On November 14, UNITA, Angola’s largest opposition party, announced its decision to oppose the proposed 2025 State Budget, arguing it neglects the needs of the people and fails to address hunger and poverty.
“This is not a budget for the people or in their interest; it reverses priorities and violates the Constitution, which mandates poverty eradication, hunger elimination, and universal access to free primary health care,” said Liberty Chiyaka, head of UNITA’s parliamentary group.
Chiyaka presented UNITA’s objections at the start of the parliamentary debate on the budget, which sets revenue and expenditure at 34.63 billion kwanzas (around 35 billion euros) and allocates nearly half to debt servicing—an issue UNITA strongly opposes.
The party argues that the budget promotes corruption, embezzlement, and impunity, while worsening structural deficits that facilitate money laundering and jeopardize public financial stability. “This is not the budget of a democratic state committed to popular sovereignty and the welfare of Angolans,” Chiyaka said, accusing the government of hindering local governance and deepening regional inequalities.
Highlighting what he called “50 truths about the 2025 State Budget,” Chiyaka confirmed that UNITA would vote against it, claiming it fosters social inequality and enriches the ruling elites. He further alleged that the budget is a tool for the MPLA—dubbed “friends of Frelimo”—to finance electoral fraud and constitutional violations in Angola and Mozambique.