 The Local Administration Law (02/07) provides for the decentralization process in Angola. This legislation emphasizes the role of local authorities, increasing their responsibility over planning, budgeting and coordination of local development. Law No. 17/99 of October 29 sets up the structures of provincial governments, municipal and communal administrations.
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Angola is divided into eighteen provinces and 164 municipalities. In 1999, the Government of Angola embarked on gradual process of deconcentrating public service functions to provincial, municipal and communal administrations. The implementation of decentralization is the responsibility of several ministries such as the Ministry of Territorial Administration, Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of Women in partnership with international development agencies. There is no Local Government Association in Angola. Local officials responsible for the execution of local government are appointed by the central government which has been most recently elected in 2008. New central government elections are not yet planned awaiting the adoption of a new constitution.
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The decentralization process emphasizes the development of civil society and the protection of human rights. It focuses on pro-poor development and capacity building in order to narrow the urban-rural divide. Manuals and guidelines as well as technical support teams were formed to assist in the overall decentralization and local governance project. As of 2009, this multi-year project has been implemented in 36 municipalities. The programmatic part has been completed, identifying specific areas of improvement for each municipality. Currently the program is in the implementation phase, strengthening the institutional, technical and managerial capacities of municipalities.
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