Angola's government will cut spending in 2009

Angola's government will cut spending in 2009 and bolster efforts to diversify the oil dependent economy to counter the global economic slowdown.

The government would continue to invest in key sectors like agriculture in a bid to improve the lives of ordinary Angolans -- an estimated two-thirds live on less than $2 a day.

The country's Economy minister Manuel Nunes said "We will continue to carry out efforts to fight hunger, poverty and implement key public investments."

The government, which in December forecast the economy in 2009 to grow 11.8 percent, has also said it could revise these estimates in the face of the global economic slowdown.

It has also pledged to spend $50 billion to build one million new homes for the poor in the next five years.