Niamey — Hundreds of people turned out on the streets of Niamey on Tuesday to protest against high costs for fuel and other essential commodities.

Demonstrators, organised by Nigerien civil society groups, called on the government of President Mamadou Tandja to reduce the price of fuel by 50 percent through slashing customs duties and taxes.

They also urged the government to draw up a new policy to import fuel from neighbouring countries such as Nigeria. Nigeria is sub-Saharan Africa's leading oil producer but Niger imports crude from Venezuela.

The high cost of fuel has reduced the number of buses and taxis circulating in Niamey, according to Gamatie Mahamadou, secretary general of the National Syndicate of Taxi and Urban Transport Drivers. He said taxi drivers are forced to spend at least US $30 on fuel each day.

Petrol at over US $1 per gallon and soaring electricity, mobile telephone, education and medical bills are uniting Niger's citizens, who have frequently turned out for strikes and demonstrations in the past month.

Utility prices have been on the rise since the government started privatising state-owned utility companies. Niger has been implementing structural reform policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank since the mid-1990s.

Land-locked, uranium-rich Niger is the world's poorest country, according to the UN's Human Development Index. Average life expectancy is 44 years.

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]