Cote d'Ivoire: President Ouattara Sacks a Minister Over Toxic Waste Dumping Scandal

press release

"Adama Bictogo swept away by the toxic waste scandal," says a prominent headline in Fraternite Matin (p. 1). The paper (p. 4) published a decree signed yesterday by President Ouattara "terminating the function of the Minister of African Integration, Adama Bictogo." The paper also carries on its front page a photo of the Probo Koala, the ship that dumped toxic waste in Abidjan in August 2006 with a headline reading "Probo Koala takes another victim."

On the reason behind President Ouattara's decision to sack the minister, Fraternite Matin (p. 4) discloses that the minister tended a letter of resignation that was accepted by the president. The article further explains that the minister's intention was "to get rid of any official title" in order to appear before the judges investigating the scandal relating to the dumping of toxic waste in Abidjan. The paper also explains that the toxic waste scandal has resurfaced following an article published recently in the French news magazine Jeune Afrique that quoted an eyewitness accusing the Minister of African Integration of accepting money meant to be paid as compensation to the victims of the toxic waste.

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