As a way to consolidate its presence in the Angolan market and with a view to helping Angola to diversify its economy, the private company of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), intends to reinforce its investments in the south-west African country.
According to a statement to which ANGOP had access last Friday, the Private Office of His Highness wants to reinforce its bet on private investment in Angola and it is in an advanced stage of study to deal with industries supporting agriculture for the production of fertilizers”. This support, states the document, should also include the production of pesticides throughout the national territory, also aimed at strengthening industrial and agricultural capacity, as well as promoting employment, in line with the vision of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço. The note recalls that following the signature, in December 2019, of some Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between that member of the UAE royal family and the Ministry of Agriculture of Angola, a tractor assembly line was installed in the Special Economic Zone (ZEE).
This factory started up with more than 80% of the local workforce, assembling “Made in Angola” tractors. Located in Luanda, the factory has a plan to replace expatriate staff with locals, including executive and management positions, through the training of technicians, hence, in addition to the assembly line a training centre was created for three components within the project. In this regard, the note highlights a training programme for factory technicians, plus another aimed at farmers for the operation and maintenance of tractors and implement, the latter being free of cost. A third programme has to do with the training of specialist trainers so that they can provide training programmes throughout the country, avoiding the movement of farmers to the country’s capital to benefit from training activities of the kind.
“In addition to the assembly of tractors, a programme of after-sales services, maintenance and replacement of expendable parts was established”, indicates the statement, stressing that long-term maintenance service contracts are a fundamental part of the project. A program to replace imported parts was also established, and a development plan for local suppliers is underway, promoting employment and economic diversification and the development of small local industry. In addition to production and knowing the difficulties of small farmers, the note goes on, the Private Office, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, seeks to implement flexible financing programmes to support local farmers in their purchases. According to the report, the industrial installation is ready to be inaugurated, having already produced the first tractors. However, due to the covid-19 pandemic crisis, the inauguration has been postponed and will take place as soon as normality is restored.
