(Bloomberg) -- Angola remains committed to removing subsidies amid criticism from the International Monetary Fund, but needs to balance reform with the goal of diversifying the economy away from its heavy reliance on oil, Finance Minister Vera Daves said.
Daves, the first woman to head the Treasury of Africa's second-largest oil producer, said the government had already ended support for industries including electricity and water, but would continue to provide fuel subsidies for agriculture and fishing for the time being.
“We need to remove subsidies, that is right.” Daves told reporters in the capital, Luanda. “But we also need to create conditions in sectors that are not as efficient” as oil.
The International Monetary Fund, which in March approved a $3.7 billion loan program for Angola, has criticized the subsidies and said they contradicted the government's stated reform policy.
To contact the reporter on this story: Candido Mendes in Luanda at cmendes6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gordon Bell at gbell16@bloomberg.net, Hilton Shone, Alastair Reed
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