Rights Group Rebukes Angola for Alleged Missing Oil Revenues

Rights Group Rebukes 1 Angola for Alleged 2 Missing Oil Revenues

Leah Krakinowski

A leading human-rights group says the Angolan government cannot account for more than $4 billion in missing oil revenue, nearly 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

New York-based Human Rights Watch released a report on Tuesday that says profits from the state-run oil company, Sonangol, suspiciously disappeared from government coffers between 1997 and 2002.

Angola is Africa's second largest oil exporter. Its $17.8 billion in oil revenue during that same period made up 85 percent of the government's total earnings 3.

Arvind Ganesan is director of the Human Rights Watch business program. He says Angolan officials refused to give international aid auditors 5 an accounting 6 of the missing funds, at a time when millions of Angolans have no access to hospitals or schools.

"After they had looked at everything the government had spent its money on. It found that in total over six years about $4.2 billion had been spent, but for no definable purpose, and when they asked the government and the institutions within the government for an explanation for how this money was spent, they were either not forthcoming or unwilling 7 to provide that information."

Mr. Ganesan also says that even though a 27-year civil war between the government and the National Union for the Total Liberation of Angola ended two years ago, the absence of fighting has not led to any improvement in the lives of most Angolans. He says nearly one million Angolans are still homeless and 7.4 million children are malnourished.

"While the government is asking the international community for more money. They need to account for what happened to this money that disappeared since it's roughly equal to how much was spent on life security and social programs and humanitarian 8 aid. While we wouldn't say that the international community should cut off Angola, they should clearly require that the government account for its own revenues and expenditures 10 and make it clear how it's spending its money."

The Associated Press quotes Angola's Finance Ministry 11 spokesman as saying currency fluctuations 13 are to blame for the missing funds and that the government is preparing a full response to the Human Rights Watch report.

The International Monetary 14 Fund has so far refused to enter into a formal aid program with Angola because of what it says is the lack of transparency of its accounting practices.

Some analysts 15 say Angola is rapidly becoming a major oil-exporter, and will be able to produce as much oil as Kuwait by 2010.

注释：

Angolan [AN5^EJlEn] adj. 安哥拉（人）的

account for  说明，证明

revenue [5revinju:] n. （国家的）收入，税收

gross domestic product  国内生产总值，缩写为GDP。

Human Rights Watch  人权观察组织。

Sonangol  安哥拉国家石油公司

coffer [5kCfE] n. 保险箱

auditor 4 [5C:dItE(r)] n. 审计员

in total  整个地

definable [dI5fBInEbl] adj. 明确的

forthcoming [fC:W5kQmiN] adj. 愿意帮助的，乐于提供消息的

the National Union for the Total Liberation of Angola  安哥拉完全独立民族联邦

malnourished [mAl5nQriFt] adj. 营养不良的

humanitarian [hju(:)7mAni5tZEriEn] adj. 人道主义者的

cut off   断绝

Angola  安哥拉，非洲西南部一国家。

expenditure 9 [iks5penditFE] n. 花费

Associated Press   美联社

fluctuation 12 [7flQktju5eiFEn] n. 波动，涨落

be to blame for   该负责，应负责

International Monetary Fund   国际货币基金组织，简称IMF，联合国的专门机构之一，是政府间的国际金融组织。

transparency [trAns5pZErEnsi] n. 透明度

Kuwait [ku5weit] n. 科威特，阿拉伯半岛东北部一国家。