Vol 52 No 24 | CONGO-KINSHASA Fraud and violence 2nd December 2011 Calls for the election results, due on 6 December, to be annulled have revived fears of violence. More than a score of people died on 26-28 November, five...
Vol 52 No 23 | CONGO-KINSHASA Bargain mine sales draw fire 18th November 2011 The government’s secretive, and cheap, sale of lucrative mining assets is fast becoming an election issue Mining companies stripped of valuable concessions have been sounding out the opposition before the presidential election, which is expected to take place on 28 November. President Joseph Kabila’s...
Vol 52 No 23 | CONGO-KINSHASA Troubled waters, no oil yet 18th November 2011 Potential investors in Congo-Kinshasa worry not only about opacity and corruption but also about the boundaries of concessions. Trinity Oil and Gas, of Houston, United States, wants the...
Vol 5 (AAC) No 1 | CONGO-KINSHASACHINA Frozen funds 10th November 2011 The finance for the Congolese-Chinese joint venture has been held up and Kinshasa wants the mining companies to bridge the gap China is withholding money that is needed to rehabilitate 700 kilometres of railway in Katanga and Kasai, leading the Congolese government to call on mining companies to raise...
Vol 5 (AAC) No 1 | CONGO-KINSHASACHINA IMF worried about Chinese loans again 10th November 2011 The award of the copper and cobalt mines at the Lonshi and Frontier sites to the Hong Kong company Fortune Ahead Limited is causing concern at the International...
Vol 52 No 22 | CONGO-KINSHASA Fears grow of poll delay 4th November 2011 Electoral officials are trying to make the polls happen on time but the obstacles are many The pre-election atmosphere is deteriorating. The government claims that the opposition is preparing an uprising and the government of neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville has accused President Joseph Kabila of looking...
Vol 52 No 22 | CAMEROON Biya’s last hurrah 4th November 2011 President Paul Biya’s sixth – and surely final – election on 9 October was marked by a dearth of congratulatory messages from fellow heads of government. Neighbour President...
Vol 52 No 21 | EQUATORIAL GUINEA Teodorin’s week 21st October 2011 On 19 October, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo nominated his son, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue (‘Teodorín’) as his new deputy envoy to the Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific...
Vol 52 No 20 | CAMEROON Election fails to stir passions 7th October 2011 Paul Biya heads for almost certain victory over a fractured and uninspiring opposition, leaving voters more apathetic than indignant An atmosphere of apathy clings to Cameroon’s presidential election on 9 October. In power for 28 years now, Paul Biya, 78, will once again present himself for re-election,...
Vol 52 No 20 | CAMEROON Soldiers shooting at dawn 7th October 2011 At dawn on 29 September, a group of soldiers shot into the air on the bridge across the River Wouri that links central Douala with the industrial suburb of Bonabéri....