(Ecofin Agency) - As a result of a cabinet shuffle, Angola’s Presidency said in a statement published on September 5, 2016, that it has fired Minister of Finance, Armando Manuel. “The President of the Republic; José Eduardo dos Santos, by virtue of the powers conferred by the constitution, removes Armando Manuel from his position as Minister of Finance,” the statement said.

So far, no reason was given to explain the dismissal.

Armando Manuel (photo), 44-year old, has held the position since May 2013. He has been replaced by Augusto Archer de Sousa Mangueira, who prior to the new appointment was Chairman of Angola’s Capital Markets commission.

The official was fired amid a financial crisis spurred by a plunge in oil prices which degraded the country’s public accounts and weakened the kwanza, its local currency.

Manuel’s thus dismissal comes a few months after Luanda refused a $4.5 billion aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Besides the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Agriculture, Afonso Pedro Canga and the Minister of State, Chief of President’s cabinet, Edeltrudes Mauricio Fernandes Gaspar da Costa, were also removed following the shuffle.

Alain Okpeitcha