NIGERIA Dialogue
with Moi
THE Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha, said true democracy must serve as an instrument for national
cohesion and must be adapted to the unique cultural circumstances and aspirations of the nation
practising it. Gen Abacha made the declaration at a state banqu et in honour of visiting Kenyan head
of state, President Daniel arap Moi. "Nigeria, as a signatory to the international instrument on
human rights, is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental
freedoms," said Gen Abacha, adding : "However, the exercise of such rights should not imply
a disregard for the rule of law."
President Arap Moi used the occasion of his visit to invite Nigerian entrepreneurs to explore
areas of business in his country, urging them to take advantage of libe ralisation measures. He
exchanged views with Gen Abacha on a wide range of issues and noted the rapidly changing international
situation and growing trends towards regionalism. The two leaders agreed to intensify their efforts in
the continental search for the prevention, resolution and management of the conflicts in various
parts of Africa and, in this regard, President Arap Moi particularly praised Nigeria for its role in
resolving the Liberian crisis and called for a broad-based government in Liberia.
Privatisation drive
THE CHIEF of General Staff, Lieutenant-General Oladipo Diya, gave reasons for the privatisation
of many government establishments currently going on. He said the federal government, conscious of the
private sector as the engine of the economy, embarked on measures aimed at maintaining fiscal
discipline and opening up the economy for wider participation of the private sector from within and
outside the country. Gen Diya, in a statement at the opening of the National Workshop on the Review o
f the Companies and Allied Matters Decree, organised by the Corporate Affairs Commission, advised the
Commission to approach their assignment with vigour so as to instil discipline and probity in
corporate administration. He added that the business arena should be for those who have regard for
the rules of the game and not for those who manipulate the system.
The Chief of General Staff who was represented at the occasion by the Commandant of the Staff and
Command College at Jaji, General Edward Unimna, sai d the recent repeal by the government of the
Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Decree of 1989 and the Exchange Control Act of 1962 was to encourage
foreign investments and protect investors with legitimate ventures.
SAP in limbo
THE FEDERAL government might jettison the nine-year old Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) for
a Medium Term Economic Adjustment which it has initiated, it emerged.
The Minister of State for Finance, Alhaji Abu Gidado, gave this indication when he addressed the
"Banking Conference 95", organised by Maryland Finance Company and Consultancy Services
Limited.
According to him, the economic adjustment programme when completed will be forwarded to the World
Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for endorsement; if it scales through the two bodies,
it would constitute another launching pad for a sustained and accelerated economic growth and
development in the country.
Genuine leadership
NIGERIA's present political predicament should not be interpreted to mean a dearth of genuine le
adership or that patriotism was a rare virtue in the country, said the Secretary to the Government of
the Federation, Alhaji Aminu Saleh. The country, Saleh, said was richly blessed with patriots who had
sacrificed a lot to ensure its unity as a people wit h one destiny.
The secretary to the government who was guest of honour at a 35th Independence Anniversary
Exhibition titled "Legacy of Leadership" expressed optimism that the orchestrated
misinformation about Nigeria would not deter it from reaching a pros perous destiny.
Energy tax
OIL MINISTER Chief Dan Etete called for a review of the imposition of discriminatory energy tax
in view of its adverse effect on crude oil supply. Chief Etete, in his address to the Fourth
International Energy Conference in Venezuela, explained that such a tax creates instability and
uncertainty in the oil and gas markets. He said developed countries rely heavily on oil taxation for
revenue more than oil producers themselves, adding that in most cases OPEC-member countries were the
worst hit.
Chief Etete pointed out that developed countries, especially members of the European Union, had
introduced various forms of fiscal measures on crude oil imports into their countries, thereby raising
the cost of fuel to end users.
GHANA University crisis deepens
THE PAY dispute that has kept the country's universities closed for the last five months took a
turn for the worse when the University Teachers Association of Ghana rejected a government offer to
peg the salary of a professor to that o f a High Court judge, the Daily Graphic reported.
The paper, quoting UTAG sources, said "the dons are demanding C13m now and C16m next
year." There was no official response to the report.
EMPLOYEES of the ABC Brewery in Accra complained about the "unrealistic" salaries
of three expatriate staff who are being paid a total of C30m a month, the Ghanaian Times
reported. This amount does not include other fringe benefits. The newspaper, quoting "a source
close to the workforce", said that the three Germans - Ho rst W. Hoffman, general manger;
Wolfgang Numberger, technical manager; and Hoery Susemihl, engineering consultant - were being paid
C12m, C10m and C8m respectively each month. The source said the most senior Ghanaian employee of ABC
was receiving C400,000 a month from a company which is 90 per cent locally owned. The German company,
AMS Hamburg, owns the remaining 10 per cent.
'Foreigners safe'
NON-GHANAIAN residents have nothing to fear about the ongoing registration of voters, an official
of the National Commission for Civic Education, Mr Eric Bortey, said.
He told a symposium for political parties in Accra that Ghanaians should not hinder those
registering on the pretext that they were foreigners. At the same time he warned foreign residents not
to attempt to register.
TRIPS abroad by government officials have been frozen for the duration of voter registration from
October 1-15.
THE ELECTORAL Commission said it would not allow voter registration by proxy. EX-PRISONERS are to be allowed to register, the E lectoral Commissioner, Dr K. Afari Gyan,
said. He was reacting to a statement by one of his officials who said that convicts who had served
jail sentences of 12 months and over would have to wait for five years before being allowed to take
part in the elec toral process.
Dr Afari Gyan said the law barring ex-convicts was no longer tenable because it had been superseded
by the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations of 1995.
New political parties
FOUR groups applied for registration as political parties to contest next year's elections, the
Electoral Commission announced. An official of the EC, Mr David Kanga, told the Ghana News Agency
that the necessary documents had been presented to the commission.
One of the groups that will be registered under the Political Party Registration Law is the
Great Consolidated People's Party headed by Mr Dan Lartey, a publisher and veteran politician. The
other three were yet to submit details of founding members and pa rty names, Mr Kanga told the GNA
.
JOURNALISTS were urged by Local Government and Rural Development Minister Kwamena Ahwoi not
to use abusive language when writing about the government.
"They should criticise the government, tear its policies apart and take it to task but that
should be done decently," he said.
PLANS are afoot to introduce free and compulsory education at the basic level, the deputy
Minister of Education, Mr Kwabena Kvere, said in Accra.
GHANA'S stability is being undermined by "a creeping menace in the form of industrial
disputes", the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Science and Technology, Professor E.A.
Amonoo-Neizer, said. He told a labour conference in Kumasi.
: "We dare not underestimate the disastrous effect of the current spate of industrial action
taking their toll in the social and political stability and the economic health of the
nation."
COTE D'IVOIRE Ouattara won't run
FORMER Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara said he would not run in the Presidential elections
slated for the end of October.
In an interview with the Paris-based Jeune Afrique , Ouattara, who is currently deputy
director of the IMF, said: "The new electoral code does not authorise me to run for President and
as I respect the law, it has not been possible for me to present my candidacy.
"I do not violate the law. As a former Prime Minister and as someone who acted on behalf of
the head of state and had laws passed by the same Parliament, it would not be decent on my part to do
so."
He added: "Also, in this period of strong political passions, such an att itude can lead to
serious acts of disorder." Commenting further on talks he had with President Bedie he said:
"We met for almost three hours and we agreed to do everything possible to preserve peace and not
fall into a major political crisis."
MALI Headquarters stormed
DISGRUNTLED members of the Association of Voluntary Retired Workers stormed the headquarters of the
ruling Alliance for Democracy in Mali - Pan African Party for Liberty, Solidarity and Justice (ADEMA-
PPLSJ).
According to Radio Mali , the ex- workers "who mistake state for party in resolving
their problems, assaulted officials and activists of the party present at the headquarters."
Furthermore, they reportedly "pulled out telephone wires, smashed windows and threatened to kill
party officials. "
BENIN Citizenship law
A MAJOR amendment to a draft bill on the election of the President stipulated that anyone with
multiple citizenship intending to run as a Presidential candidate should relinquish any other
nationality before contesting the election.
The amendment, put forward by opposition leader Albert Tevoedjre and seconded by Rigobert
Ladikpo, was passed in Parliament with 72 votes in favour, one against, and six abstentions.
BURKINA FASO Troops for Ecomog
FOREIGN Minister Med Oued-raogo confirmed that a military contingent was to be sent to bolster
the ranks of the Ecomog force in Liberia. The government decided to take part for the first time in
Ecomog, set up five years ago, because it considers the prese nt peace accord to be "more
credible than the previous ones".
EQUATORIAL GUINEA Repression fears
THE GUINEA Joint Opposition Platform called on the international community to adopt
"preventive measures" to forestall any "regressive or repressive" measures that
the government might carry out against the opposition. The POC, which won a majority in the recent
municipal elections, said in a communique it will not bow to any such measures.
that President Theodoro Obiang's speech on September 23 contained "threatening
elements" aimed at forcing the opposition to accept "submissively" the
"fraudulent" election results the government was trying to make public. It further said that
it intended to "claim the electoral victory which it legitimately achieved, and it will not
accept, under any circumstance s or threats, any other results than those expressed by the people
through the ballot boxes."
LIBERIA Slow disengagement
THE DISENGAGEMENT of troops by the former warring factions was still far from being accomplished
by the September 26 deadline agreed under the Abuja Agreement which was signed last August, it was
revealed. The accord had stipulated military disengagement by all factions on or before that date as a
prelude to the deployment in the hinterland of Ecomog troops and in-t-er-national observer s,
beginning from October 2.
So far, only two factions have made any concrete moves towards disengagement: the Armed Forces
of Liberia (AFL) which dismantled all its checkpoints on the road leading from Monrovia to Buchanan,
some 90km southeast of the capi tal; and Ulimo-J which has withdrawn its combatants from Bong Mines
(175km north of Monrovia), Kakata (55km northeast) and Tubmanburg (60km north of the capital).
However, according to reports, Ulimo-J troops were still holding their position on Lofa Bridge and
engaging in sporadic skirmishes in that area with elements of the rival Ulimo-K.
London talks
A FIVE-strong Ecowas delegation headed by Ghana's deputy foreign minister, Dr Mohamed Ibn
Chambas, discussed the Liberian peace process in London with the British Foreign and Commonwealth
Office.
Sources said the delegation, which had earlier held similar talks with US and UN officials in
Washington and New York (respectively), was canvassing international support and resources for the
implementation of the Abuja Accord.
The other members of the delegation were Mr Edouard Benjamin, executive secretary of Ecowas; Mr
Victor Gbeho, the Ecowas chairman's special representative in Liberia; Brigadier Francis Agwemfa,
chief of staff of the Ghanaian Armed Forces; and Mr Kwame Amue wa, of the Ghanaian foreign affairs
ministry.
SIERRA LEONE Coup plotters arrested
SIX OFFICERS of the Armed Forces of Sierra Leone were arrested and detained at Pademba Road
Prisons for, according to the authorities, "plotting to overthrow the government of the National
Provisional Ruling Council and stop the on-going democratisation pr ocess".
A statement signed by Major Karefa Kargbo (director of defence information) and released by the
Sierra Leonean High Commission in London gave the names of the six as Major Matthew S. Kamara;
Captains Alie Badara Koroma (alias Meseh) and Abu-Bakarr Kamara (alias Mandereh); and Lieutenants
Sahr J. Panda, Patrick Samura and James Conteh.
Said the statement: "Two officers, Lieutenants Kanja Sandy and I. Sanu, are currently at large
and wanted in relation to the coup attempt ... Any person found harbouring these officers will be
putting themselves at risk and shall further face the full pena lty of the law."
The statement concluded by saying that "all concerned shall soon face a military court martial
for treason," adding: "The situation has been put under total control and there is no cause
for alarm."
Party registration
ELEVEN of the 17 political parties which were granted provisional registration certificates in
August by the Interim National Electoral Commission (INEC) were awarded final certificates entitling
them to contest the forthcoming general elections, reports Bernadette Cole from Freetown.
They include the All People's Congress (APC); Democratic Centre Party (DCP); National Republican
Party (NRP); People's National Convention (PNC); People's Pr ogressive Party (PPP); and Sierra Leone
People's Party (SLPP).
Others are United National People's Party (UNPP); People's Democratic Party (PDP); National
Democratic Alliance (NDA); National People's Party (NPP); and National Unity Movement (NUM).
Rebel attacks
FIGHTERS of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) which is led by Corporal Foday Sankoh
reportedly overran four villages near Bo, the principal town in the Southern Province.
According to sources, an estimated 150 people died in the new offensive.
- the first real advance by the RUF since government regained the initiative after bringing over,
three months ago, South African mercenaries to train its troops.