Tar63 civ

COTE D’IVOIRE Economic phoenix rises from the ashes

w w w.t hea f r ic a r ep o r t .c om

UNITED STATES Soldiers, spies and summiteers

CONSTRUCTION Lafarge and Dangote battle for dominance

Double issue

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N ° 6 3 • a u g u s t- s e p t e m b e r 2 014

THE

e Botsalo Ntuan Mehdi Jomâa • Okwi ri Oduor • Sim Shagaya • Jack Nkusi Kayonga l oh P n n -A Jo yele • Moctar El Hacen • Maria Ivone Soares • Sia Tolno Phuti Mahan Igho Sanomi • Ganzeer • Joel Embiid • Omar Victor Diop

Ismaïl

boma iam • Eric M h T ou ad m A Douiri •

nza • Rachel Mwa

Nelson Chamisa • Lupi ta Nyong’o

RISING

STARS

GroUPE jEUNE AFrIqUE INTERNATIONAL EDITION

Alge!ia 550 DA • Ang"la 600 Kwanza • Aust!ia 4.90 € • Belgium 4.90 € • Canada 6.95 CAN$ • Denma!k 60 DK • Ethi"pia 75 Bi!! • F!ance 4.90 € • Ge!many 4.90 € • Ghana 7 GH¢ • Italy 4.90 € • Kenya 410 shillings • Libe!ia $LD 300 • M"!"cc" 50 DH • Nethe!lands 4.90 € • Nige!ia 600 nai!a N"!way 60 NK • P"!tugal 4.90 € • Sie!!a Le"ne LE 9,000 • S"uth Af!ica 30 !and (tax incl.) • Spain 4.90 € • Switze!land 9.90 FS • Tanzania 6,500 shillings • Tunisia 8 DT • Uganda 9,000 shillings • UK £ 4.50 • United States US$ 6.95 • Zimbabwe US$ 4 • CFA C"unt!ies 3,500 F CFA

COTE D’IVOIRE Economic phoenix rises from the ashes

w w w.t heafr icarep or t.com

UNITED STATES Soldiers, spies and summiteers

CONSTRUCTION Lafarge and Dangote battle for dominance

CONTENTS

Double issue

50

N ° 6 3 • A U G U S T- S E P T E M B E R 2 014

THE

Mehdi Jomâa • Okwiri Phuti Mahanyele

• Jo-Ann Pohl

Oduor • Sim Shagaya •

Botsalo Ntuane Jack Nkusi Kayonga

Moctar El Hacen • Maria Ivone Soares • Sia Tolno

Igho Sanomi • Ganzeer • Joel Embiid • Omar Victor Diop

Ismaïl Douiri

• Amadou Thiam

• Eric Mboma

• Rachel Mwanza

Nelson Chamisa • Lupita

RISING

Nyong’o

STARS

THE AFRICA REPORT # 63 - AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2014

GROUPE JEUNE AFRIQUE INTERNATIONAL EDITION

Algeria 550 DA • Angola 600 Kwanza • Austria 4.90 € • Belgium 4.90 € • Canada 6.95 CAN$ • Denmark 60 DK • Ethiopia 75 Birr • France 4.90 € • Germany 4.90 € • Ghana 7 GH¢ • Italy 4.90 € • Kenya 410 shillings • Liberia $LD 300 • Morocco 50 DH • Netherlands 4.90 € • Nigeria 600 naira Norway 60 NK • Portugal 4.90 € • Sierra Leone LE 9,000 • South Africa 30 rand (tax incl.) • Spain 4.90 € • Switzerland 9.90 FS • Tanzania 6,500 shillings • Tunisia 8 DT • Uganda 9,000 shillings • UK £ 4.50 • United States US$ 6.95 • Zimbabwe US$ 4 • CFA Countries 3,500 F CFA

6 EDITORIAL Global wrongs, people’s rights 8 LETTERS 10 THE QUESTION

50 THE

BRIEFING 12 SIGNPOSTS 14 INTERNATIONAL

STARS

20 CALENDAR

76 SINGAPORE-AFRICA An island with continental ambitions

FRONTLINE 23 AFRICAN TALENT The 50 Rising Stars From the explosive power of its athletes to the determination of its business people, we pay tribute to the generation driving change across the continent

COVER CREDITS: ONS ABID FOR JA; SHANDUKA; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; CHARLES SYKES/AP/SIPA; RICK BAJORNAS/UN

POLITICS 36 UNITED STATES Africa goes to Washington Security, trade and development are high on the US-Africa summit agenda, but will the talks boost international cooperation?

70 ISLAMIC FINANCE Searching for sukuk African governments are looking to the sharia-compliant financial markets of the Middle East and Asia for the funding of new projects 74 COSMETICS Beauty brands primped for profit

RISING

18 PEOPLE

BUSINESS

78 INVESTMENT Qalaa backs rail 78 HANNIBAL DOSSIER 80 INFRASTRUCTURE Dangote’s cement rivals With booming growth driving demand for building materials, Dangote is looking to end European players’ longstanding domination of the market

36

84 INTERVIEW PPC International managing director Pepe Meijer

44 INTERVIEW South Sudan’s Riek Machar

86 UTILITIES Electricity theft on an industrial scale

46 NIGERIA The last line of defence

88 URBANISATION A roof over their heads

48 INTERVIEW SA’s human settlements minister Lindiwe Sisulu 50 GHANA Rein ’em in, Mahama

55

ART & LIFE 90 THEATRE The Phoenix rises again The historic Nairobi theatre where Hollywood sensation Lupita Nyong’o once trod the boards is bouncing back

51 EGYPT Sisi slashes subsidies 51 ZIMBABWE Endless succession

94 REVIEWS African words, images and grooves

52 ANANSI

COUNTRY FOCUS 55 CÔTE D’IVOIRE Turning point Economic growth is on the rise, but the hard work of building bridges has only just begun THE AFRICA REPORT

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96 TRAVEL Washington DC – Capitol calling 98 DAY IN THE LIFE Babacar Diop, director of a renewable energy cooperative

3

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EDITORIAL

THE AFRICA REPORT A Groupe Jeune Afrique publication

BY PATRICK SMITH

57-BIS, RUE D’AUTEUIL – 75016 PARIS – FRANCE TEL: (33) 1 44 30 19 60 – FAX: (33) 1 44 30 19 30 www.theafricareport.com

Global wrongs, people’s rights

T

he war-makers changed the world, although they didn’t know it, on 4 August 1914. The First World War quickened the break-up of the German and Ottoman empires, and signalled the beginning of the end of the empires in Africa and Asia run by Britain, France, Italy and Portugal.

Although an avalanche of political, economic and technological change has enveloped the world in the intervening century, the origins of the First World War and its settlement in Versailles in 1919 still have acute relevance in Africa. The power balance within European empires shifted as the rulers came to the uncomfortable realisation that they needed their colonies to fight their wars. With more than 16 million deaths and the defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary, the ruling classes of the world moved to Paris in 1919 to argue about a new world order.

Four bad things then happened for Africa. Apart from Ethiopia, whose delegation swept in wearing Amharic traditional dress, Africans were kept out of the peace talks. Next, Britain and the US shot down a proposal from Japan, backed by China, for a declaration of global racial equality that would have had monumental legal and political implications.

US President Woodrow Wilson drew support from the segregationist south, and he didn’t want international interference in US domestic policy. For Britain, a declaration of racial equality would strike at one of the empire’s organising principles. An historic chance to put the world’s races on an equal footing was lost.

The third and fourth bad things flowed inevitably from that. After the allies stripped Germany of its

CHA I R M A N A ND F O UND E R BÉCHIR BEN YAHMED P UB L I S HE R DANIELLE BEN YAHMED publisher@theafricareport.com E X E CUT I VE P UB L I S HE R JÉRÔME MILLAN

colonies – now known as Burundi, Cameroon, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Togo – the land was not to be handed back to its original owners but given in trust to other European powers.

Wilson found a moral justification for the plan. He announced that for the first time in history “the counsels of mankind are to be drawn together” to improve “the conditions of working people […] all over the world”. So these chunks of Africa were “to be administered for the benefit of their inhabitants – the greatest humane arrangement that has ever been attempted – The rule and the rules are laid down that forbid any of experts form of selfish exploitfirst ation of these helpless trumped people,” according to Wilson’s explanation of the cause the League of Nations of equal mandate system.

Forget the hypocrisy, rights a and the tautology of century ago “selfish exploitation”.

What was established was a new right: that of powerful countries, institutions and their experts to rule over countries for the claimed benefit of the inhabitants.

That is also the theme of a radical new book by William Easterly, attacking “the tyranny of experts”.

Easterly traces how Versailles established the “technical approach to development” and the “betterment of peoples”. This was eagerly taken up by Whitehall mandarins to stave off the anti-colonial movement. Today, says Easterly, it has its corollary in the prescriptions of the international financial institutions: the rule of the experts that first trumped the cause of equal rights a century ago. ●

M A R K E T I NG & D E VE L O P M E NT ALISON KINGSLEY-HALL E D I T O R I N CHI E F PATRICK SMITH M A NA G I NG E D I T O R NICHOLAS NORBROOK editorial@theafricareport.com A S S I S TA NT E D I T O R CHARLIE HAMILTON E D I T O R I A L A S S I S TA NT OHENEBA AMA NTI OSEI R E G I O NA L E D I T O R PARSELELO KANTAI (East Africa) A RT & L I F E E D I T O R ROSE SKELTON S UB - E D I T O R S ALISON CULLIFORD MARSHALL VAN VALEN P R O O F R E A D I NG KATHLEEN GRAY A RT D I R E CT O R MARC TRENSON DESIGN VALÉRIE OLIVIER CHRISTOPHE CHAUVIN ÉMERIC THÉROND P R O D UCT I O N PHILIPPE MARTIN CHRISTIAN KASONGO R E S E A R CH ANITA CORTHIER P HO T O G R A P HY CLAIRE VATTEBLED O NL I NE JEAN-MARIE MINY PRINCE OFORI-ATTA SALES SANDRA DROUET SOLÈNE DEFRANCQ Tel: (33) 1 44 30 18 07 – Fax: (33) 1 45 20 09 67 sales@theafricareport.com CONTACT FOR SUBSCRIPTION: Webscribe Ltd Unit 8 The Old Silk Mill Brook Street, Tring Hertfordshire HP23 5EF United Kingdom Tel: + 44 (0) 1442 820580 Fax: + 44 (0) 1442 827912 Email: subs@webscribe.co.uk 1 year subscription (10 issues): All destinations: €39 - $59 - £35 TO ORDER ONLINE: www.theafricareportstore.com D I F CO M INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING AND COMMUNICATION AGENCY 57-BIS, RUE D’AUTEUIL 75016 PARIS - FRANCE Tel: (33) 1 44 30 19-60 – Fax: (33) 1 44 30 18 34 advertising@theafricareport.com A D VE RT I S I NG D I R E CT O R NATHALIE GUILLERY R E G I O NA L M A NA G E R S CAROLINE AH KING FADOUA YAQOBI LILIA BENACEUR ELODIE BOUSSONNIERE US R E P R E S E NTAT I VE AZIZA ALBOU a.albou@groupeja.com

editorial@theafricareport.com THE AFRICA REPORT

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PRINTER: SIEP 77 - FRANCE N° DE COMMISSION PARITAIRE : 0715 I 86885 Dépôt légal à parution / ISSN 1950-4810 THE AFRICA REPORT is published by GROUPE JEUNE AFRIQUE

8

LETTERS For all your comments, suggestions and queries, please write to: The Editor, The Africa Report, 57bis Rue d’Auteuil - Paris 75016 - France. or editorial@theafricareport.com

SME FUNDING IS CRUCIAL

S

NIGERIA The litmus test election in Ekiti

DRC Kabila puts economy on ice

SOUTH AFRICA SAA and Eskom, the vulnerable parastatals

mall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are engines of job creation, economic COMMODITIES growth and innovation [‘Private Equity: Global funds for African farmers’, TAR62 July 2014]. Every $1 invested in an SME generates $10 for the local community, and $1 of SME finance creates three times more jobs. However, sourcing start-up capital is difficult and financing often unaffordable. Private equity and venture capital are key solutions. Among the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association’s (AVCA) membership, around $1bn was invested in SMEs in West Africa in 2013.

A thriving industry will enable SMEs to grow whilst playing an important role in the economic development of Africa. There is scope for SMEs to obtain not only capital but also strategic advice. SMEs require expertise, and private equity needs businesses in which it can invest.

Michelle Kathryn Essomé, CEO of AVCA, via email w w w.t hea f r ic a repo r t .c om

N ° 6 2 • J U LY 2 014

The trade challenge With new rules and new markets, African companies fight for a bigger stake in the continent’s resource bonanza

Aliko Dangote, CEO Dangote Group, Eleni Gabre-Madhin, CEO eleni LLC and Ivan Glasenberg, CEO Glencore Xstrata

GROUPE JEUNE AFRIQUE

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

Algeria 550 DA • Angola 600 Kwanza • Austria 4.90 € • Belgium 4.90 € • Canada 6.95 CAN$ • Denmark 60 DK • Ethiopia 75 Birr • France 4.90 € • Germany 4.90 € • Ghana 7 GH¢ • Italy 4.90 € • Kenya 410 shillings • Liberia $LD 300 • Morocco 50 DH • Netherlands 4.90 € • Nigeria 600 naira Norway 60 NK • Portugal 4.90 € • Sierra Leone LE 9,000 • South Africa 30 rand (tax incl.) • Spain 4.90 € • Switzerland 9.90 FS • Tanzania 6,500 shillings • Tunisia 8 DT • Uganda 9,000 shillings • UK £ 4.50 • United States US$ 6.95 • Zimbabwe US$ 4 • CFA Countries 3,500 F CFA

INVESTORS DITCH BANK STOCKS There is increasing investor flight out of Middle Africa’s bank stocks [‘Barometer’, TAR61 June 2014] and it seems investors could be losing faith in the growth prospects of the region’s banks. In the first quarter of 2014, the region’s three key markets by size and liquidity levels, namely Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, recorded significant decline in bank stock performances on a year-on-year basis. In Kenya, there are continuing concerns regarding non-performing loans and banks overstating their true performance.

In fact, foreign investors were net sellers

they do. Most of us start our businesses as a passion and run it as such. Ruka’s coaching has provided myself and other women an avenue to think strategically about our businesses.

She has guided and equipped me with best practice tools and approaches, provided me with business direction and support to transform my business – and my life – balancing family and work. More women are engaged in the economic sector, but the vast majority are expected to play a subordinate role in society. For those of us with greater aspirations, demonstrating meticulous diligence is a pastime.

Monorvi Asampong, Managing Director, Go Study Abroad, via email

SA WINE SOARS of Kenyan bank stocks in first quarter 2014 to the tune of KSh1.5bn ($17.2m).

For the vast majority of South Africans, wine is not a main part of their drinking repertoire [‘Pressing for change’, TAR60 May 2014]. However, as elsewhere amongst developing countries, with increasing affluence comes a growing WOMEN WORK HARDER interest in wine. Not only in South Africa but in other parts of Africa, there Your profile of Ruka Sanusi/Alldens is a rising sense of pride in being able Lane [TAR61 June 2014], provides an to enjoy wines of this continent. excellent example of what is being done Whereas South Africa’s wine exports to foster sustained entrepreneurial were traditionally focused on the UK growth in the SME sector, with a unique and Europe, our global reach focus on women entrepreneurs. has widened considerably and notably In Ghana’s male-dominated business includes Kenya, Nigeria and Angola.

Siobhan Thompson, world, women have to work harder to CEO, Wines of South Africa, via email be accepted and recognised in the work George Bodo, Head of Banking Research, Ecobank, Kenya, via email

HOW TO GET YOUR COPY OF THE AFRICA REPORT On sale at your usual outlet. If you experience problems obtaining your copy, please contact your local distributor, as shown below.

GHANA: GREENWICH MAGAZINES & BOOKS, Mr Ernest Asare, +233 (0)208 142 374, greenmaghana@gmail.com – KENYA: NATION MEDIA GROUP, Josephine Bonareri Abuga, +254 (0)20 32 88507, JAbuga@ke.nationmedia.com – NIGERIA: NEWSSTAND AGENCIES LTD, Solomon Otinwa, +234 (0)709 8123 459, newsstand2008@gmail. com – SIERRA LEONE: RAI GERB ENTERPRISES, Mohammad Gerber, +232 (0)336 72 469, raigerbenterprise@gmail.com – SOUTHERN AFRICA: RNA DISTRIBUTION, Luisa Rebelo, +27 (0)11 602 9800 • luisar@magcservices.co.za – TANZANIA: MWANANCHI COMMUNICATIONS, Emmanuel J Lyimo, +255 716 500 500, elyimo@ tz.nationmedia.com – UGANDA: MONITOR PUBLICATIONS LTD, Stephen Eselu, +256 (0)702 178 198, seselu@ug.nationmedia.com – UNITED KINGDOM: COMAG, Mark Swan, +44 (0)1895 433791, Mark.Swan@comag.co.uk – UNITED STATES & CANADA: LMPI, Sylvain Fournier, +1 514 355 5610, lmpi@lmpi.com – ZIMBABWE: MUNN MARKETING (PVT) LTD, Nick Ncube, +263 (0)4 662755, nickncube@munnmarketing.co.zw For other regions go to www.theafricareport.com

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX CONTOURGLOBAL p 2; STANDARD BANK p 4; DANGOTE GROUP p 7; NCT NECOTRANS p 9; INTERPLAST p 11; LIQUID TELECOM p 15; ACCOR AFRIQUE p 17; CII - EASYHALLS p 19: AFRICA-AMERICA INSTITUTE p 19; CHEVRON p 21; CNN AFRICAN VOICES p 22; AFRICA 2.0 FOUNDATION p 35; AFEX p 39; ADEXEN p 41; CCA p 41; NIGERIA INFO p 43; AHU-ACEBS p 43; TAR READER SURVEY p 53-54; SIFCA p 59; K’ ORIGINS-ICC p 61 ; SIP p 63; SOLEN p 63; SIETTA-CONSEIL COTON ANACARDE p 66-67; DMG- GLOBAL AFRIC. INV. SUMMIT p 77; EMRC AGRIBUSINESS p 79; FRISOMAT p 79; LIEBHERR p 83; FRISOMAT p 85; SPINTELLIGENT IPAD p 85; WEST AFRICAN POWER POOL p 87; TAR DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION p 87; INFORMA AFRICA COM p 89; METALGALANTE CARMIX p 89; MERCEDES-BENZ p 99; TOTAL p 100 THE AFRICA REPORT

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10

THE QUESTION To respond to this month’s Question, visit www.theafricareport.com. You can also find The Africa Report on Facebook and on Twitter @theafricareport. Comments, suggestions and queries can also be sent to: The Editor, The Africa Report, 57bis Rue d’Auteuil, Paris 75016, France or editorial@theafricareport.com

RESPONSES TO LAST MONTH’S QUESTION:

In June the first judgement in a test case against Shell at London’s High Court ruled that the company may be liable for oil spills caused by sabotage or theft. The case has been brought by 15,000 villagers in the Niger Delta

Should Egypt’s suspension from the AU be lifted?

Do oil companies care enough about oil spills?

The AU should lift the suspension with immediate effect. It has not done anything apart from being counter-productive and a hindrance to cooperation among African states.

Don Diallo Delavegas via Facebook

Yes AUDREY GAUGHRAN Director, Global Thematic Issues, Amnesty International

Most oil companies care about oil spills. Sadly though, most companies are concerned only for commercial and reputational reasons. If oil companies are not under pressure from governments to behave well, then most will not do so. The Niger Delta is one of the world’s greatest environmental disasters because thousands of oil spills have occurred over decades and most have not been properly cleaned up. The main company involved in the Niger Delta is the Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell. There are hundreds of leaks from Shell’s pipes every year. The company’s defence is that other people – saboteurs and thieves – cause most of the spills but this is widely disputed. Amnesty International has exposed cases in which Shell has wrongly reported the cause of oil spills, the volume of oil spilt, or the extent and adequacy of clean-up measures.

In our opinion, Shell behaves badly in the Niger Delta because it can get away with it. Government regulators are notoriously weak, and the government of Nigeria – a partner in the oil industry – has never held the company to account. Companies act better when they are compelled to by firm regulation imposed by governments who are acting in the public interest. ●

I am not sure if a military man is the right person to be president. But, if the people believe so, why not?

Tesfaye Desalegn via Facebook I’m totally against lifting the ban until Morsi is set free.

Akansake Victor via Facebook Has the suspension had any effect on Egypt?

Adams Ato Kwamena via Facebook

No NNIMMO BASSEY Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF)

The discovery of crude oil in more African countries brings hope and joy to those countries, but a few years into oil production all that joy will turn to gloom and all the hopes will be dashed. While governments and big business in the big cities may continue to smile to the bank, oil trashes the African environment relentlessly. Oil is extremely seductive not because of the easy conversion into energy, but because of the smell of cash that goes with it. Today, many parts of the Niger Delta environment are dead. The waters are dead; the lands dead and their air on life support. These veritable crime scenes remain as totems to the intransigence of rampaging oil companies. Governments and citizens of countries like Uganda, Ghana and Kenya will insist that the sorry story of Nigeria would not be replicated in their lands. We wish they were right.

Governments dependent on oil rents cannot demand strict observance of environmental regulations. And the oil companies take advantage of that situation. Oil spills in Africa are nothing but a petty nuisance to the international oil companies operating here. The onus rests on citizens to hold their governments to account and insist on critical accounting to verify if the cash that flows into national treasuries can offset the environmental costs.

If not, this sad trend will continue. ● THE AFRICA REPORT

The AU is simply following orders from their masters.

Wossengiffow Degu via Facebook Yes […] because Egypt now has a democratically elected president in the person of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Eugene Ablakwah via Facebook Yes, because if the country is ready to settle and move on […] then let the AU support them as Egypt continues marching towards peace.

Isaac Muhia via Facebook •

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BRIEFING

BRAZIL 25/6 The Nigerians

exited the World Cup in the final 16, but they gave Argentina a scare.

SIGNPOSTS

GUINEA 1/7 A health worker in Guinea helping in

the fight against the Ebola virus removes his protective suit. Over 600 people have been killed in the region.

KENYA 4/7 The Chinese-built new terminal at Jomo

Kenyatta airport in Nairobi opened for a three-week trial.

The airport was severely damaged by fire in 2013.

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SAHEL FRENCH TROOPS HEADED FOR CHAD France is sending 3,000 troops to the Chadian capital N’Djamena as part of a new military operation to combat Islamist insurgents throughout the Sahel region.

They will be joined by soldiers from Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Chad, and will be backed by 20 helicopters, six fighter jets and three drones.

The announcement came only days after France ended an 18-month counter-terrorism operation in Mali.

Investors rushed to take part in Kenya’s debut Eurobond with more than $8bn worth of bids, an oversubscription of 500% on the target level of $1.5bn. Kenyan treasury officials said the figure set a record for Africa. Analysts had speculated that uptake might be overshadowed by concerns over the country’s stability following a spate of attacks

by Somali-linked Islamist militants, but their fears proved unfounded.

“We cannot

SAYYID AZIM/AP/SIPA

12

Kenyan opposition party senator Otieno Kajwang speaking at an anti-government rally in Nairobi, referring to President Uhuru Kenyatta and vicepresident William Ruto.

Kenyatta’s ICC trial restarts in October while Ruto’s is ongoing.

REFUGEES A DEVELOPING WORLD BURDEN Around 25% of the world’s refugees live in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new report by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

ENERGY FUEL PRICES SOAR WITHOUT SUBSIDIES

Egypt 78%

Cameroon 14%

Tunisia 6.3%

Tanzania 0.75%

Fuel rose in price by as much as 78% for some African consumers after a spate of subsidy cuts. Egypt, where fuel subsidies had totalled around a quarter of the annual budget, saw the highest price hike (see page 51).

THE AFRICA REPORT

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BRIEFING

KENYA 7/7 Supporters of the opposition CORD movement rally on ‘Saba Saba day’, which celebrates the pro-democracy protests of 1990.

SOUTH SUDAN 9/7 Though in the throes of a civil

NIGERIA 13/7 Malala Yousafzai, the

war since December 2013, South Sudan nevertheless celebrated its third anniversary as a country.

Pakistani activist shot by the Taliban, meets mothers of Nigeria’s kidnapped schoolgirls.

STEFANO RELLANDINI/REUTERS; SYLVAIN CHERKAOUI/COSMOS; MENG CHENGUANG/XINHUA-REA; THOMAS MUKOYA REUTERS; ANDREEA CAMPEANU/REUTERS; OLAMIKAN GBEMIKAN/AP/SIPA

HEALTH EBOLA VIRUS SPREADS ITS DEADLY NET GUINEA

Cases 406 Deaths 304

LIBERIA

Cases 172 Deaths 105

SIERRA LEONE Cases 386 Deaths 194 TOTAL

Cases 964 Deaths 603

ALI NGETHI/AFP

SOURCE: WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION

SOUTH SUDAN

Fighting now, famine soon

T

he third anniversary of the creation of South Sudan found the world’s newest country still mired in conflict and economic stagnation. Only days ahead of the 9 July anniversary, emergency relief charity UNICEF warned the troubled country faced a “looming” famine, while diplomats manoeuvred to push yet another attempt to broker a truce to end the six-month conflict.

Fighting broke out last December after President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup (see our exclusive interview with Riek on page 44) The conflict has seen massacres and sporadic clashes between the Dinka community, THE AFRICA REPORT

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to which Kiir belongs, and Machar’s Nuer. More than a million people have been forced to flee their homes, and some 10,000 have been killed.

The European Union (EU) announced sanctions against two South Sudanese military leaders as Western diplomats sought to bring both sides back to the negotiating table.

The EU imposed travel bans and asset freezes on Peter Gadet, a South Sudanese rebel chief who led a three-day assault on an oil town in Unity State in April in which more than 200 civilians were killed, and Santino Deng, a commander of the government’s third Infantry Division, which attacked Bentiu town in April. ●

AU G U S T- S E P T E M B E R 2 014

The outbreak of the killer Ebola virus in West Africa continued to spread, with more than 759 cases now reported across 60 sites.

The World Health Organisation and Médecins sans Frontières declared that the situation was now “out of control” and branded the outbreak the deadliest in history.

In conjunction with GeoPoll, The Africa Report asked 100 Ghanaians, across the country, a question:

?

“Do you trust Ghana’s government with the economy?”

YES 32% NO 68% GeoPoll is a mobile surveying company that uses the mobile phone to connect with Africans and others across the developing world, using text messaging and other modes of communication.

To join the global GeoPoll network and answer short surveys like this one, please visit m.geopoll.com

13

BRIEFING

INTERNATIONAL 1

9

5

1 2

4 7

3

8

6

EUROPE

3,000,000 Syrians have fled their country, and nearly all are in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, according to the recent tally by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The agency has asked European countries to open their doors to take the pressure off Syria’s neighbours.

3

SNAPSHOT

AFGHANISTAN

Awaiting an audit Claims of fraud in Afghanistan’s 14 June presidential polls overshadowed preliminary results that put Ashraf Ghani, a former finance minister, in the lead to replace Hamid Karzai. Ghani and rival Abdullah Abdullah agreed to an audit of all eight million votes in mid-July and results were expected in early August. ●

4

UKRAINE

Missile downs airliner SAID KHATIB/AFP

A Malaysia Airlines passenger jet carrying 298 people was shot down outside Donetsk, near the Russian border, with the loss of all on board.

Suspicion fell on pro-Russian separatists but also Moscow amid claims it supplied the missile. ●

An Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. Simmering tensions between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza exploded into violence in July as Palestinians fired hundreds of rockets into southern Israel. The Israeli government in turn carried out a series of devastating air strikes and a ground invasion in the Strip.

2

5

AMERICA

“We are all

EUROPEAN UNION

Renzi challenges Germany Launching Italy’s six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) in July, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi stepped up a campaign for the relaxation of European austerity policies. In the process, he accused Germany of blocking efforts to stimulate regional growth and putting the interests of financiers above citizens. Renzi called for more flexibility in interpreting budget rules and less emphasis on debt and deficit targets. The proposal prompted a public dispute with Jens Weidmann, the president of the German central bank, who says Italy must first reform its own economy.

Renzi also plans to put pressure on EU countries to take responsibility for rescuing migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Africa. Italy’s navy and coast guard have had difficulty coping with the influx of immigrants, and in late May interior minister Angelino Alfano said: “Europe will not see an Italy banging its fist on the table, but an Italy that overturns the table.” About two thirds of those who are rescued move on quickly to other EU countries, but member states have offered Italy little help. ●

MARK GARTEN/UN

14

Americans – north and south – in this hemisphere”

THE AFRICA REPORT

Nancy Pelosi, the US House Minority Leader, spoke from a border patrol station in Texas about the influx of unaccompanied children illegally crossing the border from Mexico and Central America.

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Connectivity without borders Africa’s super-fast fibre network

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Building Africa’s digital future www.liquidtelecom.com

BRIEFING | INTERNATIONAL

AFRICAN ANGLES 6

COLOMBIA

Rebel talks resume Colombia’s government resumed peace talks with leftist Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) rebels on 15 July.

The meetings in Havana were the first since the re-election of President Juan Manuel Santos, who vowed during his campaign to bring peace to the country after five decades of civil war. The conflict has killed more than 200,000 people and forced millions more from their homes. Santos started talks with the FARC in late 2012, and in June revealed preliminary talks with a smaller rebel group, the Ejército de Liberación Nacional. ●

7

IRAQ

Iraqi insurgents stole around 40kg of nuclear research materials in early July, just days after a man claiming to be the leader of the Sunni paramilitary group ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, said the group named him caliph of a new fundamentalist state. Videos posted online purport to show him delivering sermons in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

8

CHINA

Two systems, one protest Hundreds of thousands of prodemocracy protesters marched in Hong Kong on 1 July, many calling for the city’s leader to step down.

Police arrested five organisers of the rally, as well as 511 protesters who camped overnight in Hong Kong’s main business district.

A pro-democracy coalition, Occupy Central, called for protesters to paralyse the city’s business centre later this year if voters are not given a means of nominating candidates for the city’s top post. The government has yet to announce how it will implement Beijing’s promises of a citywide vote in 2017. ●

9

NTARYIKE DIVINE JR

Journalist

No sorrow for Sarko

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

16

Schadenfreude sweeps a Cameroonian village as French police question Sarkozy

J

uly found me in my father’s village, Taku, a far-flung and vastly depopulated locality among the highlands of Cameroon’s English-speaking North West Region, roughly 600km away from the capital, Yaoundé. After returning from covering Cameroon’s disgraceful seventh FIFA World Cup appearance in Brazil, I was keen to escape the frenetic activity of the largest city, Douala, and to visit my father in his tranquil village home.

Settling down to watch the France and Germany quarter-final match with my father, I was joined by a few of his pals, sipping palm wine and chewing kola nuts. As the final whistle sounded and France’s World Cup hopes dashed with a 1-0 defeat I was startled by the fanfare around me as my dad and his pals cheered on the Germans.

“They [the French] are responsible for each and every one of our woes, my son,” said my father’s eldest brother. “Our colonisation by those egocentric and arrogant tyrants was a severe mistake that will carry on for generations yet to come,” added my father. “I hope that what I’m hearing in the news about [former President Nicolas] Sarkozy is true. And my prayer is that, this time around, he be nailed for good.”

on France and French-speaking compatriots can hit fever-pitch.

Anglophones claim they are second-class citizens and are systematically denied key government jobs – including the presidency – a policy endorsed by a series of inhabitants of the Elysée Palace, who continue to prop up a host of dictators, who in turn keep their countries in strangleholds.

To many here, the French former president sticks out as the epitome of French hypocrisy and doubledealing. “Remember Dakar 2007?” asked my father, recalling Sarkozy’s infamous speech in which he depicted Africans as idiotic prisoners of their own culture. Understandably, news of Sarkozy’s 1 July detention and ongoing grilling over influencepeddling and corruption, increasingly referred to here as ‘Sarkogate’, was received as tidings of great joy – at least by the likes of my father and his village peers.

Many say it is payback time for a man who allegedly obtained illegal campaign funds from Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, only to then turn around and label Africans “primitive”.

Uncle Elijah thundered: “No matter whether the probe is politically motivated by French judges hoping to foil his planned comeback in 2017 Anti-French sentiment remains or a genuine attempt to punish strong among the majority of wrongdoing, all we’re asking is that Cameroonians from the Englishthey – whether it be it [President speaking northern and southFrançois] Hollande, [Marine] Le Pen western regions. Half a century after or Sarkozy – stop draining our independence and the reunification resources, meddling in our affairs of the former British West and French and dictating the pace of our East Cameroons, hostility heaped existence. Enough is enough!” ● THE AFRICA REPORT

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BRIEFING

18

PEOPLE

SPOTLIGHT

John Mututho The activities of Kenya’s chief prohibitionist have cast a pall over drinking culture in Kenya, driving the middle classes to underground and devious means of enjoying a friendly beer FIVE YEARS AGO, a fairly innocuoussounding bill aimed at regulating the production and distribution of alcohol arrived in parliament to the sonorous sounds of members drunk on their own self-regard. Just a bill to save the sinners, the moral majority agreed.

It was certainly not something for nice middle-class people to worry about.

This, as it turned out, was a grave mistake. The Alcohol Drinks Control Act marked the dawn of what many

Kenyans have come to regard as the ‘Age of Prohibition’. Its architect was a teetotaler by the name of John Mututho.

Few knew his origins. He won a seat for Naivasha in parliament in 2007.

He was soon in trouble on an old corruption charge, perhaps a backlash against his views. The case is ongoing.

When Mututho got going, the drinking landscape would never be the same again. The ‘Mututho

Laws’, as the act and subsequent laws are known, limited sales of alcohol, bar and nightclub hours and how and where alcohol could be consumed. In a country where so much is honoured in the breach, it is a testament to the dedication of this crusader that the Mututho Laws are perhaps the most effectively implemented ones in the land.

It was something of a national drinkers’ day of celebratory rage when news emerged in March 2013 that Mututho had been walloped at the polls. The joy was short lived because President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him to the helm of the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA).

Mututho has not appreciably turned the nation’s palette against drink, but drinking is now mostly underground.

This was affirmed most recently when a bad batch of chang’aa – a drink 1957 Mututho (left, wondering what to do with confiscated bottles) is born in Naivasha 2007 Elected to a seat in parliament representing Naivasha 2010 The Alcoholic Drinks Control Act enters into force

BILLY MUTAI/NATION MEDIA GROUP

November 2013 Appointed chairman of the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse

STEEN JAKOBSEN

“If you lose investment grade, you’re done” The chief economist of Saxo Bank on Standard & Poor’s 13 June ratings downgrade of South Africa to one step above junk status

TEODORO OBIANG NGUEMA

“Africa has for more than 50 years of independence submitted to a neocolonial system which perpetuates the old colonial one” Equatorial Guinea’s president opened the African Union summit in Malabo with a call for change THE AFRICA REPORT

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Parselelo Kantai in Nairobi

ANDRÉ NZAPAYEKÉ

“We negotiate with them for weeks, we understand each other, and two days later another person appears and goes on a foreign radio station to say he does not agree” CAR’s prime minister on peace talks with anti-Balaka forces THE AFRICA REPORT

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During the opening week of the United Nations General Assembly, join The Africa-America Institute for a spectacular evening to celebrate African achievement at its 30th Annual Awards Gala on Monday, September 22 at Gotham Hall in New York City.

Hosted by CNN International anchor Isha Sesay, this year’s Awards Gala honorees are General Electric,

AAI 2014 Corporate Responsibility Award; Vivienne Yeda Apopo, Director-General of the East African Development Bank, AAI 2014 Business Leader Award; and Professor Thandika Mkandawire, Chair of African Development at the London School of Economics, AAI 2014 Distinguished Alumnus Award.

(Honorees still in formation.)

To reserve your tickets, please visit www.aaionline.org.

DIFCOM/FC

whose name means ‘kill me quick’ – killed more than 60 people in May. What he has done at NACADA, however, is further crusade against the middle-class penchant to drink and drive their bright new cars.

These days, in Nairobi, Mombasa and other cities, the bogeyman of the late-night drink-driver is a thing called Alcoblow, a machine operated by a battery of multi-agency law enforcers.

The unwary tippler will be surrounded by men in luminous jackets leaning into his open car window and politely interrogating the quality of his breath. Satisfied that he has ‘taken something’, they then oblige him to blow into the Alcoblow.

If he is lucky, there will be no TV cameras to display his embarrassment before the nation. He will be bundled into a cell – urine-scented and resounding with emergency phone calls to friends, themselves in the bar from whence he came. Then there is a fine. Depending on the mood of the magistrate, it ranges from $250 to $700.

Nairobi’s social life has moved into private homes. There is talk of the return of fascism. People shake their heads in anticipation of East African Breweries’ next annual report.

Mututho had not banked on the middle classes, their deep sense of entitlement and a strongly held culture of bar-room impunity.

Soon after Alcoblow came into being a Twitter collective emerged warning drivers where the checkpoints were.

For the less tech-inclined, taxi-drivers will take you past the checkpoint then hand you back your car, taking a bodaboda back to the bar.

A story appeared recently that Mututho was abusing his expense accounts. It made front page news.

The nation awaits with a sharp intake of (beery) breath. ●

BRIEFING

CALENDAR

AUGUST

WASHINGTON DC | US A week-long programme complementing the White House’s US-Africa Leaders Summit, organised by the the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA). africacncl.org

WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP 1-17 August PARIS | FRANCE Africa pins its hopes on the 26-member South African squad. rwcwomens.com

US-AFRICA LEADERS SUMMIT 5-6 August WASHINGTON DC | US See page 36. whitehouse.gov

AFRICA MEDIA & DEMOCRACY CONFERENCE 6-9 August ACCRA | GHANA The biennial conference brings together academics, journalists, policy-makers and donors. amdmc.net MONTH

AFRICA FASHION WEEK LONDON 7-9 August LONDON | UK Emerging talents in the fashion galaxy. africafashion weeklondon.com

ESKINDER DEBEBE/UN

LEADING THE WAY IN US-AFRICA INVESTMENT 31 July – 7 August

69TH SESSION OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY OPENS 16 September NEW YORK | US The 2014-15 session of the UN general assembly (UNGA) will open amid controversy after the election of Uganda’s foreign minister, Sam Kutesa, as its president on 11 June.

Kutesa (above right, being congratulated by outgoing president John Ashe) was elected unanimously in the year in which it was Africa’s turn to fill the post, but sparked a 9,000-signature online petition and calls from a US senator to block his appointment on account of his role in enacting Uganda’s harsh new anti-gay law. The law, passed in February, allows for sentences of life imprisonment to punish some homosexual acts.

A shadow also hangs over Kutesa after corruption allegations in Uganda. This session will be a crucial one for the UNGA as the Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015.

AFRICAN WORLD FESTIVAL 15-17 August

FORUM BRAZIL-AFRICA 28-29 August

MICHIGAN | US This pan-African arts and food festival in the grounds of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History attracted some 150,000 people last year. thewright.org

FORTALEZA | BRAZIL forumbrazilafrica.com

TORONTO AFRICAN FILM & MUSIC FESTIVAL 26-31 August TORONTO | CANADA torontoafricanfilmmusicfest.com MONTH

AFWL

20

AFRICA-SINGAPORE BUSINESS FORUM 27-28 August SINGAPORE See page 76. www.asbf.sg

IPAD OIL & GAS 10-11 September KINSHASA | DRC The new frontier in DRC’s extractive industries. ipad-oilgas.com

SEPTEMBER

NIGERIA COM 16-17 September LAGOS | NIGERIA nigeria.comworldseries.com

AFRICAN GREEN REVOLUTION FORUM 1-4 September

NAIROBI INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR 24-28 September

ADDIS ABABA | ETHIOPIA agrforum.com

NAIROBI | KENYA kenyapublishers.org

EAST AFRICAN POWER INDUSTRY CONVENTION 2-4 September

PRIVATE EQUITY MAURITIUS 25-26 September

NAIROBI | KENYA eapicforum.com

MAURITIUS www.private-equity.mu

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Experience the Progress.

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BUILDING RESILIENT CITIES OCTOBER 7-9, 2014 | WASHINGTON, DC

OLIVIER FOR JA

COUNTRY FOCUS Côte d’Ivoire

Infrastructure is one way to build a bridge over troubled water

Turning point The figures for economic growth are putting some swagger in Côte d’Ivoire’s stride, but business leaders and oppositionists say the hard work has not even begun. Big infrastructure projects are underway all over the country, although local companies are struggling to access credit

By Olivier Monnier in Abidjan

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I

t appears like an mirage: on the way outofYamoussoukro,anewlymarked and asphalted road dives into the valleys of Côte d’Ivoire’s countryside, which the season’s rains have covered with a shimmering green. For a few months now, the long-awaited highway linking the Ivorian capital to Abidjan, the country’s biggest city and economic powerhouse, delivers the same message to its visitors: Côte d’Ivoire is back.

Three years after President Alassane Ouattara was sworn into office following adisputed2010electionthatturned ● ● ●

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COUNTRY FOCUS | CÔTE D’IVOIRE

MALI

GUINEA LIBERIA

● ● ● into five months of violence, Côte d’Ivoire’s economy is humming. After contracting about 5% in 2011 because of the post-election crisis, the Ivorian economy grew 9.8% in 2012 and 8.7% in 2013. The government says it expects 10% growth in 2014 and 2015. International rating agencies say the potential for political instability ahead of the 2015 elections, coupled with weak institutions, could present a threat to growth.

Aside from the highway – the West African country’s first toll road – infrastructure projects have been multiplying. A third bridge spanning Abidjan’s Ebrié Lagoon is to be completed by the end of the year. A large number of roads have been rehabilitated in Abidjan and in the rest of the country, for instance in Bouaké, the country’s second-largest city (see page 58), and on the Abidjan-San Pédro coastal route.

BURKINA FASO

CÔTE D'IVOIRE Bouaké GHANA

YAMOUSSOUKRO Abidjan Gulf of Guinea

200 km

CÔTE D’IVOIRE IN NUMBERS POPULATION

19.84 million

LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH ADULT LITERACY

50 57% (2011)

GDP (current US$)

$24.68bn

INFLATION, CONSUMER PRICES (annual %) TOTAL RESERVES (includes gold, current US$) ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY (% of population)

9.5%

2.6% (2013)

$3.93bn

59.3% (2011)

INTERNET USERS (per 100 people)

2.4

MOBILE PHONE SUBSCRIPTIONS (per 100 people)

91

SOURCE: WORLD BANK 2012

GDP GROWTH (annual %)

Total imports, exports and trade balance TRADE BALANCE Exports Imports Trade balance

1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

ENERGY Côte d’Ivoire primary energy consumption (2012) Oil

40%

16%

44%

Electricity (renewable)

Natural gas

SOURCE: UN COMTRADE

12 10 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8

Sweet smell of success: Nestlé Côte d’Ivoire is back in profit after investing more than 10bn CFA francs to get its chocolate and coffee plants running again

THE BANK IS BACK

SOURCE: FAO; IRSG; ECOBANK RESEARCH

56

The return to Abidjan later this year of the African Development Bank, which relocated to Tunis in 2003 after a failed coup split Côte d’Ivoire into a rebel-held north and a government-controlled south, also boosted investments in infrastructure. The Ivorian authorities spent 33bn CFA francs ($68m) to renovate a 28-floor building in Le Plateau, Abidjan’s central business district.

Raising money is crucial to the government’s plans. It issued a $750m eurobond in July, and Moody’s awarded the government a rating of B1 – the same as Senegal and Kenya – in preparation for the bond’s launch. This will be the first time Côte d’Ivoire goes to the international market since it defaulted on a $2.3bn eurobond in 2010 amid the political stand-off.

Local fundraising conditions have weakened since the beginning of the year. After most of its issues were oversubscribed on the West African regional market, the government sold bonds of just 61bn CFA francs after seeking 120bn CFA francs in May. The benefits of economic growth are not widely shared. Christoph Wille, Africa analyst at risk analysis group Control Risks, tells The Africa Report: “The challenge for the government will be to make this growth more inclusive and pro-poor.

Unemploymentrates,particularlyamong the low-income segments of the population, remain extremely high.”

Some improvements have been made though. The minimum guaranteed price

forcocoasetbythegovernmenttwoyears ago as part of a vast reform of the industry isrespectedonthegroundandroseto750 CFA francs per kilo this season, up from an average of 670 CFA francs before the reform. The government expects record production of 1.6m tonnes this year.

Although the growth is still mostly driven by public investment, the share of foreign investment is growing. Annual private investment in the Ivorian economy doubled in 2013 to 513bn CFA francs, the government says. According to Maja Bovcon, a West Africa analyst at risk consultancy Maplecroft: “The adoption of the new investment code in 2012 has attracted private investment by providing several incentives, including tax reductions and targeted exemptions from value-added taxes, for private investors.”

Companies are also getting more confident in the stability of the country. For example, chocolate and coffee maker Nestlé’s unit in Côte d’Ivoire has invested more than 10bn CFA francs over the past two years to recover from the war.

Like many businesses, Nestlé closed its production sites and sales offices during the post-election violence. Aftertwo years of losses, Nestlé Côte d’Ivoire returned to profit in 2013.

“We are recovering from this chapter of Côte d’Ivoire’s history,” country director

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the ruling coalition. The PDCI has not said if it will present a candidate or support Ouattara in 2015.

After three years of electoral boycotts, the Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) is back inthegame.TheIvorianauthoritiesmade it clear they want to see the FPI participate so as to appear more democratic. The governmenthasauthorisedFPImeetings, and since August 2013 the justice system has released more than 150 allies of ex-President Laurent Gbagbo, including FPI president Pascal Affi N’Guessan. Despite these measures, the FPI has called for a boycott of the long-overdue population census, reviving identity issues and suggesting that reconciliation still has a long way to go.

NESTLE

TRUST SLOW TO BUILD

Patricio Astolfi told The Africa Report.

“We are putting the company back on track. I’m extremely confident.”

Larger multinationals are having an easier time than smaller local companies.

“Weareseeingabigshortcomingincredit in the Ivorian market. Banks rarely loan to companies. Interest rates – which vary from 7 to 12% – are not encouraging for business,” says Kader Toure, the director of a small telecoms business.

Governance issues are dissuading manyinvestors,sayanalystsandeconomists. “Huge operational hurdles persist, presenting major barriers to business,” says Control Risks’ Wille, citing “a burdensome bureaucracy, institutional deficiencies and high levels of corruption”.

FISCAL PRESSURE

The authorities say they are working to improve the business climate. The government has set up commercial courts, and trade minister Jean-Louis Billon has revived the competition commission.

Wille says, nonetheless, that “discussions with government officials are highly personalised, and political interference continues to be regularly reported.”

Lakoun Ouattara, an Abidjan-based businessman, explains: “There is a lot that remains to be done about the heavy fiscalpressurethatcompaniesface.There THE AFRICA REPORT

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The Commission Dialogue Vérité et Réconciliation, which has been renewed for one year, started hearings for victims of the nearly decade-long political crisis in March, two years after being set up. The body has not convinced Ivorians that it will bring about reconciliation in society.

A military source who requested anonymity explains: “Ouattara still does not trust the former members of the defence and security forces who are pro-Gbagbo.

He prefers to rely on the former commandants de zone [comzones, or ‘zone commanders’] of the rebellion that were all integrated into the new army. The protection of Ouattara’s regime depends on the comzones and the men who surround them. They hold strategic positions in the army and in the administration to

are high customs costs and delays in importing goods. The government’s acceptance of ad hoc bidding leads to unfair competition and causes corruption.”

The government says it has reduced ad hoc contracts and waiting time.

The security situation has improved, especially in Abidjan and Bouaké, but the west of the country remains unstable amid land disputes, ethnic tension and attacksneartheLiberianborder. Since January, at least Ouattara relies on the former two raids killing about 20 comzones of the rebellion people were reported.

“The security situation to protect his regime in Côte d’Ivoire is primarily better protect the regime. The former undermined by the incomplete disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration combatants around the comzones are still programme and the delayed implementarmed. Ouattara has the same problem ation of the security sector reform,” notes in the RDR, where the absence of leadMaplecroft’s Bovcon. ers and a replacement stop him from The political challenges are also nustepping down.”

With growth roaring into 2015, Presidmerous. A year ahead of the next present Ouattara’s skills will be tested by the idential election scheduled for October 2015, 72-year-old Ouattara, leader of the demands of an economy that requires Rassemblement des Républicains (RDR), deeper reforms. On the political front, he has said he will seek re-election despite will try to control the political forces that the illness that kept him away from inbrought him to power and deal with the ternational summits in April. Ouattara’s oppositionists wary of a political system supporters in the RDR could try to win that does not encourage reconciliation without the Parti Démocratique de Côte or the impartial application of justice. ● d’Ivoire (PDCI), which supported OuatWith additional reporting from tara in the run-off in 2010 and is part of Baudelaire Mieu in Abidjan

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Côte d’Ivoire’s cotton production has doubled since 2009/10 and prices have risen

BOUAKÉ

Awaiting the great revival Devastated by 10 years of rebellion in which 60% of jobs were lost, the former industrial hub is restoring its infrastructure and trying to attract investment

B

ouaké, Côte d’Ivoire’s secondlargest city, is getting back on its feet after almost a decade of rule by the Forces Nouvelles rebels. Security has improved and rehabilitation works have begun. But economic recovery has been slower in this former industrial hub in the centre of the country.

In Bouaké, Jacques N’Goran is a happy taxman. Over the past three years, the tax revenues his department has collected have grown sixfold. “We’ve been raising a lot of public awareness,” says N’Goran, regional director for Bouaké’s tax administration. “We’re trying to make people pay taxes again.”

In Bouaké, a city ruled by rebels for nearly a decade after the attempted coup of 2002, this means a lot. “Things are getting back to normal,” N’Goran says, recalling the change since 2007, when government officials started to move back to Bouaké following the Ouagadougou Agreement between the Forces Nouvelles and the government of President Laurent Gbagbo. “At that time, we had no revenue target. People had many other concerns to deal with,” he explains.

In 2013, Bouaké’s regional tax office collected about 4bn CFA francs

($8.2m), a recovery rate of only 40%.

“For the large taxpayers like big companies, there is no problem. It is more complicated for individuals and small companies,” N’Goran says. When the political crisis divided the country, formal employment dropped and informal opportunities grew. “We keep raising awareness, but this year we’re also starting to threaten people who are still not paying.” N’Goran targets a recovery rate of 80% in two years.

Upon his inauguration in April 2013, the mayor, Nicolas Djibo – who ran as an independent against President Alassane Ouattara’s ally Ibrahima Fanny – said Bouaké's regional tax office aims to increase its tax take from 40% in 2013 to 80% in 2015

40%

80%

the city’s treasury was empty and his administration would focus on rehabilitating the city, which had a population of one and a half million people before the crisis. The municipal authorities are now struggling to raise revenue. Djibo says that Bouaké’s municipal budget has been 2bn CFA francs ($4.1m) over the past few years, down from 3.5bn CFA francs during the period of 1995 to 2000.

RISING FROM THE ASHES

The city is not the only source of finance; the central government is financing projects too. The newly asphalted roads in Bouaké suggest the city is in full revival.

“Bouaké is rising from the ashes,” says a source based there who requested anonymity. “Under the rebels, there has been no development progress, there was no administration and the roads had completely deteriorated.”

The state only took control of Bouaké after the 2010-2011 post-election crisis.

In 2010, President Gbagbo’s refusal to acknowledge defeat in a presidential vote sparked five months of turmoil that killed at least 3,000 people. The Forces Nouvelles, who had made Bouaké their base, stood by Ouattara and descended to Abidjan, the economic capital. The authorities arrested Gbagbo in April 2011 after 10 days of fighting and he is now detained at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. ● ● ●

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COUNTRY FOCUS | CÔTE D’IVOIRE

●●● Rehabilitation projects in Bouaké started late last year, ahead of the first official visit of President Ouattara in November. Roads have been renovated in the city centre, and works are still ongoing on some other key routes in the city. The next major infrastructure project that will affect it is the highway being studied by the government to link the capital, Yamoussoukro, to Bouaké.

It should facilitate trade between Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.

Some buildings are also being rehabilitated. Nouho Djande, sub-prefect of Bouaké, says: “Bouaké is returning to its state prior to the war.” All the government services are now back and operational in Bouaké, ensures Djande.

The World Bank has backed projects to improve electricity and water provision in the city. The Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest plans to set up an office there.

SILENCE OF THE LOOMS

Companies have been slower to return.

Before the conflict, Bouaké was Côte d’Ivoire’s second-largest industrial hub and was the home to textile companies and agribusinesses. Nearly 10 years of rebellion dealt a serious blow to Bouaké’s economy. Many companies shut down or relocated to Abidjan, which resulted in the loss of 60% of employment in the formal sector, according to documents from the local chamber of commerce.

Founded in the 1920s, Etablissements Robert Gonfreville is one of Bouaké’s troubled textile firms, its 2002 workforce of 1,500 full-time employees reduced

to 550,000tn, up from from 480,000tn in 2013. The government’s new policy of guaranteeing minimum prices seems to be encouraging more growth.

There have been similar results in the cotton sector. The CCA announced in July that cotton production reached 404,000tn in the 2013/2014 season, doubling that of the 2009/2010 season.

Higher international cotton prices have also attracted more activity to the sector.

to only 300. Officials point to outdated equipment and logistical problems in getting raw materials.

On the other hand, Singapore-based Olam opened a cashew-processing factory in Bouaké in 2012, some banks have opened new branches, and supermarkets have restarted their operations.

Olam says its plant can treat 30,000tn of cashews per year and accounts for 2,400 jobs. “The industrial sector is totally devastated,” says a local businessman, who suggests “the government should set up a specific fund to help Bouaké restore its industries.” Sub-prefect Djande says he agrees and is optimistic: “More and more investors are coming to Bouaké.”

Bouaké is a crossroads between the country’s north and south. Cotton and cashews are the major cash crops in the north, and new reforms are helping improve production levels. The government’s Conseil du Coton et de l’Anacarde (CCA), set up about a year ago, announced in June that cashew production had broken records this year rising

DEMOBILISATION PROBLEMS

Security has largely improved during the past two years, inhabitants say. In the aftermath of the 2010-2011 crisis, banditry surged as many former fighters and militia members – armed and jobless – returned to the city. Melissa, a 30-year-old midwifery student, says: “The situation is quite a lot better now, things have really improved in the past two years. The police and the gendarmerie are back in the streets.” The security forces have been deployed and given the means to fight insecurity, affirms Djande.

The fate of the ex-fighters remains a major problem. Côte d’Ivoire has an estimated 70,000 ex-fighters from all sides of the crisis, and many of them live in Bouaké. According to Ibrahima Diarrassouba, president of an association of demobilised fighters, more than half of them have not been reintegrated yet. “Morale is low” among the former combatants, Diarrassouba reckons. In April 2013, hundreds of fighters took to the streets of Bouaké to protest about the slow pace of the demobilisation and reintegration process. In June of this year, the Autorité pour le Désarmement, la Démobilisation et la Réintégration reported that more than 300 former combatants were undergoing training in Bouaké to help them to find jobs.

The government integrated a few thousand combatants into its administration, including the customs, forestry and fire services. Still others received money to set up their own businesses, but they say they did not receive enough. “The reintegration programme has failed,” says a former fighter who asked for anonymity. “The system is slow and corrupt. Many ex-fighters feel abandoned by the authorities.” ●

Formal sector employment in Bouaké tumbled 60% during the rebellion

60%

ÉMILIE RÉGNIER FOR JA

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Olivier Monnier in Bouaké Textile production at Etablissements Gonfreville has dropped drastically since 2002

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INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATION C O N F E R E N C E

COUNTRY FOCUS | CÔTE D’IVOIRE

PEOPLE TO WATCH

Boycotters, bankers and footballers Politicians are getting ready for elections in 2015, while businessmen, financiers and sportsmen plot out their futures

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ABIDJAN.NET

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ident Macky Sall. She joined the African lender last year. About 1,400 AfDB staff members will return to Abidjan before the end of the year.

Another person who’s returning to a area he knows well is Georges Angama, who has imposed himself as a key figure in Côte d’Ivoire’s hotel sector. A former director of Yamoussoukro’s Hôtel Président,hefoundedhisowncompany,Heden Hôtels & Resorts. In May, the government awarded his company the management of Abidjan’s four-star Golf Hôtel.

Angama is said to be very close to the ruling elite. He was director of the Golf Hotel when Ouattara was stuck there for a few months during the 2010-2011 post-election crisis. Despite the pressure from former President Laurent Gbagbo’s government, he refused to kick Ouattara out. Heden manages five other hotels in Côte d’Ivoire and plans to acquire about 30 others in the next five years.

GOLDEN BALLS

2

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

iththeFrontPopulaireIvoirien (FPI) back in the political game, Pascal Affi N’Guessan is the main face of the former ruling party. Jailed in 2011 in the aftermath of the post-election crisis, N’Guessan was released in August 2013 and returned to his position as FPI president. A moderate, N’Guessan would like to be a presidential candidate in the next elections planned for 2015 and for the party to drop its electoral boycott.

“We cannot eternally subscribe to the boycott. The party needs to move on, with or without Gbagbo,” N’Guessan said recently. The head of the FPI has to deal with the extreme wing of the party – the Gbagbo-or-nobody camp – and does not have much room for manoeuvre to impose his vision for the party.

President Alassane Ouattara has already said he will seek re-election next year. It is still unclear whether Henri Konan Bédié’s Parti Démocratique de Côte d’Ivoire, a party currently in an alliance with Ouattara and the Rassemblement des Républicains, will present a candidate or support the president in the first round of the 2015 polls.

The youngest member of Ouattara’s cabinet is 32-year-old budget minister Abdourahmane Cissé (1). A former Goldman Sachs trader educated at France’s Ecole Polytechnique, he returned toCôted’Ivoirein2012asapublicfinance adviser to President Ouattara. He joined the finance ministry as cabinet director for minister Nialé Kaba at the beginning of 2013 and was named budget minister in November. Cissé is known for his skills and his seriousness, but he is said to lack experience in the political game.

TheAfricanDevelopmentBank(AfDB) returns to Abidjan this year after a decade in Tunis, where it was relocated following 2002’s failed coup. In charge of the move is Aminata Niane (2), 57, a former special adviser to Senegal’s Pres-

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KALPESH LATHIGRA FOR JA

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It is unclear where Didier Drogba (3) will play next season, but the Ivorian football superstar has already prepared his retirement. The former Chelsea striker has invested in the gold mining industry and earlier this year bought a 5% stake in the Société des Mines d’Ity, a company with a gold mine located in the west of the country. This year, Drogba launched his own brand of underwear, Drogba & Co. by HOM, in partnership with Marseille-based Hom. His foundation also announced last year that it will invest as much as $3.8m to build five health centres in the country.

Jean Kacou Diagou, head of the insurance company NSIA, will end his term as president of the Conféderation Générale des Entreprises de Côte d’Ivoire later this year. His first vice-president Alain Kouadio, who is director of real estate company Kaydan, and Désiré Bilé are set to run against each other to succeed Diagou at the Ivorian employers’ association. Bilé is the president of the Fédération Nationale des Industries et Services and lost his post at the CGECI in October 2013 after opposing the prolongation of Diagou’s mandate. The winner of the election will aim to improve the management of the association after Diagou’s controversial tenure. ●

THE AFRICA REPORT

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Total’s discovery at Saphir-1XB raises hopes of other lucrative deposits in the area

EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES

Production drops as expectations rise A new discovery in the country’s western waters could be key to the government’s plans to raise oil production rapidly by 2019

A

midst precipitous drops in oil production, the Ivorian government is promising a revolution in activity to raise the sector’s output almost tenfold over the next five years.

In May, the government announced that production for 2013 had dropped to 9.1m barrels, a rate of about 25,000 barrels per day (bpd). However, in January, Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan spoke of Côte d’Ivoire’s plans to raise oil output to 200,000 bpd by 2019.

That lofty goal, if attained, could provide the country with significant new foreign exchange receipts, government revenue and boost the domestic supply of energy with associated gas. The country’s diminishing output comes from the Espoir and Baobab fields, located eastward, but Total made a discovery in April at its CI-514 Saphir-1XB well, the first such discovery in Côte d’Ivoire’s San Pedro Basin to the west.

Together with discoveries in Sierra Leone and Liberia since 2009, Saphir1XB suggests that there could be large exploitable reserves elsewhere in Ivorian waters. Public officials tend to be cautious when discussing oil exploration prospects. Speaking soon after the CI-514 discovery, cabinet director at the petroleum and energy ministry Ndry Koffi said it “seems

an important discovery, but we must wait for the [full] evaluation before we can say whether it will have a significant impact.”

NATURAL DEPLETION

In the months sinceDuncan’s announcement, the news has been mixed. The oil sector’s long-term potential seems to be sound, but the short term continues to disappoint. Figures from the petroleum and energy ministry put oil production in the first quarter of 2014 at around 40.85% lower than the same period last year.

According to an official from the non-governmental organisation Publish What You Pay who requested anonymity: “This is not a new phenomenon. We had the same problems in 2007 and 2009, [however] at that time management was less transparent, so figures were doubted.

40 %

First quarter oil production in 2014 in Côte d’Ivoire was 40% down compared to the same period last year

Now civil society is involved, and public statements can be fact-checked.” There was a lack of transparency about the industry in 2006 when production reached a height of 60,000bpd.

The ministry has attributed this unwelcome reduction to the natural depletion of Côte d’Ivoire’s main productive oil fields. In response, it has mapped out plans to invest in the Espoir and Baobab oil fields by 2017, as well as seeking to draw in more exploration activity from independent oil companies.

Production is also expected to get underway at the CI-27 (Marlin, Manta), CI-202 (Gazelle) and CI-525 (Kudu) oil blocks in the near future, and additional drilling at the CI-24 and CI-26 oil fields is also on the agenda. Production could also rise after companies evaluate their recent discoveries on the CI-100, CI-401, CI-103 and CI-514 oil blocks.

Rather than putting all of its hope in the hydrocarbon market, the government is seeking to draw investment into mining. To that effect, it has been awarding exploration permits apace since 2011 and the national assembly approved a new mining code in February 2014.

The aim has been to provide regulatory clarity and stability, thereby improving governance while incentivising exploration and production activity.

Among the new mining code’s innovations is the requirement for companies to create a rehabilitation fund to reduce the sector’s environmental impact and the imposition of an eight-year limit on exploration licences. ● Nana Ampofo

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OLIVIER FOR JA

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CÔTE D’IVOIRE | COUNTRY FOCUS

BANKING

A cautious year leaves SGBCI struggling Côte d’Ivoire’s largest bank has attributed its fall in revenue to prudence over sub-prime loans, but it must square up to the advancing competition

O

n 21 May, the lobby at the headquartersofSociété Générale de Banques en Côte d’Ivoire (SGBCI) was transformed into an entertainment arena to celebrate the 150th anniversary of its French parent company, Société Générale. The festivities were somewhat dulled, however, by SGBCI’s decline in net income in 2013.

Alexandre Maymat, head of the Africa/ Asia/Mediterranean Basin & Overseas region, had arrived from Paris to give a boost to morale.

The annual general meeting held five days later approved the balance sheet for the previous year. SGBCI, Côte d’Ivoire’s largest bank (with 40% of the country’s civil servants on its books), saw revenue plummet by 44% in 2013, to stand at 13bn CFA francs ($27m). Around the same time, Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l’Industrie de la Côte d’Ivoire (BICICI), the subsidiary of another French group, BNP Paribas, saw its net profits skyrocket by 77% to 9bn CFA francs.

Monetary Union regulator advised the banktocoveritsoperationalrisks,relating in particular to potentially unproductive business loans. SGBCI has therefore made provision for 11.4bn CFA francs in the books of the Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, compared to only 18m CFA francs in 2012.

Even if SGBCI attributes the decline in profits to operational risks, it has lost ground to competitors such as Ecobank. In personal and commerical loans, which SGBCI had dominated up to that point, it was overtaken last year by the local subsidiary of the panAfrican group. Ecobank granted loans worth 436bn CFA francs, almost 10bn more than SGBCI. SGBCI also suffered some social upheavals in the second half of 2013, SGBCI saw its revenues plunge 44 % in 2013

%

44

BLIP ON THE BOURSE

The drop in SGBCI’s net profits even sent a wave of panic through the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) in Abidjan, causing share prices to fall between the end of May and early June.

However, the market quickly recovered, with shares reaching 73,000 CFA francs on 18 June. “This loss is not of major concern to us, considering the stable growth in net banking income from 59.9bn to 60.7bn CFA francs between 2012 and 2013,” said a source close to the bank’s management. Total assets have also progressed – from a little over 8% to 865.4bn CFA francs in 2013. “The decline in earnings is a result of the prudent approach we adopted to fully fund potential risks identified by the banking commission,” said an internal source.

After an audit in the second half of 2013, the West African Economic and

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BRANCH ROLL-OUT

Caught up in conflict resolution and management restructuring, the group’s developmentprogrammeinCôted’Ivoire stalled. In 2013, only 3.7bn CFA francs of the 7.6bn budgeted were allocated to it. The bank has said that the opening of new branches will resume, taking the number from the current 67 to 80 by the end of 2015, and that business and personal loans will recommence. The bank is putting together a 75bn CFA franc loan for the Société Ivoirien de Raffinage to enable the state-owned company to secure its supply of crude oil.

But in a market as competitive as Côte d’Ivoire these good intentions are not necessarily a guarantee for success. And Ecobank and BNP Paribas, as well as Bank of Africa, Banque Atlantique and Attijariwafa Bank, are among the challengers who don’t intend to lag behind. ● Baudelaire Mieu in Abidjan First published in Jeune Afrique

NABIL ZORKOT

SGBCI plans to ramp up its development programme to recover lost ground in 2014

which disrupted its operations. Hubert de Saint-Jean, who was appointed to head the bank in September, had to put in place a new management team to help it regain momentum. He recruited two deputy general managers: Harold Coffi, formerly of BIAO Côte d’Ivoire, and Bassirou Diagne, of Société Générale de Banques au Sénégal.

To appease employees, management approved some salary increases, bringing the bank’s operating ratio to 61% against 54% previously (the average for the sector is around 70%).

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ADVERTORIAL

International Cashew

2014

Processing Equipment & Technology Show

Interview with

nut producer, accounting for 26% of global production, and Africa’s biggest producer with 48%.

Malamine SANOGO

Only 25,000 of the more than 500,000 tonnes Côte d’Ivoire produced in 2013 were processed: that’s just 5% of the total. The lack of industrial facilities deprives Côte d’Ivoire of added value and reduces job creation opportunities.

Managing Director, Conseil du Coton et de l’Anacarde

This situation is due to several factors, especially the fact that economic operators, despite their desire to invest in this potentially profitable sector, are insufficiently aware of cashew processing technologies and equipment.

■ What does SIETTA mean to you?

Malamine Sanogo: SIETTA is the French acronym for “Salon International des Equipements et des Technologies de Transformations de l’Anacarde” (International Exhibition of Cashew Processing Equipment and Technologies).

Its goal is twofold: to promote cashew processing equipment and technologies with national and international investors, and to encourage local consumption of cashew-based products.

SIETTA provides a priceless opportunity to spur the sector’s growth through local processing activities. The exhibition will help boost the productivity of companies in Côte d’Ivoire; make it easier to put together financial deals and acquire processing equipment and technologies; encourage equipment manufacturers to

set up operations in Côte d’Ivoire; offer foreign decision-makers investment possibilities; promote Ivorian cashews’ assets and qualities; popularise cashew consumption; and give companies the conditions they need for their processing units to be profitable.

■ You mentioned promoting cashew processing equipment and boosting the productivity of companies in Côte d’Ivoire.

Could you be a little more specific?

Malamine Sanogo: Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s second-leading cashew

To overcome that obstacle and boost the profitability of processing units in Côte d’Ivoire, the Cotton and Cashew Council, under the presidency of the Ministry of Industry and Mining and the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture, decided to hold the first International Exhibition of Cashew Processing Equipment and Technologies (SIETTA) in Abidjan in November 2014.

I would like to point out that the immediate goal is not to process all of Côte d’Ivoire’s output, but to ensure the sector’s sustainability by guaranteeing all the players, especially growers, a

■ What are the conditions for participating in the exhibition?

Malamine Sanogo: SIETTA is an innovation and a real challenge for West Africa’s cashew sector. The exhibition aims to give West Africa a major role in the world’s cashew industry.

Stakeholders from various backgrounds and players in every part of the cashew and cashew-based product trade and industry are expected to attend.

Attractive packages have been put together to encourage them to come.

The SIETTA site gives the details.

■ Have you got anything else to say or an appeal to make?

Malamine Sanogo: In conclusion, I’m inviting all the equipment manufacturers in the world to come and promote

their inventions and know-how by participating in this exhibition organised

by Côte d’ivoire. They’ll find that Côte d’Ivoire offers them many breaks and real business opportunities.

I’m inviting African cashew-producing countries. This event is an occasion full of opportunities to launch the cashew processing industry in our respective countries. You don’t have to go to India or Vietnam, but just across the border to make deals and participate in B-to-B meetings with local and international financial institutions ready to support the cashew industry’s growth.

I’m inviting economic operators to come invest in cashew processing for added value to their sales and the harmonious development of our regions I’m inviting support structures to thank them for their help and urge them to continue backing us in developing the cashew industry.

Lastly, I’d like to reassure everybody about the reality of this event, in which Côte d’Ivoire’s highest officials are involved. SIETTA is co-organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Cotton and Cashew Council and has the full backing of the entire government. The President of the National Assembly of Côte d’Ivoire is the sponsor and the Minister of Industry and Mining the President. ■

International Cashew

2014

Processing Equipment & Technology Show

For more information, please visit

www.conseilcotonanacarde.ci, the site of the Cotton and Cashew Council.

To register online, please visit

www.sietta2014.com, SIETTA’s official site.

DIFCOM/FC - Photos : DR

decent profit and by creating jobs in the countryside. Raising the processing rate from less than 5% today to 35% will go far towards achieving those goals.

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COUNTRY FOCUS | CÔTE D’IVOIRE

OPINION

Véronique Tadjo Author

Ivorian artists and intellectuals in turmoil

T

he situation in Côte d’Ivoire has certainly improved, especially in Abidjan, the greedy economic capital. Things are on the move: heavy construction, newly repaired roads, buildings sprouting up, property developments everywhere. The city is expanding at a rapid pace to the point where the streets have difficulty withstanding the demographic pressure. And yet, little more than three years ago ‘the Battle of Abidjan’ was raging and people were holed up in their homes, sick with fear.

Today, life looks brighter. Since President Alassane Ouattara came to power in 2011, the economy has posted a strong growth rate. Culturally speaking, things seem to be taking off too. This can be seen in the increasing number of art galleries in the city, one of the most recent being the Cécile Fakhoury Galerie. Located in the Cocody residential area, it is a magnificent spot and generously proportioned space where internationally acclaimed artists exhibit their work – at international prices.

industry. There is no well-developed market for books, and textbook sales are linked to regular state contracts. Nevertheless, several private groups have established literary awards. The organisers have also relaunched the Salon International du Livre d’Abidjan after a long period of inactivity. These initiatives have come as a breath of fresh air.

Alas, here also, there are no guarantees about the sustainability of these advances. Due to a lack of government funding, many writers feel left to

In an interview with Jeune Afrique last year, Cécile Fakhoury, the owner and stepdaughter of Ivorian-Lebanese architect Pierre Fakhoury, stated that she wanted to open “Africa’s first contemporary art gallery in Abidjan”, while specifying that she did not mean a “contemporary African art gallery”. She explained: “Given the crisis the country went through, I believe we will have to wait at least five years for a real interest in contemporary art to work its way into the general public, professionals and buyers – Ivorians and foreigners – and for the market to really take off.” Nearby, the Fondation Charles Donwahi, along with other renowned galleries, backs many artistic projects.

There is strong competition in the cultural environment, as artists seek to gain or regain their places in a shifting landscape.

From a literary point of view, the publishing scene has been producing a diversified range, from novels to comic books. However, school textbooks remain crucial to the health of the THE AFRICA REPORT

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their own devices. Indeed, only 1% of the national budget is allocated to culture.

To make matters worse, higher education minister Gnamien Konan took aim at the Ivorian intellectual elite in May. “Literature cannot be used to build an emerging country. I, for one, was never taught that literature could help a nation increase its GDP or create value added,” he said. He also pointed to a deficit of more than 2,500 lecturers in Côte d’Ivoire’s five public universities.

Three academics from Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny replied to the minister in an open letter. They characterised his statement as a “sustained attack” on the arts and humanities: “Intellectuals, writers, academics, artists, creators, literary figures and philosophers are not responsible for the state of our university, let alone our mental misery,” they said. They challenged the authorities: “We have a bright university, freshly painted, with water fountains to embellish the place, but no library, no classrooms and lecturers without offices.” Their frustration did not end there. Directly addressing the minister, the academics also denounced a mentality that prioritises economic growth: “How many books do you read on average per year? What types of paintings are displayed in your living room? Who are your favourite actors?

What kind of music do you listen to? Do you often attend gallery openings? Do you often feel like dancing? What are your criteria for choosing something ‘beautiful’? All the answers to these questions are related to your ability to ‘dream of progress’. However, dreaming of progress requires the will to grant culture a special place.”

It is a hot topic, clearly. Either intellectuals are made to bear the blame for the crisis or they are criticised for not having voiced their thoughts. Professor Séry Bailly, a member of the Commission Dialogue Vérité et Réconciliation and a high-ranking member of the former president Laurent Gbagbo’s Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI), says he finds all these criticisms unfair. “I think that intellectuals wrote extensively on the Ivorian crisis. The problem is that their viewpoints exist in parallel. People don’t come together to exchange ideas so that constructive dialogue can take place and we can move forward. Today, the politicians are out in front because what appears to be predominant is the struggle for power. The intellectual doesn’t belong in a place where politicians are at each other’s throats. Not only does he not want to be crushed, but he also knows his voice won’t be heard.”

In almost all sectors of society, reconciliation is the central question in debates. In a country where the wounds of the violent politico-military crisis are still felt, the identity divide has not yet disappeared.

However, Philippe Lacôte, whose film Run premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (see page 95), says he wants to distance himself from this impasse. Speaking to the website Africultures, he said: “As a filmmaker, it is not my job to work for reconciliation because I don’t have the expertise.

It’s a huge task to reconcile Ivorians, and if President Alassane Ouattara is making no headway, I’m not the one who will do so with my film.” He also brought up the difficulties he encountered during filming. “We were accused of many things: of making a pro-Gbagbo or a pro-Alassane film and having received millions! I’ve grown used to this. For Chroniques de Guerre en Côte d’Ivoire, when I filmed the FPI guys, they told me: ‘You are pro-Gbagbo’. And when I filmed Alassane’s camp, they told me I was pro-FRCI [Forces Républicaines de Côte d’Ivoire]. In the end, I told both camps: I will keep my images, you are on your own!”

It looks like musicians are the ones making the most of the situation. Besides organising concerts for peace – with varying degrees of success – their voices are much more powerful, they renew them faster and get closer to the public. Yet even for them, there is no shortage of strife. Ouattara had to personally intervene in 2011 so that two reggae stars, Alpha Blondy and Tiken Jah Fakoly, would reconcile and put an end to their political differences. ● Véronique Tadjo is a writer, academic, novelist and author of books for young people. Her most recent novel is Loin de Mon Père (Actes Sud 2010).

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DAY IN THE LIFE EXTRAORDINARY STORIES OF ORDINARY PEOPLE

TOM PULLEN/CARTEL PHOTOS FOR THE AFRICA REPORT

98

under the sun Babacar Diop left Senegal for Cornwall, UK, in 2008 with his Cornish wife.

He has since set up a renewable energy cooperative, of which he is the director

I

t was not easy to leave Dakar. I had started doing electrical work, but I had to interrupt all of that because my wife fell pregnant. She needed to be near her parents, that was the first thing – family first.

When we arrived in Cornwall, I was worried about being able to sustain my family. It was hard at first. Cornwall is different to Dakar, just countryside and farms. I couldn’t convert my electrical qualifications to the British system, so I had to study again. I worked as a kitchen porter. I spent two days picking daffodils because I wanted to know exactly how it feels. That was hard labour.

But in all that stuff, I couldn’t show my skills. The first opportunity I had was in the hotel where I worked when some of the machines broke down. I told them: “I can repair all of them, and I can make sure all of the outside lights function well.” They didn’t believe it because I was an African guy, and they can’t even understand me. So I carried on what I was doing. A week later, the lights outside went out, so they said, “What can you do?” I fixed the lights. Since then, I am still doing their lights, and no one will touch the electrics except me. It felt great.

Then, 12 of us who worked in a solar energy company decided to leave and form a cooperative. On our first job,

we didn’t even have the money to buy our own tools. We told the customer, “You put your money in, and we are going to install the panels.” He was happy, and from there we had recommendations. Now we have offices in Truro, Oxford and Bristol. You have to work nights, and in the day time you go and do your own job. We did that for two years solid – day in, day out – without proper wages.

It was hard with two small kids. My wife wanted to get me out of that co-op, but she knew she couldn’t, so she came to join us as a manager. When we had to lay off some people just to save the company, that was hard and I didn’t feel good. With that pressure, she decided to leave the company and carry on teaching.

struggle to be heard There were moments when I thought I can’t do this, I want to go back. I would go to high-profile meetings, and I would be the last person they would give a chance to speak. They would think, “There’s a black guy here, he is just here to accompany these guys.” They wouldn’t even bother to remember my name. Once they realised that without me nothing’s going to get done, they started making an effort. They’re not doing it to be mean, they’re doing it because they don’t know how to approach me.

Some of my friends had the mentality to stay in Africa.

They have the right attitude. Some of them think: “If I don’t get out of Senegal, I am doomed,” which is not the case. I would have loved to have gone back to Senegal, that’s my natural habitat. I will call my business successful when I take it back to Senegal, where I can help more Interview by Rose Skelton people and expand. ● THE AFRICA REPORT

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