Luanda, May 15, 2025 (Lusa) - The coordinator of the Political and Social Observatory of Angola (OPSA) said on Thursday that the increase in water and electricity tariffs is a dilemma for low-income families and that its implementation requires prior studies.
"I think a middle ground had to be found, I also think that this decision requires prior studies, with significant involvement from stakeholders, and the state would have to make an effort to clearly communicate to citizens what is at stake and what the potential gains of this measure would be," Sérgio Calundungo told Lusa on Thursday.
According to the OPSA coordinator, the authorities should explain to citizens the advantages of increasing water and energy tariffs, stressing that the current level of services in these sectors "is criticisable and deplorable".
"With explanations from the state, we would understand whether this increase will lead to significant improvements in the service," he stressed, describing the government measure as a dilemma.
According to the new table approved by the sector regulator, IRSEA, which comes into force next month, water and electricity tariffs in Angola will increase by 30% and 11.5%, respectively.
IRSEA stressed in its statement that the tariff update will be gradual and aims to cover increased production and distribution costs, modernise and expand networks in urban and rural areas, and prevent the deterioration of services.
Electricity will undergo an initial adjustment of 11.5%, based on an average tariff of 12.8 kwanzas/KWh (about 0.013 cents).
Sérgio Calundungo considered that the authorities' measure presents a dilemma, especially since the companies providing these services are criticised for the quality of their services, and consumers, in turn, claim that they have been losing their purchasing power.
"We are in a context of high inflation, household purchasing power is declining, and between these two situations, I fear a third variable, which is the rise in water and electricity tariffs," he said.
The companies “claim that they cannot provide a better service because they are operating where their production costs are much higher than what they receive from consumer payments,” he noted.
Calundungo, who is also a member of the Economic and Social Council, a body created by Angolan President João Lourenço, argued, on the other hand, for a scenario of maintaining current tariffs in which the state assumes part of the costs, noting that, in this regard, "many will say that the state does not have the resources."
"The big problem that sometimes arises is that citizens, on the one hand, hear this narrative that the state has no resources, but then, on the other hand, we are bombarded every day with the state spending money on things that are not a priority," he criticised.
He also referred to the costs of the possible visit of the Argentine national football team, world champions, to play the Angolan national team as part of the celebrations of Angola's 50th anniversary of independence, as "non-priority public spending".
He insisted that the government needs to better justify the decision to increase water and electricity tariffs in the country. The social analyst acknowledged that the Angolan state "has the fiscal margin to reduce spending in less priority sectors" and ensure "these two essential goods for the functioning of our economy and the well-being of families."
According to IRSEA estimates, a family in the Social Domestic I category (which benefits from a discount on their bill) with a contracted power of 1.3 KVA, which paid an average of 291.88 kwanzas, will now pay 379.68 kwanzas (an increase from 28 to 38 cents).
As for water, the tariff will be adjusted 30% initially (considering an average tariff of 780 kwanzas or 78 cents/m3), with a phased readjustment, "maintaining the subsidy for essential chemicals for treatment".
DAS/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
