João Lourenço ousts Isabel dos Santos as part of drive to assert his authority months after taking powerAngola’s president, João Lourenço, has sacked his predecessor’s daughter as head of the state oil company as part of a drive to assert his authority. Known derisively as “the princess”, Isabel dos Santos became the public face of the family’s business empire during her father’s presidency. “The job of Sonangol is not dependent on the electoral process … I want to continue,” she said before the August election. The opposition accuses the MPLA of suppressing dissent and the Dos Santos family of bleeding the country dry through corruption and decades of mismanagement. Oil provides 70% of Angola’s revenues and almost all of its hard currency, while many of the country’s citizens are mired in poverty.

Source: The Guardian November 15, 2017 16:41 UTC