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 high cost of living, the strike by universities and primary schools, as well as the presidential election in Côte d'Ivoire, are the major stories in Ivorian newspapers, today.

1. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): The paper carried a banner headline saying: "The prices have increased up to 45% within nine months; Food and Alimentation Organization (FAO) recommends urgent measures". According to the paper, the Director General of FAO, Mr. Jacques Diouf, said that the high cost of food commodities has become a worldwide concern. He stated that urgent measures are necessary in order to ensure that negative consequences due to the increase of food commodities prices do not affect more seriously poor people in the short term.

2. Le Patriote (a daily close to RDR) carried a front-page story, saying: "While Ivorians are hungry, Gbagbo spent 75 billion CFA; he made a budget of 34 billion CFA for himself; where are the 41 billion CFA of Ivorians?" According to the paper, in 2007 only 34 billion CFA was budgeted to cover the expenses of the Presidency. But what has been noticed is that the Presidency spent 74.8 billion CFA. The paper said that there was no conflict last year because of the Ouagadougou Agreement. So the presidency cannot take the argument that it used that money to buy armaments. The paper said that only the mismanagement and the bad use of public funds can explain this expenditure.

3. University, Secondary schools, City Halls, the social front is flaring up again; teachers abandon amphitheaters" is the front-page story of Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition). According to the paper, the National Coordination of Higher School Teachers has started a week strike to protest against the non-application of different decrees which allow the increase of their salaries and bonus. The paper also reported that all the city halls in Cote d'Ivoire closed yesterday. Municipal agents protested to claim that a decree should be taken in order to implement the law related to their status voted in 2006.

Nord-Sud Quotidien also reported that the special representative of the Ouagadougou Agreement facilitator, Mr. Boureima Badini, met with the youth and the women in order to receive the proceedings of the seminar organized in Grand-Bassam at their intention. According to the paper, Mr. Boureima said that they believed in the deadline of June for the election. But the reality on the field showed that it would be difficult to meet that deadline. For him, everything must be done to hold the election this year.

4. Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA party) carried a banner headline saying: "Demonstrations against the high cost of living, the Akye (a southern ethnic group in Cote d'Ivoire) are revolting against Gbagbo." According to the paper, Adzopé, a small town in the south of Cote d'Ivoire, was a dead town last Wednesday when all the stores, the markets, the offices were closed and 5,000 people took the streets to protest against the high cost of living. The population was crying that it is fed up. According to the paper, the people said that they could no longer support liars. They are quoted as saying: "When Gbagbo came to power, he promised the earth and the moon; he said he had come to defend the poor and we followed him. Today all the prices of food commodities have increased from the simple to the double. Where are we going? That is why we are marching."

Nouveau Réveil also reported that SAGEM, the technical operator of the identification has no intention to withdraw. According to the paper, the Prime Minister spokesperson, Meité Sindou, called Nouveau Reveil yesterday following their article on SAGEM and told them that the negotiations between the government and SAGEM are not interrupted. They are underway and the financial agreement between Cote d'Ivoire and SAGEM is nearly finalized.

5. In Soir Info (a privately-owned daily), reported that the U.N. Operations in Cote d'Ivoire (ONUCI) continue to evaluate the public hearings (audiences foraines). According to the paper, seven months after the launching of the public hearings, the Director of the Division of Electoral Assistance of ONUCI, Mr. Ahmedou El Becaye Seck, announced that, subject to confirmation of the Minister of Justice, out of 515,412 demands of birth certificate, 488,686 have been delivered and the operations will end in a few week.

6. On the same subject, Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) carried a front-page story which said: "Public hearings (audiences foraines) 488,686 birth certificates delivered." According to the paper, 488,686 out of 515,412 demands were delivered. Among those certificates, 414,706 were for Cote d'Ivoire Nationals and 73,980 for foreigners.

MEDIA ON EMBASSY ABIDJAN

Fraternité Matin reported that the American Embassy conducted a HIV/AIDS Road Show in Yamoussoukro on Wednesday April 9, 2008. Mrs. Sharon White, Director of the American Cultural Center, reaffirmed the support of the U.S. government towards the fight against HIV/AIDS in Cote d'Ivoire. She is quoted as saying: "The government of the United States is ready to accompany the Ivorian Government and its partners in their efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS through PEPFAR.

L'Inter (a privately-owned daily), reported that the U.S. Embassy in partnership with the NGO "Terre d'Espérance" organized a ceremony of book donation to 100 young girls. According to the director of the Embassy Information and Resource Center, Marie Laure Angoran, these girls who ranked first in their classroom were chosen by the Embassy. She told them to be models through their work. This program is part of the program on women leadership, which was initiated to support future women leaders of Cote d'Ivoire.

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