to grow by 7.5%, with a focus on grain production and animal production, which are related to countless activities, such as promoting the production of cereals, pulses and oilseeds. Then there’s the processing stage. The outlook is for an increase in the self-sufficiency of national production (agriculture, livestock, fisheries) from 66% to 76% by 2027. Finally, there is the professional qualification phase.

What place do green hydrogen and renewable energies have in the country’s future? Although we are a country that benefits from non-renewable mineral resources, we have endeavoured to strike a balance in which we can draw up environmentally friendly policies without jeopardising our overriding interest, which is national well-being. Therefore, our commitment has been embodied in specific policies, such as, for example, the training of 293 members in the specialities of environmental activism, good environmental practices and social education, so that we have specialists who are up to the task of permanently monitoring this issue.  

In terms of tourism and infrastructure, what incentives is the ministry offering the business sector and foreign investors? 
The country has clear tourism potential, but the truth is that its implementation requires the removal of various obstacles, obstacles that are not the exclusive task of a single ministerial department, but rather a joint task of various ministerial players, including the Ministry of Economy and Planning. Nevertheless, we recognise that there are many obstacles to the development of tourism in Angola. In fact, we believe that many of these obstacles can be removed through very simple measures that can be implemented in the short term, such as improving access to tourist attractions, which in many cases only involves putting up signposts to tourist attractions. 

Do you see potential in Angolan youth? And what strategies are you adopting to secure qualified talent?
Considering that one of the country’s main aims is to build a society that values and enhances its human capital, and that young people are the fundamental asset for Angola’s development and unity, the strategy consists of training and supporting young people to take on a leading role in the process of national development. There are therefore four different measures: improving the health and well-being of young people, increasing schooling and training for future generations, promoting employment and economic integration and involving young people in social and political life. 

Do you think the view of Angola is changing, not only within its borders, but also internationally?
Clearly. As a result of the political and economic reforms that Angola has implemented, a new image of the country is beginning to be developed. 
On a political level, President João Lourenço has defined the consolidation of the rule of law and democracy. Today, in Angola, no one is above the law. In terms of the economy, the state has decided to stabilise macroeconomic indicators and reduce its intervention in the economy as much as possible, giving the private sector its true place. The privatisation programme continues to be implemented because we believe that it is the state’s job to regulate and the private sector’s job to produce quality goods and services, as well as fairly paid jobs. We are working to improve the business environment, but we are also currently working, in partnership with the World Bank, to bring Angola into line with international best practices. We have abolished visas for the G20 and CPLP countries, for example...
The international tender for the concession to manage Dr António Agostinho Neto International Airport will soon be launched, and the public tender for the management of the southern corridor, Moçâmedes Railways, may also be launched. These are two of the many examples that prove that, in fact, perceptions within and beyond borders have changed substantially. 

In the world: an economic crisis and two conflicts that seem to have no end, preceded by a pandemic. What is the price to pay, for the world and for Angola in particular?
Conflicts affect the whole world, and Angola is no exception. We’ve seen an increase in the inflation rate in the world’s main economies, many of which have reached levels not seen in decades, as is the case in the US, the UK, Germany and other developed countries. As an economy still dependent on food imports, Angola has been facing rising inflation, resulting in part from the conflict involving Russia and Ukraine. These nations account for a quarter of all the world’s wheat exports, and wheat is the food product with the highest import volume in our country, so consumers are largely affected by its variations. But as they say, from difficulties come opportunities, and Angola has seen this crisis as a great opportunity to become self-sufficient in cereal production, with the implementation of a plan to promote grain production, called PLANAGRÃO.

«In Angola, no one is above the law»

Do you have any concerns about 2024?
We’re heading in the right direction and, from what we’ve done so far, we think we have good reason to remain optimistic, whilst not neglecting the risks. In 2024, we could have the following scenario: a potential increase in household purchasing power, influenced by an increase in domestic production. We will have a blended scenario of a greater increase in the supply of goods through the results of PRODESI, the operationalisation of PLANAS (grains, fisheries and livestock), as well as the exemption from IRT for incomes of up to 100,000 Kzs and the reduction in VAT from 14% to 7%.  

What was the most unfair criticism you have ever received?
The most unfair was when I was blamed for drinking my sister’s fizzy drink, when my father had given one to each child. The situation cleared up later, but I remember feeling very wronged. At the time, fizzy pop had a substantial value and, when it came in crates, the price was like buying an aeroplane ticket. 

Does money bring happiness or create conflict?
Happiness results from the effective and efficient use of various factors. Those who use financial resources (money) to quickly attain happiness (buy end products) will, roughly speaking, be happy in the short term, and will not be guaranteed happiness in the medium to long term.

«We’re starting to develop a new image of the country»

What is your favourite hobby?
Doing things that increase my wisdom, such as productive conversations, interesting reading, debates, research, writing articles... 

Do you play golf or any sport?
I love sport, but I don’t play golf yet. I do play basketball, beach volleyball, and go cycling and swimming and I also enjoy hiking in the mountains. 

If you had to write a sentence to be read a hundred years from now, what would it be?
A healthy intellectual diet and physical exercise are the key to vitality.