Republic of Angola Xyami: Angola cuts $33.3bn in 2009 budget - The financial crisis has affected several countries in Africa. Angola’s approved budget is now worth $40 billion.

Angola has cut its expenditure in its revised budget for this year. The oil rich country which is expected to host the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations is reported to have cut spending by $33.3 billion in a bid to counter lower oil prices and exports.

The financial crisis has affected several countries in Africa. Angola's approved budget is now worth $40 billion. The government is also said to have cut its benchmark oil price for 2009 to $37 per barrel from $55 per barrel in the previous budget.

However the country's law makers, where the ruling MPLA party is said to hold a two-thirds majority, is expected to vote on the budget in coming days.

Oil caters for almost 90 percent of the country's economy and with the low prices on the international market Angola has been affected. According to a Reuter's report, oil prices have recovered but they are said to still be trading at around half of last year's high of over $147 per barrel.

Angola's economy has undergone a period of transformation in recent years, moving from the disarray caused by a quarter century of civil war to being the second fastest growing economy in Africa and one of the fastest in the world.

Angola rivals Nigeria as Africa's biggest oil producer. The country is the second-largest petroleum and diamond producer in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sam Banda Junior, AfricaNews reporter in Blantyre, Malawi Photo: IRIN