Angolan President Joao Lourenco has sacked the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, Manuel Nunes Junior.
In a statement, Lourenco says the former governor of Angola's central bank, Jose de Lima Massano, has been appointed to replace Nunes who had been economy minister for barely ten months.
The change comes as nationwide street protests continue over high cost of fuel.
The price of petrol has risen from 160 kwanzas ($0.27) to 300 kwanzas ($0.51) in Angola after the government announced the discontinuation of the longstanding fuel subsidy on June 1.
The former economy minister, Manuel Nunes, had revealed that the amount of money the government spent on petroleum subsidy in 2022 was equivalent to 92% of the country's total expenditure on education and health combined.
“The removal of the fuel subsidy programme will allow for more investments to be done in key sectors such as education, health, social security, job creation and social housing,” said Nunes while justifying the government’s decision to discontinue the fuel relief programme.
Fatal protests
The demonstrators want the government to reintroduce the subsidy. At least five people died in Huambo province on Monday after they were allegedly shot by police during the protests.
The Angolan police have confirmed the deaths which they described as ''unavoidable.'' In a statement, the police said law enforcement officers were trying to contain “acts of violence.''
Nunes' successor, Massano, served as the Governor of the National Bank of Angola (BNA) between October 2010 and January 2015.
