A new multi-billion-dollar direct award exposes weaknesses in financial oversight and positions Transport as a “privileged” sector.
The approval of a contract worth around 5 billion dollars through direct award, linked to the Transport sector, once again puts pressure on the financial control mechanisms defined by the Executive and raises doubts about the effectiveness of the rules created to curb this type of procedure. In 2024, the Minister of Finance, Vera Daves de Sousa, assured that conditions were in place to significantly reduce simplified procurement. In an interview with Valor Económico, the minister explained that, from that year onward, only the Ministry of Finance would be able to request proposals for external financing, with the aim of “normalizing the flow” and promoting greater use of public tenders.
“The economic team proposed and the Council of Ministers approved that, from 2024, the only entity that can request financing proposals is exclusively the Ministry of Finance,” the minister stated at the time. The measure was presented as a decisive step to strengthen control over public debt and limit practices that, over the years, have put pressure on public accounts. Vera Daves argued that the model would “help achieve two things”:
“First, to normalize the flow and bring some organization.
Second, to allow for more invitation-based tenders and more public tenders. Companies will no longer come with a ready-made solution, leaving us only to carry out simplified procurement,” she explained.
However, when confronted with the recent 5 billion dollar contract for the construction of the railway link between Malanje, Kuito, and Menongue, a source from the Ministry of Finance referred clarifications to the ministry led by Ricardo de Abreu, signaling institutional distancing in a dossier that, according to the announced rules, should fall under the direct authority of the Ministry of Finance, which, in this case, was not “heard.”
Transport once again tests the limits of finance
The aforementioned contract is not the first instance of misalignment between Finance and Transport. In June 2022, the Ministry of Finance blocked the payment of around 114 million dollars intended for the acquisition of buildings that would house the Transport headquarters, in a decision that exposed disagreements over public spending priorities.
The Ministry of Finance justified the refusal with the need for restraint in a context of strong pressure on the Treasury, contrasting with the expansion and investment logic defended by the sector.
In 2025, the Executive authorized sovereign guarantees to finance the acquisition of aircraft for TAAG, totaling more than 300 million dollars across different operations. These decisions were made despite the Ministry of Finance’s stance of reducing the State’s exposure to this type of risk, and were interpreted by the market as a sign of flexibility toward projects considered strategic.
Direct award, a “lost battle”
The contract now under analysis, due to its size and nature, emerges as the most expressive example of this misalignment. On one hand, there is a clear rule of centralization and control of external financing within the Ministry of Finance. On the other, sectoral decisions with high budgetary impact persist, appearing to escape, totally or partially, from this mechanism. In another sign of misalignment, in 2021, the Minister of Finance warned the President of the Republic about the risks associated with the recurrent use of direct awards, advocating for greater centralization and control of these processes, given their impact on public debt and spending transparency. Despite this, several episodes over recent years, along with the figures associated with approved contracts, suggest difficulties in the practical implementation of this warning.
Valor Económico , 25/03/2026
