Racketeering on Roads Amid Debate on Economic Recovery

United States Embassy (Abidjan)

4 August 2011

Ivorian dailies today ponder the road to economic recovery in Cote d’Ivoire amid concerns about the high level of racketeering on the country’s roads and who controls the economy in the zones formerly under the control of the New Forces, the former Ivorian rebel movement that has now joined government forces. The state of the Ivorian judicial system also makes prominent headlines in the press. The dailies also report on new nominations in the Forces Republicaines de Cote d’Ivoire (FRCI), the meeting of a joint commission tasked to review defense accords between Cote d’Ivoire and France, the current political atmosphere and media-related issues.

1. A prominent article in the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin says that the Egypt-based African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) is to disburse up to 500 billion FCFA (about U.S. $1.1 billion) to support economic recovery in Cote d’Ivoire. This was announced Wednesday in Abidjan by officials of the bank after a meeting with President Alassane Ouattara, reports the paper, which quotes the bank’s officials as saying that “Cote d’Ivoire is a strong partner of the bank.” The head of Afreximbank also said that the institution will disburse up to U.S. $620 million to enable Cote d’Ivoire’s main oil refinery to buy crude.

2. With a picture showing Presidents Obama and Ouattara shaking hands, Le Mandat (a daily close to the RHDP – a coalition supporting President Ouattara) expresses optimism about efforts being deployed by the new authorities in Cote d’Ivoire to revamp the country’s conflict-stricken economy. The report claims that foreign investors have resumed business with the country following the accession to power of Ouattara. Meanwhile, a front-page story in this paper says that the government’s efforts to restore sanity into the economy are being hampered by the high level of racketeering on the country’s roads. According to the article, Ouattara’s administration has recently set up a “special anti-racketeering brigade” whose role is to ensure the free flow of persons and goods throughout the entire country.

3. A front-page story in Soir Info (an independent daily) says that the measures that the government put in place almost two months ago to fight racketeering have yielded few results. The paper quotes transporters who expressed concerns about the spate of the phenomenon in Abidjan and upcountry, with one driver complaining, “The Forces Republicaines de Cote d’Ivoire exaggerate. Drivers and passengers have to pay. Moreover they threaten people; we thought all this was over…” The state-owned daily Fraternite Matin carries a front-page story shedding light on those responsible for the racketeering and how this phenomenon hinders the economies in the West African region.

4. “War economy in the West: Billions for Soro’s clan,” says a banner headline in Le Nouveau Courrier (a daily close to the former ruling FPI party) which claims that despite the new political dispensation in Cote d’Ivoire, “the ex-New Forces have extended their raiding system to the western Moyen-Cavally region.” The paper recalls that since 2002, a war economy has been established in the central, northern and western region of the country, and despite the establishment of a new regime that saw the country reunified, “some people continue to hold secret funds.” The report also says that besides the state, poor farmers are victims of this situation and calls on the government to take urgent measures to stop this “unofficial war economy” in order to restore sanity in this zone.

5. “There is a need to cleanse the Ivorian justice system,” writes L’Expression (a daily close to President Ouattara), which attributes this statement to the new prosecutor at the appeals court in Abidjan, Mamadou Kone. Kone, who was speaking yesterday in Abidjan, as he assumed duty, denounced “too much corruption in the Ivorian judicial system,” while Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the RHDP – a coalition supporting President Ouattara) quotes him as saying, “Money has tarnished the image of justice” in Cote d’Ivoire. Reporting on the same event, L’Inter (an independent daily) says that Ivorian lawyers deplored the intrusion of politicians into the judicial system.

6. Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the RHDP – a coalition supporting President Ouattara) devotes its front page to reporting on new nominations in the Forces Republicaines de Cote d’Ivoire and in the Ivorian police. In the wake of these nominations, L’Expression (a daily close to President Ouattara) carries a front-page headline saying, “Ouattara seals off the country,” adding that the Com-Zones, the former New Forces warlords, have now been integrated into the FRCI as regional commanders. The paper comments that the decision to proceed with new nominations, taken by the government during a Council of Ministers meeting held yesterday under the chairmanship of President Ouattara, marks the end of the “mess” over the grades of Ivorian army officers. Le Patriote (a daily close to President Ouattara) carries pictures of the former New Forces warlords who have been nominated in different units of the army with a headline reading, “The new army has taken form through the promotion of merit.” A report in the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin says that the nominations followed recommendations made by a committee set up by the new government to review rank attributions in the Ivorian army.

7. With more on military issues, L’Expression (a daily close to President Ouattara) quotes the spokesperson for the defense minister, Captain Allah Kouakou, saying that “No coup d’etat is possible” in Cote d’Ivoire. According to the paper, Captain Kouakou, who was interviewed by the UN radio station in Abidjan, was trying to reassure Ivorians following persistent rumors of a coup d’etat. Soir Info (an independent daily) carries the same interview and quotes the army spokesperson saying that other military officers, who had sought refuge in Ghana, will soon return home.

8. Meanwhile, a front-page story in Notre Voie (a daily close to the former ruling FPI party) claims that repression against former Defense and Security Forces members continues despite government calls for exiled soldiers to return home. According to the paper, three members of former president Laurent Gbagbo’s Republican Guards have been arrested and detained since Tuesday. The paper alleges that the soldiers are accused of killing a family member of President Ouattara.

9. On French-Ivorian military relations, a front-page story in the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin says that a joint commission chaired by former Ivorian Chief of Defense Staff General Mathias Doue was set up yesterday with the task of reviewing defense accords between France and Cote d’Ivoire.

10. On political issues, L’Inter (an independent daily) publishes a statement allegedly signed by Ahoua Don Mello, a spokesperson during Gbagbo’s regime, warning the Ouattara government. The text quotes Don Mello, who fled the country after Gbagbo was captured by pro-Ouattara forces, denouncing the alleged persecution of supporters of the former regime, adding that out of 5.7 million voters, nearly 2 million voters close to the former regime have been displaced from their regions or have fled the country.

11. A separate report in L’Inter (an independent daily) says that thousands of Ivorians are likely to be disfranchised during the upcoming parliamentary elections. The paper says that as a result of the recent political violence thousands of Ivorians have fled the country. The paper calls on the government to take measures to enable the refugees to come back home. In a related development, the paper says that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has pledged to support the Independent Electoral Commission to organize the upcoming parliamentary elections.

12. Still on the forthcoming parliamentary elections, L’Expression (a daily close to President Ouattara) reports that the head of the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute in Cote d’Ivoire, Charles Yaovi Djrekpo, yesterday encouraged young people to fully take part in state institutions. Djrekpo, who was engaged in a discussion with the Ivorian youth leaders, is reported to have said that “the youth constitute Cote d’Ivoire’s future leaders and must learn how to manage state affairs while working beside their elders.”

13. Finally, a report in the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin says that the head of the state-run High Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HACA), Ibrahim Sy Savane, yesterday met with heads of proximity radio stations over upcoming broadcast media reforms.

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