International
Angolan President appoints daughter to head state oil firm
President Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola has appointed his daughter, Isabel Dos Santos, as chairperson of the state oil company, Sonangol.
Isabel, described as Africa’s richest woman, was appointed after the President sacked the entire board of Sonagol. Paulino Fernando de Carvalho Geronimo was appointed chief executive officer.
With the appointment of Isabel, the 73 year old Dos Santos, who has been in power since 1979, is continuing tightening his family’s control over Africa’s third-biggest economy after previously appointing one of his children to the country’s sovereign wealth fund.
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Commenting on the development, Gary Van Staden an analyst with NKC African Economics, Paar, near Cape Town, said: “It’s just how the Angolan government tends to operate when it comes to base issues like strategic oil and the sovereign wealth fund.
“President dos Santos tends to make sure that the people in charge of those are very close to him.”
According Isabel, in an emailed statement, the new team aims to make Sonangol more competitive internationally by reducing costs. The company will seek to improve profitability and the dividends it pays to the state, she said.
Continuing, she said: “The board plans to ensure transparency in the company’s management and apply global corporate-governance standards and will improve relations with suppliers and other partners”.
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