United States Embassy (Abidjan)
8 July 2008
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 decision by the authorities in Cote d'Ivoire to raise the prices of the domestic gas by as much as 44 percent continued to dominate reports in today's Ivorian press. Reports also said that a court in Cote d'Ivoire's economic capital Abidjan has started hearing the case of top officials who were arrested a few days ago as part of a massive anti-corruption campaign. Reports also continue on President Laurent Gbagbo's planned visit to the Western-central region, where disgruntled former rebels recently went on a rampage. L'inter (a major newspaper in Cote d'Ivoire) published the full text of Ambassador Nesbitt's 4th of July message.
1. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): A front-page story in this paper said that a day after the increase of the fuel prices, the government of Cote d'Ivoire has started negotiating with drivers to fix new taxi fares. Speaking to the paper, the Ivorian Minister of Planning and Development, Paul Antoine Bohoun Bouabre, proposed that communal taxi fares should be increased by as much as FCFA 50. The paper also reported a statement made by the Executive Director of SOTRA, a State Transport Corporation, who said that the recent increases in fuel prices could cause the company a 2 billion CFA by the end of the year. The paper concluded that many vehicles, especially the taxis and other carriers, have no choice but to park their vehicles. The paper quoted a taxi driver, who said: "Frankly speaking, the new fuel prices are not good at all. We need to increase considerably the transport fares if we want to survive. This will subsequently result in the raise of the prices of the food commodities."
2. L'inter (a privately-owned daily): A front-page story in this paper said that drivers have rejected the new taxi fares proposed by the government. According to the paper, leaders of drivers' unions, after a meeting yesterday with government's officials, denounced what they called "the lack of consultations on the part of the government before increasing fuel prices." The paper said that the raise of the prices of the domestic gas is likely to cause "dramatic social change" in Cote d'Ivoire, hence jeopardizing "government's efforts to fight corruption, embezzlement, racketeering and fraud in this country." L'inter also warned that in response to "the hardship" that the population will face, "The masses could turn to begging, prostitution, and criminal activities," as ways to survive.
3. Still on the increase in fuel prices, Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition party) carried a prominent headline reading "The real misery has now started." According to the paper, consumer associations are threatening to march on the Presidential Palace in Abidjan. Soir Info (an independent daily) said: "Abandoned by the government, consumers are planning a big demonstration June 14," in a front-page story. The paper quoted Soumahoro N'Faly, President of APROCA-CI - an Association for the Protection of Consumers in Cote d'Ivoire - as saying that government officials are informed about their decision "to organize a protest march June 14 at the Presidency of the Republic." Soumahoro N'Faly reportedly said: "It's too high. Everybody was prepared for this increase that was announced long time ago. But what was done was too much. It will affect the prices of food commodities and the consumers will become the principal victim."
4. A front-page headline in Fraternite Matin said that Henri Kassi Amouzou a high-ranking official of the FDPCC - a development fund for cocoa and coffee farmers, who was arrested a few days ago in connection with the recent scandals in the coffee and cocoa sector made his first appearance in court yesterday in Abidjan. The paper reminded readers that Henri Kassi Amouzou is one of the 23 people charged by Cote d'Ivoire's State Prosecutor with "financial fraud and embezzlement." According to the paper Henri Kassi Amouzou was sent back to custody in MACA - A prison in Abidjan, after his appearance.
5. As President Laurent Gbagbo is set to visit the Western-central region, where disgruntled former rebels recently went on a rampage, Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling party) carried a prominent headline that said: "Gbagbo is to attack the enemies of the peace." The paper warned that "The time, when the State spent important financial resources in an effort to restore peace, while some warlords go about in self-aggrandizement, is over. The time has come for normalization, this through the disarmament."
6. Meanwhile, a front-page story in Le Patriote (a daily close to the opposition RDR party) suggested that the Ivorian leader is preparing "his own downfall." In a caricature, the paper's political cartoonist depicted a big headed President Gbagbo with the following problems circling his head: the unemployment; embezzlement in the coffee and cocoa sector; forgery of legal tender; raise of domestic fuel prices; high cost of living; frauds in exams and the toxic waste scandal.
Media Coverage of Embassy's Activities
L'inter (a major newspaper in Cote d'Ivoire) today published the full text of Ambassador Wanda L. Nesbitt's 4th of July speech. The paper highlighted a portion of the speech, in which the Ambassador said: "We must not let ourselves be discouraged by delays ... Cote d'Ivoire remains one of the most attractive places to live in West African."
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