allAfrica.com: Côte d'Ivoire: American Embassy's National Daily Press Review (Page 1 of 1)

This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

The meeting between the Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and the Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kan in Ouagadougou yesterday on the peace process; controversy over the date of the forthcoming elections in Cote d'Ivoire; possibility of a coalition between the New Forces and the Rally of the Republicans - the party of the Ivorian opposition figure Alassane Dramane Ouattara; the scourge of child exploitation in cocoa farms, are the major stories in Tuesday's Ivorian press.

1. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): A prominent headline in the front page of the paper, read: "Strauss-Kan reassures Gbagbo that the IMF will increase its financial assistance to Cote d'Ivoire." Reporting on the aftermath of a meeting between the two leaders yesterday in the Burkinabe capital, the paper told readers that "the news is good, as the IMF is to finance long term projects in Cote d'Ivoire beginning from the end of March or earlier in April this year." The announcement was made by "Strauss-Kan himself," who was in Ouagadougou as part of a joint meeting between UEMOA - The West African Economic and Monetary Union - and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "With force and assurance," Strauss-Kan stressed that Cote d'Ivoire and the IMF will once again set the pace for "a normal cooperation that will result in the total resumption of programs, financial and technical assistance," reported the paper. However, the paper indicated that the IMF's boss insisted that this cooperation could only resume on condition that "Cote d'Ivoire pays off its debts vis-à-vis the World Bank."

2. "Bad governance: Strauss-Kan set the record straight," said a front-page item in Nord-Sud Quotidien (a pro-opposition paper). Reporting on the meeting between Gbagbo and Strauss-Kan, the paper suggested that, "The IMF is not happy about the financial and economic management under Gbagbo's regime." In a statement, reported the paper, "the IMF's boss leveled many grievances against the regime and called for 'important' measures to be put in place to reverse this bad governance." The paper quoted excerpts of the statement as saying, "While the peace process and the reunification [of the country] is becoming a reality, it is important that the Ivorian authorities scale down unproductive expenditures - such as sovereignty and military expenses -- and use these dividends to support education, health and infrastructure programs."

3. Nord-Sud Quotidien prominently carried another banner headline announcing that "the presidential elections billed for June 2008 will be delayed." In a full-page commentary, the paper cited "technical, financial and institutional problems" as the stumbling blocks on the way to the polls. The paper pointed out that so far "no official announcement" of the postponement has been made, but went on to suggest that "all Ivorian political stakeholders favor the delay of the polls."

4. Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA party): In a front-page item, the paper accused the Ivorian Interior Minister, Desire Tagro of "trying to sabotage the upcoming presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire." The paper allegedly reported that Tagro's plan "to derail the electoral process includes organizing demonstrations to enfeeble the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI)."

5. The fierce debate prompted by a proposal made recently by the Ivorian opposition leader, Alassane Dramane Ouattara, demanding the New Forces to join in forming an alliance with his RDR party, has again come to the fore. In an interview with Le Patriote (a daily close to the RDR party), the spokesperson of the New Forces, Sidiki Konate said: "There could no reconciliation between the leader of the RDR party and the New Forces. For us, we're walking side by side in the quest of solution to resolve the crisis [in Cote d'Ivoire]." The paper carried another interview of another leading member of the New Forces who said: "ADO [Alassane Dramane Ouattara] is still popular and has not yet surrendered."

6. Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party): The paper prominently carried an interview of the Chairman of FPI party, Pascal Affi N'Guessan who was reacting to the accusation of "corruption" leveled recently against the Gbagbo regime, and "the increasing impoverishment" in Cote d'Ivoire. "We've been mistakenly accused," the paper quoted Affi N'Guessan as saying. The Ivorian political figure said that everybody from the rank and file of the ruling party is "frustrated" by the current situation, but called on its supporters to stay "mobilized to take control of the whole territory and the power."

7. In another development, 24 Heures (a pro-opposition party) reported that Cote d'Ivoire and its neighbor Ghana do not abide by the Harkin-Engel protocol (named after the two US senators), which aimed to decrease the number of children working on farms, improve working conditions. Citing a report documented by APIC (Catholic International News Agency) on child labor, the paper indicated that more than 200,000 children from both countries are being used in cocoa plantations.

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