Angola’s Ministry of Finance and national fuel company Sonangol are considering the possibility of adjusting the price of liquid fuels before the end of the year, Minister Archer Mangueira said on Wednesday in the city of Luena, Moxico province.

The Minister of Finance, who pointed out that the impact on the population of a possible adjustment of the prices of fuels and their derivatives was being studied, and pointed out that the current adjustment will be carried out within the framework of the strategy of fiscal consolidation and reduction of expenses.

Archer Mangueira, quoted by Angolan state news agency Angop also said that if the adjustment is approved, measures will be taken to mitigate the negative effect of raising prices on the lives of families.

The Angolan government announced in January 2016 that had put an end to diesel subsidies, with the price per liter rising from 90 kwanzas to 135 kwanzas, and the price of petrol, which had already been sold for a few months without subsidies, increased from 115 to 160 kwanzas per litre.

The president of Angolan state oil and fuel company Sonangol, Carlos Saturnino, said last week that the state’s debt from subsidies to fuel prices was US$747 million at the end of 2017, when public and private sector companies owed the Angolan state company US$3.105 billion. (macauhub)