Last Summer a barrel of oil still did 147 dollars, now the price has plunged to a meager 40 dollars. A bit of a problem when your government budget is based for 90 percent on oil revenues, like in Angola. Politicians there are becoming very anxious: last year the country's future was still being painted in golden colors, now there will actually have to be cutbacks on government spending. World Bank economist Ricardo Gazel foresees a shrinking of the Angolan economy in 2009. Thus the Southern African country pays the price of its economic monoculture: now oil prices have collapsed the spectacular economic growth proves to be built on sand. Economics have been warning for this all along. That's why Gazel hopes the issue will be an incentive to finally make a serious effort to diversify Angolan economy.
