Vol 50 No 5 | SIERRA LEONE Shake-up in Freetown 6th March 2009 President Ernest Bai Koroma has finally shaken up his government, before a vote to determine if he will continue to lead the All People's Congress (APC). In all,...
Vol 50 No 5 | NIGERIAUNITED STATESBRITAIN Tesler trapped 6th March 2009 Officers from Britain’s Serious Fraud Office arrested lawyer Jeffrey Tesler, 60, at his offices in Tottenham in London on 5 March in a move that will widen the...
Vol 50 No 5 | GUINEA BISSAU Mutually assured destruction 6th March 2009 The main threat to peace in Bissau is a coup d’état following the fatal bombing of the Army Chief of Staff, General Batista Tagme Na Waie, on 1...
Vol 50 No 4 | SIERRA LEONE Peace and the looming crisis 20th February 2009 The government in Freetown has to tackle growing financial pressures as it struggles to create jobs and to improve health and education services. Time is running out for the small group of reform-minded ministers around President Koroma, if they are not to lose the battle against the criminal and corrupt elements....
Vol 50 No 4 | SIERRA LEONE Rich resources, little investment 20th February 2009 Sierra Leone's rumour mill is dependably strong and outrageous, but the case of African Minerals is impressive even without its wrapping of gossip. The Chairman of the company,...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 4 | LIBERIACHINA A more perfect union 20th February 2009 Beijing’s special relationship with Monrovia defies market conditions and is expanding into Guinea and Sierra Leone The US$2.68 billion agreement signed by China Union's Chief Executive Yin Fuyou and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on 19 January to restart iron ore production at the old...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 4 | LIBERIACHINA The born-again Bong mines 20th February 2009 The US$2.68 billion Bong Mines deal hands the Chinese consortium led by Yin Fuyou and China Union a 25-year concession for the formerly German-owned Bong Mines in Bong Country, north-east of...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 4 | NIGERIAINDIASOUTH KOREA What's yours is mine and... 20th February 2009 India's gain may prove to be South Korea's loss as local political shifts hit Nigeria's oil business The Korean National Oil Company may take legal action in response to Nigeria's revoking last month of two lucrative concessions awarded to the company in 2005. KNOC won operating rights to...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 4 | NIGERIACHINA Contract shuffles 20th February 2009 Global financial chaos and falling demand for oil and minerals are prompting recalculations on all sides. The IMF and World Bank have revised down their gross domestic product forecasts...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 4 | GUINEACHINABRIEFING The new Conakry order 20th February 2009 Despite a show of insouciance after December's putsch led by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara in Conakry, China's diplomats and business leaders are closely watching the new regime's policies,...