Vol 43 No 19 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Our friends in the north 27th September 2002 Libyan troops make President Patassé feel more secure but he doesn't seem to trust anyone Though Central African Republic has now denied giving Libya a 99-year minerals lease, Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi is certainly getting valuable strategic benefits from providing security for the...
Vol 43 No 17 | CAMEROON Winning Biya mile 30th August 2002 The government is set free by an election landslide and an opposition collapse President Paul Biya is now likely to exploit June's electoral triumph by bringing the presidential poll forward a year to late 2003. His Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple...
Vol 43 No 17 | CAMEROON President, people, parties 30th August 2002 President Paul Biya has been in power since 1982, and the 1997 constitution allows him two more seven-year terms. He will almost certainly be the presidential candidate...
Vol 43 No 17 | CHAD Digging a hole 30th August 2002 The World Bank appears to be struggling to create transparency but at least it's trying Digging a trench is easier than establishing accountable institutions. Yet the World Bank is supposed to be financing the Chad-Cameroon pipeline project precisely to set up these kinds...
Vol 43 No 17 | CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE Old guard, new guard 30th August 2002 After five transitional years, the former President has a new mandate – of sorts President Denis Sassou Nguesso chose a significant date to end the long transition that began with his forces' defeat of Pascal Lissouba in October 1997. The Fête Nationale...
Vol 43 No 16 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICLIBYA Patassé's pals 9th August 2002 President Ange-Félix Patassé has become even more dependent on the protection of Libya and its Bangui garrison, as last month's arrest of Finance Minister Eric Sorongopé-Zoumanji on corruption...
Vol 43 No 13 | CONGO-KINSHASAWORLD BANK Carrots for Kinshasa 28th June 2002 The International Monetary Fund and World Bank's US$1.2 billion package is a massive gesture of political support for President Joseph Kabila. Technically it was made possible by a...
Vol 43 No 12 | CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE By other means 14th June 2002 President Sassou Nguesso claims a mandate but has restarted the civil war Congo-Brazzaville's hidden conflict and flawed parliamentary elections show how thin a veneer of democracy covers recycled dictator Denis Sassou Nguesso. The official results from the first round of...
Vol 43 No 12 | CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE Who's who in Sassou's Congo 14th June 2002 Northerners control the army, many are ex-Cobras, President Denis Sassou Nguesso's militia of the mid-1990s civil war. Commanded by the respected General Gilbert Mokoki, the military is still...
Vol 43 No 10 | CONGO-KINSHASA Behind the partition 17th May 2002 Since 52 days of inter-Congolese talks at Sun City ended last month, a new partition is emerging. Some 70 per cent of the territory is covered by the...