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U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PRESS RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
(202) 712-4320
Luanda Contact:
Cheryl Martin - 244 2 396 7272002-131
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 25, 2002Contact: USAID Press Office
Luanda, Angola - Andrew S. Natsios, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and David J. O'Reilly, ChevronTexaco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (based in San Francisco) today announced a $20 million public-private alliance to provide support and training for enterprise development in Angola.
The announcement follows the cessation of more than 20-years of civil war in Angola. This new enterprise development alliance seeks to assist in the transition to a peacetime economy that will provide opportunity for all Angolans. The alliance is part of the $50 million commitment to Angola over five years by ChevronTexaco and its partners including USAID.
The enterprise development alliance will be implemented in several Angolan provinces including: Bie, Huambo, Huila, Kuwanza North, Kuwanza Sul, Malanje, Cabinda and Benguela.
USAID and ChevronTexaco have been working in partnership in Angola since 1999 on such diverse projects as vocational training, agribusiness development and health. Both USAID and ChevronTexaco view this alliance as an initial commitment and believe that there are opportunities for further growth.
ChevronTexaco and USAID will each commit up to $10 million over five years for a total of $20 million to:
- Develop private sector-based agriculture initiatives, including agricultural marketing, seed multiplication, crop diversification, input distribution through technology transfer, and support to private sector farmer associations;
- Expand finance and business development services to small and medium enterprises;
- Deliver savings and credit products to small and medium enterprises;
- Provide technical assistance to commercial banks in Angola that provide wholesale lending to rural financial institutions;
- Offer professional training and educational programs for small and medium enterprises in the agriculture sector in areas such as finance, business planning, product development and marketing to help expand and improve the commercial viability of small and medium enterprise products; and, short-term vocational training and educational programs for small and medium enterprises in the design and development of infrastructure to restart agriculture and basic services in the countryside.
It is anticipated that the alliance will be implement activities early next year.
Administrator Natsios stated, "We have a historic opportunity to assist Angola after more than two decades of civil war. USAID's alliance with ChevronTexaco will help in Angola's transition from a war-torn nation to one of stability and economic growth."
David O'Reilly added: "Collaborative efforts in support of sustainable investments such as these, which build on ideas embraced at the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, can make a profound and lasting difference." O'Reilly continued. "At the same time, we recognize that this is just a start, and we encourage additional public-private partnerships so we can expand the collective strengths and capabilities for the benefit of Angola."
Constance B. Newman, USAID's Assistant Administrator Africa, hailed the collaborative relationship between ChevronTexaco and USAID as "a new model of partnership between Africa and the United States consistent with the vision and objectives of the New Partnership for Africa's Development."
USAID Mission Director in Angola, Robert Hellyer said: "USAID's Economic Development Alliance with ChevronTexaco will make an important difference in the lives of tens of thousands of Angolans at this critical moment for the country. We applaud ChevronTexaco's vision and we hope that other partners will follow ChevronTexaco's leadership."
About USAID
USAID has been active in Angola since 1989 and has had a mission in country since 1996.
Since 1989, the U.S. Government has provided $900 million in humanitarian, emergency food and development assistance. As the largest humanitarian donor in Angola, USAID currently provides direct food aid, emergency health, nutrition and water/sanitation activities in support of the return and resettlement of Angolans displaced by 27 years of civil war. USAID also supports activities to enhance household food security, strengthen constituencies, promote better governance, and improve health practices, especially in the area of maternal/child health and HIV/AIDS prevention.
USAID is currently engaged in more than 75 public-private alliances around the world. For every dollar committed to a public-private alliance, USAID seeks to attract an equal or greater amount in dollars or in-kind resources from other partners. USAID established the global development alliances in response to the change in resource flows from the United States to the developing world. Thirty years ago, 70 percent of the capital flows to the developing world from the United States came from the U.S. government. Today U.S. government aid accounts for only 20 percent of capital flowing to the developing world. The balance of funds is from private sources -- remittances, foundations, universities, corporations, and individuals. Increasingly, companies, foundations, individuals and others are providing technology, intellectual property, managerial expertise and creative approaches into the service of international development. USAID is the U.S. government agency that has provided economic development and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
About ChevronTexaco
ChevronTexaco is active in more than 50 African nations and is sub-Saharan Africa's largest United States-based investor. The company's investments are not just in developing energy resources, creating jobs and revenues, but t also has awarded thousands of scholarships to students in colleges, universities and technical schools; built schools, clinics and housing; provided job training; funded small businesses and supported the fight against AIDS.
ChevronTexaco has been a presence in Angola since the 1930s, when Texaco-branded products were first marketed in the country. In 1958, Cabinda Gulf Oil Co. Ltd. - ChevronTexaco's operating unit in Angola - drilled the country's first onshore well. Today, ChevronTexaco ranks as Angola's largest petroleum producer, with a combined yield of approximately 600,000 barrels of oil a day, accounting for more than two-thirds of Angola's total production.
ChevronTexaco is a leader in the global energy business with wide-ranging activities in more than 180 countries. It is the third-largest energy company in terms of global oil and gas reserves (more than 11 billion barrels of oil and gas equivalent) and the fourth largest in global oil and natural gas production (2.7 million barrels of oil and gas equivalent per day). It has the capacity to refine more than 2 million barrels per day, sells more than 5 million barrels of fuel and petroleum products daily and owns or has interest in more than 25,000 retail outlets under the Chevron, Texaco and Caltex brands.
For more information about USAID programs in Angola, please visit www.usaid.gov/country/afr/ao/.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
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