During the week of Monday 28 July, unrest broke out in Angola following an increase in fuel prices and a strike by taxi drivers. Riots occurred in most of the country’s main cities, including Luanda, Huambo and Benguela.
Since then, the situation has stabilised and there does not seem to be imminent prospect of unrest returning. We will continue monitoring developments closely. Our network has not been affected, and our performance targets and expectations remain the same. Overall recharge activity remained stable and revenue targets for the month were met. However, out of an abundance of caution, we are coordinating with authorities and other companies and organisations to maximise safety and avoid disruptions.
We have three priorities: 1) the safety and wellbeing of our staff; 2) the operational continuity of our telecommunications network; and 3) avoiding commercial impact of the disruptions.
Action we have taken includes:
- During the unrest, employees were instructed to work remotely.
- Additional security agents have been deployed across Africell premises (including offices and stores) until further notice.
- Additional vehicles were made available to help with rapid intervention at off-grid sites at risk of losing power.
- We have renegotiated contracts with power suppliers to minimise the potential effects of higher fuel prices on OPEX.
Further updates will be communicated if the situation changes.