Luanda, Jan. 7, 2026 (Lusa) - The Angolan government has banned the commercial activity of scrap dealers and ferrous and non-ferrous material weighing stations, in order to prevent illegal practices and protect public property.
The executive decree banned and revoked all licences for this activity, which, according to the Angolan authorities, has fuelled the crime of vandalism of public property in the country, mainly affecting the electricity, sanitation, water, transport and other sectors.
The document emphasises that the measure applies exclusively to people and businesses who carry out, as their main, secondary or occasional activity, the provision of ferrous and non-ferrous metal weighing services, regardless of their origin.
This includes weighing stations, scrap dealers, intermediaries, warehouses linked to the ferrous and non-ferrous metal weighing business, operators of scales or scrap weighbridges for commercial purposes, collection points, yards, warehouses, parks, commercial shipyards and other spaces not permitted by applicable commercial legislation.
The decree excludes from this measure legally licensed industrial units, namely steelworks, metallurgical plants and other manufacturing industries that use ferrous and non-ferrous metal as raw material or production input in their industrial processes.
Industries engaged in the smelting of ferrous and non-ferrous metals are required to prove the lawful origin of the raw materials to be used by means of appropriate documentation.
"The lack of proof of origin of the goods for smelting constitutes grounds for reporting the fact to the authorities for the initiation of administrative or other applicable proceedings," the decree reads.
The Angolan executive emphasises that the prohibition and revocation of licences is based on the "need to preserve the public interest, public safety and safeguard consumer rights and guarantee the integrity of goods related to public services, reorganise and regulate the commercial activity of providing ferrous and non-ferrous metal weighing services carried out in designated weighing facilities".
For several years, the Angolan government has been grappling with the phenomenon of vandalism of public property, which has been characterised by the theft of ferrous material from railways, electricity substations, manhole covers, metal rubbish bins, water meters, among others.
In December 2025, two Angolan provinces were left without electricity, affecting 300,000 families, due to the theft of bolts and angle irons from five high-voltage transmission pylons.
At the time, Angola's Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, said that in 2025, the sector had already recorded losses of almost US$50 million (€42.5 million) due to acts of vandalism.
To address the situation, the Angolan executive submitted to the parliament a draft bill for a Law on Crimes of Vandalism of Public Goods and Services, which was approved by parliament, but with some provisions contested by the Angolan Bar Association (OAA) and the parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), which were declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.
NME/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
