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The Letters to the Editor 4 African-American Institute Update 5 Chairman Editor: Russell Geekie Roger Wilkins France/Africa President The Party's Over 13 Vivian Lowery Derryck By Kaye Whiteman Cote d'lvoire Publisher Closing a Chapter 19 Sieve McDonald By Howard French Editor-in-Chief Margaret A. Novicki Interview Rawlings's Republic President Jerry Rawlings: 's Fourth Republic 23 Associate Editor Page 23 By Margaret A, Novicki Joseph Margolis Assistant Editor Russell Geekie The Forgotten Country 26 By Peter da Costa Editorial Assistant Marks Chabedi Refugees The Kindness of Strangers 33 Contributing Editor By Arthur Helton Andrew Meldrum Art Director Kenneth Jay Ross The 11th Hour 36 By Patrick iMurence Advertising Office 212 350-2958 A Wing and a Prayer 40 Interns An End to War? By Anne Shepherd Karen F. Millener Page 26 David T. Yampanis Spy Master & Spy 44 By Denis Herbstein Africa Report (ISSN 0001-9836), a non-profit magazine of African affairs, is published bimonthly and is sched- Repatriating the Refugees 46 uled to appear at the beginning of By Andrew Meldrum each date period at 833 United Nations Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10017. Editorial correspondence and adver- Fantasy Islands 52 tising inquiries should be addressed to Africa Report, at the above ad- By Heather Hill dress. Subscription inquiries should be addressed to: Subscription Services, Angola P.O. Box 3000, Dept. AR, Denville N.J. Peace or War? 55 07834. Subscription rates: Individuals: USA $30, Canada S36, air rate over- By Chris Simpson seas $54. Institutions: USA S37, Canada $43, air rate overseas $61. Second-class postage paid at New The Countdown Begins Zambia York, N.Y. and at additional mailing Page 36 Chill for Chiluba 58 offices. POSTMASTER: If this maga- Byjowie Mwiinga zine is undeliverable, please send address changes to Africa Report at 833 UN Plaza, NY, NY 10017. Tele- phone: (212) 350-2958. Copyright © 61 1994 by The African-American Insti- Trouble in Paradise tute, Inc. By Andrew Meldrum Wildlife and Politics 64 By Mark Doyle Photo Credit: The cover photograph of the late Gabon president of Cote cI'lvoire, Felix The Tainted Win 67 Houphouet-Boigny, at the Basilica By James Barnes of Our Lady of Peace in Yamous- soukro was taken by Patrick Going Home The Back Page 70 Robert/Sygma. Page 46 By Vivian Lowery Derryck To the Editor: choose their leaders without any post-colonial rulers essentially I am writing this letter in sup- interference. The country has because it has served them well in port of the article "The New Oli- many well-educated and experi- maintaining themselves in power. garchy" in your September-Octo- enced people, and they have to be Furthermore, in a country ber 1993 edition written by Makau allowed to participate in leadership where over 90 percent relies on the wa Mutua, a Harvard law profes- posts. In addition, the TGE is not radio for information, Moi's control sor, about the Transitional Govern- the official Ethiopian government, and use of the broadcast services ment of (TGE). In the and many of the decisions made by provided him immense access article, many important points are this transitional government are unavailable to the opposition. Cou- mentioned, for example that the questionable. Therefore, the TGE pled with control of the electoral qualifications of the TGE officials needs to stop making key deci- commission, a war chest of billions are not good. The quickness of the sions in the life of the people. The of illegally printed money which government to recognize Eritrean TGE is doing what Mengistu did almost ruined the entire Kenyan independence creates tension or for the past two decades. What has economy, plus a host of other suspicions in the people's minds. been done did not help anyone. We intimidatory and gerrymandering Dr. Mutua understands the situa- cannot allow this to continue forev- tactics, it is that much more tion in Ethiopia very well. As he er. We need to establish a free and remarkable that Moi could only mentions in his article, the compo- democratic Ethiopia, so we all can gather a third of the popular vote. sition of the government is very go back and help the change. And Mr. Okwaro and others in the unrealistic. The prime minister, The situation that Dr. Mutua has civil service know this for a fact. Tamrat Layne, is a high-school explained is true, even though he The sad fact is that this scenario dropout. The special legal adviser cannot explain everything in his has been duplicated from to the president is a law school short article. I admire his work. I Cameroon to Gabon and other dropout. In addition, these people hope your magazine will do its best African countries where the were chosen for pure propaganda to show the future political and promises of democracy were just purposes. How does anyone economic situation in Ethiopia. beginning to flower but have been expect good administration from —Daniel Wondaferew exterminated through the ruse of the people who cannot even gov- Clarkston, Georgia rigged elections. At a time when ern their own lives? One way or competition for investment and the other these people are quitters. trade are the principal concern of Second, the TGE was quick to other regions in the world, Africa recognize Eritrean independence. To the Editor: is witnessing a steady collapse of This was one of the tragic The overzealous reply of Mr. its political and social infrastruc- moments in Ethiopian history. The Richard Okwaro (see Letters, Nov- ture. Countries that once held government has a responsibility to Dec 1993) in response to Makau great promise, like Kenya, are represent its people. However, in wa Mutua's article on the Kenyan being run aground by leadership this case, the group which over- elections ("Ticking Time Bomb," whose single consuming aim is its threw the Mengistu regime, the Jul-Aug 1993) epitomizes the parti- maintenance of power and that Tigrayan People's Democratic san use of the entire Kenyan civil cannot differentiate between pub- Front, made the decision against service and administrative machin- lic trust and private gain. its people. ery in support of Moi and Kanu in One can only "keep hope alive" I have been out of Ethiopia for those elections. One of the odious that, just as the baby-boomers are the past five years. Many Ethiopi- legacies of British colonial rule taking power in America, the ans hope for better days for was the immense powers it emerging educated African middle Ethiopia. However, the situation bestowed on local administrative class will, when it gets its chance at seems headed for the worst. The officers, from licensing of all politi- power, act in the best interests of country does not need war, dicta- cal meetings to being the overlords the African people. In the mean- torship, and mass exodus. The of all development activities. This time, the struggle continues! TGE needs to recognize the peo- whole administrative machinery —V.A. Bhatia ple's power, and it has to let them has been maintained intact by the Vienna, Austria

Africa Report IN THE NEWS Fiery Father of Kenya's Opposition Laid to Rest 'enya has lost a great son, a was in prison, Odinga remained one of ing detentions of its leaders. nationalist, and a patriotic citi- the most outspoken leaders calling for Then in July 1969, Mboya was K•zen," President Daniel arap his release. assassinated by a Kikuyu, setting off Moi said after the country's senior In 1960, Odinga and other members Luo riots against Kenyatta. The govern- opposition leader, Jaramogi Oginga of pre-independence Kenya's legisla- ment responded by banning the KPU Odinga, died on January 20 at age 82. tive council formed Kanu. The party and detaining Odinga for 15 months. Tn words that perhaps revealed more used its strong showing in the 1961 Following Kenyatta's death in 1978, about the president's relationship with general elections to help secure Kenyat- the new president, Moi, made an Odinga, Moi added thai the late leader ta's release that year. attempt to bring Odinga back into the pursued his political objectives with Kanu fold. In 1980, Odinga was rein- "determination and stamina" matched FORD KENYA stated into the ruling party. But he used by few others. the exposure to attack Moi and the late Indeed, Odinga was a formidable Kenyatta as corrupt neo-imperialists critic of independent Kenya's govern- and to protest the U.S. military pres- ment from the time he resigned as the ence in the country. country's first vice president in 1966. In 1982, the president kicked Odinga After his various attempts to form an out of Kanu for attempting to create a opposition were thwarted by the ruling new party and in June of that year, an Kenya African National Union (Kanu) amendment to the constitution (section over three decades, he played a leading 2A) made Kenya a de jure one-party role in the Forum for the Restoration of state. Democracy (FORD), the movement By the end of the decade, however, which forced the regime to open up the Odinga's untiring call for Kanu to open political system in December 1991. JARAMOGI OGINGA ODINGA up the political system was echoed by And a year later, the 81-year-old Odin- FOR an increasing number of voices. Some ga led one of the divided opposition's of the new multi-party advocates were parties, FORD-Kenya, in the country's PRESIDENT prominent former members of the rul- first multi-party elections in 26 years. ing party who either defected from Kanu or were kicked out. The most In his last months of life, Odinga A f 992 campaign poster of Jamogi Oginga Odinga sought to reconcile FORD-Kenya with prominent was Kenneth Matiba, the Kanu, and his reputation was tarnished When Kenyatta became president at popular Kikuyu transport minister who when he admitted to taking a campaign independence in 1963, Odinga was the resigned his post and was expelled from contribution from a scandal-ridden obvious choice for vice president. He the ruling party in 1988. bank. In addition, since the 1992 elec- had proven his loyalty to the president The regime was also under fire from tions, many Kenyans were saying that it and was widely recognized as the lead- abroad, as the international community was time for old-style politicians like er of the Luo, the country's second stepped up demands that Kenya Odinga to make way for a new genera- largest ethnic group after Kenyatta's improve its human rights record. tion of leaders. Kikuyu. Odinga founded the National Demo- But to his supporters, the man Kenya became a de facto one-party cratic Party in February 1991, but the known affectionately as "Double O" state in 1964 when the opposition government refused to register the new will be remembered as a confrontation- Kenya African Democratic Union party. After harassing Odinga for sev- al pre-independence leader who never merged with Kanu. But by 1965, Odin- eral months, the authorities jailed him lost his free spirit and penchant for ga's socialist leanings put him at odds briefly in May of that year. But the questioning authority. with the less radical and more pro- detention—and the international com- Odinga, a Luo from Bondo in Nyan- Western elements of Kanu, including munity's protests that it triggered za Province, gained national recogni- his Luo rival Tom Mboya. Odinga —only strengthened the veteran dissi- tion for resisting British authority after resigned the following year and formed dent politician's resolve to unseat ihe African nationalist leader Jomo a new opposition party, the Kenya Peo- Kanu. Kenyatta was jailed in 1953 for his ple's Union (KPU). In August 1991, Odinga and five alleged involvement in the Mau Mau For the next three years, the KPU other leading opposition figures formed revolt. During the years that Kenyatta faced government harassment, includ- the political movement, FORD, which

5 March/April 19 9 4 UP'TM- became the nucleus of the campaign for ed that a "third FORD" is in the works. cooperation was only confined to the democracy. Indeed, there was talk in February precincts of the Parliament," according After the international community that a think tank, led by Muite and other to the news agency. cut off aid to Kenya to force political new generation leaders, will be put In an address to mourners at Odin- change in November of that year, Kanu together in the next few months to dis- ga's funeral in Bondo on February 5, repealed section 2A of the constitution, cuss the formation of a party with a Moi sounded a more conciliatory note legalizing opposition activity. national outlook. But the 1992 split in toward the Luo themselves, recalling But the political opening was fol- FORD suggests that holding such a that Odinga had cooperated with Kanu lowed by a split in FORD in August grouping together for the 1997 general to help foster development among the 1992. In October, two separate FORDs elections will be an uphill struggle. ethnic group in Nyanza. registered for the elections: FORD- Meanwhile, Moi has said that the In February, Kigali Wamalwa was Kenya and FORD-Asili, led by Odinga reconciliation Odinga was brokering selected to replace Odinga as chairman and Matiba, respectively. In addition, between Kanu and the predominantly of FORD-Kenya. But observers say the the former vice president, Mwai Kiba- Luo FORD-Kenya was in question. The Luo politician has nowhere near the fol- ki, who left Kanu in December 1991, Kenya News Agency reported the day lowing of Odinga and could have a hard formed his own party. of Odinga's death that Moi was re- time holding the party together. The opposition remained divided examining the cooperation because Odinga died in the Aga Khan hospi- through the December 29 elections, some of the opposition party's senior tal in Kisumu after suffering a heart allowing Moi to win the presidency officials had incited acts of violence. attack. He was laid to rest in a marble with little more than a third of the vote The president recalled a statement by tomb in Bondo, near Lake Victoria, on and his Kanu party to win a majority of the party's secretary-general thai "the February 5. • the seats in Parliament. The father of the opposition move- ment, Odinga, polled a disappointing fourth in the presidential election with -Bissau's da Costa Acquitted less than 18 percent of the vote. The On February 4, Guinea-Bissau's supreme military court cleared the country's results were drawn roughly along eth- main opposition leader, Joao da Costa, of charges that he was involved in plotting nic lines with Matiba and Kibaki split- a March 1993 coup attempt. ting the Kikuyu vote, Odinga winning The acquittal of da Costa—who asserted throughout his trial that he was framed most of the Luo vote, and Moi winning by the ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde votes from an alliance of groups allied (PAIGC) "for political purposes"—came two months before the country was with his minority Kalenjin ethnic scheduled to hold its first multi-party presidential and legislative elections. group. FORD-Kenya fared better in the The alleged March 17, 1993 putsch attempt involved the murder of the com- legislative vote, tying FORD-Asili for a mander of the Rapid Deployment Force, an elite 30-soldier guard responsible for second place finish with 31 seats each the president's safety. Armed forces headquarters initially confirmed that the com- out of 188 total (the president was enti- mander, Maj. Robalo de Pina, was killed in an attempted coup, but the army chief tled to name an additional 12 seats). of staff later announced that the assassination was "an isolated incident which dis- As leader of the opposition in Parlia- proves the theory of a coup attempt." ment, Odinga led the call for financial By the following month, however, the authorities had again reversed them- reform and good governance in 1993. selves and arrested some 50 people, including da Costa. Two months later, da But in September, FORD-Kenya's sec- Costa, who leads the Party for Renewal and Development (PRD), and other oppo- retary-general Gitobu Imanyara sition leaders were released, but banned from political activity. accused Odinga of accepting a ques- Da Costa was re-arrested and detained once more, in August, before standing tionable campaign contribution from trial with more than a dozen other defendants in January. Many of da Costa's co- the head of the trading company Gold- defendants had earlier signed statements that they had taken part in a plan to over- enberg International. Odinga later throw the government. But the case against the PRD leader—who had already admitted to taking the funds from Gold- declared his candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections—quickly unraveled enberg, which, along with its sister when many of the accused retracted their admissions of involvement in a coup organization, Exchange Bank, was plot. accused of receiving millions of dollars Then one of the main defendants in the trial, army private Amadou Mane, in government payments for exports charged that the director-general of state security, Col. Joao Monteiro—who that did not exist and bribing govern- presided over a military commission of inquiry into the coup attempt—had ment officials. coerced the soldiers into making accusations against da Costa. Mane, who admit- Nonetheless, Imanyara was sacked ted to killing Pina, and other defendants said that security forces threatened their from the party's leadership on Septem- lives in order to obtain false statements. The soldiers on trial said that the events of ber 18. The next day FORD-Kenya's March 17, 1993 were part of a demonstration against poor living and pay condi- first vice chairman and deputy leader, tions in the armed forces. Paul Muite, and two other party offi- Following his acquittal, da Costa said he would lodge a criminal complaint cials, Kiraitu Murungi and Farah Maal- against Monteiro, as well as Guinea-Bissau's interior minister. im, handed in their resignations to In the meantime, the country's elections, originally set for March 27, were protest the dismissal. expected to be delayed until April or May, due to a lack of preparation. Da Costa is Since the younger leaders left considered the leading opposition candidate against President Joao Bernardo FORD-Kenya, speculation has persist- Vieira. •

Africa Report BURUNDI 1990 nalional conference, the general clawed his way back to the top and On January 13, Burundi's National POLITICAL eventually won 96.42 percent of the Assembly elected 38-year-old Cyprien vote in 's first multi-party presi- Nlaryamira as the country's new presi- POINTERS dential election last August. dent. The post had remained vacant For many Togolese, the election win since the first president from the sis—sided with the opposition. After confirmed what they already suspect- majority Hutu ethnic group, Melchior the two Hutu judges on the court ed: The hard-fought-for democratiza- Ndadaye, was murdered in an ill-fat- resigned, the government dismissed tion process had been—and would ed military coup attempt on October the remaining five Tutsi, who refused be—manipulated to ensure a continua- 21. to accept Ntaryamira's appointment on tion of autocratic rule under the gener- The assassination of the democrati- January 29. al. Indeed, many international election cally elected president—at the hands The government sackings were fol- observers, including a team led by for- of an army dominated by the Tutsi lowed by three days of ethnic and mer U.S. President Jimmy Carter, minority that ruled Burundi until Nda- political clashes in the capital, Bujum- refused to monitor the August vote on daye's inauguration last July—plunged bura, which led to 46 deaths and 73 the grounds that they did not believe it the country back into the ethnic blood- arrests, according to the police. could be conducted in a free and fair shed which has repeatedly marred it By February 3, however, the gov- manner. since independence in 1962. ernment and opposition parties—some But an apparent come-from-behind Indeed, in comments made shortly of which had been calling for their victory for the opposition in the coun- after being elected by the National supporters to turn Bujumbura into a try's February legislative elections Assembly, the Hutu Ntaryamira—who "ghost town"—met in the capital and —depending on the results in five con- was minister of agriculture and live- agreed that Ntaryamira would take the stituencies, the opposition could have a stock under Ndadaye—-promised that oath of office on February 5. The majority in the new National Assembly restoring peace and security would be agreement between the parties—which and the premiership—suggests that the the immediate priorities of his regime. was witnessed by the UN and president has not cornered the market But the selection of Nlaryamira was OAU—also called for the president to on political survival skills. met by a court challenge from Burun- reinstate the Constitutional Court The limited legitimacy that Eyade"- di's opposition parties, forcing a post- judges and appoint a new prime minis- ma's rule gained from his presidential ponement of the new president's inau- ter from among the ranks of the oppo- election win—thanks to an opposition guration ceremonies originally sition. boycott and voter turnout at under 40 scheduled for January 22. During his February 5 inauguration percent—may have prompted the pres- At issue was the National Assem- ceremony, Ntaryamira—who is a ident to ensure that the opposition took bly's January 9 amendment to article founding member of Frodebu—said part in the legislative elections, origi- 85 of the constitution which allowed it that the main goals of his government nally scheduled for October. to elect a successor to the murdered would be "to do everything possible so When the voting was finally held for president, rather than holding general that peace, tranquillity, and mutual the 81-seat legislature on February 7, elections to fill the post. (The person trust return among Burundians," to the opposition participated. But Eyade"- who would have been the constitution- leach respect for human rights, and to ma's Togolese People's Rally (RPT) al successor was also killed in the resettle the 200.000 internally dis- took 33 of the 57 seats that were won October putsch attempt.) placed people "without forgetting" the outright and appeared on its way to The opposition, led by the former more than 700,000 refugees abroad. controlling ihc National Assembly. ruling party, the Union for Progress The goals were similar to those of his After backing down on a threat to and National Unity (Uprona), charged predecessor. boycott the second round, the main that the amendment was illegal But in recognition of the crisis fac- opposition grouping, Yao Agboyibo's because article 182 of the constitution ing Burundi, the president also said Action Committee for Renewal disallowed changes to Burundi's high- that "we are going to act fast to restore (CAR), agreed to join the Togolese est law when the country is facing seri- discipline in the country," including in Union for Democracy (UTD) in a ous internal troubles, according to a the army, the schools, and the leader- "common front" for the second round Radio Burundi report. ship. "Nothing else will save Burundi, of voting. But it was precisely because of apart from work, justice, and respect By late February, the known overall ongoing instability that MPs from the for human rights," he said. results in both rounds of the election ruling party, the Front for Democracy gave the opposition 38 seats, the RPT in Burundi (Frodebu), asserted that an TOCO 37 seats, and Prime Minister Joseph election attempt would be impossible Kokou Koffigoh one seat. The remain- and that it was necessary for the To be sure. Gen. Gnassingbe Eyade- ing five constituencies—where distur- National Assembly to select a new ma has shown remarkable survival bances took place—were being deter- president. instincts since he seized power in a mined by the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court—which is coup d'etat 27 years ago. After appar- Both the CAR and the RPT accused comprised of two Hulus and five Tut- ently being stripped of his power in a each other of fomenting the disturbances.

March/April 19 9 4 AFRICAN OUTLOOK South Africa Joins Neighbors to Mediate in Lesotho until the country's first democratic elec- tions in 23 years on March 27, 1993. In the run-up to the voting, the head of the military council since 1991, Maj.-Gen. Phisoane Ramaema, sup- ported the BCP, but lower-ranking sol- diers were said to back the BNP. When the BCP—which won all 65 seats in the new Parliament—took power in April, observers questioned whether the army would remain accountable to the democratically elect- ed government. The matter was compli- cated by army suspicions of the govern- ment's relationship to former LLA members in Lesotho and the continued existence of a 1,000-strong LLA in Alfredo Muecne/AIM Frontline state leader, President Robert Mugabe, left,worked with President F.W. de Klerk South Africa. ess than a day after two army fac- brokered an accord on February 1 to Indeed, less than two months before tions opened fire on each other in return the opposing forces to their the January crisis, government attempts LLesotho's capital, Maseru, on Jan- respective barracks. to bring former LLA leaders into the uary 14, South Africa's Foreign Minis- But the causes of division in the army were resisted by RLDF officers, ter Roelof "Pik" Botha was on the 2,000-man RLDF—which has a long leading to coup rumors. scene to facilitate negotiations. history of involvement in Lesotho's The spark that ignited January's con- "Don't even start a small fire. You politics—were left to be worked out in flict, however, was an unsigned letter to don't...know how much dry grass there subsequent negotiations. And the Mokhehle from the armed forces is around," he rhetorically warned the prominent role South Africa and its demanding a 100 percent pay raise. rival Royal Lesotho Defense Force neighbors played in helping to resolve According to a January 11 Radio (RLDF) factions. The two sides osten- January's crisis would remain crucial in Lesotho report, the letter instructed the sibly began fighting over a demand for efforts to reconcile the highly politi- prime minister to reply to the demand a pay raise, but were also said to be cized RLDF with itself, the govern- by January 24. But Mokhehle respond- divided over an opposition-supported ment, and the opposition. ed that the salaries of the country's pub- attempt to overthrow the nine-month- Ties between the opposition Basotho lic servants would all be reviewed old government of Prime Minister Ntsu National Party (BNP) and the army together, and the army's concerns Mokhehle. were cultivated in the years following would not receive precedence. 's stake in resolving the cri- independence in 1966, when the BNP On the morning of January 14, sis was high: With South Africa's was the duly elected ruling party. When RLDF troops in favor of the pay raise watershed elections around the corner Mokhehle's Basotho Congress Party exchanged fire with soldiers who sup- in April, it could not afford a potential (BCP) won the 1970 general elections, ported Mokhehle's position at a mili- civil war or coup d'etat in the country it the army supported Prime Minister tary base, just outside the capital. The completely surrounds. Chief Leabua Jonathan's refusal to troops demanding the pay raise—who it But the ex-pariah state was not will- hand over power. The BNP government soon became clear also had political ing to meddle unilaterally in tiny suspended the constitution, declared grievances against the BCP govern- Lesotho's affairs as had been the case in rule by decree, and jailed opposition ment—took Lesotho's air force wing the past. In a move that was heralded as leaders, including Mokhehle. commander, Lt.-Col. Patrick Majare, a glimpse of future regional coopera- The army's relationship with the hostage, after he had been shot in the tion, South Africa—represented by BCP worsened even further after shoulder. both President F.W. de Klerk and his Mokhehle and other BCP leaders in By the time Botha arrived in the cap- almost certain successor, Nelson Man- exile in South Africa formed the party's ital the following day, the first round of dela—teamed up with other southern armed wing, the Lesotho Liberation fighting had calmed. South Africa's for- African nations to consider joint action Army (LLA), in 1974. eign minister—who insisted that his in Lesotho. But the Defense Force's loyalty to visit was al the request of Maseru—met With the warring factions facing the the BNP has always had limits. In 1986, with Lesotho government officials, threat of sanctions or a possible peace- the army ousted Jonathan and estab- including Mokhehle, who is also the keeping intervention by countries in the lished a military council to rule defense minister; RLDF officers; and region, Commonwealth representatives Lesotho. The army remained in power opposition party leaders, whom the

Afr i Report 8 government implied were instigating fighting. Government officials, who the fighting. toned down early assertions that the Responding to concerns that a conflict was part of a coup d'etat putsch attempt was in the works, Botha attempt, sometimes confirmed the told the press that South Africa would widely held view that the conflict grew make it "impossible" for a government out of political grievances. But at other which came to power by force to sur- times, the officials tried to portray the vive in Lesotho. "We will close the bor- dispute as resulting solely from differ- der," he said, adding that he was confi- ences over the pay raise demand. dent that any future government in Radio Lesotho reported that govern- South Africa would concur with the ment officials sent a statement to the policy. South African Broadcasting Corpora- Indeed, Lesotho's economic depen- tion (SABC) and the BBC requesting dence on South Africa, coupled with that foreign news agencies refrain from Pretoria's long history of involvement referring to the factions as "rebels" and in the country, gave teeth to Botha's "loyalists." threats. In 1982, South African com- While the cause of the crisis could mandos raided Maseru in their war be disputed, its seriousness could not, againsi the banned African National especially after the heaviest fighting Congress, killing at least 30 ANC took place on January 23. Machine gun members and 12 Basotho residents of fire and mortar round exchanges were the capital. The following year, Pretoria reported throughout the capital before Another issue: The army does not trust King Moshoeshoe li forced Lesotho to expel some 3,000 heavy rains doused the fighting in the Africa, Botswana, and set South African refugees under the threat evening. up a joint task force to recommend a of sanctions. And it was a South But with at least five soldiers and 11 ''possible plan of action," which held African blockade of Lesotho that led to civilians dead as a result of 10 days of out the possibility for the group to form the 1986 coup. clashes, the South African foreign min- a peace-keeping force for Lesotho. A Pretoria's past involvement in ister said on January 24 that his country team of 17 envoys from the three coun- Lesotho, however, also meant that its had turned down a request from tries arrived in Maseru on January 28. attempts to resolve the crisis were Lesotho's government to send in peace- But the task force was not greeted looked at suspiciously by Basotho who keeping troops. The decision—which with open arms by all of the players in are fiercely proud of their sovereignty. was taken with South African forces Lesotho's crisis. Indeed, shortly after After Botha's confidence that the con- already deployed on the border with the tripartite task force was announced, flict had been defused during his initial Lesotho—was influenced by the ANC's a coalition of six opposition parties, led one-day stay in Maseru turned out to be opposition to the proposal. by the BNP, issued a statement against premature, South Africa's cooperation Nonetheless, South Africa's Transi- the "interventionists." The statement with other countries in the region, as tional Executive Council issued a state- reportedly said: "Their action will be well as international organizations, ment that day in support of the "demo- construed by sovereign Lesotho as added legitimacy to its mediation cratically elected" government in naked interference and a rape against efforts. Lesotho. And the following day, in a our nationhood." In mid-January, various diplomats sign that the international community's And recognizing the distrust flew to Maseru, including ones from efforts to defuse the conflict were bear- Basotho harbor for South Africa, the Commonwealth, the United ing fruit, the SABC reported that an Lesotho's foreign minister, Molapo Nations, and the Organization of OAU negotiator from Botswana had Qhobela, initially denied the existence African Unity (OAU): southern African negotiated a truce between the two sides. of the task force, stressing that it was nations, including South Africa, made This was followed by a southern only Commonwealth envoys who were preparations for a high-level meeting to African leaders' meeting to address the helping the government to resolve the address the crisis; and local church crisis, held in Botswana's capital, dispute, according to Radio Lesotho. groups became involved in the media- Gaborone, on January 26. A powerful But the Commonwealth—at the tion efforts. But despite the Hurry of sign of the region's resolve to defuse behest of Lesotho's government—had diplomatic activity, the fighting in and the conflict, this meeting brought Zim- requested the meeting of the regional around the capital intensified. babwe's staunch anti- presi- leaders. And although it was the Com- At least 800 soldiers were said to be dent and frontline state leader, Robert monwealth which eventually brokered involved in the sporadic clashes, with Mugabe, face-to-face with the South the accord to return the troops to the the vast majority on the side supporting African president for the first time, barracks, few doubted the key role that the pay raise demand. But the "rebel- along with Mandela, Botswana's Presi- South Africa and its neighbors played lious" troops from Makonyane bar- dent Quett Masire, who was also invit- in making this possible. racks, just outside the capital, were up ed as president of the Southern African In announcing the accord on Febru- against 150 elite and well-equipped sol- Development Community, and ary 1, Commonwealth negotiators diers from Ha Rakamose barracks, also Lesotho's Deputy Prime Minister Moses Anafu and Maxwell Gaylard near the capital. Selomctsi Baholo. said that the army factions would each For its part, the government waffled At the conclusion of the one-day send 10-person delegations for talks on its description of the root of the meeting, the governments of South Continued on page 11

March/April 19 9 4 Highest Ranking U.S. Official at UN Resigns n March 1993, when the highest- In part, the friction between Wells many of the projects he had requested. ranking American official at the and the secretary-general was a reflec- But the undersecretary's criticism of I United Nations, Dick Thornburgh, tion of differences between the United Bouiros-Ghali was not limited to his completed his one-year term as under- States, which has led the call for stricter choice of priorities or unwillingness to secretary-general for management and limits on UN spending, and Boutros- curb spending on his initiatives. In her administration, he did not leave quietly. Ghali, who has overseen a massive January resignation. Wells reportedly In his final report to Secretary-Gen- expansion of the UN's global mission. wrote, "While many of us heads of eral Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Thorn- While streamlining the UN's bureau- departments have varying degrees of burgh blasted the UN chief's manage- cracy and fighting corruption was a pri- individual contact with you, I have not ment style and said the world body was ority for Boutros-Ghali when he took once during my tenure here experi- •'almost totally lacking in effective office on January 1, 1992, diplomats enced that sense of in-house collegial means to deal with fraud, waste, and say he later neglected these aims to spirit under your leadership." The letter, abuse by staff members." focus instead on the organization's marked "strictly confidential," was Boutros-Ghali's spokesman, Joe growing number of peace-keeping and leaked to the press by Wells's backers. Sills, replied that it would have made humanitarian missions. The criticism of Boutros-Ghali's more sense for the undersecretary to When the secretary-general tried to management style is shared by senior have pointed out the UN's deficiencies persuade the U.S. to allow him to select diplomats at the UN who also find him during his one-year tenure instead of Thornburgh's successor, the request fell difficult to work with. complaining about them upon leaving. on deaf ears. The U.S.—which is the But U.S. officials—who reportedly But the spokesman could not say the UN's largest contributor—insisted that found flaws in Wells's performance same for Thornburgh's U.S.-appointed the Clinton administration make the —went along with the secretary-gener- successor, Melissa Wells, when she too appointment in order to maintain pres- al when he requested that her one-year fired parting shots at the secretary-gen- sure for financial reform at the UN. The contract, which was due to expire in eral in a January 14 resignation let- undersecretary-general for administra- April, not be renewed. ter—Wells had clashed repeatedly with tion and management is in charge of The officials said, however, that it Boutros-Ghali over UN shortcomings reforming the world body's bloated was imperative that Wells's replace- during the 10 months that she held the bureaucracy, as well as overseeing ment be a competent manager who is post. security, contracts, and support services committed to reforming the UN bureau- Wells promised to step down on for peace-keeping operations. cracy. February 17 in the resignation letter, Wells's clashes with Boutros-Ghali The U.S. also intends to continue to which she sent to the secretary-general included an episode late last year when push for the naming of a UN inspector after learning that he had effectively she directed the General Assembly's general, which was called for by both fired her. budgetary committee to slash funds for Thornburgh and Wells. During Wells's First UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Named On February 1, United Nations Secretary-General Boutros "Human rights activists the world over have high expectations Boutros-Ghali nominated an Ecuadorian diplomat, Jose for this post and will be watching closely to see that he plays a Ayala Lasso, to be the first United Nations High Commis- bold and effective role in the protection of human rights." sioner for Human Rights. Ayala Lasso will be responsible for coordinating UN The General Assembly was expected to approve the nomi- human rights initiatives and integrating human rights consid- nation to allow Ayala Lasso—who served as Ecuador's erations into the organization's peace-keeping operations, ambassador to the UN since 1989—to begin his four-year according to Human Rights Watch. But the powers of the term on February 28. new post are yet to be fully defined. Most Western govern- As chairman of the General Assembly's Third Committee, ments and human rights groups want the new high commis- which addresses social, humanitarian, and cultural issues, sioner to take an aggressive approach to his job, which could Ayala Lasso helped to create the new post last year. include investigating alleged human rights abuses on his own But international human rights groups expressed concern initiative. But many less developed nations have sought to over the selection of Ayala Lasso, citing his lack of experi- limit the new high commissioner's powers. ence in the human rights field and noting that he served two At last June's UN Conference on Human Rights, develop- years as foreign minister under a repressive military regime ing nations argued that the West was unfairly forcing the less in Ecuador in the 1970s. developed countries to conform to "Western" political and Nonetheless, the rights groups promised to judge Boutros- human rights standards as a precondition for economic aid. Ghali's appointee by his future actions. "The challenge for After Western nations moved closer to accepting develop- Ayala Lasso will be to prove that he can overcome his past as ment as a human right, the conference recommended that the an official of an abusive military government, and become a UN create the new post of High Commissioner for Human forceful public advocate for human rights," said the director Rights. of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth. The General Assembly approved the establishment of the And Amnesty International released a statement which said, post on December 20. •

Africa Report 10 New Algerian Head of State Named

In a move that could signal the beginning of negotiations between Algeria's government and the banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), the High Security Council appointed Gen. Lamine Zeroual as the country's sixth head of state on January 30. In a nationally broadcast speech following his January 31 swearing-in ceremo- ny, the 52-year-old Zeroual promised a "serious dialogue" with all Algerians, "irrespective of their political affiliations." While the miiilary-backed regimes of the last two years have negotiated with other opposition groupings in the country, the new president's comments were widely seen as a sign that his regime would seek to deal with the FIS. The Islamic fundamentalist party is involved in a bloody two-year-old conflict with the govern- ment. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali The dispute began after the military seized power in January 1992 and canceled tenure, the General Assembly agreed in Algeria's democratization process in the middle of two rounds of voting for the principal to the establishment of such a National Assembly. The FIS had taken an overwhelming lead in the first round and post, despite resistance from Boutros- was virtually assured of controlling the Assembly had the second round taken Ghali. place. Wells, a career foreign service offi- The conflict between government security forces and Islamic guerrillas—who cer who has served as ambassador to are not always accountable to the FIS—has left some 3,500 Algerians dead. And Zaire, Mozambique. Guinea-Bissau, since the guerrillas began targeting foreigners in November, some 30 nationals of and Cape Verde, was expected to return other countries have been killed. to work at the State Department. Zeroual is not limiting his response to the crisis to dialogue, however. The new Her replacement—the seventh per- president—who is known as a hard-liner—was expected to step up the fight son to hold the job in eight years—was against the guerrillas. Indeed, he retained the defense portfolio which he had held to be named by the secretary-general in since July when he came out of retirement. February. Nonetheless, for now the new president appears to favor the conciliation he Boutros-Ghali also hoped to name a called for upon taking office over "eradication," which has been pursued by the successor to Undersecretary-General army-backed regimes of the last two years. for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Eliason, In a February 7 television address, he said, "We are convinced that the security who resigned in January. • solution alone is not enough to extricate the country from the crisis, and that it is inevitable that radical and comprehensive solutions be found to the political, eco- nomic, social, and cultural issues." But to date, the FIS—whose representatives have reportedly met secretly with LeSOthO Continued government officials to no avail in the past—has not warmed up, at least publicly, with the government. And while a to Zeroual's apparent overtures. compromise over the pay raise was In a communique published shortly after Zeroual's appointment, the FIS said announced, it was also recognized that that the new regime was "meaningless" and that its "days were numbered," the problems between the two groups according to a Radio Morocco report. involved political concerns. Even if Zeroual is able to use his apparent carrot-and-stick approach to nudge But while Mokhehle's efforts to moderate FIS leaders to the negotiating table, supporters of the banned movement resolve ihe military question have been are becoming increasingly more radical. And groups which are more radical and given a shot in the arm by international violent than the FIS—such as the Armed Islamic Group—continue to gain sup- support, they may also be complicated porters, which could erode the effectiveness of any negotiations between the FIS by another issue: Lesotho's monarchy. and the government. King Letsie HI insists that his father. But finding a solution to the impasse between the fundamentalists and the gov- Moshoeshoe II, be reinstated as the ernment is only half of a twin challenge facing the Zeroual regime: The president country's monarch. But the must also address Algeria's economic crisis, which has contributed greatly to the army—which ousted the former king in unpopularity of the government. 1990, after he clashed repeatedly with The economy suffers from decades of mismanagement and corruption, as well the country's military rulers—is still as a drop in the prices Algeria receives for its main exports, oil and gas. In Febru- distrustful of the monarchy. On the ary, the government appeared close to closing a deal on a package of economic other side of the equation are reforms with the IMF and continued talks to reschedule its foreign debt payments, Moshoeshoe's supporters, who have which were expected to consume all of its export earnings this year. threatened violence in the past if The Algerian government has been under increasing pressure to deal with the Moshoeshoe is not reinstated with a FIS from Western governments, including the United States. • degree of the authority the monarchy once wielded. •

11 March/April 19 9 4 made in late January, he said the budget MALAWI represents a "fine-tuning" of the struc- BUSINESS tural adjustment program to meet the Malawi was scheduled to float its needs of society, according to a report currency, the kwacha, on February 7. BRIEFS on Nigerian television. The decision to lift foreign exchange But 's donors are not the only controls and allow the kwacha's value ones unhappy with the budget. Accord- to be determined by market forces was spiracy began in 1991 and continued ing to African Business, Abacha made announced in a February 4 Reserve into the next year. his 1994 budget speech nine days late Bank of Malawi press release. Autho- Industrial diamonds are generally because of disputes within his cabinet rized exchange banks were to begin produced synthetically from carbon and over the country's future economic freely buying and selling the currency are used in industrial tools. direction. on February 7. De Beers Centenary A.G.'s parent Leading the resistance to the reintro- An additional measure announced by company, De Beers Consolidated duction of economic controls and aban- the bank was an increase in the amount Mines Ltd., is no stranger to price fix- donment of free market reform was of foreign exchange Malawians travel- ing. Its Central Selling Organization Nigeria's recently appointed finance ing abroad could purchase. Under the (CSO) has fixed the world price of minister, Kalu Idika Kalu, who is a for- new regulations, a resident of Malawi rough diamonds for decades. mer World Bank economist. can now purchase the equivalent of And it was in the sale of rough dia- Regardless of economic direction, U.S.$3,000 for holiday travel abroad, monds that De Beers had somewhat Nigeria has been hurt by the fall in the $4,000 for medical expenses, and better news to report earlier this year. In world price for oil. This is not expected $5,000 for business purposes, accord- January, the conglomerate reported to change. The 1994 budget predicted a ing to a Malawi Broadcasting Corpora- record sales of $4.37 billion for its price of $14 a barrel, down from $17.50 tion report. rough diamonds in 1993. This is an in 1993's budget. Prior to floating the currency, Malawi increase of over 25 percent from last was facing chronic foreign exchange year's sales of the gems, and almost a 5 ECONOMY shortages. percent increase over the previous record sales of $4.17 billion in 1988. The Preferential Trade Area for East- SOUTH AFRICA De Beers is the second largest com- em and Southern Africa (PTA) is plan- pany listed on the Stock ning to establish a stock market, When ANC officials called for an Market after Anglo American. according to a February 2 Pan-African end to U.S. sanctions against South News Agency (PANA) report. Africa last year and gave the green light Under the plan, which was outlined for joint ventures between U.S. and NICERIA by PANA, the 20-member PTA will South African firms, this was not what The 1994 budget unveiled by head of establish stock exchanges in member- they had in mind. state Gen. Sani Abacha in a January 10 states that do not yet have them and After a two-year anti-trust investiga- address to the nation marks the strengthen existing national stock mar- tion by the U.S. Justice Department, regime's apparent abandonment of the kets by linking them to the PTA South Africa's De Beers Centenary economic reform program begun by exchange. The intention is to increase A.G. and the U.S. company General Gen. Ibrahim Babangida in 1986. cross-border investment and capital Electric were indicted on February 17 Abacha, who seized power in a coup mobility in the PTA. on charges that they conspired to raise d'etat in November, announced a fixed According to PANA, Kenya, Zim- and fix world prices for industrial dia- exchange rate of 22 naira to the U.S. babwe, and Botswana were the only monds. dollar, interest rate ceilings of 12 to 15 PTA countries operating stock mar- Together, the two concerns—which percent, and a ban on the free repatria- kets in the beginning of February. deny collusion—are said to control 80 tion of export revenue. Zambia was on the verge of opening percent of the $500 million a year The reimposition of economic con- one. industrial diamond market. trols outlined in the new budget is The Justice Department investigation seen as a major setback to Nigeria's ZAIRE began after a GE employee, Edward efforts to reach an agreement with the Russell, claimed that he was dismissed IMF. The World Bank was scheduled to from the American company for "blow- The most populous sub-Saharan close its office in Zaire's capital, Kin- ing the whistle" on price-fixing. Less African country needs a deal with the shasa, on January 31. A bank official than a week before the February indict- lending organization to convince West- reportedly said that the closing was ment of the two companies by a federal ern donors to grant it substantial debt "for a temporary but indefinite peri- grand jury, however, Russell withdrew relief. Nigeria is $6 billion in arrears on od." his allegations apparently after striking its $30 billion external debt. The bank—which had previously a deal with GE. Abacha claims that the 1994 bud- declared Zaire "insolvent"—said that it Nonetheless, the grand jury—which get—which outlined a three-year eco- would maintain a liaison office in Kin- also indicted a De Beers official, nomic plan—is not a repudiation of the shasa. Philippe Liotier, and a GE employ- free-market economy, as Western The country also reportedly faced ee—alleges that the price-fixing con- donors have suggested. In comments expulsion from the IMF in February.

Africa Report 12 ViV BANQUE CENTRALE tV*!^ iDES ETATS DE L'AFRIQUE DE L'Ol. 4V4V4 BANQUE CENTRALE I DBS ETATS DE= L'AFRIQUK DE • • • •••>•••••••• • BYKAYE^WJH

The devaluation of the CFA franc, by 50 percent, although widely predicted, was a shock, prompting fears of social unrest, labor agitation, and political instability. The end of the CFA's parity with the French franc-after 45 years-signaled a turning point in France's relationship with its former colonies in West and Central Africa. Coincidental^, the African leader with the closest ties to France, Presi- dent Felix Houphouet-Boigny of Cote d'lvoire, died in December. The two events clearly marked the end of an era in France's special relationship with Africa.

CErviTRALE i ETATS DE LAFRIQUE DE L'QUEST ^^^H^^^H he major, obsessional, inescapable francophone Africans the way he did, or carry the same ^^^H ^^^J topic of conversation through all of weight in Paris. He was the doyen of the francophones, ^^^W ^^^^ francophone Africa (and in African and it is enough to see that the new doyen (in simple I I circles in France) since the beginning terms of longevity in power) is the disreputable Mobutu I I of the new year has been "la devalua- Sese Seko of Zaire to know that Houphouet, like the I I tion." This is the reduction in the pari- myth of parity, can never be replaced. II ty of the Communaute Financiere The Ivorian president had always been implacably I^H Africaine (CFA) franc, the currency of opposed to devaluation, not because there might not have ^^^^ the countries of the franc zone been advantages for Cote d'lvoire from the measure, but (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Repub- because he feared the psychological and political conse- lic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote d'lvoire, Gabon, Mali, quences of the move. His concern was for all the franco- Niger, Senegal, Togo—all French territories—and ex- phone countries—their political as well as their economic Spanish Equatorial Guinea), from 50 CFA to one French stability, for which he saw the continuing engagement of franc to 100 CFA to one French franc. The decision was the French as vital. The franc zone with its fixities was one made at a summit in Dakar, Senegal, of the countries of the means by which France's commitment to Africa was involved from January 11-12, originally convened to dis- cemented. This is what has now been loosened. cuss the problems of Air Afrique, the regional airline. In the 1960s, there was serious criticism from African Although it had been widely and regularly predicted for some two years before, the decision has still come as a bitter shock which is seen by the countries con- cerned as marking a turning point in the special rela- tionship between France and Africa. This has thrived in the past 30 or more years, with economic, military, and cultural dimensions, with the financial underpinning of the franc zone. "Why nothing can ever be the same again," wrote Jeune Afrique forlornly as one of its cover lines after the ax fell. There is a sense of something having been lost or broken, never to be repaired, that goes beyond the sim- ple fact of a change in the value of the currency. Incredibly, the parity of the CFA franc with the French nationalists of the "neo-colonial" nature of the franc zone. franc has remained unchanged since 1948, even if the The critics, among whom figured President Sekou Toure French franc had revamped itself with de Gaulle's "new of Guinea (who had been obliged to leave the zone after franc" of 1958. The French franc has also subsequently his 1958 break with de Gaulle in claiming full indepen- been devalued several times as well, moving within the dence), concentrated on the French control of the zone bounds of the exchange rate mechanism of the European and its central banks, the holding of reserves in Paris by Monetary System. the French treasury, and the loss of independence But whatever the French franc has done, the CFA has involved. These critics were to a limited extent answered followed. When President Georges Pompidou devalued by the Pompidou reforms of the early 1970s, which in 1969, the Africans were not consulted and were, it was decentralized the zone and its banks, although retaining said at the time, "like Mme. Pompidou, not in the know." 65 percent of the reserves in Paris. The longer the parity remained the same, through a What caused criticism to fade, however, was the suc- variety of conditions, the more it seemed inviolate and cess of the zone in bringing higher than average growth the harder to break, especially in the context of the post- to its members, while economies outside like Guinea, independence sphere of influence. As such, it acquired, Mali (which had also left the zone and had to return along with the much vaunted convertibility, the value of a humiliated in 1967), and Madagascar, which left after the fetish, surrounded by all kinds of myths. revolution in 1972, all were seen to be suffering. None appreciated this more than Felix Houphouet- The zone was seen not just as facilitating development Boigny, president of Cote d'lvoire, whose death at age 88 by attracting investment through its convertibility, and on December 7 also marked a significant turning point through the stability offered by the fixed parity. It was for francophone Africa. For he was the principal machine- vaunted because, in the 1970s, it minder of the "special relationship," a key player in the brought higher growth rates, even if Above, President system set up by General Charles de Gaulle after the these were helped along by transient F^Ux Houphouet- "year of independence" in 1960. For the French, he is high prices for cocoa and coffee, but D . . „ . irreplaceable. There is no one now who can speak for the , „ , , ., , ^. • Boteny ana French above all by the two oil booms. This Kaye Wkiteman is editor-in-chief of West Africa magazine in London. golden age (seen especially in Gabon, msifaa Francois Cameroon, and Cote d'lvoire) con- Mitterrand

Africa Report 14 tained the seeds of later problems, as the attractiveness of Arguably, the CFA franc was always over-valued. the franc zone in the lending frenzy of the late 1970s built According to Teresa Hayter in French Aid (ODI, London, up the debt problems of the 1980s. 1968), this was deliberately so, to make Africa more It was only in the mid-1980s that the alarm bells began to attractive to French expatriates (as long as they were ring, even if the poorer countries of the zone, such as Sene- paid in French francs) who would go to Africa in order to gal and the Sahelians, were already experiencing more and make money (faire le CFA). At various stages, it has been more difficult times. High interest rates, and the catastro- more or less so, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as phe of debt headed the list of woes, closely followed by the France became more preoccupied with maintaining its slump in commodity prices, notably petroleum. The other own currency value (and staying with the deutschmark ills that affect Africa in its "lost decade," such as the cumula- in the ERM), the position of the CFA became more con- tive sclerosis of singlt?-partyism, mismanagement, and cor- spicuous. The relatively low dollar and the dramatically ruption, also took their toll on the earlier confidence which cheap Ghanaian cedi and Nigerian naira (not to mention had surrounded the franc zone. the leone, dalasi, and indeed the zaire) all contrived to In 1987 for the first time, the compte d'operations of the highlight its apartness further. zone in the French treasury, the sinews of the zone, went Resistance to the idea of change was strong, however. into overall deficit for both the West and Central African First of all, the French-African business lobby, which parts of the zone. Coming at the same time as evidence benefited from the high-value CFA and feared losses in of declining French trade and investment in sub-Saharan the event of devaluation, has maintained a remarkably Africa, doubts began to be expressed as to how long the effective pressure group near to the heart of govern- zone could remain a viable operation, as its contradic- ment in Paris. Secondly, the elites and bourgeoisie in tions became apparent. As one ambassador in Dakar said francophone Africa, particularly partial to the lifestyle to me in 1990, "You can't have a strong currency based offered by things French, were deeply hostile to the on weak economies." idea. These two groups converged to play on the suspi- The doubts emanated principally from Washington cion in Paris that the whole thing might be an American institutions, the International Monetary Fund and the plot to undo France's special relationship in Africa, so World Bank, which in the 1980s assumed a commanding that when early in 1992, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State role in determining the fate of the economies of many for Africa Herman Cohen told newsmen in Paris that the CFA should be devalued, the fear and loathing set up took months to over- come. It was a "provoca- tion" that has now entered legend. Meanwhile, the drain of CFA liquidity into neighboring countries was running out of con- trol. In 1992, CFA notes returned to the central bank through I-ondon and Geneva (hence from Lagos, Accra, and Banjul) were put at 1.2 billion French francs, and in the first half of 1993, the seep- age was reportedly worse. Ironically, in March 1993, the Rassemblement Populaire Republicain, the Gaullist party, won the African countries, recommending free market policies French parliamentary elections. And although the such as deregulation, privatization, and most controver- Gaullists traditionally have the most sentimental and busi- sially, devaluation. They began to be applied in the franc ness ties in Africa of all the French political parties, it hap- zone's neighbors, notably Ghana and Nigeria, where pened that the man who became prime minister, Edouard massive devaluations were undertaken in the mid-1980s. Balladur, had none. His previous job had been minister of These merely highlighted the growing problem of the finance, and his background was bureaucratic. "over-valuation" of the CFA franc. Confronted with the appalling imbalances being cre-

15 March/April 19 9 4 The Squeeze on

s analysts assess the fallout of January's 50 Initial panic among Gambian importers accustomed percent devaluation of the CFA franc against to often obscene profit margins and fearing unprece- Aits French cousin, economic relations dented austerity has proved well-founded as the between two of West Africa's most interdependent effects of Senegal's action begin to set in. Textiles, states continue to be fragile following Senegal's re-exported by road mainly to Senegal, Guinea, and decision to stop the transit of goods-laden trucks Mali, have already been devastated by the border from the Gambia destined for a third country. restriction, with dealers reporting a significant sales Senegal put the embargo in place last September drop and some declaring themselves close to after complaining its treasury was losing $7.4 million bankruptcy. a year in unpaid customs duties because of the infor- Banjul, at the height of the trade a bustling, active mal cross-border trade it condemned as la fraude, or city, is beginning to feel the pinch as annual laborers smuggling. and other affected informal workers brace them- Shortly before, Senegal, In tandem with six other selves to join the ranks of the unemployed. "We West African francophones, had announced the sus- depend 95 percent on the re-export trade for our pension of the French-supported currency's convert- livelihood and have been very badly hit, not like the ibility, ruling that CFA franc notes could only be sugar, rice, and other bulk commodity importers who exchanged for other convertible currencies within have at least something of a local market," Rifaat the West African Monetary Union (UMOA). UDEAC. Farage, a major Gambian-Lebanese textile importer, UMOA's Central African partner in the African Franc told Africa Report. Zone, also announced a similar suspension, which Omar Sey, the Gambia's foreign minister, has lob- was widely interpreted as a precursor to devaluation. bied the sub-regional and international community The two major policy changes have placed a huge with which the country enjoys trading links. He strain on natural resources-starved the Gambia, argues the action to stifle the transit or re-export which is almost entirely engulfed by its francophone trade, which he views as "distinct and separate" neighbor and depends to a large extent on the re- from informal bilateral trade, contravenes Economic export trade. Officially, some 60 percent of goods Community of West African States (Ecowas) as well imported through the tiny enclave's only port in the as GATT regulations. capital, Banjul, are re-exported into the sub-region by "Two countries cannot be so close to each other, road via Senegal. Privately, analysts confirm at least have this geographic contiguity, and not experience 90 percent of some imports are re-exported. trade between them," Sey told Africa Report in an The Gambia, with its major earner, the groundnut, interview, adding that most of the so-called smugglers in decline, has used its comparative advantages were In any event Senegalese and not Gambians. —among them a liberal banking and customs regime Sey insists the trade "has been going on between —to steal a march on other West African states the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, landlocked Mali and where prohibitive tariffs and excessive red tape , Guinea, and even Sierra Leone for many, make importation an expensive, often nightmarish, many years. On our side, businessmen have paid business. Senegalese customs officials to export their goods in The advantage is evident in prices. At December trucks from the Gambia to these third countries, 1993 prices, wholesale rice was available in the Gam- [and] there is...no reason at all for stopping this tran- bia at $13 per 50-kilogram bag. In Guinea-Bissau, less sit trade." than a half hour's flying time away, the going rate for Economic policy-makers, anxious to minimize the the same size bag was a staggering $70. effect of Senegal's actions on the Gambia, complain ated, and the fact that the IMF/World Bank were Camdessus, who himself had been converted to the increasingly withholding funds because of the alarming necessity of devaluing, found willing ears in Balladur financial holes even in once-prosperous countries like and the French treasury. Cote d'lvoire and Cameroon, without even mentioning Despite continuing official denials that devaluation some of the more breadline cases, something had to was going to happen, a highly significant development give. The French managing director of the IMF, Michel took place on August 2, 1993. In the middle of a Euro-

Africa Report 16 that mediation efforts have reached an impasse. country of little more than a million people—with an Senegal's finance minister, Pape Ousmane Sakho, annual per capita inflow of $100, ranking among sub- postponed a scheduled visit to the Gambia in Jan- Saharan Africa's most aid-dependent nations. "By the uary, deeming a pre-devaluation meeting with senior end of 1994, if the problem is not resolved, bud- French and Bretton Woods officials more crucial. getary support will be necessary from the interna- "Senegal doesn't have the political will to imple- tional donor community," admitted one official. ment the economic policies required for the devalua- Spurred by donor concern, the Gambian authorities tion to achieve its objectives," says a senior Gam- are attempting to diversify the country's volatile and bian Central Bank analyst. "That's why it's keeping narrow economic base. To circumvent Senegalese the border closed. territory, coastal freighters and air cargo are now "The major assumption is that most of the goods being employed. The government insists its correc- stay in Senegal but that's not so. Senegal's imposi- tive measures have defeated the doomsday scenarios tion of these non-tariff barriers on legitimate interna- painted by the IMF. tionally sanctioned trade is tantamount to sabo- "Predictions had been made that re-export rev- tage." enues would drop by 50 percent, but because of the The francophone neighbor, thrust into double jeop- measures put in place, that figure is now revised to ardy by International Monetary Fund conditionalities, 25 percent," said the Central Bank official. "Where then by the CFA's devaluation, has introduced price they had predicted negative growth of 5 percent, we controls, which many insist undermine the goals of now believe the economy will register positive devaluation and defeat the object of structural growth, albeit at a slower pace." adjustment. With a black market for the French franc While the Gambia sets itself up to avoid economic already developing even before the January 11 deval- decline, its neighbor is sitting on a socioeconomic uation, many predict food shortages and social time bomb. The common belief is that austerity-hit unrest. Senegal—which before the devaluation slashed civil Last August's suspension of convertibility eroded service salaries and raised import duties on rice and confidence in the CFA franc, once a favored currency other staple commodities—would do well to de- shipped to Europe by Gambian merchants to pay for restrict the frontier as soon as possible and put in commodity imports. The devaluation has since dealt place a transparent system that works against smug- the franc zone currency a death blow. In Banjul, the gling, yet sets realistic conditions on importers. dalasi has appreciated against the CFA franc. Banks "It's not in the interests of the Gambia for Senegal no longer deal in the currency, resulting in more pres- to have economic problems, we all recognize that we sure on the dollar and other major currencies. The want Senegal to prosper," declared one Gambian offi- ubiquitous bag-toting Fulanis who run the parallel cial who, like most who spoke to Africa Report, exchange market now turn their noses up when the demanded anonymity because the issue is so sensi- notes are proffered. tive. "A prosperous Gambia can be a market for Sene- Up until November last year, the Gambia had not galese goods. Wherever there's trade, there's mutual suffered a downturn in the volume of trade since benefit." orders placed by importers before the closure were According to one outgoing Western ambassador, still arriving at the port. Trade is however expected Senegal's policy—and the ensuing diplomatic to decline markedly in 1994. Responding to alarm impasse—is a threat to sub-regional trade. "The from the business sector and donors alike, Finance geopolitical closeness of the Gambia and Senegal is Minister Bakary Dabo slashed nonessential bud- one of the most compelling arguments for sub-region- getary expenditures and increased the pump price of al economic integration," he told Africa Report. "If gasoline by 0.5 dalasi a liter (9.5 dalasi = $1). they can't get their acts together and sort out this Finance officials say the measures are designed to ridiculous mess, what hope is there for Ecowas and a ensure that for the first half of this year, the burden single monetary zone? I venture to suggest none, of the border crisis will be carried by the government. whatsoever." • But hard times are just around the corner for the —Peter da Costa pean currency crisis, it was quietly announced by the Although official convertibility through banks West and Central African central banks (BCEAO and remained, this was a blow struck at the heart of the franc BEAC) that CFA currency notes would no longer be con- zone idea, and clearly implied that a change in parity vertible outside the zone. This was followed a month could not be far away. A parallel market in CFA sprang up later by the ending of convertibility of notes between the over the borders, and traders in Dakar, Bamako, Central and West African zones. Cotonou, and Abidjan began to unofficially discount the

17 Marcb/April 19 9 4 currency as well as engage in speculative hoarding of invited themselves to ensure that the foul deed was done. French francs. It was not without irony that the Air Afrique recovery Another devious harbinger of impending change was program approved at the summit was immediately ren- a letter which Balladur wrote to African leaders in dered out-of-date by the devaluation decision, but few September 1993 indicating that France would no longer saw this droll aspect. provide structural adjustment assistance to African coun- Subsequently, the leaders of the franc zone, injured tries unless they were signed up with the IMF and World and bitter, above all with the French, complained patheti- Bank. This letter was seen as an admission that France cally that the level of French representation should have could no longer cope with African problems on its own, been higher, and insisted that Mitterrand and Balladur and was virtually handing over responsibility for the eco- hold a summit with them in Yamoussoukro after the nomic direction of its former territories to the Washing- Houphouet funeral on February 7. It was in fact a non- ton institutions. event that took no decisions, simply an occasion for the A meeting of franc zone ministers in Abidjan in the Africans to complain about their situation and ask for same month received the same crisp message from more money, but at least hurt feelings were slightly Finance Minister Edmond Alphandery. Reports began to soothed. appear that a secret deal had been arranged between the Balladur tried to tell them that things were not as bad French and the IMF. With remarkable prescience, the as all that—it was "a beginning, not an end." Mitterrand Paris daily Liberation reported that there would be a (who privately must have been glad that it was mainly devaluation early in 1994, once the Gabonese presiden- Balladur who was on the receiving end of the flak, even tial elections were over. Never had something that ideally from his own party, the Gaullists) said to the summit with should be top-secret been so often and so repeatedly as straight a face as he could manage: "The opposition is foretold. not between you and us, but between us and the interna- Michel Roussin, the former senior security man who tional institutions." rather surprisingly had become Balladur's minister of In fact, these institutions, as well as France and its cooperation, visited a number of countries to preach the EU partners and other interested parties, were all anx- message that they all had to seek help from the financial ious to be seen to be rallying around. Senegal and Cote institutions, that the era of the permanent handouts to d'lvoire led the queue to sign back on at the IMF, now help with the fin du mois (monthly salary payments to expected to show some indulgence instead of stony- civil servants) was over. Roussin's tergiversation on the faced rigidity. The bad temper of some African presi- subject ("I never heard of the devaluation of the CFA," dents was worrying to France, but it was reckoned that August 3, 1993; "Edmond Alphandery and myself, we sulks would pass. More disturbing was the risk of social don't want a devaluation," October 10,1993) became less disturbances, labor agitation, and political unrest and less convincing. (which did in fact break out in February), that could With an air of sanctimonious abdication, French min- threaten the new multi-party democratic experiments. If isters increasingly stressed that any devaluation was a some dwell on the positive aspects— increased compet- matter for the franc zone heads of state to decide, almost itiveness, upswing in government revenues—especially as if France would have no role in the matter. At the same for some of the richer, better endowed countries, which time, they were telling the Africans that they were under had previously been feeling the pinch most, others were intolerable pressure from the Washington institutions, on concerned that the Sahel countries and poor but politi- whom blame was consistently laid. cally volatile countries like Senegal and Benin might At this moment came the death of Felix Houphouet- experience particular problems. Boigny, removing the one person whose leadership In an atmosphere of confusion and uncertainty, might conceivably have delayed the decision, as he may hoarding and speculation, there are real doubts that well have done in July 1992. Now it is being said that it inflation can be checked enough to make the devalua- would never have happened if he had been alive, but tion of any lasting benefit, giving rise to concerns that, this is probably escapism (there were those who given the limitations of trying to maintain a fixed parity thought that the decision would wait until a decent rather than floating, another devaluation might be on interval after his burial). Even Houphouet would have the cards, which could even lead to a fragmentation of had to bow to the pressures, but a new myth is abroad the zone itself. that, if nothing else, will help immortalize his memory, Not even the present and former presidents and prime even if it is of no practical value to his successor, Henri ministers of France packed into the resplendent Basilica Konan Bedie, for whom devaluation has only added to of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro could mask the the problems he faces in trying to consolidate his newly fact that the devaluation, like the death of Felix acquired power. Houphouet-Boigny, signified the end of an era for The Dakar summit, originally called to discuss Air France's special relationship in Africa. Whatever forms Afrique, found itself a "devaluation summit" to which and structures might evolve in the future, the 45-year Roussin and Camdessus, an unlikely pair of assassins, franc zone party was over. O

Africa Report 18 BY HOWARD FRENCH

CLOSING PTER ! I I authoritarianism fostered by French aggrandizement anged and France is rapidly retreating ime dictators of West Africa. Now, rs, must grope toward a new and more

hroughout a political career that spanned half a century, Felix Houphouet-Boigny often looked suspiciously at Western-style democracy, viewing it as a Pandora's box that, once opened, would unleash centrifu- gal energies that could never again be contained. To look at West Africa's current disar- ray in the wake of the Ivorian president's death, one could be tempted to state that this pessimistic vision, true to Houphouet's favorite self-image as the sage, was a powerfully prescient one. But across West Africa, and already now in the deceased Ivorian leader's own land, those who would draw this conclusion are learning the impossibility of rolling back time. The unfolding lessons for West Africa's next genera- tion, already seem, in fact, to be quite different from those Houphouet-Boigny would have had them draw, particularly if they are to be culled from the post- Houphouet experience of Cote d'lvoire. For all of its vaunted development, Cote d'lvoire must now go forward to face the same problems of debt, unemployment, poverty, and ethnic tensions that plague the rest of the region. The land of Houphouet-Boigny faces the added disadvantage, however, of being a rela- tive infant in terms of political experience. And now, however chaotic the approaching period may prove, it seems inevitable that this country's future,

Howard French is a Miami-based reporter for The New York Times who formerly resided in Cote d'lvoire. Ivorian neighbors, have always been associated in the United States and Japan for their "selfishness" with work of building their nation. regard to the continent. With France now pulling back from the region with If Chirac stands out, however, for West Africa, it is all impressive speed. Cote dlvoire seems set to absorb pre- but clear that he offers no true alternative. Struggling to cisely this lesson: There is no substitute for experience. keep pace with its main Western competitors, France no Although France's policy of withdrawal from its for- longer has the luxury of floating the mostly moribund mer francophone possessions began years ago, economies of francophone Africa. Houphouet-Boigny, like many observers, only seemed to More importantly perhaps, the palsy style of Chirac realize what was happening in the last year or so, when that enabled him to avert his eyes from their dictatorial the question of support for the once-sacrosanct CFA practices while bolstering the regimes of Eyadema, franc became the subject of open debate. Mobutu, and Bongo, among others, in the 1980s is the In fact, Paris, following the de Gaulle dictum that last thing that a continent desperate for rigor, transparen- countries have no friends, but rather interests, had long cy, and participation needs. begun to forage in other pastures. The turning point in Beginning with a wave of contestation in 1988, West fact was Nigeria, where, beginning in the late 1970s, Africa preceded, rather than followed, Eastern Europe in France began to increase its trade and investment, shaking up its old dictatorships and seeking a democratic reversing culturally guided attempts to isolate or even way of life. The instincts of France were to brace its reli- dismantle the anglophone giant, in order to take advan- able old friends against change, rather than to nudge tage of the largest and one of the most viable markets o ti them toward the kind of evolution that is required if the continent. Africa is to soon emerge to attract the attentions of for- By the mid-1980s, Paris, against the protests of eign investors or even retain the talents of its own educat- Houphouet, had begun to water down the annual Franco- ed elites, who in ever greater numbers become profes- African summits, bringing in leaders of other states sional exiles abroad. where new French interests lay, and diluting the impor- Although he has been given credit for encouraging tance of its traditional allies. democratization, Francois Mitterrand, while more pro- Much has changed in the world since the mid-1980s, gressive than Chirac, embraced the theme late, and then and Houphouet-Boigny's death and burial seemed for only cautiously with his famous summit of La Baule, at France a neat way to close a long chapter in its special which he declared, somewhat deceptively, "From now post-colonial relationship with Africa. With France wor- on, France will link its aid to the efforts of those heading ried about remaining competitive with Germany in East- toward more freedom." ern as well as Western Europe now, Africa has clearly Togo, Gabon, Cote d'lvoire, Cameroon, and others lost much of its long-enduring appeal. soon went on to violate the spirit of democracy, some- Their respects freshly paid to the Ivorian leader, who times brutally, provoking little effort from France to was buried in grandiose fashion in his native Yamous- throw its weight behind change. France, of course, was soukro, French President Francois Mitterrand, a social- not alone in its cynicism. ist, and Prime Minister Edouard Balladur, a conservative, Where promising rays of democracy have shone, the immediately turned their concerted attentions to retun- United States has done little to help secure them. Where ing francophone Africa's diplomatic violins. dictators have stood fast, there has been little stomach to No longer would France foot the bills, they said in help uproot them. meetings with their African counterparts while still on It may be hard for some to imagine, but like the deval- Ivorian soil. To those looking for succor in the wake of uation of the CFA franc, the death of Houphouet-Boigny the 50 percent devaluation of the CFA franc, the French and the retreat of France from the region he helped it leaders said significant new aid would come only through watch over, may ultimately bear salutary effects for fran- the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, cophone West Africa as the region, for the first time since both strongly American-influenced institutions whose the wave of independence in 1960, finally seeks to find its prescriptions in the region Paris had once almost seemed own way. to encourage its African partners to snub. "Faced with a new situation, African leaders must, like Of France's major political tenors, only former prime Paris, give in to realism: diminish the lavishncss of the minister and longtime mayor of Paris Jacques Chirac state apparatus, making it serve the needs of the people, strikes a different chord these days. Chirac, long the promoting regional and continental integration, in short closest to Houphouet-Boigny of French political leaders, to take charge of itself," wrote Albert Bourgi recently in has been a lone voice decrying France's decision to an editorial in Jeune Afrique. "In this way, the devaluation entrust the management of its longtime preserve to the of the CFA will have been a catharsis, one that mentally Bretton Woods institutions. emancipates African leaders from their relations with "Between countries that know and love each other, Paris, and thus definitively cuts the umbilical cord that the bilateral must prevail over the multilateral," Chirac for more than three decades has weighed on the rela- told Jeune Afrique magazine, after condemning the tions between their states and the former metropole." O

Africa Report PRESIDENT JERRY RAWLINGS BY MARGARET A. NOVICKI

Ghana's Fourth Republic After heading the Provisional National In this wide-ranging interview, the Defense Council since 1981, Jerry Ghanaian president comments on Rowlings became Ghana's first civilian democracy Ghana-style, as well as the elected president in more than a decade economic successes his country has in 1993. Although the defeated recorded over the past decade. opposition boycotted the parliamentary President Rowlings also explains the elections, President Rowlings explains that kind of assistance his country would like Ghana has a healthy democracy, with to receive from the U.S.—fair prices for its plenty of criticism of government policies, products and honest investment.

Africa Report. After a controversial start, Ghana's Fourth sometimes erode the urgency of necessary measures. I Republic is now one year old. What lessons have you have had occasion to draw attention to some of these as learned about the implementation of democracy, i.e. the well as some conflicting clauses in the constitution. electoral process, and its practice after a year? Despite these, we will remain faithful to the constitution Rowlings; I don't think there was a "controversial start," even as we recognize that with time Ghanaians may as you put it. The majority of Ghanaians and the interna- have to take a second look at some aspects of it. tional observer groups did not think so either, ft was .n i^poH; You have always been a proponent of those who lost fairly resoundingly in the first round of grassroots democracy. With the advent of the Fourth elections and then boycotted the second round who have Republic, have you achieved your goal of democracy raised a controversy. "from the bottom up," or with the pressure to hold multi- Also, when you ask what we have "learned about the party elections, was this principle sidelined? Is Ghona's implementation of democracy and the electoral process" democracy different in this respect from others around in the past year, I have to point out that the building of a the continent? meaningful system of democracy dates bock to some 1 2 Rowlings: We have had to make some compromises, it is years ago. Decentralization in government administra- true, but not of principle. The flavor of grassroots democ- tion, the creation of district political authorities was part racy, the confidence of the ordinary man or woman to of this electoral process. So democracy and elections did challenge injustice, the spirit of communal endeavor, not just drop down from the sky a year or two ago. They though alive, has been slightly dampened by the encum- were a stage in a long process. After all, what is democ- brances and procedural requirements in constitutional racy if the people at the grassroots are not empowered rule—some of the old healthy spontaneity is gone. But let to take decisions affecting themselves? me emphasize that the people at the grassroots can I must say, however, that the past year, operating never again be marginalized in Ghanaian politics. under a constitutional, multi-party parliamentary system, You ask if our democracy is different from others has demonstrated that constitutional safeguards are cost- around the continent? I would say the revolt of June 4, y, particularly in terms of lengthy procedures which can 1979 and the revolutionary process that was initiated on

March/April 19 9 4 December 31, 1981 changed the political culture in our with opposition leaders. However, we find that some of country. It created the conditions for the involvement of the statements from the opposition outside these meetings the ordinary people in the decision-making processes send contradictory signals. For example, to tell opposi- and it changed the political and economic direction of tion supporters that their only reason for "doing busi- the country. The lessons and experiences have given our ness" with government is to set the scene for the 1996 democracy a character of its own. elections, or to threaten to boycott these elections if cer- Africa Report: The opposition parties maintain that 'he tain conditions are not met, is hardly conducive to useful conduct of the presidential election was flawed, causing interchange of views. them to boycott the parliamentary elections. They allege Africa Report: The independent press is among the main that the Fourth Republic is a mere reincarnation of "he pillars of a working democracy. However, your critics PNDC, with most of the some personalities and a rubber- maintain that with the implementation of democracy in stamp parliament. How do you answer these charges? Ghana, there has not been a commensurate blossoming

The revolutionary process that was initiated on December 31,

1981 changed the political culture in our country.n

What is the current status of government-opposition rela- of the independent press, and the state-owned media tions? remains tightly restrained. Why is that? What should be Rawlings: The truth is they tried to portray us—with the role of the press in a democracy in your view? some measure of success—-to the outside world as a Rawlings: The views of your so-called critics of the press dictatorial military government. The truth as manifest- in Ghana are untenable. I would have wished you had ed by our people in the voting pattern for the presiden- done your own assessment to ascertain the validity of tial election proved them wrong. They knew they were that criticism. going to face another humiliating defeat in the parlia- In my view, the independent press has not merely mentary elections, hence that tactical ploy of with- blossomed, it has proliferated in all directions, but the drawing under the pretext of those fraudulent allega- quality has not matched the quantity. I concede the pri- tions. They based their campaign on false economic vate press has an important role to play in nation- promises and ethnic issues. They were out of touch building, but in our case, it is full of abuse, distortion with reality. The new mood of the country had no time of facts, and downright vicious sensationalism. There for cheap, childish, and unrealistic promises. They sim- is little by way of sober examination and analysis of ply underestimated the new sense of awareness of "he issues. It is doing some fair amount of damage to the people of this country. national psyche. A few individual members of govern- How long this awareness can be sustained in the face ment have sued for libel, but if we all had to resort to of their persistent false allegations and divisive ethnic the courts to counteract their lies, we would hove no pronouncements against the background of economic time for anything else. difficulties is what I cannot say. Whatever it is, we will continue to remain tolerant hop- It is true that apart from the couple of independent ing that the Media Commission will help instill discipline MP5, the seats are occupied by members of the Progres- and a high sense of professionalism in the conduct of the sive Alliance made up of three parties. But Parliament is press. by no means a rubber stamp, as they have demonstrated You also talk about the state-owned media being tight- by their radical amendment of some of the bills put ly restrained. There again, that observation is misplaced. before the House and their open and frank criticism of The public service media has got distinguishing charac- even some government policies. teristics. They owe it to their readers and viewers to pre- There are many new faces in the cabinet and in other sent accurate stories and facts in a professional and key positions. At the same time, if a person has served with decent manner. competence and integrity in the past, and is involved in Africa Report: It is common knowledge that the World important ongoing development programs, see no need Bank and IMF consider Ghana the star pupil in econom- to sideline that person merely for the sake of a new face. ic reform, but how do you see your country's economic On the question of government-opposition relations, efforts over the past decade? Would you do things differ- some members of government have held some meetings ently if you could start over again?

Africa Report Rowlings: No, I wouldn't do things differently, in terms of to all of us that South Africa's transition receive th< nec- general policies and fiscal measures, but I would hope to essary support, political and economic. see us maximizing the gains from all the sacrifices our At the same time, American policy-makers should people have made through stricter and more efficient not forget that other African nations still face the same management. As regards our performance over the last old problems. Declining or unstable commodity prices decade, I think we could have achieved even more if the still play havoc with our development programs. The international economic order was favorable. For exam- withholding of aid and investment from countries ple, we tripled production in certain export commodit es which do not have what constitutes "good gover- only to earn less in revenue owing to foiling commodity nance" in Western eyes simply creates more hardship prices. and instability, making meaningful democracy even Africa Report: You have been head of state of Ghana ~or harder to achieve. Some African countries are quite over a decade, a period of tremendous change in your close to achieving sustainable economies, and a small country, the region, and the continent. What are your supporting push can help them attain it, while the reflections on this period of history? How would you absence of support will let them slide back, with all the assess your own record over the past decade? painful work to do again. Kawnngs: I think you should really ask the generality of Recently, the U.S. administration announced that its Ghanaians these questions. It is not for me to assess my international affairs budget which includes development own record. Perhaps when I retire, I can look back and aid and contributions to the World Bank and IMF is document my thoughts. expected to fait from more than $32 billion in 1993 to Africa Report: The West African region is in a period of $17 billion in 1996 and beyond. The U.S. Agency for flux with the death of Houphouet-Boigny in Cote d'lvoire International Development [U.S.AID] on its part is to and the devaluation of the CFA signaling the end of an close 21 of its Foreign posts. These developments tend to era, and continued turmoil in Togo, Liberia, and Niger a. reinforce the notion that the U.S. may be considering a What is your assessment of the current political situation strategy of global withdrawal. Obviously any cuts in the in the region? contribution of the U.S. to the IMF and World Bank and Rowlings: We are witnessing some significant political the review of the development funds administered by and economic changes in the sub-region and we have to U.S.AID would be felt in Africa considering the needs of manage these very carefully. Political instability contin- the continent for financial support. ues to undermine our efforts to regional economic inte- But by and large, we want to stand on our own feet, gration. It is for this reason that Ghana has played an and the help we need to do this is fair prices for our

vv The withholding of aid and investment simply creates more hardship, making meaningful democracy harder to achieve.

active role in the Liberia peace process. It is my hope products, and honest investment, African countries do that the combatants will come to respect the Cotonou not want to be dependent on the industrialized nations. agreement and bring stability to that country. I also hope We do not wont to see thousands of our people seeking the process of political and economic reform in other economic refuge in Europe and America. countries in the sub-region would serve to strengthen Ghana is fortunate that the pressures to accelerate democracy and regional integration. political reforms did not cause disruption and instability. If the nations of West Africa, individually and collec- This was because we hod been systematically preparing tively, are to build a better future for our people, then we for the constitutional era. We are also fortunate that we must all cooperate to ensure that development can go on have been able to maintain a respectable economic in peace and understanding. growth rate over several years, and could therefore Africa Report: What is your view of American policy absorb the considerable financial costs of political toward Africa under the Clinton administration? What reform. However, even with the assistance of some would you like American policy-makers to understand friendly countries toward the cost of democratic process- about Ghana and what should their policy priorities be? es, we have had to curtail programs to provide socia Rowlings: South Africa is understandably at the center amenities such as hospitals, schools, roads, water sup- stage of America's perceptions of Africa. It is important plies, and so on. •

M a r c h A p r i I 19 9 4 like that of the surrounding region, will depend upon ed or brought to heel, witness Sekou Toure and Thomas how well it can grope its way toward some new and more Sankara. participatory style of governance. Paying him homage for these services in a lavish Rather than build upon the energies of a fast-growing photo essay after his death, Paris Match neatly summed population, the ambitions of elites, and the talents gener- up Houphouet's role, but left much else unsaid. "His ated by the newly acquired literacy and training of his secret: Succeed in decolonizing alongside France and not people, Houphouet-Boigny's guiding philosophy in poli- against it," the magazine said in one large headline. tics always seemed to be one of distrust and deferral. What did Houphouet's singular allegiances earn him "Follow behind me," the actions of Africa's own would-be or his country? While the shimmering skyscrapers of Great Helmsman seemed to say, his courtiers going so Abidjan and the other increasingly grandiose monu- far as to publish his "Thought of the Day" for over three ments to his own rule were rising to crowd the horizon, decades. "Don't trifle with the weighty decisions of the Houphouet's rule gained a critical bolster in the form of a world, entrust them to me." permanent military presence meant to deter coups. Houphouet's grace was that he was generally able to Another, even more important army, was constituted of pull off his unique brand of authoritarianism with gentle, French "cooperants." often artful coercion, usually avoiding the heavy-handed These technical assistants, whose presence numbered tactics of the region's other dictators who, awed of this about 50,000 at its peak in the 1980s, filled jobs from the ability, paid him almost ritual homage. banal to the most sophisticated, from secretaries and Few other African leaders have been able to long imi- rural development consultants to a powerful shadow gov- tate the smooth style of Houphouet in building a consen- ernment that oversaw and often trumped the decision of sus, or at least making it appear that he had done so even the president's own nominal ministers. when he had failed. In this skill, which was essential to Lending the country a sheen of efficiency, contribut- his kind of rule, it is unlikely that his successors will ing to Cote d'lvoire's proud image of "the Africa that prove as deft either. works," this "help" also brought with it heavy costs That the clock cannot be turned back is underscored whose true weight will only now come to be known. by another important, but now badly eroded cornerstone Few Ivorians in the system that Houphouet built of Houphouet-Boigny's paternalism. His unquestioned were entrusted with policy prestige and authority were made possible, fostered HOUPHOUET" decisions. Almost system- even, by a France still intensely jealous of its colonial atically, management roles empire. BOICNY > were farmed out to for- The Ivorian leader's career marched hand in hand, if eigners. From the econo- not altogether hand in glove, with a metropolitan power AUTHORITY my to foreign policy, Cote that for a generation raked in enormous revenues from WAS FOSTERED d'lvoire appeared as much the uncompetitive contracts, kickbacks, financial and as any other country in political networks, and sheer theft that the relationship BY A FRANCE the world, to be led by a favored. CTI II I H A I n\ I C single man: Houphouet. Throughout this period, France's practices in its "chasse > I I L L J t A LU U > But if his authority was gardee" and Houphouel's role as Paris's regional godfa- OF ITS COLO- unquestioned, his deci- ther went unchallenged by an outside world caught up in sions were often informed the Cold War. NIAL EMPIRE. by policy options fur- Democracy, even trade in the region, mattered little to nished by the foreigners a Washington only too glad to have Paris retain its lock- he trusted more than he ever felt he could his own hold on what many in the American national security people. establishment saw as a diplomatic backwater, thus keep- One of the most often-told anecdotes about ing it out of the grips of the Soviet Union. Houphouet-Boigny concerns his legendary bet at inde- In this game too, Houphouet-Boigny played a quiet pendence with Kwame Nkrumah over which country, but most effective role, providing logistic, financial, and Cote d'lvoire, with its seemingly laissez-faire capital- diplomatic support whenever called upon. From his ties ism, or Ghana, with its distinct socialist bent, would with the Angolan rebels and support in bolstering Zaire's progress faster. Mobutu to his diplomatic hand in helping rally efforts to Nowadays, more than the ideological options the two block Libya's thrusts in Chad or prevent the emergence leaders subscribed to, which seem almost quaint in ret- of an independent Western Sahara, the Sage of Yamous- rospect, a rising Ghana seems to have been better soukro seemed ever available to lend the West a helping served by a system that favored the employment of hand. home-grown talents. With all of Ghana's coups and With Houphouet-Boigny's help, leaders from the fran- other setbacks, one of the most important, if almost cophone fold who sought their own routes toward inde- unheralded, ingredients of the country's recent suc- pendence and national development were quickly isolat- cesses seems to be the fact that Ghanaians, unlike their

March/April 7 9 9 4 BY PETER DA COSTA (THE FORGOT

Can peace finally be settling on Liberia four years after the start of a disastrous

civil war that has left 150,000 people slaughtered and a million displaced?

Maybe. A small United Nations force is monitoring disarmament of the warring

i factions. But with donor nations virtually ignoring Liberia, the big question for

relief workers is whether peace can prevail in order to return displaced refugees

and help them get started in rehabilitating the devastated country.

Marc h 19 9 4 our years and a series of international media- the Council raised the issue of whether perceived tion efforts later, Liberia's civil war—confus- perpetrators of gross human rights abuses—the lion's ingly complex and a profoundly human share of the 150,000 people estimated to have died in the tragedy—appears to be edging toward a war were civilian victims of factional massacres—should messy and potentially dangerous climax. have a role to play in a new Liberia. The pre-eminence of The focus is now squarely on the dynamics Musa, nominated by Taylor to pacify his increasingly of disarmament, deemed a necessary first marginalized Gio and Mano foot soldiers, demonstrates step toward repatriating and resettling more than a mil- to what extent the hangover of the civil war and fear of lion Liberians currently either internally displaced or liv- retribution will endure long after the war is over. ing as refugees in neighboring West African countries. The LNTG's composition continues to be stymied as If last year's July 25 Cotonou Accord—signed the factions vie over what one commentator described as between the three key players in the conflict/stalemate "the interim spoils of war." Taylor's National Patriotic cycle under United Nations, West African, and continen- Front of Liberia (NPFL) and Ulimo—an anti-Taylor fac- tal co-brokerage—is taken at face value, Liberia's mili- tion linked to the ousted Doe regime which is Taylor's tias should have long been relieved of their weapons and biggest battlefield headache—are united in their politi- propelled, via demobilization camps, into a peaceful civil- cal goal to share between them the portfolios of finance, ian existence. foreign affairs, justice, and defense. Cotonou recognized the need for countrywide securi- The IGNU, led by political science professor Dr. ty so as to ease the passage of 30 or so relief agencies Amos Sawyer, argues that key transition ministries and working in Liberia. It also prescribed a broad-based public corporations must not be allowed to fall into the Liberian National Transitional Government (LNTG), which should have been in place to shepherd the coun- try through seven months of preparations for a multi- party poll organizers hoped would be the first in nearly 150 years of nationhood. Six months after Cotonou, mediators prodded by the UN Security Council and impatient donors are accelerat- ing a disarmament agenda critics say is fundamentally flawed and at odds with the political, military, and humanitarian realities currently on the ground. Under Cotonou, elections were slated for early 1994. But intense bickering over the composition and leader- ship of the transitional government has helped put such elections beyond immediate reach. Electoral technical assistants, including Liberia-based staff, say even if the peace process suddenly takes a quantum leap forward, a hands of armed factions. "We need defense well-organized poll is not realistically achievable before because...Ecomog [the West African military force] will the end of the year. not interact with rebels in charge of the defense min- From the day that details of a five-member Council of istry," IGNU information minister Lamini Waritay told State were fleshed out at a post-accord meeting, again in Africa Report. "And justice, that's a law and order situa- the Benin capital, Cotonou, conflict has condemned tion and we have to maintain peace in this area. Can you political negotiation to a series of inconclusive duels. imagine rebels taking over those key ministries? People First, Council chairman Bismarck Kuyon refused to take will pack their bags and leave...." his seat in the capital of Monrovia until factions were dis- The factions are condemned to resolve their differ- armed. Then Kuyon, nominated by the civilian Interim ences in Monrovia after being effectively banished from Government of National Unity (IGNU) in control of Benin's capital, Cotonou, by a mediation-weary President Monrovia and so-called "liberated areas," was fired. Nicephore Soglo, current chairman of the Economic The replacement of Kuyon with IGNU Justice Minis- Community of West African States (Ecowas), which inter- ter Phillip Banks set a precedent. Main faction leader vened in Liberia on humanitarian grounds in August 1990. Charles Taylor, who had started the civil war in Decem- As per Cotonou, much-delayed battalion-strength con- ber 1989 in a bid to end the 10-year dictatorship of tingents from and arrived in late Samuel Doe, replaced his civilian nominee, Dorothy December 1993 to bolster Ecomog, a response to Tay- Mussuleng Cooper, with his top battlefield commander, lor's insistence on diluting the Nigeria-led task force, Isaac Musa. which had reacted to his October 1992 attempt to storm Though Musa was eventually accepted, his place on Monrovia by employing heavy-handed and at times indiscriminate air and naval power to push the NPFL Peter da Costa is a freelance journalist based in Banjul, the Gambia. deep into Liberia's hinterland.

Africa Report In February, the new battalions were in bases at front- LIBERIA FACES A S9 million in emergency line locations near the towns of Kakata and Buchanan, appeal money. It could but had yet to begin physically disarming combatants. SILENT EM E R" only manage $4 million However, Unomil, the 300-member UN military observ- er mission mandated last August by the Security Council 6 E N C Y W H 0 S E Unicef Liberia repre. to be Liberia's and Ecomog's policeman, had begun E F F E CTS MAY sentative Carl Tinstman deploying throughout the country, a move attacked by says the shortfall will Sawyer's IGNU as premature and "in direct violation of PROVE EVEN affect the Fund's portfo- Cotonou." M 0 R E DA M A G - lio of rehabilitation-ori- According to Maj.-Gen. Daniel Opande, the Kenyan ented projccts. Unicef is appointed Unomil commander, 40 monitors were ING THAN poised to launch a 1994 deployed in late January in central Liberia, covering emergency appeal. Tin- NPFL territory. Another 50 were deployed in the west, FOUR YLAR5 OF stman, however, warns: 50 in the north, and 40 in the east, with 65 held in f I \/ I I u/AP "Donors are tired and reserve. CIVIL WAK. are saying,'It's about "They're getting themselves established and building time Liberians bring confidence," said one Unomil source, insisting the peace to Liberia, and if they can't do that we are not observers had overcome initial Ulimo and NPFL intimi- going to fund interventions.' This is a forgotten country, dation. Coming at a time when growing insecurity has you just don't read about Liberia in the international slowed reduced humanitarian convoys to a trickle in media these days. It's a forgotten war." much of rural Liberia, the Unomil deployment is one of The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) many pieces of the disarmament jigsaw that critics estimates nearly $100 million is needed to voluntarily argue just doesn't fit. repatriate hundreds of thousands of Liberians living in The U.S., which has contributed significantly to Sierra Leone, Cote d'lvoire, Guinea, Nigeria, and humanitarian and, lately, demilitarization efforts after Ghana. A recent survey of refugee camps revealed initial indifference to Liberia's plight—late last year the more than half a million, keyed up by the expectation of Clinton administration allocated S20 million to the UN peace post-Cotonou, expressed their desire to return Trust Fund for Liberia—is said by reliable sources to be home. considering withholding funds if the process is delayed The questions every aid worker in Liberia are asking any further. remain: what sort of welcome are these would-be Added to a deadline set by the UN Security Council returnees likely to face, and to what extent are media- that disarmament be under way and the LNTG in place tors aware of the crisis the ravaged country faces in by February 15, the perceived U.S. threat to pull funds what development specialists dub "the continuum from from an already under-subscribed peace-keeping effort emergency to rehabilitation." is an expression of the cash-strapped international com- Faced with international indifference, Liberia—tangi- ble signs of self-help notwithstanding (see sidebar) — faces a silent emergency whose effects may prove even more damaging in the long term than four years of civil war. Trie UN recently warned more food aid was needed for an estimated 2.5 million war-affected people in Liberia and surrounding countries. "The problem for us at Unicef," adds Tinstman, "is that when the factions go off to Cotonou or Yamous- soukro, they don't perceive Unicef as a key player in the peace negotiations. Other UN system parts like Unomil and the special representative (Trevor Gordon-Somers] might be, but we're not." Experts predict food security will be a problem in 1994. "It's now February and farming is still disrupted in significant parts of the country" munity's frustration at the seeming lack of political will Charles Taylor, cen- a U.S. national working on food to end Liberia's civil war. ter; The composition distribution in Liberia told That fatigue is relegating the West African trouble of the transitional spot to the bottom of donor priority lists is another time government is ^ posjtion tQ start bomb threatening to explode in the faces of Liberia's itin- stymied as the growing their own food and the erant peace-makers. In 1991, the first full year of its oper- factions fight over prospects for a good harvest ation in Liberia, the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) raised the spoils this year begin to look bleak."

March/April 19 9 4 Counseling Victims of the Civil War

((_ H «e nad a £'rl here who was raped based organizations, teaching them counseling ^t J& # when she was nine by government skills, creative therapy, play therapy, conflict reso- ^W^f soldiers," recalls trauma counselor lution, personality theories, and how to apply tradi- • W Genevieve Freeman-Massa. "They tional psychology. used to give her food in return for raping her. Now While some remain as instructors after their she will never walk past anyone in a soldier's uni- training, most are sent out into the field. By the form, she always avoids them." end of 1993, 103 Liberians, trained in groups of 30 Freeman-Massa, 32 years old, a mother of five at the college in Monrovia's Sinkor suburb, have and a journalist before the war, talks passionately successfully completed the course. about her job as a counselor, a role she has carved They can be found working in rape crisis centers, herself after personally living through the horrors of child combatant rehabilitation schemes, and com- Liberia's civil war. munity sensitization programs, all part of the civil- Five times a week, Freeman-Massa and other ian post-war effort. counselors visit the five displaced persons camps "I realized there would be a need for helping peo- in and around the capital, Monrovia. Trauma coun- ple to bring out their problems after the war, so I seling is increasingly being seen as the weapon of set up my own NGO, Combat Stress Liberia Inc., to choice In Liberia's rehabilitation battle, an effort to offer counseling services," explains Freeman- rebuild the shattered lives of hundreds of thou- Massa. "Unicef identified me and I got on the sands of war-affected people—the majority of course." these women and children. V0A1, an assortment of tents and locally con- Freeman-Massa and her colleagues are graduates structed huts on the grounds of an abandoned of a 90-day War Trauma Counselors Course run by Voice of America broadcasting relay station at the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Mount Brewerville, four miles northwest of Monrovia, is Zion, a Liberian NGO. The project, set up with help home to several thousand displaced people. from Unicef, is fast developing as a model for post- Many fled battles in late 1992 between the NPFL war rehabilitation efforts In the West African coun- and Ulimo for control of the western counties. A try where virtually every one of its population of surprising number are victims of multiple rape or 2.5 million has been touched by four years of often survivors of massacres. Nearly all bear the scars of brutal conflict. a conflict conservative estimates say claimed AME Mount Zlon brings together candidates nom- 150,000 lives. inated and sponsored by a range of community- "When the women first come to the shelter, they

With the "hungry season" due to begin mid-year, the Leone, confiscating 11 vehicles and making off with food security situation remains unclear. stores including 160 tons of World Food Program (WFP) A serious constraint to food distribution is the ever- food valued at $170,000. present specter of low-level but relentless hinterland No WFP or Catholic Relief Services food has entered conflict, despite a six-month ceasefire. Added to the these Ulimo-controlled areas since Christmas. The situa- emergence of new factions outside the Cotonou Accord, tion has been exacerbated by the emergence of the Lofa sustained harassment, mainly by the Ulimo militias in Defense Force, an anti-Ulimo militia informed quarters western Liberia, has forced the suspension of humani- claim is a creation of Charles Taylor, in response to tarian efforts in much of rural Liberia. attacks on the NPFL in the southeast by the Liberian In Upper Lofa, Bomi Hills, and Cape Mount—the Peace Council, a Ulimo offshoot gaining ground in north westernmost of Liberia's 13 counties—armed Grand Bassa County. Ulimo militias made life unbearable for relief workers. At time of writing, a UNHCR and Unomil reconnais- On Christmas Eve, five Ulimo members looted a sance team was due in the northwest to assess the possi- UNHCR base camp at Vahun near the border with Sierra bility of resuming relief work. However, despite the

Africa Report 30 neglect their physical appearance and ignore the Most vulnerable are the lone survivors, scarred basic services available to them," explains Free- by the memory of witnessing at first hand the mas- man-Massa. "Some of them were wives of chiefs sacre of their closest relatives. 'These are the but because of the situation they tend to forget ones you really have to talk to," says Freeman- how proud they once were. We try to get them Massa. "You have to tell them they have been back to their former glory by stressing how impor- spared for a purpose, that they should not feel tant their appearance is." downcast, and that they have a role to play in the Counselors often find clients are so traumatized future of Liberia." they fail to seek treatment for bullet wounds, ane- Since the war trauma counselors course began in mia, and other serious conditions. These special September 1992, the role of healing therapy in cases are quickly referred to medical centers. exorcising the ghosts of Liberia's civil war has Aware that members of their constituency have become more and more defined. suffered some of the most brutal consequences of Experts concerned at dwindling donor interest guerrilla war, the counselors routinely have to lis- say efforts must be made to build local capacity in ten to stories of carnage beyond imagination. trauma counseling, without which they fear sus- Typical of the stories to be heard at V0A1 is that tainable rehabilitation work in Liberia may be of a pregnant woman walking toward Monrovia with impossible. her mother, father, husband, and pregnant sister. Unicef says it will fund AME Mount Zion's work The group was ambushed by armed rebels, who and provide technical assistance until 1996, by publicly beheaded her husband, and then her father which time it hopes the college will be self-sustain- and mother, before subjecting her to multiple able. rapes. Plans are also under way to make the college a "After being told to keep walking, the woman center of excellence for the West African sub- was forced to watch as her pregnant sister was region, a fitting role for a country whose conflict raped, her stomach ripped open, and her unborn caused so much social and economic disruption to baby thrown into a pit latrine," recounts Freeman- the sub-region. Massa. For counselors like Genevieve Freeman-Massa, "She was spared, made it to Monrovia, but for the proof of how trauma counseling works is in months refused to utter a word. She refused to the pudding. "When we started at V0A1 some of eat, went to the toilet where she sat, and lost the the women told us it was the first opportunity will to live. But with counseling, she's coming they had really had to cry, to weep for their loved around." ones. Children, often the most difficult to break down, "They would tell us that giving them food and are subjected to intensive art therapy. At VOA1, clothing made little difference, but that when we the school that provides temporary education to talked to them, they regained the will to go on liv- some 600 children is built from bamboo matting, ing.'• woven by the children themselves. —Peter da Costa

delivery of food behind NPFL lines through Kakata on Inienger, aware the West African force may sooner or January 31 for the first time in nearly three months, later be compelled to enter the disarmament fray, Ulimo still continued to make life difficult, seizing a recently told an interviewer he was clear about his man- Lutheran World Service vehicle at Guthrie. date to attack again if provoked. More than 250,000 people, displaced from one place For Unicef s Tinstman, nothing can be achieved with- to the next, are said to be threatened by the skirmishes. out peace. His biggest fear is that "disarmament may "The general picture is one in which all the factions are happen in a very real way, but we could still end up a splintering, and there are internal problems within both year later with plenty of small and not-so-small arms out the NPFL and Ulimo," a longtime Liberia watcher there. Individuals may hide guns to settle scores." In the explained. clamor for disarmament, piecemeal as it is likely under In response to the tense situation, Ecomog's com- the circumstances to be, few have even considered the mander, Maj.-Gen. John Inienger, has ordered a tighten- fact that the perceived panacea for Liberia's security ing of the nightly curfew that keeps residents of Mon- problems may only succeed in arming the post-war phe- rovia and Buchanan indoors between 7 pm and 6 am. nomenon of revenge. O

31 March/April 19 9 4 Cold War-inspired

s were large-

responsible for

frica's estimated 6 mil- lion displaced persons.

With the end of proxy wars on the continent, the

West's attention has been diverted, and its commitment to repatri- ating the refugees has waned. And African governments- reluctant hosts to the refugees-are not necessarily concerned for their rights and security. Our correspon- dent argues that protection of the refugees requires a strong and indigenous NGO voice. BY ARTHUR HELTON

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

WFP/M. Sayagues

he young Liberian woman at the refugee cen- should they return. Somalis in Kenya, having recoiled ter in Uanane city in Cote d'lvoire was pleading with her from famine and fighting at home, find themselves in eyes. Neither she nor her son had had food for weeks, northeastern Kenya at the mercy of armed bandits who she explained to me last November, because she had not commit murder and rape with virtual impunity. Liberians yet been granted a registration card by the center's in Cote d'lvoire, like the young woman and her son in the administration. She followed me determinedly as I Danane center, await the end of a seemingly intractable walked around the compound, in which about 300 home- conflict. Families are torn asunder in this modern diaspo- less Liberians were being sheltered. She had been ra which has affected some 750,000 individuals. reduced to a beggar in order to take care of her child. Yet, all of these dispossessed persons have one irre- Africa is rife with refugees. The circumstances of these ducibly common characteristic—they have been dislocated persons are as diverse as one can imagine. deprived of the protection of their own countries, and Mozambicans, some of whom have now resided for they are in need of essential humanitarian assistance and almost a decade in Malawi and Zimbabwe, watch with a new home. They are refugees, and they are powerless trepidation to see if a fragile peace holds between the and almost always dependent upon the generosity of oth- erstwhile warring factions fighting in their home country. ers for protection and care. Some have returned and begun tentatively to re-establish African countries are currently hosting some 6 million their lives; others remain in exile worried about retribu- refugees who have fled and sought asylum abroad. The tion or even the capacity of Mozambique to sustain them largest displacements have been occasioned by conflicts over the past decade in Angola, Liberia, Mozambique, Arthur Helton, a lawyer, directs the Refugee Project of the iMwyers Com- and the Horn. Many of these conflicts were fought by mittee for Human Rights. He led missions of inquiry to several African proxies in the Cold War, and the end of this ideological countries last year as part of a project, supported by the Ford Foundation, to examine and enhance refugee protection. confrontation provides cause for some refugees to hope

March/April 19 9 4 to return home. Indeed, almost 600,000 African refugees Yet, the rights of African refugees are, in theory, pro- went home in 1992. But violations of a peace accord in tected by the most progressive treaty in the world—the Angola have halted a large repatriation program there. 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Govern- And other conflicts are animated by endemic hatreds, ing the Specific Aspects of Refugees in Africa. In addition like the ethnic warring that has caused the sudden exo- to providing protection for refugees in flight from perse- dus of more than 700,000 refugees from Burundi, who cution under international standards, the OAU Refugee since last October have sought asylum in , Tanza- Convention also extends protection to those people who nia, and Zaire. have fled civil strife and other events seriously disturbing The end of the Cold War, however, has had an ironic the public order. This broad definition of the refugee has consequence. Wealthy Western governments no longer permitted host governments to swiftly recognize entire view Africa with the same degree of strategic interest in a groups of refugees without the need for asylum seekers vast ideological contest, and financial support for refugee to establish an individualized fear of persecution on a repatriation has been inadequate. A United Nations-spon- case-by-case basis. sored appeal in 1993 for $262 million for repatriation of The OAU treaty, however, has not prevented refugees Eritreans resulted in pledges of but $32 million by mid- from being subject to military attack, forced recruitment September 1993. by insurgent or government forces, and periodic expul- This strategic re-orientation is manifested also in the sions from countries of asylum. The humanitarian foun- difficulties in obtaining aid from donors for the care and dation of the OAU Convention has often been sorely test- maintenance of refugees in countries of asylum. A $192 ed in practice, and not enough has been done to secure million appeal for Kenya for mainly Somali refugees the rights of African refugees. resulted in donations of only $75.4 million by September Even a cursory examination reveals the various tactics 1993. Over 60,000 Mauritanian refugees in Senegal face that governments use to avoid responsibilities concerning the elimination of food assistance by the United Nations in May 1994. Foreign policy has in many instances ceased to be a factor favoring arrangements to assist and protect refugees. Reflecting this trend, assistance to African refugees from the U.S. State Department was reduced from $140.4 million in 1992 to $109.9 million in 1993. In addition, many of those seeking refuge in Africa are hosted by countries with meager resources and weak infrastructure. Examples include diminutive Malawi, which hosts over 1 million Mozambican refugees despite severe economic underdevelopment; or war-ravaged Ethiopia, which hosts well over 400,000 refugees from Sudan and . While finan- cial aid has been rendered by Western govern- ments, such largesse is coming under increasing pres- refugees. Some simply decline to Refugees are sure as budgetary considerations come to the fore in a sign the treaty. Others sign, but powerless and period of global recession and economic uncertainty. At decline to consider the affected the diplomatic level, therefore, the protection of African populations as refugees in need of almost always refugees is increasingly the exclusive responsibility of protection. Still others recognize dependent upon the governments, inter-governmental organizations, and the persons in question as generosity of others NGOs in Africa. refugees, but nevertheless deny The international community has traditionally sought them the various civil, political, and economic rights; and to find solutions in Africa to the plight of the continent's the individuals have little or no effective recourse. Indeed, refugees. On average, the United Nations refugee pro- on this 25th anniversary of the 1969 OAU Refugee Con- gram has given only about 5 percent per day to such vention, the adequate implementation of the treaty looms "Third World refugees" during the last decade. Resettle- as the largest issue. Specific steps, discussed below, must ment of refugees outside of Africa is rare; only about 2 be taken to enhance refugee protection in Africa. percent of the over 1 million refugees resettled by the Forty-two countries have now signed the OAU Refugee United States since 1980 have come from Africa, and Convention. But many have not, such as South Africa, in many of those were from communist Ethiopia, reflecting which approximately 300,000 Mozambicans are estimat- an ideological predilection that has dominated U.S. reset- ed to reside. Non-signatory countries are not obligated to tlement policy. extend the various treaty guarantees, including the right

Africa Report to receive asylum from persecution. Those seeking mechanisms are needed to secure refugee rights. The refuge may be considered as merely "illegal aliens" current international framework is inadequate. The whose stay is tolerated by the authorities and who are OAU's Refugee Bureau in Addis Ababa has a tiny staff perpetually subject to expulsion. In 1992, for example, with meager resources which have traditionally been over 40,000 Mozambicans were forcibly returned from devoted to assisting in the education and employment of South Africa to Mozambique. a small number of so-called "urban" refugees—generally A campaign should be led at the diplomatic level by the highly educated students, intellectuals, and political United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees activists. The African Commission on Human and Peo- (UNHCR), the secretary-general of the OAU, and the chair- ple's Rights has just begun to consider refugee matters in man of the African Commission on Human and People's its 1994 seminar on the issue. These regional inter-gov- Rights to encourage accession to the treaty. National gov- ernmental entities should have adequate mandates and ernments and NGOs should participate in the campaign. resources to address issues of refugee protection. One avoidance strategy utilized by governments is to The political remedy under the OAU treaty is an refrain from designating whole categories of individuals as impractical procedure that has never been invoked on refugees, even though such group determinations are behalf of refugees. Neither have the various remedies common, indeed encouraged, under the OAU Convention. under the UN refugee treaty nor the universal and A good example is found in the situation of the approxi- regional human rights treaties proven much more effec- mately 260,000 Liberian refugees who have sought asy- tive. Consideration should be given to the establishment lum since 1989 in Cote d'lvoire. Currently, those who of an African court on refugee protection, perhaps mod- remain in the demarcated area of the "refugee zone" near eled in part on the European Court of Human Rights. the Liberian border have only documents issued by Cases could be initiated by aggrieved refugees or groups UNHCR evidencing registration for food rations. Those acting on their behalf. Such an arrangement would clear- who reside outside of the zone, including in Abidjan, do ly strengthen treaty enforcement in Africa. not receive any form of social assistance. The failure to Perhaps no single step would be more effective in confer formal refugee status and identity documents has advancing the protection of refugees in Africa than the the effect of rendering Liberians vulnerable and restrict- establishment of a strong indigenous NGO voice on the ed in their movements and the enjoyment of other basic issue. Currently, protection efforts by NGOs are highly human rights. Formal status should be granted and pro|>- localized. There is no regional NGO entity nor even a er documents issued immediately. This is particularly so viable network of refugee advocates in Africa. This is an in view of the indefinite character of the displacement. absence that contributes significantly to the failure to This is not an isolated example in West Africa. Similar secure the rights of refugees. A network of NGO moni- disabilities are experienced by the Mauritanian refugees tors and advocates should be immediately established to who have remained in Senegal since the disorder and better protect and assist refugees in Africa. expulsions of 1989. Formalized status and identity docu- In particular, a meeting should be held immediately ments would enhance their protection as well. among concerned individuals resulting in the founding of Government non-compliance with refugee rights an African refugee watch group, which should then pro- ranges from denial of basic civil rights to economic dis- ceed to develop organizational and action plans. There crimination. Refugees are exposed to extreme physical should be geographic representation among the insecurity, such as that experienced by Somalis in north- founders, including from francophone Africa. Such an eastern Kenya, who have been attacked repeatedly by organization would have liaison relationships with local bandits and even abused by Kenyan police and soldiers. groups concerned with refugees and initiate programs to They are restricted in their movements and confined to assess protection needs and to advocate on behalf of camps, such as the Mozambicans near the border in Zim- refugees throughout Africa to governments and inter- babwe. Or they may be subject to abuse by rogue ele- governmental organizations. NGO experience and exper- ments given the essentially lawless character of refugee tise from North America and Western Europe should be camps, as has been documented in Malawian camps, drawn upon in the establishment of such a watch group. where women were found to be specifically at risk. Eco- Much of the progress that the world has made over the nomic discrimination can take the form of differential past century in terms of refugee protection has been at the treatment in terms of labor fees and access to social secu- behest of independent NGOs. Such groups arc able to give rity benefits, as is the case in Sudan. However, these the highest priority to humanitarian objectives instead of examples are not unique; such deprivations exist for succumbing to sometimes stultifying diplomatic and politi- refugees elsewhere in Africa. The international cal considerations. A concerted effort should be undertak- community, conceived of in its widest sense to include en immediately to nurture and cultivate such a resource in governments, inter-governmental organizations, and Africa. Indeed, a fiercely independent NGO voice in Africa NGOs, should launch an international campaign to will be crucial to achieve the fundamental reforms needed, secure the human rights of African refugees. including increased physical security. Millions of African Moreover, structural change and new enforcement refugees would thus be better protected. O

March/April 19 9 4 BY PATRICK LAURENCE

J. Markowitz/Sygma

THE TH HOUR

The optimism over South Africa's first-ever free and fair elections, to be held April 27-28, is clouded by the boycott of 's Inkatha Freedom Party, a coalition of Afrikaner nationalist groups, and the government of the homeland. There are also serious doubts about the capabilities and leadership of the new National Peace-keeping Force being put together to police the poll.

Patrick Robert/Sygma David Brauctill/Sygma But when the dust settles On the campaign trait Nelson Mandela, above after the votes are count- right, and President F. W. de Klerk, left ed, the African National The boycotters: Gen. Constand Vtljoen, Congress will be in power above, and Mangosuthu and Chief Buthelezi will Buthelezi have placed himself out in the cold. David Brauchli/Sygma As the final countdown starts for South Africa's first non- the death of "settlers" and "Boers" and, by implication, of racial election, two interrelated developments have jeop- white recruits in the NPF. ardized the chances of holding a relatively peaceful—and Either of these developments poses a threat to a therefore free and fair—poll for a government of national peaceful poll on its own. The first increases the chances of unity on April 27-28. violence, the second reduces the capacity of the NPF to The first is the breakdown of concerted attempts by contain it. Their combined impact exponentially raises the the de Klerk administration and the African National risk of a conflagration. Congress to coax the dissenting Freedom Alliance (FA) Mangosuthu Buthelezi's IFP has resolved to contest the into participating in the election by offering conces- election itself, rather than be a contestant in the election, sions aimed at meeting its objections to the transitional "in any and every way which is permissible by law." Ferdi constitution. Hartzenberg, an AVF leader, talks of "inhibiting the elec- The consequences of that failure are starkly etched tion," a catch-all phrase that stretches from passive to before South Africa: The three FA members—the armed resistance. The Bophuthatswana government is less Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the Afrikaner Volksfront vocal, but is nevertheless lined up with its allies in an anti- (AFV), and the Bophuthatswana government—are not election front. Its president, , has resisted on the list of 19 parties which registered to contest the attempts by no less a person than the ANC leader, Nelson election by the March 4 deadline. Instead, they are Mandela, to dissuade him from blackballing the election. determined to boycott the election and, more ominous- The FA's decision to challenge the election is, of ly, oppose it vigorously, course, qualified by reassertions of its willingness to pur- The second development is the acknowledgment by sue a negotiated settlement, if necessary through interna- the newly appointed commander of the National Peace- tional mediation. But its quest for a much greater degree keeping Force (NPF), Maj.-Gen. , of regional autonomy is seen by the ANC as the first gam- that the fledgling force is unlikely to be ready for deploy- bit in a game plan for a separate Afrikaner state (AVF), the ment in the final weeks before the April election. Ramush- revival of the 19th century Zulu kingdom (IFP), and the wana's acknowledgment is linked to another admission: retention of Bophuthatswana as an autonomous polity. that an unspecified number of black volunteers marched For that reason, an 11th hour negotiated compromise around their training camp near Bloemfontein calling for seems unlikely.

37 March/April 19 9 4 The FA decision to resist the election can easily devel- AFRIKANER hailed as a folk hero by op into an attempt by its members to turn those parts of Afrikaner nationalists South Africa where they are strongest into "no-go" areas NATIONALISTS —having to suffer the for voters. It does not require much imagination to envis- AND ZULU indignity of being labeled age armed barricades at the entrances to conservative a "traitor" and a "coward" white towns, IFP loyalists parading on the roads in ZEALOTS MAY by part of the crowd. KwaZulu, and Bophuthatswana police and soldiers inter- ATTEMPT TO The crowd's angry fering with polling in the nominally independent territory. mood was manifest in its But any attempt to prevent voters from exercising the ACHIEVE THEIR bellowed preference for right to choose South Africa's first democratic government AIMS BY the rabid demagoguery is certain to invoke counter-resistance, the more so of Eugene Terre'blanche, because for black voters it will the first time that they have OVERTLY VIO- leader of the neo-fascist an unfettered right to vote in a parliamentary election. LENT MEANS. Afrikaner Weerstandsbe- There is an even greater danger. Afrikaner nationalists, weging, over the rational either acting on their own or in concert with Zulu zealots, approach of Viljoen. The former SADF chief, who believes may attempt to achieve their aims by overtly violent that a thousand days of negotiations are better than a sin- means. gle day of war, has since warned that the temperament of A spate of explosions since late last year—the bombing the crowd at Pretoria is only the first rumble of growing of ANC offices by suspected right-wing zealots and the Afrikaner nationalist anger. blowing up of railway tracks by saboteurs proclaiming loy- That anger is matched by the stirring rhetoric used by alty lo the "Boer Republican Army"—shows that the ques- Buthelezi. "We must stand together and fight the evil tion is neither idle nor abstract. which is lurking in our midst," he exhorts his followers. So, too, does a warning to President F.W. de Klerk by The "evil" is the ANC and its Communist Party ally. "We the general staff of the South African Defense Force must resist the ANC and their communist surrogates. We (SADF) of a threatened rebellion and even a possible are the only force that stands in the way of their quest for coup bid by the rightists. The warning—first reported by total power." the Afrikaans newspaper Rapport and later admitted by But as the threat builds, the NPF that is meant to de Klerk's office—contains a chilling element: the predic- check it and keep the peace is in crisis. Conceived as a tion that in the event of a rebellion, a substantial portion of South African equivalent of the UN peace-keeping force the SADF will side with the rebels. which helped oversee the Namibian independence elec- Another unmistakable sign of rightist belligerence and tion of 1989, the NPF consists of the armed formations of impatience is evident in the jeers which greeted Constand political organizations and institutions in the multi-party Viljoen, a former chief of the SADF and now a convener of Transitional Executive Council. the AVF, when he outlined a "strategic alternative" to the Its components include men from the SADF and the establishment of a separate Afrikaner volkstaat by force at South African Police (SAP), soldiers from the armies of an AVF rally in Pretoria. three nominally independent black "homelands," police- The "strategic alternative," hammered out in talks men from no fewer than eight homelands, and fighters between the AVF and the ANC, consists of three core ele- from the ANC's underground army, Umkhonto we Sizwe, ments: or MK as it is popularly known. • Participation of the AVF in the April 27-28 elections. The task of welding these politically disparate units •Interpreting the AVF vote as support for the estab- into a single comprehensive and neutral peace-keeping lishment of an Afrikaner volkstaat and using it to indicate force in a mere six weeks has proved too great for the offi- where the boundaries of the state should be. cers mandated to do so. • Deploying the AVF vote to elect an Afrikaner Raad or Still in its infancy, the NPF has already been marred by Council to represent Afrikaner nationalist interests and to disquieting reports of disorderly conduct, desertion, advance the establishment of an Afrikaner state. drunkenness, and tension within its ranks (allegedly The "strategic alternative" now seems moribund, a vic- drunk MK volunteers have marched around the camps tim of the inability of negotiators from the ANC and the calling for the death of "settlers" and denouncing de government to reach a modus vivendi and a sign of the Klerk). growing impatience in Afrikaner nationalist ranks. As important, Ramushwana—who was a compromise Television footage shows the reaction of Afrikaner choice after the government and the ANC each put for- nationalists to the alternative when Viljoen put it to them at ward different candidates for the post of the Pretoria rally. Their response was one of derisive anger, commander—has confirmed that it is unlikely that his with Viljoen—who but a few months earlier had been men will be ready for deployment in the last few weeks before polling day. Patrick iMurence is a specialist writer on the Johannesburg Star, South African correspondent «/The Economist, and a contributor to The But the general's appointment may compound rather Guardian (London) and The Irish Times. than solve the problem. His appointment is controversial

Africa Report for several reasons, including the appearance of his name the main, in the past. The ANC's role in encouraging the on the ANC election list, a fact which will certainly not recruitment and politicization of black policemen by the help him project an image of political neutrality or reas- vociferously radical Police and Prison Officers Civil sure non-ANC recruits. Rights Union has not helped either. Ramushwana is also a key figure in a strike by civil ser- These actions have accentuated, and even kindled, vants in , one of the homelands, over suspicions right-wing sympathies in the ranks of white police and that he and many top officials in the Venda administration SADF members and provided right-wing leaders with have plundered their pension fund. potential recruits if they opt for armed resistance to an The central facts can be stated briefly: Ramushwana ANC victory at the polls. came to power in Venda in a bloodless coup in March The chances of a concerted bid to disrupt the election 1990; as chairman of the military council, he presided or even of a right-wingputsc h against de Klerk before the over the privatization of the pension fund; privatization April election have increased with the breakdown in nego- was followed by huge "overpayments" to upper echelon tiations to persuade the FA to participate in the election. civil servants, including Ramushwana; he reportedly The conjunction of these developments—hitches in received a sum of about $175,000. the training of the NPF, dependence on the SADF and A charitable interpretation of these events is that the police to protect the election, and the collapse of negotia- overpayment was due to miscalculations by the accoun- tions with the FA—signal that the hour of maximum dan- tants involved. A more cynical reconstruction is that the ger is at hand. It is a danger that threatens everyone, not pension fund was raided by audacious white-collar ban- least members of the FA dits. Either way, Gen. Ramushwana cannot evade respon- Afrikaner history offers little comfort to the AVF: Past sibility: He was the man in charge of Venda at the time. armed rebellions by Afrikaner nationalists have more Faced with public accusations in Venda of benefiting often than not ended in defeat, most notably the 1914 unfairly from the payouts or, worse, of abusing power for revolt. self-enrichment, he is reported to have authorized the Under the new constitution, Buthelezi's power base of Venda Pension Fund Implementation Committee to recov- KwaZulu will be dissolved, and so will Mangope's quasi- er the amount overpaid from the insurance fund where it state of Bophuthalswana. A dire consequence for them is is invested. But there has been no official confirmation that funding from the that the money has indeed been paid back. THE ANC IS IN central government will In the meantime. South Africa has to face the implica- cea se tions of not having a neutral peace-keeping force to hold THE UN COM- r - the ring during the biggest and most important election Civil servants in these in its history. r O KTA B L E homelands arc already The first and immediate consequence is that the task of POSITION OF nervous. They fear that peace-keeping will devolve primarily on the two biggest Buthelezi and Mangope armed formations: the SADF and the police. An interrelat- HAVING TO RELY have embarked on a ed problem arises from that. ONTHF POIITF courswill see eo fthe actiom nwithou whicht Historically, the police and the SADF have served as AND SADF TO salary checks. The mere the first and second lines of defense of the old apartheid threat of that was order, a role which has involved covert operations against PROTECTTHE the ANC and its allies, including assassination of their enough to force one for- leaders. The police and SADF are still suspect in the eyes [ L E CTI 0 N . mer FA partner. Brig. of many blacks, particularly those who support the "liber- Oupa Gqozo of , to ation movements," a fact which prompted the ANC and its withdraw and to comply with demands that he accept the Communist Party ally to press for the formation of the authority of the multi-party Transitional Executive Coun- neutral NPF. cil and agree to participate in the election. Now, however, the ANC is in the uncomfortable posi- Buthelezi's nephew, the Zulu king, Goodwill Zwelithini, tion of having to rely on the police and SADF to protect has entered the political arena to champion demands for the election process, which is widely expected to culmi- "Zulu self-determination." The danger for Buthelezi, how- nate in the election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa's ever, is that Zwelithini will realize that the holder of the first black president. purse strings after April will not be his uncle but the ANC, The ANC is, in a sense, a victim of its own propaganda either in the form of Mandela as the new president or the by being slow, or even loathe, to recognize that the SADF ANC candidate for the premiership of KwaZulu-Natal, and the police have tried to escape the "burden of the Jacob Zuma. past" since de Klerk began his quest for a negotiated set- By withdrawing from the election contest, Buthelezi tlement on February 2, 1990. By its repeated and ill-con- has virtually ensured that Zuma will become the prime sidered blanket condemnations of the security forces minister of KwaZulu-Natal. He appears to have tilted the since then, it has reinforced perceptions which belong, in balance decisively against himself and thereby signed his own political death warrant. O

March/April 19 9 4 BY ANNE SHEPHERD

A WING AND A PRAYER

When and was classified as one of Joe Slovo went on a walk- As South Africans are poised to the most violent countries about in the East Rand in in the world. More worry- early January, they intended vote on April 27-28—an election ing, according to figures to draw attention to the compiled by the HRC, the plight of families driven which for the first time will number of politically from their homes because of related deaths climbed to political violence in the area include the entire population-the 4,364 in 1993—a 25 per- near Mazibuko Hostel. cent increase on the year Instead, the secretary- major concern is that violence before. At the root of this general of the African violence are the gross National Congress and the socio-economic imbal- chairman of the South somehow can be reduced to a ances created by apart- African Communist Party heid. found themselves the tar- level that won't deter people from Security forces— gets of volleys of gunfire through acts of omission emanating from the hostel. going to the polls. If the election and commission—have Freelance photographer fueled the problem. Peo- Abdul Shariff lost his life in proves to be relatively peaceful, ple's intense hatred of the five to ten minutes of the Internal Stability Unit shooting that flashed across (ISU)—the public order television screens around the new government will get the division of the South the globe, and cast a seri- African Police(SAP)—in ous question mark over the legitimacy it needs to pull the coun- the East Rand is a case in elections scheduled for point. Investigations by April 27-28. try back from the edge of anarchy. the Police Reporting "The only thing that is Officer (a post created by keeping the country from exploding is the prospect of the National Peace Accord structures) in the East Rand elections," says the International Commission of Jurists late last year, showed that the ISU still makes extensive (ICJ) in a recent report on free and fair elections in use of torture. Its negative image explains why Slovo and South Africa. Ramaphosa did not request a police escort (although The critical question is how to ensure that the current they later complained about the police not doing their levels of violence do not discredit the elections. "It is not duty). going to be a clinically free and fair election," says an offi- Investigations carried out by the Goldstone Commis- cial of the Human Rights Commission (HRC), a well- sion have revealed the existence of hit squads in the respected South African watchdog. "The best we can hope police force of the KwaZulu "homeland," where the for is that the level of violence can be brought to a point Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has its roots. These are where all South Africans have a reasonable chance to vote, said to have assassinated at least nine people, including and are seen to have exercised their freedom of choice." leaders of the ANC. With a reported 22.000 homicides in 1993, South Africa In its 1993 survey, however, the HRC finds a sharp Anne Shepherd is a iMndon-based journalist who has traveled widely in overall reduction of hit squad activity, following revela- Africa and written extensively on African economic and political issues. tions by the Goldstone Commission that led to a purge of

Africa Report 40 Kevin C3rter/The Weekly Mail the military intelligence wing of the South African apartheid enclave in the new South Africa. While some Defense Force (SADF). right-wing groups could be persuaded to contest the elec- Undeniably, HRC researchers agree, the bulk of politi- tion, it seems likely that the most radical—notably the cal violence in South Africa at the present time arises Conservative Party and AWB—will not. The prospect of from political rivalry—and every indication is that this sporadic right-wing attacks, some taking sophisticated will get worse in the weeks leading to the April elections. and targeted forms, is likely. Party political competition, points out Chris de Kock While three of the four nominally independent home- of the Human Sciences Resource Council (HSRC), is part lands (, Venda, and Ciskei) have agreed to incor- and parcel of an election, and by definition is conflictual. porate transitional legislation into their statutes so that Although opinion polls predict an overwhelming the election can take place in the territories pending their majority for the ANC, there are critical questions in the reincorporation soon after the elections, Bophutha- elections, such as whether the ANC musters the two- tswana has not done so. thirds majority necessary to finalize the new constitution The implication of this—already hinted at by the on its own; whether small parties get the 2 percent vote newly established Independent Electoral Commission— which under the proportional representation system they is that the territory's 3 million voters may have to be would require to get a seat in the 400-person House of bused into South Africa to vote, without parties ever hav- Assembly; whether they get the 5 percent they would ing had the chance to campaign in the territory. Reports require to secure seats in cabinet; and if—whether by of harassment and intimidation of opponents to the Man- garnering 20 percent of the vote or coming in second—a gope regime point both to political intolerance in party can get one of the two vice president positions. Bophuthatswana and the potential for violence. These political rivalries, points out Oscar Dlomo, Political intolerance is particularly evident in Natal executive chairman of the Institute for Multi-party and the East Rand, where tensions between the ANC and Democracy, will be played out against the backdrop of the conservative Zulu-based IFP are strongest. These extreme intolerance wrought by decades of apartheid. areas accounted for 90 percent of politically related South Africans have been taught, he told a recent semi- deaths last year. nar, that they cannot live together; opposition was ruth- Natal is the traditional home of the country's 6 mil- lessly crushed and diversity discouraged. This in turn lion Zulus (some 20 percent of the population), and of fueled the attitude among liberation movements that the "self-governing" territory of KwaZulu led by Chief those not for them were against them, and branded as Buthelezi. Polls indicate that voters are split between sell-outs. the two parties in the province, with the IFP steadily Dlomo compares the unbanning of political parties in losing support among black voters since it joined February 1990 to a "group of players suddenly flooding a forces with right-wing white groups demanding a sepa- playing field and attempting to play soccer, without the rate white homeland under the umbrella of the Free- rules of the game having been spelled out in advance." dom Alliance. The result has been numerous instances and evidence of The Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vaal (PWV) region is an intolerance. Efforts by President F.W. de Klerk to hold ethnic potpourri of persons lured to the gold mines and rallies in black townships, for example, have met with cities by the promise of work. Tensions between the stiff resistance from angry black youth, telling him to "go ANC and IFP are to be found in all parts of the region, home." but are especially marked in the East Rand, which has Although the radical Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) the highest concentration of hostels (major flash points has officially declared a moratorium on the armed strug- of violence in the area) and where the peace structures gle, sporadic attacks in the name of its armed wing APLA which have forged fragile truces in other parts of the have sown fear among whites and made certain black region have failed to take root. townships no-go areas for their campaigners. As graphically described by a subcommittee of the Yet if de Klerk is to rid the National Party of its Transitional Executive Council (TEC) set up to investi- apartheid baggage, and indeed secure second place for gate the situation in the East Rand following the incident his party in the election, he needs the black vote. Numer- involving Ramaphosa and Slovo, the East Rand townships ous complaints have been filed by the NP over its lack of of Katlehong and Thokoza have been carved into "no-go" access to various parts of the country. zones for rival parties, in which simply crossing the On the other side of the racial divide, white right- street might become a death warrant. wingers have assaulted and murdered black marchers in If the IFP decides to contest elections—which would conservative towns. At the time of writing, talks had bro- be a desirable option for those groups trying to block ken off between the Afrikaner Volksfront (a collection of the ANC from getting a two-thirds majority—this could right-wing groups) and the ANC on the demand for a sep- help to reduce tensions, although it would also arate white state. increase the electoral competition between the two par- It was not possible for the ANC to politically accede to ties. With the prospect of a poor showing for the IFP in this demand, which would be tantamount to endorsing an both national and regional polls no doubt a factor,

Africa Report 41 Buthelezi has decided to boycott the elections. The 70,000 of its 100,000-strong force, leaving many strategic spoiler option will undoubtedly increase tensions in points unmanned. Add to this the general lack of confi- Natal and the East Rand. dence in the police, and more possibilities of trouble A general factor that heightens tension at all times in emerge. South Africa is the huge availability of weaponry, and the Against this gloomy picture, commentators say, is the failure to come up with a viable solution to the problem. overwhelming desire by South Africans, supported by The focus so far has been imposing stiff sentences on the international community, to go ahead with the elec- those found in possession of illegal weapons. This has tion, and for it to be certified—as required by the TEC angered blacks, who say they obtain weapons illegally Act—as "substantially" free and fair. because they cannot get licenses. Ongoing efforts to get all parties to participate in the This focus also gives rise to ironies like right-wing election underscore the desire for a peaceful vote. Lead- groups being able to charge into the World Trade Center ers are also beginning to urge political tolerance, even if (where the political negotiations took place) heavily this is an ideal that is hardly likely to be achieved in armed because their weapons were licensed. Following South Africa's first democratic election. Launching the this incident in June, Judge Goldstone once more urged ANC's reconstruction and development program for that the carrying of weapons—legal and illegal—in pub- example, ANC leader Nelson Mandela emphasized that it lic be banned. Such legislation has still not been passed. was not in the ANC's interests to prevent de Klerk from Firing of shots at public gatherings is commonplace campaigning in black townships, and then have that used —and increasingly accepted behavior. to discredit the election. In addition to this generally explosive environment, sev- Specific measures by the TEC to bring peace to trou- eral specific factors could spark outbursts of violence over bled areas could reduce tensions. An example of this is the two days of elections from April 27 to 28, says the the insistence by the TEC on the SAP—regarded in Natal HSRC's de Kock. These include the likelihood that despite as far more neutral that the KwaZulu police1—taking over efforts being made now to ensure that all voters have in some of the most troubled spots, with a consequent enabling documentation, some may find they are turned reduction of violence in these areas. back because they do not have sufficient identification. At the time of writing, the TEC had just announced a Against advice by a special panel constituted by the major peace plan for the East Rand, which involves declar- Goldstone Commission on ways of avoiding violence dur- ing it a disaster area, replacing the Internal Stability Unit ing the election to allow a system of tendered voting (in with the SADF, and setting up an interdisciplinary task which any questions relating to voter eligibility can be force with a broad mandate to mop up illegal weapons, looked into after the election), this is not provided for in return displacees to their homes, mediate conflicts, and the Election Act. initiate socio-economic reconstruction. While the plan has For any forces bent on frustrating the election, de been rejected by the IFP, the spotlight on the area—large- Kock adds, polling booths are a perfect target. Security ly brought about by Ramaphosa and Slovo's close of top officials will be a particular concern. The experi- shave—promised some respite. ence of Ramaphosa and Slovo illustrated how fine the line On the actual day of the election, South Africa will be is for such persons. And the murder of last flooded with local and international observers year demonstrated how the death of one leader can who—though unarmed—will help to instill confidence in cause the whole country to erupt. the process. The Independent Electoral Commission will Unanswered questions about security arrangements have 9,000 monitors—one at each polling station—to act for the elections have not helped to enhance confidence. as its eyes and ears. Political parties are actively training Unlike Zimbabwe, where the British government took their party agents and marshals, of whom there are likely control in the final run-up to elections, and , to be several thousand in evidence on voting day. where the United Nations took responsibility for transi- Local NGOs plan to put up close to 30,000 observers, tional arrangements, there will be no external peace- while between them the United Nations, Commonwealth, keeping forces in South Africa. European Union, Organization of African Unity, and for- The TEC Act makes provision for a National Peace- eign NGOs will contribute an additional 5,000 observers. keeping Force (NPF) comprising elements of all "armed The structures set up under the National Peace formations" in the country. But left- and right-wing forces Accord, which have extensive experience of preventing refused to participate and the IFP is especially hostile outbreaks of violence at large public gatherings, have toward the NPF. In addition, due to various delays, it now said that they will concentrate on holding the peace, seems likely that there will only be 5,000 of these "blue rather than observing the election. berets" in the field in time for the elections. Their biggest prayer will be that South Africa's elec- The main brunt of providing security during the elec- tion is peaceful enough to render a new government the tions will continue to rest with the SA1)F and SAP. The legitimacy it needs to take charge of a country bordering SAP points out that just providing security for 9,000 on anarchy, and nullify any excuse by those likely to polling stations on a round-the-clock basis will take up question the result to go back to war. O

March/April 19 9 4 BY DENIS HEI^BSTEIN PY Old spies don't die, they just...maybe continue spying when white governments become black majority-led (see Namibia). That's what former spy master Gen. Johan Coetzee is hoping for, but probably not his most notorious agent. Craig Williamson, who infiltrated the African National Congress and wrought havoc. Our correspondent talked to Williamson, now retired from spying, and Coetzee, the head of the Police Academy.

n the five-year-long Freedom Congress trial Williamson quit the security police several years ago, (1956-61), which ended in the acquittal of all though he too remains in touch. After an acrimonious 156 defendants—members of the African foray into politics, he now does business with Mozam- National Congress and allied organizations—a bique and Angola, countries ruinously destabilized by young police stenographer, Johan Coetzee, tes- South Africa. His interests, he says, cover air charter, tified on speeches he had noted down at politi- commodity exports, and fishing boats. He lives down the cal rallies. "I think you'll find that my evidence road from the late Oliver Tambo's family house in the was accepted," he recalls with evident pride 33 years on, spacious Johannesburg suburb of Sandhurst. He talks "becausDe my cross-examination lasted only half an hour." defiantly of the future. "I don't have to make peace with In time, Coetzee became a consummate spy master, the ANC. I've got no fear of them. Not of its leaders. If South Africa's Smiley, infiltrating his charges into the someone decides to kill me one day. then I think any- heart of "enemy" territory. body, them as much as us. have got that to fear." His most daring operative was Craig Williamson, who The trouble is that after returning home, he was rose to deputy director of the International University blamed for many of the bad things that were happening Exchange Fund, which educated thousands of South in South Africa. He gave evidence in a series of trials in Africans. At the organization's headquarters in Geneva, which activists who had thought he was one them were he was at the core of the international anti-apartheid sent down for lengthy periods. There was the bomb at struggle. Williamson wrought havoc as spy and agent the ANC London offices. Other charges were more sinis- provocateur, until Coetzee was forced to bring him in ter—someone was shot by an unknown hand or blown to from the cold to a white hero's return. pieces by a parcel bomb, and the finger was pointed at These days, in the twitchy interregnum between Williamson. He denies all. apartheid and people's rule, spy master and spy bide But a question mark does hang over his indirect role their time. General Johan Coetzee, later security chief in the death of Steve Biko, the black consciousness lead- (equivalent to head of Britain's Special Branch), then er murdered by the security police. Williamson was by commissioner of police, lost his job amid improbable then "an OK guy" in Geneva. The Soweto uprising had whisperings that he was a "liberal." These days, he is put Pretoria on the defensive. It was known in very principal of the non-racial Police Academy, and remains restricted exile circles in August 1977 that Biko was plan- close to the security establishment. He drops a hint that ning to leave South Africa clandestinely for a meeting some of his plants are "still somewhere" out in the cold, with the ANC and the Pan Airicanist Congress in West but won't confirm or elaborate. Africa. Williamson's handler, Johan Coetzee, recalls the Is there a future for him under an African National spy reporting that Biko would Lake part in an attempt to Congress-led government, despite reports that he had cele- form a united front of the three movements. brated with champagne when the liberation movement's Wiliamson is more cagey. He cannot recall whether he London offices were blown up by South African agents in tipped off Pretoria, but admits "we knew about it the 1982? There is (for him) an encouraging precedent—Sam whole time. I just kept on telling them what was going Nujoma, on becoming , made the BOSS on." Had the Port Elizabeth security police been instruct- man who had dogged him for years his head of security. ed to find Biko and lock him up? The files are probably in shreds, but the fact is that Biko was arrested at a road Denis Herbstein, a freelance journalist avd author, lives in London and returns regularly to his native South Africa. He is writing a book

A f r i c a R e port 44 world's awareness of apartheid several notches. "A mar- Williamson: "Some bright spark in counter-intelligence tyr caused for whatever reason," says Coelzee, "is a nail found out he was gay. After that they abused him, said he in your coffin." was a security threat and were going to do this and that to As pressure on South Africa mounted in the 19&0s, him. He packed a suitcase of documents—including stuff state assassination became a habit, though without relating to our operations—and flew to London. The worst reaching Argentine "desaparaddo" levels. Coetzee thing was they didn't tell me." The Observer article made no speaks of an ongoing and apparently unresolved debate mention of Williamson and the IUEF, but Coetzee decided in The upper reaches of government about the merits of to pull him out. He didn't want his man to be arrested at a the "Argentinian route." He was a member of the State conference in Moscow or stepping off a plane in Luanda. Security Council, where senior ministers and security The panic was unnecessary. "It transpired that McGiven chiefs plotted the survival of white rule by means fair or didn't know about the operation," says Coetzee. "We could foul. Views were expressed at seminars, "often by over- have left him there." seas visitors, tliat a democracy—even if it was the type of After the revelations, the IUEF collapsed, but the stu- democracy we had—is not able to defend itself effective- dent scholarships were in most cases looked after by ly against this type of onslaught." He personally favored other agencies. It was the International Defence and Aid the courts. Williamson talks bluntly of the debate: "If you Fund (IDAF) which bothered South Africa rather more, want an Argentina, fine. Take two weeks and kill every- Williamson calls it one of the few effective anti-apartheid body in the ANC. No problem. And then what? Might organizations, "using the money it was getting in a way give you another 10 years." that had definite impact on the South African state and Williamson was recruited into the police on leaving the security forces." The £100 million secreted in school, then posed as a radical at Johannesburg's Witwa- through cut-outs and bogus trusts saved untold prison- tersrand University, where, at one time, he was one of four ers from the gallows, and thousands from conviction or spies on the same student executive. The route to Geneva lengthier prison terms. This "financial underpinning" of involved befriending influential members of the ANC, and the liberation struggle still galls Coetzee. "You commit- performing jobs for them in order to prove his credentials. ted a technical breach of the security laws, and three, On a student visit to England in 1975, he took time off to four, five advocates would appear. Often, the prosecuting learn the art of bomb-making from of the counsel was not competent, or he did not think it impor- London committee organizing underground resistance in tant enough." South Africa. The chemistry lesson, in a room in the Rus- He told Williamson he wanted "very close cooperation sell Hotel, Bedford Square—a favorite haunt of American with Defence and Aid." If it could be shown to be the tourists—was "schoolboy stuff." recalls Kasrils. "A couple source of the legal fees, many defense lawyers would of teaspoons of potassium permanganate, with charcoal face prison and expulsion from their profession. But the and sulphur." Williamson took back ANC leaflets for copy- spy was unable to break in. IDAF, he found, was "run like ing and they were scattered to the winds from buckets the Communist Party, on a cell and need-to-know basis." prepared by an "armed propaganda cell," which he ran. His bete noire, Phyllis Alt man, deputy to the director, His "political action cell" also smuggled activists across Canon John Collins, canon of St. Paul's Cathedral, Lon- the border. "There were 20 of us in the two cells," says don, saw through Williamson and refused to deal with Williamson, "all police spies. The ANC thought we were him. She was so mindful of eavesdropping that discus- working for them." sions in her office would be conducted by exchanging Once installed in the IUEF office in Geneva. slips of paper. Williamson copied the key to the director's safe, and sent Ironically, Coetzee could not persuade the ministry of back a stream of documents to Pretoria. Despite suspi- finance that IDAF was all that dangerous. Their attitude cions about him, he worked craftily with most anti- was, "if they want to send the money, let them." The gen- apartheid agencies, though without perhaps having pen- eral smiles. "At least they weren't boycotting us in this etrated the ANC as deeply as he claimed. The end came respect." in January 1980 when Arthur McGiven defected from Soon after his return, an intercepted letter was put on BOSS and sold his story to The Observer in London. Williamson's desk at Compol. security police headquar- Williamson worked for the security police, but his ters in Pretoria. "It was from an old friend, Hugh Lewin. reports to Coetzee were routed via BOSS, where McGiv- to someone else. Hugh wrote that his daughter had en was in communications. The two had been fellow asked whether Uncle Craig was now 'a bad man'." That agents on the university executive council. will have hurt. 3

45 M a r c h April 19 9 4 Buthelezi has decided to boycott the elections. The /0.000 of its 100.000-strong force, leaving many strategic spoiler option will undoubtedly increase tensions in points unmanned. Add to this the general lack of confi- Natal and the East Rand. dence in the police, and more possibilities of trouble A general factor that heightens tension at all times in emerge. South Africa is the huge availability of weaponry, and the Against this gloomy picture, commentators say, is the failure to come up with a viable solution to the problem. overwhelming desire by South Africans, supported by The focus so far has been imposing stiff sentences on the international community, lo go ahead with the elec- those found in possession of illegal weapons. This has tion, and for it to be certified—as required by the TEC angered blacks, who say they obtain weapons illegally Act—as "substantially" free and fair. because they cannot gel licenses. Ongoing efforts to get all parties to participate in the This focus also gives rise to ironies like right-wing election underscore the desire for a peaceful vote. Lead- groups being able to charge into the World Trade Center ers are also beginning to urge political tolerance, even if (where the political negotiations took place) heavily this is an ideal that is hardly likely to be achieved in armed because their weapons were licensed. Following South Africa's first democratic election, Launching the this incident in June, Judge Goldstone once more urged ANC's reconstruction and development program for that the carrying of weapons—legal and illegal—in pub- example, ANC leader Nelson Mandela emphasized that it lic be banned. Such legislation has still not been passed. was not in the ANC's interests lo prevent de Klerk from Firing of shots at public gatherings is commonplace campaigning in black townships, and then have that used —and increasingly accepted behavior. to discredit the election. In addition lo this generally explosive environment, sev- Specific measures by the TEC to bring peace to trou- eral specific factors could spark outbursts of violence over bled areas could reduce tensions. An example of this is the two days of elections from April 27 to 28. says the the insistence by the TEC on the SAP—regarded in Natal HSRC's de Kock. These include the likelihood that despite as far more neutral that the KwaZulu police—taking over efforts being made now to ensure that all voters have in some of the most troubled spots, with a consequent enabling documentation, some may find they are turned reduction of violence in these areas. back because they do not have sufficient identification. At the time of writing, the TEC had just announced a Against advice by a special panel constituted by the major peace plan for the East Rand, which involves declar- Goldstone Commission on ways of avoiding violence dur- ing it a disaster area, replacing the Internal Stability Unit ing the election to allow a system of tendered voting (in with the SADF, and setting up an interdisciplinary task which any questions relating lo voter eligibility can be force with a broad mandate to mop up illegal weapons, looked into after the election), this is not provided for in return displaeees to their homes, mediate conflicts, and the Election Ad. initiate socio-economic reconstruction. While the plan has For any forces bent on frustrating the election, de been rejected by the IFP, the spotlight on the area—large- Kock adds, polling booths are a perfect target. Security ly brought about by Ramaphosa and Slovo's close of top officials will be a particular concern. The experi- shave—promised some respite. ence of Ramaphosa and Slovo illustrated how fine the line On the actual day of the election. South Africa will be is for such persons. And the murder of Chris Hani last flooded with local and international observers year demonstrated how the death of one leader can who—though unarmed—will help to instill confidence in cause the whole country to erupt. the process. The Independent Electoral Commission will Unanswered questions about security arrangements have 9,000 monitors—one at each polling station—to act for the elections have not helped to enhance confidence. as its eyes and ears. Political parties are actively training Unlike Zimbabwe, where the British government took their party agents and marshals, of whom there are likely control in the final run-up to elections, and Namibia, to be several thousand in evidence on voting clay. where the United Nations took responsibility for transi- Local NGOs plan to put up close to 30,000 observers, tional arrangements, there will be no external peace- while between them the United Nations, Commonwealth, keeping forces in South Africa. European Union, Organization of African Unity, and for- The TEC Act makes provision for a National Peace- eign NGOs will contribute an additional 5,000 observers. keeping Force (NPF) comprising elements of all "armed The structures set up under the National Peace formations" in the country. But left- and right-wing forces Accord, which have extensive experience of preventing refused to participate and the IFP is especially hostile outbreaks of violence at large public gatherings, have toward the NPK In addition, clue to various delays, it now said that they will concentrate on holding the peace, seems likely that there will only be 5.000 of these "blue rather than observing the election. berets" in the field in time for the elections. Their biggest prayer will be that South Africa's elec- The main brunt of providing security during the elec- tion is peaceful enough to render a new government the tions will continue to resl with the SAOF and SAP. The legitimacy it needs to lake charge of a country bordering SAP points out that just providing security for 9,000 on anarchy, and nullify any excuse by those likely to polling stations on a round-the-clock basis will take up question the result to go back to war. O

M a r c h A p r i I I 9 9 -i t% • *. J?

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^ ^^M he drums pound out a catchy syncopated because you won't get all this help. Wait and we can help ^^| ^^^ rhythm enlivened by the tinkling melody you return with good organization." I I of marimbas (traditional wooden xylo- There are about 140,000 Mozambicans in refugee I I phones). Women sashay to the hip-twitch- camps in Zimbabwe, and many more who are living with I I ing music, while athletic men punctuate Zimbabwean relatives or working on large farms. This H^H their stomping dance with exuberant number is dwarfed by the more than 1 million Mozambi- pelvic thrusts. cans living in camps in Malawi. In addition, there are a The performance by the Mozambican National Dance few hundred thousand Mozambicans in Swaziland and Company is watched with awe by a few thousand Mozam- South Africa. bican refugees who crowd around a dusty field at Zim- As the truce in Mozambique has held since November babwe's Nyamatikiti refugee camp. Young children shout 1992, the United Nations High Commissioner for with glee at the onstage antics and toothless old women Refugees (UNHCR) has been scrambling to carry out ululate and jump up to give impromptu versions of the the mammoth exercise of repatriating the then total of dances onstage. 1.5 million Mozambican refugees in six southern African Others in the crowd show less enthusiasm as they countries. It is the largest repatriation ever undertaken in watch the performance, however, and some of the Africa. refugees appear almost listless. Despite the carnival A similar challenge is the need to resettle the nearly 3 atmosphere created by the dancers, many of the thou- million displaced Mozambicans, who fled their war-torn sands of refugees appear to be depressed. rural areas for squatter camps around the country's "We are doing this as a kind of morale booster for the urban centers. refugees," says Mozambique's ambassador to Zimbabwe, Despite the fact that the Mozambican peace has held Lopes Tembe Ndelana. of the dance tour which went to for more than a year, full repatriation and resettlement each of the six Mozambican refugee camps in Zimbabwe has been delayed because of the country's uncertain last year. "The show features dances from all of Mozam- state. As late as mid-February, neither Mozambique's bique's provinces, especially from Tete, Niassa, and Sofala government forces nor Renamo rebels had demobilized provinces, where most of these refugees come from. We or disarmed the majority of their fighters. With so many want these people to know they are not forgotten and that armed fighters deployed throughout the country, a we are planning to help them return to their homes." return to war is still very possible. Getting onstage with the dancers, the ambassador But refugees at Nyamatikiti camp showed little interest shouts, "There is peace at home and soon you will all be in waiting for a permanent peace or for international able to return to your villages and you will be able to assistance to return home. dance there. Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and the United "We're not interested in staying here. We want to go Nations are making plans to help you all return. We can back," said Jaime Bento, 21, holding his nine-month-old provide transport and seed packs to help you resettle in son, Ramalde. "We want to get back so we can grow an organized fashion. Don't just go back on your own, crops in the next rainy season. We don't want to wait." Bento has been at the Nyamatikiti camp for eight years Andrew Meldrum, a contributing editor to Africa Report, is an American journalist who is frontline editor of the Johannesburg Weekly Mail. Based since he fled the war in Tete province. While in the in Harare, Zimbabwe, he also writes /or The Guardian oflMndon. refugee camp, he trained to be a teacher at a Zimbab-

47 March/April 19 9 4 wean institute and he teaches primary school students at An important part of the repatriation program is the the refugee camp. Other refugees learned skills as car- availability of food in Mozambique. The World Food Pro- penters, blacksmiths, and tailors. gram (WFP) is providing food rations to returnees for The peace may be uncertain in Mozambique, but about one year, until they become self-sufficient. WFP Bento and several other refugees at the camp were delivered food throughout Mozambique in 1993 and food adamant that they intended to return soon. "I don't care deliveries are continuing in 1994. The combination of about politics. I don't care about Frelimo or Renamo," peace and good rains and a good harvest in 1993 meant said Bento. "I just want to take my family back home." that the number of people requiring food aid decreased Throughout 1993, thousands of Mozambicans trickled dramatically from 3.8 million in 1992 to 1.3 million in back home, mostly on foot to the devastated provinces of 1993. That number is expected to fall even lower in 1994 Tete, Manica, Sofala, and Zambezia. Most of the sponta- because hearty rains since November mean that the neous returnees came from camps in Malawi and hiked April harvest should be a good one. to areas relatively close to the border. Many refugee fam- In order to support Mozambique's struggling private ilies sent a few members ahead to check out the security markets, WFP is buying surplus grain and other foods situation, while the children and older members stayed locally and then distributing in areas of the country back in the refugee camps. that are still hit by hunger. In a drive to get the As of January 1994, the camps in Malawi still cared for returnees back on track to productivity, both WFP and 650,000 Mozambicans, while South Africa had 250,000, UNHCR are distributing agricultural kits consisting of Zimbabwe 100,000, Zambia 22,000, Tanzania 20,000, and seeds and tools. Swaziland 18,000. Currently, about 10 people are maimed or killed every Over 600,000 more repatriates are expected in Mozam- week because Mozambique is littered with an estimated bique in 1994, in time for the planting season, which nor- 2 million landmines. It is a terrible testimony to modern mally starts in September, and for the national elections warfare, that even when peace is achieved, people will scheduled for October. continue to be injured and killed because of the indis- "The window of opportunity to accelerate the repatria- criminate use of landmines. Neither side in the war has tion process before the rainy season begins again in accurate maps of where they scattered the treacherous September is very short," says David Lambo, UNHCR mines, which means Mozambique will be studded with coordinator for southern Africa. "Therefore, it is vital that the explosives for years to come. this operation is funded as soon as possible, so that A mine awareness campaign has been started to warn UNHCR can get an early start." the returning population of the dangers. Of course, in In February, UNHCR appealed for $102.8 million for addition to education programs, Mozambique badly the 1994 voluntary repatriation program. The total bill for needs a comprehensive de-mining exercise. De-mining the three-year repatriation program, stretching from May has been started by some of the 6,000 United Nations 1993 through 1995, is expected to be $203 million. forces in Mozambique, but a more thorough job is Generally, those who returned in 1993 went to places required. The most successful de-mining work is taking close to the border and those going back in 1994 will be place in the Mutarara area of northern Mozambique traveling further into the center of Mozambique. near the border with Malawi. The Norwegian govern- Therefore, UNHCR is planning to help by improving ment has trained and equipped 64 demobilized Mozam- the road system and providing various forms of trans- bican soldiers who are combing the region to rid it of port for the returnees. For example, UNHCR has mines so refugees coming back from Malawi will be deployed 41 heavy vehicles to help transport returnees safe. The Norwegian program provides badly needed and distribute food, seed packs, and fertilizer, and non- employment to demobilized soldiers and is widely cred- food items such as blankets, hoes, and other agricultur- ited with being the most effective de-mining exercise, al implements. whereas the United Nations and Mozambican govern- A large part of the $102.8 million required this year will ment are understood to have lagged behind in this dan- go toward expenses for transportation and other logisti- gerous but crucial job. cal facilities that have to be put in place by March. Trans- No matter how much planning is made to repatriate port and logistics are expected to cost $27.2 million, shel- Mozambicans, the entire effort still hangs in the balance ter and basic infrastructure $14.6 million, crop because of the ever-present threat that the country may production 86.7 million, and education and landmine be returned to war. Until the forces of both warring sides awareness $6 million. are demobilized and disarmed, there is a very real risk Although formal repatriation lagged in 1993, UNHCR that Mozambique could plunge back into conflict, just as initiated a reintegration program to rehabilitate basic ser- Angola did in 1993. vices such as water, access roads, and health and educa- The crucial demobilization of Mozambique's two rival tion facilities. The rehabilitation is set to be expanded armies officially started in November, but progress has this year. It could even include the repair of sections of been hampered by lack of cooperation by both the gov- the railways between Malawi and Mozambique. ernment's Frelimo army and Renamo.

Africa Report 48 Renamo has thrown up the most roadblocks to demobi- tion to their meager portions of food and the fact that lization by making outrageous charges against the Unit- they were getting no meat or fresh vegetables at all. The ed Nations' administration of the demobilization. For WFP began by providing maize, rice, pulses, cooking oil, example, in December Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama and sugar to the demobbed soldiers, but the government furiously charged that the UN's "white foreign soldiers" dismally failed in its agreement to supply the contained enjoy airlifted bath water at the assembly points for troops with meat, fish, bread, and salt. Backed by a dona- demobilized soldiers, while Renamo fighters had to drink tion of $200,000 from Sweden, WFP beefed up its sup- brackish water. The UN categorically denied that charge. plies to the camps including rations of locally purchased Despite the obstacles, the cantonment of Mozam- dried meat and fish. The soldiers are now reported to be bique's 82,000 fighters is progressing but at a stumbling, happy with their diets. slow pace. However, the very fact that it continues to The comparatively large UN peace-keeping force in limp along allows United Nations officials in Maputo to Mozambique bodes well for the future peace. Angola state that the demobilization will be successfully complet- had just 1,000 UN monitors, compared to nearly 8,000 ed by June. in Mozambique. But the UN forces in Mozambique By then, according to UN optimists, all the nearly have not entirely escaped blame. The 1,100 Italian 60,000 government troops and 20,000 Renamo rebels will troops stationed in the central city of Chimoio have have been either integrated into a new, unified national been using young Mozambican girls and boys in child army or disarmed and dismissed. The new army will be a prostitution, according to detailed allegations by Redd more modest force of 30,000 troops and will be com- Barna (Norwegian Save the Children), which has its manded by a group of officers, from both Renamo and Mozambican headquarters in Chimoio. Frelimo, who were trained together in Zimbabwe by a Many international observers are worried that Ren- team of British officers. amo will keep the core of its fighting force out in order to Determined to avoid repetition of Angola's descent be able to return to war if it does not like the election back to war, the UN has ruled that Mozambique's nation- results. al elections will only take place in October if both armies But the UN special representative to Mozambique, are first demobilized. Aldo Ajello, has diplomatically dealt with Dhlakama's At first, the numbers participating in the demobiliza- complaints. Ajello said that he hopes the demobilization tion were small: At the end of January, only 17,838 sol- will gather momentum so that all the troops will have diers had arrived at assembly points, against the 80,778 been interned in the camps by the end of May. expected in the demobilization camps by the end of To add impetus to the demobilization process, UN May. But the numbers picked up, so that by mid-Febru- Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali visited ary, more than 31,000 had entered the camps, repre- Mozambique in October 1993. He visited some of the senting 37 percent of the total expected by May. By mid- thinly populated assembly points and he also met with February, 9,836 Renamo fighters had entered the both Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano and camps, representing 46 percent of the rebel total Renamo leader Dhlakama. The secretary-general's visit expected by May, and 22,052 Frelimo troops, equaling is credited with breaking the deadlock on the formation 34 percent. The dramatic increase in numbers gives of a joint Renamo-Frelimo commission to oversee the cause for guarded optimism. If that flow continues, then elections. the demobilization may well be a success by May, allow- After 16 years of brutal war, the Mozambican adminis- ing elections to take place as scheduled in October. tration and the 8,000 members of the UN team are grap- Comprehensive programs including counseling and pling with a daunting array of problems, including the training are needed to get these hardened fighters to re- return of the refugees still outside the country's borders. enter civilian society peacefully. Hie United Nations esti- The country is also struggling to meet the conditions of a mates that it has only received about 50 percent of the World Bank structural adjustment program. In Decem- $41 million needed to reintegrate the fighters into either ber, the World Bank held a donors' conference in Paris civilian life or the new national army. Irascible Afonso and $1.04 billion was pledged for the many needs of Dhlakama keeps throwing barbed accusations at the Mozambique, the world's poorest country, as it struggles demobilization process. Not to be outdone by the assassi- to establish a lasting peace. nation attempt claims made recently by his fellow trou- But it is the demobilization of the troops which blemaker in Angola, Jonas Savimbi, Dhlakama charged remains key. "The Mozambican peace process is happen- in December that there was a plot to kill him. UN officials ing at its own pace and we must not rush it," said UN rep- also discounted that charge. resentative Ajello. "There can only be free and fair elec- Then Dhlakama's Renamo troops got in on the act with tions in Mozambique once the warring sides are a hunger strike to protest inadequate food at the assem- demobilized. We learned from Angola's return to war bly points. More than 1,100 Renamo fighters at the Mohi- that both armies must be neutralized before the elections ua assembly point in the central Zambezia province can succeed. Only then can this country achieve lasting refused their meals just before Christmas to draw atten- peace." O

49 March /April 19 9 4 The Regressados Return from East Germany

mid the turmoil and hope of post-war worst shifts and the most difficult and health- Mozambique, the plight of a small number of hazardous jobs. Despite working in modern indus- A returning migrants has passed almost unno- tries, the majority, recruited after 1985, were ticed. They are the 15,000 Mozambicans who were never trained in any skills. They were lucky If they sent to the former East Germany as "solidarity were taught German. workers," to learn industrial skills to put to use on As with their German co-workers, deductions their return for Frellmo's grand scheme of centrally were made from their salaries for taxes, welfare, planned development. Envisaged as the vanguard and union dues. Despite this, the authorities made of Mozambique's proletariat, they are now an no efforts to discourage a public perception that embarrassing reminder of those failed dreams. But, foreigners were privileged parasites living off "soli- even before the Berlin Wall came down, their expe- darity contributions." rience was not one of socialist brotherhood; The recent explosion of racist attacks in Ger- instead it was closer to apartheid and exploitation. many exposed an underlying level of racism previ- Summarily ejected from re-united Germany, former ously denied by GDR authorities. This denial of contract workers have now found life at home so open debate about a real issue prevented the tough that they remember Germany as the good Africans from making complaints or taking action. times. One worker commented: "In the beginning, we Following the example of other poor socialist tried. But we were up against so many prejudices. countries, President Samora Machel signed a It was clearly apartheid and we could not appeal to treaty of solidarity with the German Democratic anyone. In those years, we were not allowed to talk Republic (GDR) in 1979. The ministry of labor in about skin-color problems, since officially there Maputo was to select men and women to travel to were no problems with racism." the GDR for training. Exchanging their labor for Ger- German reunification and the subsequent col- man skills, they were to blaze a trail for Mozam- lapse of East German heavy industry meant that bique's industrial development, and demonstrate jobs were no longer guaranteed. Mass sackings fol- an enlightened alternative to the degrading condi- lowed, and foreigners were the first victims. Thou- tions suffered by Mozamblcan migrant laborers in sands were dismissed and sent home, many before South Africa. the "work cooperation" agreements had been offi- In reality, It became simply a cheap labor agree- cially broken. Between March and December 1990, ment—a treaty of exploitation and a formula for more than 11,000 Mozambican contract workers alienation and unfulfilled aspirations. The first were forced to leave. Manuel Alexandre Nhacutou, Mozamblcan workers may have been treated well, who had been in Germany for eight years, said: but by the mid-1980s, when the largest number "Because we are no longer useful, they throw us came, "socialist partnership" was a thin covering out. They will use us again when they need cheap for an ugly reality. labor." The treaty stated that Mozambican workers New regulations made it clear that foreign work- would live and work at the same standard as their ers were no longer welcome. Compensation was German colleagues. In reality, the workers were only paid if the workers declared their willingness housed in isolated halls of residence in cramped to return home immediately. This Included a lump and squalid conditions. Curfews were enforced, vis- sum payment of $1,764, plus 70 percent of the iting regulations restricted. Pregnant women were worker's former wage for three months. Workers automatically forced to abort, or were fired. Every- who wished to remain lost all these rights, but day contact with German colleagues was confined even those who returned home rarely received their to official or state-organized meetings. Fear of full entitlement. racial attacks and day-to-day humiliations created Excluded from rights of citizenship, the status of a miserable existence akin to living under those workers who chose to stay remained uncer- apartheid. tain. A decision to grant legal residence to former The Africans, working in the large labor-intensive contract workers was finally made only in June Industries such as coal mining, were given the 1993, but conditions are so restrictive that most of

Africa Report 50 those remaining are again under threat of deporta- diametrically opposed to that envisaged in 1979. It tion. is now the poorest country in the world, and the Unfortunately, the situation facing the regressa- most aid-dependent. Its industry is at a standstill, dos on their return home has also been harsh. Ironi- and the main prospects for rehabilitation lie in agri- cally, the returnees now idealize their time in Ger- culture. The immediate priority is assisting the many, choosing to forget the racism and hardship tens of thousands of demobilized soldiers and hun- they experienced there. dreds of thousands of refugees returning from The hasty departure of 11,000 Mozambican work- neighboring countries. ers within a six-month period made their arrival in The needs of the former contract workers are Maputo chaotic. The expulsion took the govern- somewhat lower on the agenda. Yet their plight is ment by surprise. Already burdened by war, eco- real. Most of them were forced to sell the con- nomic collapse, and millions of displaced people, sumer goods they brought back. Many complain of the Mozambican government was in no position to isolation and discrimination, on the basis that they ensure the smooth reintegration of the returnees. are regarded as privileged and proud. According to Those who had left before the start of the 1987 Xavier, now living in Maputo: "We all have the Economic Recovery Program were shocked at the same problems, those that stayed and those that sharp increase in the cost of living. They had left. But for us, it is even a disadvantage that we expected to return with enough wealth to be able were abroad. Because we've got good clothes, peo- to support their families and set up small business- ple say, 'Look, you've got a nice shirt, nice trou- es. Their hopes were dashed. According to one sers—what more do you want.' Yet for us, it is returnee, "the worth of the money we saved is worse." Too often, they have simply been used as practically nothing." scapegoats for the rising crime rate in Maputo. Under the agreement with the GDR, the migrant Amid the poverty of Mozambique, the smartly workers received 40 percent of their wages in Ger- dressed regressados stand out as relatively well- many. The remaining 60 percent was sent to off. Their shared experience has contributed to Mozambique where it was to be paid to the workers self-consciousness as a distinct group. This is in local currency, meticais, on their return—minus heightened by the fact that many are stranded in 10 percent deducted by the labor ministry. Maputo without the support of their families— On the return of workers, the Mozambican author- some have completely lost touch with their rela- ities found themselves unable to pay out the tives—and they must rely on each other. deferred wages speedily. The sharp devaluation of Recent schemes in Maputo run by the employ- the metical since 1987 led to disputes over how ment promotion office and financed by German much the workers would receive. In late 1990, the technical cooperation and the ministry of economic then-labor minister, Aguiar Mazula, explained that cooperation have tried to provide assistance in cases where deferred pay was owed dating back through credit and training schemes. Unfortunate- to 1987, the money would be calculated on the ly, the lack of funds, a shortage of skilled manpow- basis of the average rate of that year. Since the er, and bureaucratic problems have limited their exchange rate had risen from 200 to over 1,000 scope and effectiveness. meticais to the U.S. dollar, this made a huge differ- Putting Mozambique back together promises to ence to the returnees, who felt cheated and resent- be a long and difficult task. The regressados won- ful. der what place they will have, and hope that they The lack of jobs and housing intensified the will not become victims again. One spoke of his regressados' anger. In theory, the workers' experi- hopes: "We find ourselves in a difficult time...We ence in Germany should have made it easier for must work with all victims in order to avoid con- them to find employment. In practice, war and flict. "• structural adjustment have ruined Mozambique's —Ondine Smerdon plans for industrial development, making their skills irrelevant. Ondine Smerdon is a part-time researcher for the London-based human Mozambique's economy has developed in a way rights organization, African Rights.

51 Marcb/April 19 9 4 Qii BY FATHER HILL

• ^^1^ B w^& •_ bique's prolonged and violent civil war was over, the tourism industry was up and running. Once a mainstay of the poorest country on earth's economy, tourism virtually ceased in 1978. Now, led by South African investors hoping to lure visitors to the country's paradise islands, tourism will have a rough ride against bureaucracy, shortages, corruption, and the lack of infrastructure.

When the six-seater Cessna swoops over the Indian Pemba islands in the north to Inhaca Island off Maputo Ocean bringing in the fun-seekers to the sun-kissed down south. During the 16-year civil war, however, the islands off Mozambique, it is a scene reminiscent of the tourism industry died, along with the rest of the economy television series "Fantasy Island." The plane alights on and more than a million Mozambicans. the narrow airstrip and the eager guests clamber out, to Out of the ashes is emerging a new tourism industry be met by smiling staff and a tray of frosty drinks. While that is barely waiting for the wounds of war to heal. In the their lives may not be changed by the plot twists of Hol- vanguard are South Africans, who are piling by the thou- lywood scriptwriters, the holidaymakers will enjoy an sands into their old backyard, the "prawn paradise" of the island paradise unequaled by anything produced on a pre-war years. Restaurants and lodgings are springing up TV screen. for the renewed road traffic along the coastal highway, Benguerra, Bazaruto, and Magaruque, each with a especially between Maputo and Inhambane. Two South small, rustic resort, are blessed with azure water, sugar Africans, Mike Slater and Peter Kirchhoff, are currently icing sand, and an unspoiled coral reef. Flamingos congre- compiling the first post-war travel guide to the poorest gate picturesquely in the shallows; further out, the deep country on earth. water teems with fish that are every sportsman's Hotel chains and business consortiums are also attract- dream—marlin, sailfish, grouper, bonito. And yet, the ed to Mozambique, seeing in it the potential for luxury- Bazaruto Archipelago is just one idyllic way-station along a class resorts. "International tourism is hungry for exclu- 1,500-mile coastline that is arguably the most beautiful and sive locations," said Rob Small., a Harare architect and abundant beach environment in the world. It is, without partner in a new hotel promotion company for Mozam- question, a tourism operator's dream. bique. "The more exotic facilities will get the market, and Until independence in 1975, Mozambique was the play- Mozambique has them. Kenya's coast is burned out. So ground for southern Africa, from the Arab-accented are and the ." Club Med Mozambique is still a long way away, howev- Heather Hill is a freelance journalist based in Harare, Zimbabwe. er. The country is staggering under a huge population of

Africa Report HERCADO MUNICIPAL

displaced people, a byzantine government bureaucracy, Bazaruto Archipelago, the locus, for now, of Mozam- breathtaking corruption, and an infrastructure so decayed bique's tourism, are in a continual battle just to keep food it is almost nonexistent. And both government and on the table. investors are hedging their bets until elections, supposed "We're fighting the impossible," said Trevor Landrey, to be held this year, give the country greater political sta- manager of the 40-bed Benguela Lodge, which opened bility. in 1988. "The remoteness of our area, the lack of infra- "We're telling people that the only market for the time structure...to maintain a lodge of our standard is being is business people. Until the war is properly sorted remarkable. If it were made easier, we could satisfy an out, there's not much hope for a major tourism industry," overseas clientele." warns David Zausmer, managing director of the Beira Cor- Chief among the problems are exorbitant government ridor Group, which represents private sector interests levies. Airport landing fees are the highest in the between Beira, Mozambique and neighboring countries. world—$50 for a six-seater aircraft compared to less that The formidable obstacles notwithstanding, developers, $1 at the Harare International Airport. Then there is a $25 particularly from South Africa, are moving in. Since the fee to the immigration department, $10 to customs, $10 for ceasefire agreement of October 1992, the government has each passenger entering Mozambique, and $5 for each stepped up its tendering for the development of beach- passenger leaving. front resorts and inland safari camps and the rehabilitation Once the guests have arrived, they want food, drink, of existing hotels. ceiling fans, hot showers, boats, diving equipment, and the That's what led to Small's venture. Small was in Maputo other amenities of a good resort. Since two-thirds of the last December for an exhibition of his wildlife pho- materiel has to be imported, the hotel pays customs duties tographs, at which he met Carlos Pacheco Faria, the chair- ranging from 80 percent to 110 percent. There are govern- man of Enacomo, the former state trading company. Ena- ment officials who want to be appeased and others who como, representing a wide array of business interests set demand permits which don't exist Cargo can be impound- to be privatized this year, controls a tourism company, Pro- ed and charter flights delayed until an arrangement is motur. Promotur has development rights to many choice reached. spots on the coast, including Mozambique Island, recently "If we tried to run our operation in terms of our autho- declared a world heritage site by the United Nations Edu- rization, we could not do it," said Landrey. "You just cational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. couldn't provide the service. You could give people rice, Because investors could easily founder on the shoals of fish, vegetables. That's it." Mozambican bureaucracy, the company will offer them a The ways around the maze are to pay the fees upfront, to full package of beach-front sites, building design, hotel and smuggle in goods, and to offer the expected kickback. At management consultants, and construction facilities. All the moribund Beira airport, for example, this journalist they have to do is put their money down. saw customs officials duly accepting several crates of alco- But Small maintains that his company will ensure "sensi- hol with the witticism that the airport would be closed by tive development of Mozambique's abundant natural noon because everyone would be drunk. On the return resources. Coastline development is often done without trip, an official took several frozen chickens and told the proper impact studies. There will be a rush to develop and pilot mat next time he wanted some bread. I'm keen to see that the coastline of Mozambique doesn't All these costs filter down to the foreign traveler, who is end up looking like Palm Beach." also the target of a 23 percent sales tax on tourism-related The experience of travel operators suggests that any spending. That factors into an average daily hotel rale of development will be an uphill struggle. The resorts in the $120 before you buy a single gin-and-tonic, step onto a fish-

March/April 19 9 4 ing boat, or rent diving equipment. First, of course, you Alves. Alves also owned the Dona Ana (named after his have to get yourself there. wife), a small resort on Magaruque, and a hotel at Inhas- Another pitfall is government itself. Despite the intro- soro, about 12 miles up the coast from Vilanculos. As war duction of a foreign investment code in 1984, the manifold loomed and tourism dried up, Alves went under. The layers of bureaucracy and the adherence to Marxism cre- banks took him over and he returned to Portugal where ate a capitalist's nightmare. "Every time an agreement he died. seems to be near, the government comes back with a new Twenty years later, the archipelago constitutes a sort of demand," explained Rob Small. microcosm of the future of the country's tourism industry. The saga of the Botswana-based Cresta Hotel group There are the three small operating hotels, which by hook illustrates just how difficult dealing with Maputo can be. or by crook manage to keep the show going. With only a Cresta began negotiating in 1981 to rehabilitate the Dom closed circuit radio link for communication, the three Carlos Hotel in Beira. For the first few years, the Frelimo resorts depend on each other for supplies and trade infor- government dealt only with the Zimbabwe government; mation. 'There's nothing on the mainland," said Steve subsequently, Cresta was allowed to step in. It took 10 Anderson, the manager of Magarugue. "It's very difficult years, right up to the 1990s, to hammer out a package both to run a business with the local administration. We can't sides agreed they could discuss. rely on them." Cresta's sole interest was the Dom Carlos, a rococo Meanwhile, the contest between government and new 100-room hotel which the group wanted to run for busi- investors who assault the islands and their fragile ecology ness people and vacationers from the region. 'The hotel continues. For its part, the government has declared the is terribly run down," said Paul Matamisa, Cresta's islands national parks which must conform to strict envi- deputy managing director, who estimated rehabilitation ronmental regulations. Because Mozambique has no min- costs at $7 million. "But we would have been very happy istry of tourism, responsibility for resorts falls under the to do it." ministry of agriculture, which has delegated it to an expa- The Mozambique government, however, wanted Cresta triate adviser, Paul Dutton. also to take on the ravaged Hotel Estoril, a 300-bed estab- Dutton, who lives on Bazaruto, drew up a management lishment that has been home for many years to more than plan for the islands, limiting the number of beds on each. 700 squatter families. "No one wants to take responsibility Last year, all development was frozen, by a directive of for the families," said Matamisa. "[The government] President Joachim Chissano, until the plan is approved. allowed us to remove them but for a foreign-based compa- As the unofficial environmental watchdog, Dutton has ny to evict them...What sort of relationship would you cre- his hands full. The manager of the 20-bed Bazaruto Lodge, ate for business in the future? You wouldn't survive in that Gordon Chacat, a South African, planned a second com- environment." plex of 250 beds incorporating a golf course and marina. In late 1993, Cresta pulled out. "It became apparent we When the World Bank loan he was counting on fell would not be permitted to develop only the Dom Carlos," through, Chacat scaled his plans down to a 30-bed lodge. said Matamisa. "We're still interested in Mozambique, but That was stopped by the freeze. the best route for us would be to build our own hotel." But another project on Bazaruto is springing up. Said to Because organized tourism officially ceased in Mozam- have the late president Samora Machel's widow as a part- bique in 1978, commercial activity since then has hap- ner, the business group behind it has put in an airstrip for pened on virtually an ad hoc basis. In one such case, a what is said to be a 60-bed resort and moved building Harare air charter company, Safari Transfers, under a con- materials onto the island. It appears that construction is tract with the government, was flying Zimbabweans to going ahead. Paradise Island in the Bazaruto Archipelago for a "glori- On Benguerra, meanwhile, a lease for a new 40-bed fied camping trip." lodge was approved by the government, completing the "You brought your own food and there was a cook there island's quota of 80 beds. Under the aegis of this approval, who would cook it for you," said Frances Phillips of Safari according to Trevor Landrey, a different consortium Transfers. "You could get a room although it was very began selling time-shares in South Africa in a 200-unit spartan. The big advantage was that you could pay us in complex on Benguerra. The investors had even shipped Zimbabwe dollars [the fee was about $20 a night)." bulldozers and building materials to Vilanculos, when Dut- That little sideline ended last June, when the govern- ton stopped them from being transported to the island. ment accepted a bid from South African businessman Rick The original 40-bed plan is on ice. Makin to restore Paradise Island and the Dona Ana hotel Mozambique, sealed off from the world during the in the mainland town of Vilanculos. Like Cresta with the boom years for international holiday resorts, is one of the Dom Carlos, Makin faces a formidable challenge: The Par- last travel frontiers. But the investment cowboys are in for adise Island complex, a once-elegant hotel and casino, is a a hard ride. Between the horrendous internal problems mere shell. and the worldly demands of an independent state, the In the tourism heyday, however, Paradise was the jewel nascent tourism industry is already finding that paradise in the crown of a Portuguese tourism king called Joachim has its sting. O

Africa Report 54 BfCHRIS SIMPSON

>*•'{> ' ,

EOR more available for comment than the government, and it Angolan government. Mindful of the has been left to Beye himself to provide summaries when flying in and out of Luanda. He has restricted himself, by disastrous consequences of the and large, to platitudes of the "patience is a virtue" variety, while occasionally scolding the Angolan state media for being so resolutely negative in its coverage. hastily assembled and ill-supervised Lusaka could, in theory, produce a peace settlement, but it is unlikely to prove comprehensive or durable. The more September 1992 elections, the United optimistic accounts of the Abidjan talks made much of the points on which the rival delegations had agreed as opposed to the points of divergence, the most important of Nations is taking the patient approach which was Unita's refusal to withdraw from the areas of the country it then occupied. The pessimists argued that it to a new round of peace talks being was only the differences which mattered, the rest was sim- ply window-dressing. The Lusaka agenda is broadly similar to that addressed held in Lusaka, Zambia. These latest at Abidjan—how to create a new national army and police force, how to accommodate Unita politically, defining a new role for the UN in Angola—and could be knocked off talks were convened in November, point by point. Indeed, as the talks broke up for Christmas, a break which the Angolan government claimed had been following the breakdown of negotia- at Unita's request, there was considerable satisfaction that the main military issues had supposedly been dealt with. These included the reintegration of both Unita's high com- tions in Abidjan last May. Meanwhile, mand and its ordinary soldiers into the Angolan national army and provisional arrangements for demobilization. Agreement was reached on the reorganization of a nation- in fits and starts, the civil war goes on. al police force in late January. w t is far better to be patient and spend time work- Get the men in uniform sorted out and the rest should ing on a peaee settlement that will last than to surely follow seems to be the thinking. But even if the two rush through something that will collapse sides could move rapidly on to getting an agreement on immediately," UN Special Representative how many cabinet posts Unita can have, how many Blue Alioune Blondin Beye has remarked on more Helmets the UN should send to Angola, how a second than one occasion. round of presidential elections should be staged, the real Since taking over the notoriously tough challenge will lie in making such an agreement viable on Angolan dossier from Margaret Anstee in July last year, the ground. Beye has favored a softly, softly approach, low on rhetoric Nearly three years on, it is chastening to remember the and high on discretion. Four months of painstaking diplo- euphoria which greeted the Bicesse accords. There macy, both inside and outside Angola, went into the build- seemed at the time enough good reasons for Bicesse to up to the Lusaka peace talks Beye convened in November succeed. There was a more favorable geopolitical climate and there has been no rush for a quick-fix formula at the in southern Africa with the Cold War over and South negotiating table. Those delegates, observers, and journal- Africa reforming, while the protagonists seemed, at least ists who emerged jaded and battle-weary after the abortive at the time, genuinely weary of the fight. A permanent Abidjan peace talks in May 1993 did not know it at the Angolan settlement was seen by many outside observers time, but they had simply been in training for Lusaka, as an inevitable part of a southern African jigsaw.

where Beye has indicated the talks can run and run so But Bicesse failed and there seems little reason to sus- WFPM long as they produce some kind of meaningful agreement. That, however, is far from guaranteed. It has been diffi- cult throughout to ascertain just what progress is being made at Lusaka, not least because the UN, supposedly at the request of the two parties, has enforced a news black- out. The daily briefings given at Abidjan, which Unita seemed far more comfortable with than the Angolan gov- ernment did, have not taken place. Contacts with the press have been largely frowned on, although Unita has been

Chris Simpson is a freelance journalist based in Luanda, Angola.

Africa Report the conflict has never been heard. They still maintain not only that the elections were fraudulent, but, more perti- nently, that the government used the election aftermath to systematically eliminate senior Unita cadres, not only in Luanda, but in provincial capitals like Lubango, Benguela, and Malange. The government's actions in this period serve, however implausibly, as the justification for all that happened afterwards. A Unita military commander in Cuito, a city which Unita laid siege to for nine months, vig- orously maintained that "we are fighting a war of self- defense, the government pushed us out and we have been trying to let our people back in." Security considerations dominate Unita's approach to the peace process, with constant warnings that there be no repetition of the killings of October-November 1992 and that large numbers of Blue Helmets are an imperative. Unita will not move out of its positions without them, if it will move at all. Meanwhile, little is being said in Angola, be it by the president, the chief of staff, or any teenage recruit ordered to register, that suggests the government is making a swift end to the war. The state media has been so uniformly negative about the peace talks in Lusaka that some observers inevitably suspect a smoke-screen—that a very different position may be emerging at the negotiating table. The government consistently maintains that it is Unita which is upping the military tempo, with an offen- sive being staged or under preparation in practically every province. First-hand reporting of the war is still very limit- ed, however. The fighting appears to go on in fits and pect that a redrafted version ol the original agreement, starts, with some small towns still changing hands with plus a few thousand UN peace-keeping troops, will suc- baffling regularity. Opposite page, ceed any better. Both sides in the conflict maintain that One of the many theories about there can only be a political and not a military solution and children orphaned the progress of the war in circulation both certainly seem incapable of enforcing an outright vic- by the war a few months ago had a revitalized tory. But there still seem to be more reasons for the war Above, a soldier in national army in hot pursuit of Unita, to continue than for it to stop. Cuito, after the ready to push Savimbi's forces out of The other theme pursued by Special Representative nine-month siege Huambo and other localities and Beye, in addition to the need for patience, has been the back into the bush. It never hap- need for "a climate of mutual confidence," a psychological pened and the war seems to have reached a stalemate with entente between the two sides. But this is where conflict few major strategic gains to be made on either side. The resolution moves away from the paper maneuvers of Abid- government still holds the capital, the coast, and a string of jan and Lusaka and becomes altogether more complicated. isolated provincial capitals, like Saurimo, Menongue, Listening to the account of this current phase of the con- Malange, and Luena, but little else. Unita holds vast swaths flict from the two warring parties, it is clear that two very of territory, administered nominally fromHuambo . different versions of the war exist and no easy formula will This has enabled the UN to increase its aid operations, be found to bridge a frighteningdivide . flying in food to most parts of the country and easing what "Unite will never return here," is a constant refrain from had become a massive humanitarian crisis. The hope in Luandans. It is certainly difficult to envisage a repeat of some quarters is that the de-escalation of fighting,whic h the entrance Jonas Savimbi and his supporters made to has already taken the strain off cities like Menongue and the city back in 1991. Savimbi's former acolytes, like Nor Luena, will turn into a de facto ceasefire and a semblance berto de Castro and Abel Chivukuvuku, sit in the National of normality can return. Assembly, distanced from Huainbo. Others, like former Lusaka, if it proves strong on modalities as well as broad Unita health chief Carlos Morgado, took their seats and declarations of intent, could help provide a frameworkfo r then absconded, arriving in Huainbo via Lisbon, bearing an end to hostilities. But the blunt consensus in Lusaka at tales of house arrest and political manipulation. least is that there are more reasons for the war to continue Unita supporters in Huambo still insist that their side of than for it to end. O

57 March/April 19 9 4 BY JOWIE MWIINGA

CHILL FOR

Sarah-Jane Poole ^m ^M wo years ago, Zambia proved to be anything but trans- I I was widely recognized parent and accountable. II as a model of a success- From the onset, cases of high- •J ful transition from level corruption and financial autocracy to Western-style abuse, of which there were not a democracy. An authoritarian few, went unpunished, as did regime had just been ousted with- other excesses of senior govern- out a single shot being fired. The ment officials. vastly popular Frederick Chiluba Only months into the Chiluba administration was effecting far- presidency, a parliamentary com- reaching reforms to consolidate mittee uncovered large-scale basic freedoms and reinvigorate financial abuses involving several an economy stagnated by decades of socialism. Oppres- cabinet ministers. To everyone's surprise, Robinson Nab- sive laws of the Kenneth Kaunda era were being disman- ulyato, speaker of the National Assembly, inexplicably tled, and an exercise to privatize over 150 state-run enter- threw out the committee's report. prises—effectively, 80 percent of the economy—was However, subsequent investigations by the Anti-Cor- under way. ruption Commission established that the committee's Zambia was living proof that a peaceful and effective report was factual. Present Chiluba responded by sacking transition to democracy was possible. one member of his cabinet—Works and Supply Minister Today, however, Zambia is no longer the proud model Ephraim Chibwe, who allegedly diverted millions of dol- of progressive change it once was. If anything, it repre- lars meant for furnishings. The other culprits sents a warning to other Third World countries contem- were spared. plating a shift to Western-style democracy. Since then, cases of high-level corruption have persist- "Zambia's bubble has burst," a Western diplomat ed. The Anti-Corruption Commission, after investigating remarked recently. "It has failed to sustain the momentum cabinet minister Michael Sata's activities, sought to prose- necessary for meaningful change." cute him for financial abuse. Again, the state blocked the To Zambia's 8.4 million people, the first two years of the course of justice: The attorney-general intervened, direct- Chiluba presidency were characterized by dashed expec- ing the commission to drop the case. tations. Chiluba's government, which rode to power with Seven ministers were reported to have abused their the promise of transparency and accountability, quickly positions to benefit from a $27 million Japanese non-pro- ject grant. Despite public pressure on the president to act and evidence provided by opposition leaders, the minis- Jowie Mwiinga writes for the Associated Press, Interpress Service, and the Weekly Post in Lusaka, Zambia. ters remained unpunished.

Africa Report 58 Drug-trafficking and corruption in the cabinet. It sounds like the discredited Kenneth Kaunda regime, which was replaced by the government of highly regarded President Frederick Chilu- ba. Only two years after the election of the popular Movement for Multi-party Democracy, Zambians have had their faith in Chiluba staggered. Confronted with testimony by cabinet ministers that others in the administration were engaged in corruption, the president fired the messengers, outraging many Zambians and dashing their hopes in the fledgling democracy. CHILUBA Meanwhile, persistent reports linked senior govern- bad political precedent. A prominent businessman. ment officials to drug trafficking. Foreign Affairs Minister Maxwell Mwamba, sought a court injunction to restrain Vernon Mwaanga, Community Development Minister Mwaanga and Wina from executing their ministerial Nakatindi Wina, and her husband, Deputy Speaker of the duties. In almost a predictable fashion, the court threw out Assembly Sikuta Wina, were rumored to be involved in the injunction. the growing drug trade. Chiluba, a self-styled "born-again" Christian, mean- The allegations against them were nothing new. The while, continued to gloss over the excesses of his minis- three were named by a tribunal appointed by former presi- ters. He turned a blind eye to shocking social transgres- dent Kenneth Kaunda as leading drug traffickers in 1985. sions of senior government officials. Several ministers Kaunda knew just who the people in Chiluba's Move- were implicated in messy adulterous affairs last year, while ment for Multi-party Democracy were. Half of them had several other married second wives in spite of the law. worked in his cabinet, and been sacked for indiscipline or "Judge not," the president said, when challenged to arrest corruption. He tried to warn Zambians of the mistake they immorality in his cabinet, "and thou shalt not be judged." were making in supporting their quest for power. "MMD? Political analysts say Chiluba may have been compro- Movement for Mandrax Dealer—that's all they are," he mised by his more sophisticated and moneyed backers, said when asked what he thought of the threat the emerg- who funded and executed his campaign. They say he has ing opposition presented to his government. also been unable to control them because he lacks the However, the electorate, fed up with 27 years of Kaun- political refinement of the likes of Mwaanga and Wina, da's rule, was not too particular about who replaced his whose political history goes back at least 30 years. Most of United National Independence Party (UNIP). They went Chiluba's ministers are successful businessmen, some of out in droves to vote the MMD into power. them tycoons by world standards. Chiluba, on the other 'The people just wanted change. They didn't really care hand, was a credit officer until 1991, when history pro- who took over. Even a clog could have run against Kaunda pelled him to political center stage. He dropped out after and won," a Lusaka resident said. two years in high school, to work at a sisal plantation in Nor did Chiluba seem particularly concerned about the Tanzania as a clerical officer. He became a trade unionist, shady character of some of his colleagues. He chose to rising, as credit officer of Atlas Capco, an international ignore their pasts, and appointed them to his team. Their engineering firm, to chairman of the Zambia Congress of appointment was met with mixed feelings by the public. Trade Unions. Most people, who regarded them as heroes of sorts for An eloquent and controversial speaker, the pint-sized having jostled Kaunda out of power, were more than ready unionist was detained briefly by the government for his to forgive and forget. fiery, anti-establishment speeches. He captured the public Others, however, were convinced that the appointment imagination, and was widely regarded as the antithesis of of discredited people to leadership positions would set a the aging and increasingly remote Kaunda.

59 March/April 19 9 4 But while the electorate saw a leader in him, political that several had swindled the country out of millions of analysts say Chiluba lacks the stuff from which leaders are dollars. made. They say he is too weak of character and too limited Their disclosures left Chiluba in an awkward position. in exposure to effectively run a country. Such theories For two years, he had insisted his cabinet was clean. Now, inevitably get him hot under the collar. members of the cabinet were themselves making public "Behind this velvet glove," he declared recently, "lies an statements in which they admitted the Chiluba administra- iron fist." There has been little evidence of the iron fist, tion was riddled with corruption. however. 'Hie electorate which so overwhelmingly voted An unprecedented political crisis followed. Zambians his ruling MMD into power is increasingly perturbed by across the country demanded that Chiluba and his cabinet his apparent failure to instill discipline in government. resign. The donor community maintained the pressure, Recently, three cabinet ministers, and over 10 other reiterating, every other day, its intention to cut aid if its members of Parliament, resigned from the ruling party, concerns were not addressed. saying they were unwilling to work in a system tolerant of In the end, the president just had to act. But when he corruption. Most of them subsequently formed a break- did, he left most observers unimpressed. He sacked Kaw- away party that promises to become the country's most imbe and Mungomba for "washing dirty linen in public," formidable opposition. and police inspector-general Darius Kalebo for failing to Until recently, there has been little organized pressure arrest the escalating crime wave. He also shuffled his min- on the president to clean up his government, thanks to the isters, transferring Home Affairs Minister Newstead absence of either a meaningful opposition or an indepen- Zimba to labor. dent press. None of the ministers linked to corruption by the inves- The opposition has under 30 seats in the assembly. tigating wings of government were sacked, however. Most opposition parties are disorganized and lack the His superfluous actions sparked off a national howl of resources necessary for a viable role in national politics. outrage, with political pressure groups, including the Zam- The independent media comprises two weekly news- bia Congress of Trade Unions, opposition parties, and stu- papers with a combined circulation of under 50,000 dent groups accusing the president of glossing over criti- copies nationwide. The Weekly Post, a fiercely indepen- cal political issues. They are outraged by the fact that the dent, hard-hitting newspaper, has been the object of president sacked ministers opposed to crime, and spared vicious attacks by cadres of the ruling party. I^ist year, those linked to it. unruly mobs stormed the newspaper's offices twice, "The two ministers were dropped not for stealing, but only dispersing after riot police forcefully ejected them for letting the people of Zambia know that the internation- from the premises. A few months ago, its distributing al community is concerned about the drug problem in the van was waylaid by armed men, who burned copies of leadership," opposition leader Akashambatwa-Mbikusita the newspaper, Lewanika says. The mainstream media—two daily newspapers, a radio Lewanika was one of several members of the Chiluba and television station—are still state-run, and inevitably cabinet who resigned over a year ago, saying they were act as an extension of the ruling party's public relations unwilling work in a corrupt system. department. The ruling party pledged in its pre-election Increasingly, Zambians are beginning to feel they campaign to privatize the media as a matter of urgency. have been short-changed by the Chiluba establishment. Now, however, the government says it may not sell off the Most are now beginning to regard the Kaunda years media organizations, after all. with nostalgia. Recently, however, increased public and donor pres- "Whatever one may say about the Kaunda era, there was sure has forced President Chiluba to address the excesses more transparency then. President Kaunda never hesitated of his ministers. Last December, the Consultative Group to sack erring ministers, even for such simple offenses as on Zambia threatened to cut aid unless he stopped high- drunkenness," former foreign affairs minister Benjamin level corruption and drug trafficking in the cabinet. Mibenge says. "President Chiluba, on the other hand, not Finance Minister Ronald Penza promised the donors only tolerates corruption—he is the first to defend corrupt that government would address their concerns urgently. leaders," he adds. Chiluba says his resigning or dissolving His action earned him the censure of the president, who the cabinet is out of the question. The crisis facing his gov- has consistently vouched for his ministers' integrity. ernment, he says, is of a temporary nature. However, other senior government officials, including Observers now say the president will survive the cor- Development Cooperation Minister Dean Mungomba and ruption and drug trafficking crisis. The lack of an alterna- Health Minister Boniface Kawimbe, confirmed the pres- tive, they say, means the ruling party will remain in power, ence of drug traffickers in the government. at least to the end of the term in 1996, and probably As the pressure mounted, Mwaanga, and then the beyond. Winas resigned, to facilitate drug enforcement investi- But while Chiluba may remain in power, he will proba- gations into their affairs. Before they left, however, they bly never command the trust and support he enjoyed only spilled the beans on their cabinet colleagues, revealing two years ago. O

Africa Report 60 BY ANDREW MELDRUM

The end of the Didier Ratsiraka (photo) regime last year-he had presided over 17 years of Soviet-style rule and subse- quent economic decline—exhilarated the citizens of Madagascar. A new con- stitution was written, a new president and National Assembly elected-and a year later, not much has changed. In fact, Ratsiraka, with his close ties to the security forces, is still ensconced in the former . Now, the new government of President Albert Zafy is pinning its hopes on World Bank- regulated economic reform, which undoubtedly prove unpopular. TROUBLE IN PARADISE

With mountains, rain forests, beaches, rich and unique wildlife and plant life, Madagascar has enchanted visitors for centuries as a tropical paradise on earth. Yet no par- adise, not even an island as remote as Madagascar, can escape the hard realities of the modern world. In February, Madagascar was buffeted by Cyclone Ger- alda, the worst in a century, which virtually destroyed the island's biggest commercial port of Toamasina, on the eastern coast. More than 100,000 people were made homeless. Ironically, the torrential rains came as Mada-

Andrew Meldrum, a contributing editor to Africa Report, is an American journalist who is frontline editor of the Johannesburg Weekly Mail. Based in Harare, Zimbabwe, he also writes forThe Guardian ofljtndon.

March/April 19 9 4 gascar was recovering from a severe drought, which A "• parched the country in 1992-93. But it is not natural disasters which have caused the most trouble to the island. Political misrule and economic mismanagement have also bedeviled Madagascar. It struggles, as all Third World countries do, to try to make ends meet in an international economy controlled by the Eirst World. Like all Third World countries, Madagascar must sell enough of its basic commodities overseas in order to pay for imports of manufactured items from the industrialized world. Add to that nearly 20 years of mis- management and it is easy to understand why Madagascar is rated as the world's 10th poorest country. Although only 250 miles off Africa's eastern coast, sited alongside Mozambique, Madagascar seems much further tern similarly suffered. The island's road network fell into away from Ihe continent. It has that special world-of-its- such a state of disrepair that four-wheel-drive vehicles arc own quality that many islands have. needed on the national highway, not to mention secondary There are many reasons why Madagascar appears to roads. The telecommunications system also declined so be part African and part something else. First of all, the badly that there are fewer phones in use today in Mada- island's population is of primarily Asian descent. Accord- gascar than there were in 19715. A military man himself, ing to archeologists, the island was uninhabited by man Ratsiraka kept on good terms with the army, navy, and until about 2,000 years ago when, apparently, settlers police. Government critics charge that Ratsiraka, his fami- arrived on rafts from the Polynesian islands near Malaysia. ly, and top officials enriched themselves with numerous The Malagasy language is of Malaysian origin. Africans schemes. More charitable analysts say that Madagascar arrived later and the result is that today the Malagasy peo- was "under-governed." ple display a fantastic mosaic of skin colors ranging from In 1989, Ratsiraka was elected to a fourth seven-year light brown, to bright gold, to dark black. term as president, but there was widespread rioting to The Malagasy people do not like to consider them- protest vote-rigging and to show popular dissatisfaction. selves African, and do not follow African affairs closely. Lit- The fall of the Soviet Union and other Eastern European tle is known of Mozambique's current peace process, for regimes left Ratsiraka with few allies and he began to re- instance. Instead, the Malagasy identify with fellow Indian establish Western links and to fall in line with the World Ocean islands: the Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Bank's economic policies. But it was too little change, too Reunion. In that company, Madagascar, as the world's late for the Malagasy people. The democratic tide that fourth largest island, rates as a giant, although its per capi- swept through Africa in 1990 and 1991 stimulated the ta income of $210 makes the country poor even by African Malagasy people to bring about the end of Ratsiraka's rule. standards. Prolonged strikes brought the government to a standstill But whether the Malagasy people like it or not, Africa and Ratsiraka eventually agreed to a referendum for a new was the source of the democratic wind which blew away constitution. Under the new system, he was voted out of the fossilized "ancien regime" of Didier Ratsiraka in 1992 office in mid-1993 and the new Third Republic of Madagas- and 1993. car was born with President Albert Zafy at its head. From 1975 until 1992, Madagascar was ruled by Ratsira- Yet nearly a year after he was voted out of office, Ratsir- ka and his Supreme Revolutionary Council. Ratsiraka cut aka continues to live in the presidential palace on the edge off virtually all ties with the West and moved the island of the capital city, Antananarivo. Of course, state business under the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. PYench- is no longer conducted from the gargantuan. North Kore- controlled banks, insurance companies, and major enter- an-built string of bunkers that make up Iavoloha Palace, prises were nationalized without compensation and French itself a relic of Ratsiraka's rule. But rumor has it in Antana- air bases were closed. Not surprisingly, there was an exo- narivo that Ratsiraka takes advantage of President Zafy's dus of French settlers, as well as many skilled personnel. frequent visits around the country to send state congratu- Development in the country ground to a halt and traditional lations and condolences to other heads of state on behalf exports of vanilla, cloves, coffee, and meat declined. of the new government. Unfortunately, the shift toward the Eastern bloc was Prime Minister Francisque Ravony has been delegated one of the few really decisive policies of the Ratsiraka gov- to meet with Ratsiraka to discuss when the former presi- ernment. The education system, which had boasted good dent will move from Iavoloha. But so far no firm date has secondary schools and reasonable access to good univer- been set, perhaps because Ratsiraka still holds the alle- sities, deteriorated to the extent that by the late 1980s, any- giance of many top army and police officers. one seeking an education had to go to a private high While Ratsiraka's extended reign at the palace is essen- school and travel overseas to university. The health sys- tially a cosmetic problem for the Zafy government, it

Africa Report nonetheless highlights the unsettling feeling among many full public disclosure of the affair has been demanded by of Madagascar's 12 million people that although they have the World Bank and the IMF, which both had delegations a new president, a new government, and a completely new in Madagascar in December to negotiate a resumption of constitution, political life is still dispiritingly the same. And the country's structural adjustment program. as the new government re-enters negotiations with the The most important items on the government's agenda World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the are the reinvigoration of Madagascar's ailing economy and country's economic life looks the same, too. the rebuilding of the country's crumbling road and com- What a change from the start of 1993, when the entire munications systems. A new round of development pro- island was exhilarated by the open public debate of draft- jects appeared to be the order of the day when the transi- ing a new constitution. People were optimistic that Mada- tional government rallied the country with the "SOS gascar, after decades of rot and maladministration, was South" campaign to channel help to the drought-devastat- poised to begin a new era of effective, efficient govern- ed southern tip of the island. The UN's World Food Pro- ment that would return the country to prosperity. gram (WFP) used both local and international aid to pro- 'This is a rich island, we should not be such a poor vide emergency relief to the 1 million people in the south. country," said Michel Riafamany, a Malagasy botanist. "A It appeared the government would launch an ambitious year ago everyone was optimistic that we would begin a development program for the drought-prone south, but as fresh period. Everyone was full of hope and plans for the yet WFP has been left on its own to follow up emergency future. Now people are beginning to worry that things are relief with an innovative food-for-work scheme to make the not so new, after all." transition toward long-term development. Madagascar's new National Assembly ended its first But instead of designing and implementing regional session at the end of December 1993, and, according to development plans, the Zafy government is enmeshed in popular opinion, it accomplished little except a lengthy negotiations with the World Bank and the IMF With the debate about its own salaries, the types of limousines end of Eastern bloc aid, Madagascar's largest donor is the members can use, and per diems and benefits for repre- former colonial power, France, which along with other sentatives who travel overseas. major donors like Germany, the U.S., and the EC, have stat- The most serious blot against the new government, ed publicly that any further economic aid will be forthcom- however, is the mysterious case of a $2 billion loan. ing only if the Zafy government resumes relations with the 'ITiroughout the start of 1994, the Malagasy media and Bank and the IMF Those agreements were suspended at much of the population were engrossed in discussing the the close of the Ratsiraka regime and now the Zafy govern- many questions about the troubling loan. ment is confronted with necessity of implementing painful In December 1993, the lively Malagasy press carried measures that will undoubtedly be unpopular. numerous stories about a massive $2 billion loan taken out According to economic experts, the Zafy government is by either the transitional under heavy pressure to devalue its currency by as much government or the new MANY PEOPLE as 40 percent. Madagascar is one of the few former French Zafy government. An colonies in Africa that withdrew from the French franc extensive audit, carried HAVE THE zone, in 1973, and set up its own central bank. Unfortu- out for the World Bank UNSETTLING nately, that did not prevent the Malagasy franc from slid- and the IMF, turned up a ing to a current low worth of 1,900 to the U.S. dollar. promissory note for a FEELING THAT Other demands by the IMF and the Bank include that loan of $2 billion. It has the Zafy government reduce its budget deficit and the size not been made public POLITICAL LIFE IS and cost of its civil service. This puts the Zafy government what bank or country STILL DISPIRIT" in a particularly difficult spot because it was extended issued the loan or what strikes by the civil service which toppled Ratsiraka. At the the loan was to be used INGLY TH E SAME, end of 1993, Zafy criticized the World Bank and IMF in for. What is known is that public speeches, but observers say he has little choice but the 7 percent interest rate on the loan will nearly double to accede to their demands, as Madagascar's reserves of Madagascar's foreign debt repayments. And it is widely foreign exchange are at a perilous low of just seven days' believed that those who authorized the loan received a worth of normal imports. whopping 10 percent commission. As a result of domestic political wrangling and interna- Frequently mentioned in connection with the loan are tional pressure. Madagascar's new government has little top officials of the newly elected government. Rev. Richard room for maneuver. The popular hopes for a "take charge" Andriamanjatoa, head of the National Assembly, made an government which would dramatically change Madagas- unprecedented speech in a public park in Antananarivo in car's miserable poverty are beginning to fade. December in which he said the loan was only tentative and "We don't want to believe that nothing is going to might never come to pass. change," said Michel Riafamany. "We brought about a new But such a shadowy loan makes a mockery of the hopes government for Madagascar in 1993 and we must believe of the Malagasy people for an open, honest government. A that in 1994 it will be more effective." O

Marcb/Aprit 19 9 4 BY MARK DOYLE

Dr. Richard Leakey (opposite page), head of the Kenyan Wildlife Service, has been credited with rehabili- tating the country's national parks, elimi- nating poaching, and ^^^^^Bhe Kenyan government's environment poli- drawing foreign tourists and loans ^^M ^^Hcy has come under intense scrutiny in I I recent months as the well-known director from overseas. Now, he is under fire, I I of the Kenyan Wildlife Service, Dr. Richard | | Leakey, has offered his resignation and the accused by a powerful Kenyan politi- B^ British government has pulled out of a $25 million forestry conservation project. The first event was cian of favoring white ranchers, and far more significant since Leakey tendered his resigna- tion to President Daniel arap Moi following accusations from senior politicians that he has mismanaged the coun- improper management. Leakey has try's game parks and is a racist. Leakey was the most senior white Kenyan in the left his future in the hands of Presi- administration, the son of the prominent paleontolo- gists Louis and Mary Leakey, who did pioneering work dent Daniel arap Moi (above), who on the origins of early mankind in Tanzania. He was appointed by Moi to run the Kenyan Wildlife Service would assuage his political allies by (KWS) five years ago, with a brief to save the country's wild animals from poaching and restore security in the letting the wildlife director go, but at parks. This was considered by the head of state to be essential for Kenya's image abroad, and its national the cost of tarnishing the image of coffers—the tourism industry generates about 40 per- cent of Kenya's foreign exchange earnings, and most

Kenyan tourism. Mark Doyle is the BBC World Service East Africa correspondent.

Africa Report 64 visitors to Kenya come to see the animals in the parks. lagers, that they were not benefiting from the tourist In the mid-1980s, Kenya's elephant and rhino popula- revenues generated by the parks. They accused Leakey tion was being decimated by poaching. Highly publicized of being aloof. The wildlife leader responded that it was cases of foreign tourists being attacked by bandits in the the responsibility of another government department to parks led to a tarnishing of the country's image. Leakey pay compensation, that KWS had financed development was appointed with a flexible brief and wide powers to projects to support the local people—though directly rehabilitate the parks. In the five years he has headed and not through the councils—and that his office door KWS, he is widely believed by Kenyans and foreign cred- was always open if people wanted to discuss the man- itors to have fulfilled the brief. Poaching has been agement of the parks. reduced, security in the parks has been restored, and for- Some people have accused Leakey of being irascible eign lenders, including the World Bank, have advanced and difficult to deal with—and he admits that he can be large loans to rehabilitate the parks. intolerant. But it quickly became apparent that wider However, Leakey apparently had several brushes issues were also at stake. William Ole Ntimama, the pow- with senior politicians who had other ideas about the erful minister of local government, accused Leakey of way the parks should be run. In a statement issued at mismanagement and of favoring white Kenyan ranchers the time of his resignation offer, Leakey made it clear when it came, for example, to the granting of export that he felt he needed the "political support that is licenses for culled game trophies. Ntimama said this sort essential" to resist the attacks on him by the senior of discrimination bordered on racism. He protested that politicians. In the Kenyan context, this means the sup- the international community had come to think that port of the president, and Leakey's offer was effectively Leakey was the only person who could protect wildlife, an ultimatum to Moi to "back me or sack me." Although but that this was wrong: "We do not mind having any the wildlife chief was at pains to point out that he did not manager of the KWS, be he black, white, or yellow, pro- want to put the president in a difficult position—indeed vided that he is a good manager." the Leakey family has over the years been closely asso- A more general charge made against the wildlife boss ciated with the president, and Richard Leakey and Moi by Ntimama was that he had "been given more rights are said to have a good rapport—this sort of move is and privileges than any other parastatal. He was spend- highly unusual in Kenya. ing money without reference to anybody and the min- The attacks on the KWS boss began when a group of istry was helpless." This was a reference to the fact that local councilors from near the famous Masai Mara KWS was given the mandate, by Moi, to bypass certain game park complained that wild animals were wander- government procedures and operate more or less like a ing out of the park and killing villagers. The councilors private organization. Many people believe that it was pre- said KWS was not compensating the relatives of the vil- cisely this flexibility and ability to avoid government

65 March/April 19 9 4 bureaucracy that made KWS a success. Many govern- political observers commented that Moi has never want- ment parastatals in Kenya are tainted by corruption. ed to be seen to be pressurized into a decision, as this By homing in on Leakey's connections with white dents his powerful aura. ranchers, Ntimama was onto a populist issue. Many Hard on the heels of the Leakey dispute, a spotlight descendants of white Kenyan settlers still own huge was shone on the country's forest reserves. The British tracts of land in a country with a growing population government said it was canceling a $25 million forest and where good agricultural plots are at a premium. conservation project because of concerns about a lack of However, the Leakey resignation offer implied that agreement on the way forest land was being used. Again there were more specific reasons for the attacks on him the question of "land grabbing" came to the fore, with which he described as a campaign of vilification. He vig- allegations that Kenyan forest reserves were being ille- orously denied the charge of racism as "nonsense" and gally allocated for commercial or political gain. The said he suspected that the attacks on him, were as a British didn't quite go so far as to say this—they tend to result of his insisting "that wildlife protected areas be have a cozy relationship with the Kenyan government protected from greedy people." Specifically, he said that compared to, for example, the Americans, whose "land grabbing" of KWS land had been stopped. "Land embassy makes public criticisms of the administration if grabbing" is a commonly used phrase in Kenyan par- they think they are justified—but most Kenyans could lance and refers to the allocation of public land by politi- read between the lines. cians for private gain. There has been concern for many years that environ- I^eakey said part of the coastal wildlife park at Wata- mentally sensitive public forest land was being used for mu had been allocated to a private developer, a move commercial purposes such as logging. The British- which, with presidential assistance, he said he had financed project—by grant, rather than loan—aimed to stopped. He further alleged that efforts had been made survey the forests and then design ways of allowing to allocate part of Tsavo National Park on the road from people to exploit the riches of the trees in a sustainable Nairobi to Mombasa for mining and prospecting. Again, manner. Leakey said no, and apparently made political enemies After $7.5 million had already been spent on the sur- in the process. vey, negotiations between the British High Commission Most Kenyans asked by this reporter about the and the Kenyan ministry of environment and natural "Leakey issue"—which was front-page news for several resources broke down over the wording of a joint agree- days—said it was obvious that politicians were out to get ment. According to the British, the Kenyans declined to Leakey in order to make personal gain from wildlife offer guarantees that they would inform Her Majesty's parks at the expense of the national heritage (no such Government when an area of forest was "de- motive has been directly attributed to Ntimama). gazetted"—that is, officially notified in the Government Although Kenya is broadly free of open racial tensions, Gazette that it was to be put to a use other than forest some did express sympathy with the critique that white reserve. According to the Kenyans, this was an unaccept- ranchers are privileged. But most had less sympathy for able demand because it infringed on Kenya's sovereignty. the critics of Leakey than for the man himself. The ministry of environment and natural resources also Moi has a difficult decision to make. If he accepts pointedly complained that Kenyans had not benefited Leakey's resignation offer, there is bound to be, at least very much from the projects so far—a large proportion in the short term, a loss of confidence in the manage- of the costs of the survey had been for expatriate British ment of the wildlife parks. Kenya's powerful Association salaries, and cars and housing for the foreigners. Sources of Tour Operators has made its position clear, saying close to the project management agreed that this was the Leakey's departure would lead to "a very high risk of case, but said this was quite normal for a technical coop- enfeebling KWS and greatly eroding global confidence in eration-style project. Kenya's commitment to wildlife and tourism." From an The minister said he was committed to protecting industry which earns 40 percent of Kenya's foreign Kenya's forests and that he would welcome offers from exchange, this is a powerful argument for keeping other donors to pick the conservation project up, espe- Leakey on. It is understood that even while the president cially, he said, if modifications were made to the financ- was considering the matter—having ordered an investi- ing so that Kenyans benefited from it. gation into the affairs of KWS—some creditor nations Both the KWS and the conservation project disputes had suspended parts of their cooperation with the touch on sensitive issues of aid management and national wildlife sector. sovereignty. Kenyan politicians want to be seen to resist However, Moi's reasons for accepting the resignation outside pressure from creditors as a matter of pride. offer may also be strong. First, the politicians involved in However, many representatives of the creditor nations in the criticisms of Leakey are close allies of the president. Nairobi have little confidence in. the current administra- But another reason for letting Leakey go may be to show tion's commitment to probity, whether it be in the envi- that making "sack me or back me" ultimatums are an ronmental sector or in other areas where the govern- unacceptable way to deal with the head of state. Kenyan ment has a say. O

Africa Report 66 BY JAMES BARNES

THE TAINTED WIN Did President Omar Bongo manufacture a slim majority in the first round of December's vote so he would not have to face a run-off with his chief opponent, Paul Mba Abbesole? Many observers think so, believing that the Bongo regime was not about to let 27 years of power, prestige, and looting the treasury slip away. But the economic under- pinning of the regime, oil, is a fragile support, making the political situation increasingly unstable.

abon's December 5 presidential election clear- ly lived up to its advance billing. Incumbent President Omar Bongo survived his first elec- toral challenge by executing what one observ- er described as an "electoral coup d'etat." Bongo's abrupt declaration that he was the winner in the first round of the contest occurred before all the votes were counted. His "victory" was challenged by his major opponent and self- declared winner, Paul Mba Abbesole and a consortium of

James F. Barnes is professor of political science at Ohio University and author o/Gabon: Beyond the Colonial legacy (Boulder: Westview Press, 1992).

March/April 19 9 4 opposition candidates who, in protest, established a "paral- IN GABON S pened, raising a number lel government" in direct defiance of Bongo's claim of win- of important questions ning 51.07 percent of the vote in the first stage of the DEVELOPING about the role of observ- French-inspired two-round electoral system. Following er teams and the critical Bongo's inauguration on January 22, the opposition dis- DRAMA, THE issues of legitimacy and mantled le parallel, replacing it with a "high council of the ROLE PLAYED conscious or uncon- resistance" which has urged Gabonese to peacefully resist scious collusion in fraud- the Bongo regime. BYTHE UNITED ulent electoral outcomes. According to the "official" results released by the nation- The government's al election commission. Bongo was the winner in the first STATES AND strategy appears to have round with 209,127 votes, or 51.07 percent; the second- FRANCE WILL been to suppress the vote place candidate, Abessole, reportedly received 112,548 in areas of opposition votes, or 27.48 percent; and the third-place finisher, long- BE PIVOTAL. strength and to acquire time Bongo opponent Pierre Louis Agondjo Okawe, substantial majorities in received 19,565 votes, or 5.63 percent of the total national regions loyal to Bongo. According to opposition accounts, vote. The commission's count is clearly at odds with these majorities were, in many cases, predictably fictional. returns reported by the opposition. Abessole, the front- In an impressive display of solidarity, the opposition cir- running opposition candidate, claimed 65 percent of the culated its own analysis of the election results. Calling national vole in stark contrast to the 27.48 percent result themselves the "Front for the Forces of Change," their arrived at by the commission. report, signed by representatives of all the opposition The historic election—Gabon's first truly competitive groups that presented candidates, chronicled a long list of presidential contest—was an important step for the alleged governmental abuses in the conduct of the elec- Gabonese in a process of liberalization initiated in 1990. tion. One widely publicized "irregularity" was the extraor- The enormity of Bongo's "coup d'etat" warrants a serious dinary practice attributed to electoral officials in the Estu- look at the manner in which events unfolded and the envi- ary province (site of Libreville and a third of the nation's ronment in which the "victory" took place. voters) of allowing unregistered persons or those without The agreement to hold Gabon's first competitive presi- adequate identification to vote, obviously inviting fraud dential election was arrived at in 1990 at the "democracy and irregularities. This practice, however, pales in compar- conference" following Bongo's heralded "welcome home" ison with reports confirmed by observer teams that in to exiled opposition leader Abessole, whose return to many jurisdictions, there were no voting lists at all even Libreville, the capital, after years of exile in Paris was though the decision to hold the election in December 1993 understood to be a critical component of Bongo's promise was made in March 1990. to bring democracy to Gabon. In a country of Gabon's size—perhaps a million inhabi- As the December 5, 1993 date for the first round of the tants—organizing a national election is not a Herculean multi-candidate election neared, ominous signs of the task, (iabonese have voted for years in national legislative regime's uneasiness about the outcome of a truly competi- elections and non-competitive presidential plebiscites tive election appeared. In an amazing display of disregard established by Bongo's predecessor, Gabon's first presi- for the "rules of the game," the Bongo government initiat- dent, Leon Mba. If the electoral apparatus was not in place, ed a campaign to obstruct and discredit opposition candi- it was the responsibility of the government of Gabon and dates. not, as some have suggested, the fault of poorly trained In October, Communications Minister Patrice Nziengui local or provincial polling officials. Bongo's refusal to allow banned the opposition press for its "personal attacks" on the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs Bongo; and Bongo's appointment of his daughter, Foreign to supervise the election and provide training and assis- Minister Pascaline Bongo, as co-chair of the committee tance to "precinct workers" is ample evidence of the gov- responsible for organizing the election confirmed the ernment's intent. widely held suspicion that the regime and its allies were Opposition candidates found ample proof of their not prepared to see 27 years of power and privilege slip charges of systematic government efforts to sabotage the away. election in the now-celebrated case of Pauline Nyingone, While reports of fraudulent government practices con- the Bongo-appointed governor of Gabon's principal tinued well into the pre-election period, the announcement province, Estuary. Governor Nyingone, in a letter that cir- that a number of international observer teams would mon- culated around Libreville's embassies and has now itor the election suggested that the government could not received international attention, appears to substantiate exercise any electoral sleight-of-hand under the watchful opposition claims that the government manufactured a vic- eyes of observers from France, the United States, the tory in the first round to obviate the need for a possible African National Congress, the European Parliament, and Bongo-Abessole contest in the second round. Nyingone a special representative of UN Secretary-General Boutros "testified" that Bongo's claim of victory was made before Boutros-Ghali. In fact, that appears to be exactly what hap- the final tabulation of the vote. Her statement included a

Africa Report 68 dramatic expression of concern for her safety and a plea to At this point in the unfolding of events in Gabon, it is dif- the "international community" for protection against possi- ficult to refute the argument that the French and ble reprisals by the regime. Gabonese members of the clan gabonais have won another In an analysis in the December 18/19 issue of the Paris victory. Opposition hopes that the Constitutional Court newspaper Liberation entitled 'The Miraculous Election might conceivably rule favorably on their appeal disap- of Omar Bongo, continuation...," Stephen Smith adds an peared with the court's decision that the opposition forfeit- intriguing dimension to the story. According to Smith, ed its standing by establishing a parallel government. Bongo's declaration of victory violated an agreement The Constitutional Court's ruling came on the heels of a forged by the "good offices" of French counter-espionage government decision to forbid an opposition delegation (DGSE), French Ambassador to Gabon Louis Dominici, from leaving the country to visit France and the United Elf Aquitaine (the French national petroleum company), States. Reports from Libreville state that the delegation and Bongo to undertake une transition douce (a soft tran- was forcibly detained at the Leon Mba airport in an inci- sition) with the explicit agreement of Mba Abessolc. dent in which the government, probably without any Smith writes that Bongo panicked and proclaimed him* sense of irony, invoked a French colonial statute regulat- self victor, destroying, according to Smith, "any illusion ing travel. of democratization in Africa." While Bongo may have It is, nevertheless, unlikely that the Bongo regime can panicked, as Smith suggests, it is also apparent that continue to ignore the political and economic realities of Bongo had no intention of conducting this election on a contemporary Gabon. For many years, the regime sus- level playing field. tained its power through its ability to appear generous, While none of the official observer groups have as yet even magnanimous, to its critics while maintaining a con- published a final definitive report on their observations, vergence of strategic interests with all of the governments preliminary reports indicate tacit agreement with the con- of the fifth French Republic and the Reagan, Bush, and clusion of the U.S. State Department announced on Clinton administrations as well. It is, however, painfully December 20, that although many observers noted "orga- apparent that the Gabonese treasury is virtually empty nizational flaws," in State's opinion they did not invalidate and that the devaluation of the CFA franc will only exacer- the election results. bate current political and economic tensions. Reports that While it is admittedly difficult to assess the validity of a 1993 IMF-prompted audit carried out by a Canadian firm democratic elections, focusing simply on the number of was suppressed by the government confirms the repeated irregularities in an election obscures the critical distinc- claims of the opposition and other observers that the tion between a forest and its trees, and begs the funda- Bongo regime has systematically looted the country for mental question of legitimacy. Should observer teams decades. agree to participate in circumstances where it is reason- Gabon has survived the crises of the past two decades ably clear that the incumbent regime does not intend to by relying almost exclusively on its petroleum income. At play by the rules and possibly face a loss of its power? the moment, however, petroleum prices are at their lowest There is a profound difference between occasional in years and despite increased imports of Gabonese oil by "flaws" in an election and a systematic effort to alter the the United States and Canada in the past decade, the over- electoral outcome. all performance of the economy has been anemic, and the What is fundamentally at stake is an understanding of slim margin of survival provided by petroleum sales is African regimes like those in Togo or Gabon where los- now under extraordinary pressure. The situation in Gabon ing represents a death threat to systems of power that could easily lead to a major internal explosion; in this survive occasional challenges to their existence by developing drama, the role played by the United States force and intimidation. The fundamental democratic and France will be pivotal. idea that losers can live to fight another day is anathema Bongo's initiative in forbidding travel abroad by opposi- to regimes for whom power and privilege is their eter- tion leaders can be easily imagined as an act by a regime nal reward. While the presence of observer teams possi- emboldened by a vote of confidence, however qualified, by bly suppresses the most flagrant forms of coercion and, its friends. Bongo's actions demonstrate that he is willing for a time, regime-sponsored reprisals, their presence to risk the criticisms of the press and even occasional rep- may paradoxically reassure a regime that fully under- rimands to maintain his power. One must conclude also stands the significance of concepts like stability and that the regime has the backing of a solid core of support- order in the minds of those who take on the task of ers who have derived tangible and intangible benefits from determining "fairness." their association with the Leon Mba and Omar Bongo Ironically, a substantial segment of the French press has regimes. not felt it necessary to pull its journalistic punches. Per- At one level of inquiry, what transpires in Gabon is small haps responding to the embarrassment of the French gov- potatoes in a world immobilized by the terror in Haiti and ernment's endorsement of the outcome in Togo, several Bosnia. Yet events in Gabon should remind us that insensi- influential Parisian papers carried stories decrying the tivity to the small injustice allows the bigger ones to over- Balladur government's support of Bongo's "coup d'etat." whelm us. O

69 March/April 19 9 4 THE BACK I iAGE NEWS COMMENTARY AND OPINION By VIVIAN LOWERY DERRYCK he Clinton administration and Congress have turned the Third World to non-status, urging policy-makers to their attention to rewriting the foreign assistance leg- focus on what Brent Scowcroft and Richard Haass call T islation—and not a moment too soon. Old rationales "first magnitude issues." The U.S. ignores the Third World have crumbled in the post-Cold War international turmoil at its peril. Decisions to intervene or not to intervene in and new challenges demand immediate donor attention. small states will ultimately impact on our geo-strategic The collapse of the Soviet Union changed not only the interests. Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia are but three exam- overarching U.S. foreign policy equation, but altered the ples. In the interdependent worlo of CNN, global markets, foreign assistance paradigm as well. Traditional foreign and 24-hour financial centers, Third World concerns even- assistance had been a not-foo-subtle policy instrument the tually will shape first magnitude issues. U.S. used to counter the Soviets. We offered assistance to Consequently, the U.S. must re-affirm that attention to the Third World not so much in pursuit of economic and the Third World is an integral component of U.S. foreign social development for the poorest of the poor, but to policy. We must find a way to retain support for traditional counter Soviet expansion from Afghanistan to Zambia. development as we meld the administration's foreign assis- The shift in the former Soviet Union knocked the con- tance goals of supporting economic growth and democra- ceptual underpinnings out from under U.S. strategic and cy with the sectoral development of traditional official foreign assistance policy, as a key provider of foreign development assistance (ODA) countries, as well as the assistance petitioned to become a chief recipient of aid. new multinational challenges of endemic poverty, AIDS, The administration, challenged to rethink its foreign pol- environmental degradation, regional conflicts, refugees, icy writ large, as well as its aid priorities, has enunciated and drugs. In the majority of ODA recipient countries, an overall foreign policy based on development of market there is an enduring need to focjs on traditional develop- economies and enlargement of the number of democratic ment concerns: education and human resources develop- nation-states. Overall, foreign policy is still largely driven ment; sustainable agriculture; population and family by attention to Russia, the Newly Independent States health services; infrastructure strengthening; and stemming (NIS), Eastern Europe, and the Middle East—an optic that environmental degradation. leads to development assistance programs that focus on Two: Given the expanded number of countries compet- economic reform and democratization. ing for U.S. assistance, whom are we going to help? Now, the administration is having second thoughts Obviously, we must devise new categories of assistance to about both the costs and the rapidity of foreign assistance accommodate a broader range of countries with diverse as a quick fix to Russia's problems. Policy-makers are needs. Recipient countries now include Russia, the other beginning to see that to build foreign assistance policy Newly Independent States, and Eastern Europe; new around an old adversary-turned-ally may be short-sighted funds are proposed for Gaza and the West Bank. Victims in the near term and unfeasible because of financial con- of civil strife urgently need humanitarian relief, while tradi- straints in the long term. tional ODA recipients should not be neglected. This The need for foreign assistance reform remains, howev- unprecedented expansion of foreign assistance calls for er. The present exercise gives us an opportunity to rethink new strategies for service delivery, new measures of effec- the meaning of sustainable development and reaffirm our tiveness, and new evaluation benchmarks. commitment to helping those poor countries in the devel- Three: How much are we going to help? Russia will oping world achieve progress. need a $50 billion investment between now and the end If we care about the future of 535 million people, of the century just to stabilize oil production at its current Africa should be at the center of the re-thinking. Africa levels. In the next 10 years, Asia will need in excess of $1 embodies the major development challenges of the trillion in energy investment to sustain economic growth. 1990s. Expenditures on education are down, debt-servic- How do you compare Angola and Kazakhstan? Botswana ing costs are up. Twelve million of the 1 8 million HIV-posi- and Belarus? What is the time frame for our assistance? tive carriers reside in Africa. Eighty percent of the world's How do we determine an exit strategy for foreign assis- 35 million refugees are displaced on the continent. Attract- tance in all three categories? Can we afford to wait for ing only 1.2 percent of global investment, Africa faces countries to graduate? technological and geo-strategic isolation. Where does Africa fit in? First, assistance to Africa With Africa at the center, U.S. policy-makers must ask should be modeled on that offered to Russia. Planners are themselves three questions. One: Is the Third World—the returning to their early four-part prescription: immediate two-thirds world in which 80 percent of the world's 5.6 bil- food aid; design of coherent implementation plans to lion people fight to survive—important to the U.S.? transform economies from inefficient, centrally controlled There is a tendency among the "Wise Men" to relegate statist economies to demand-driven market ones; civic edu- cation to introduce concepts of accountability of democrat- Vivian Lowery Derryck is president of the African-American Institute. ically elected officials to the electorate; and massive train-

Africa Report 70 ing programs to give Russian citizens skills applicable in beyond traditional ODA, Africa lags behind in virtually modern, technology-driven societies. every human development indicator. Latin Americans are Why not offer the same general remedies with the looking for trade partnerships and a plan for a hemispher- same stipulations to African nations? If economic reform is ic free trade zone; Asia is a development model and is floundering in Russia, but succeeding in Africa, support seeking joint venture trading partners and major investors; Africa, too. Russia needs training, so does Africa. Russia but Africa must continue to concentrate on meeting the needs help in building civil society, so does Africa. Russia basic human needs of its citizens. needs to be protected in legislation through an authoriza- Africans recognize that their states, by and large, have tion, so does Africa. failed them. Courageous leaders of a new generation are Second, new economic stimuli should be offered to leading their people into a new political landscape of encourage U.S. investment in Africa. According to the Wall popular participation and government accountability. In Street Journal, 73 percent of all global investment originates the past four years, the U.S. has made a commitment to in the U.S. Africa will not be reintegrated into the global African nations that if political systems were to open and economy until global markets—the majority of which are in citizens allowed to participate, if the economic stringen- the U.S.—see that they con make money in the continent. cies of structural adjustment and shifts to market Third, investment in higher education should remain a economies were attempted, U.S. assistance would be premium. Such an investment is not only in the interest of forthcoming to support and undergird the changes. African capacity-building, but in the U.S. interest as well. Africans have done their part. From Benin to Zambia to In a time of reduced resources, the U.S. should play to our Ghana to Mali, they have taken the risks, removed comparative advantages. The Agency for International despots, reduced their militaries, and tightened their belts. Development's (AID) investment in education has yielded Now we must do our part. The U.S. cannot guarantee our positive results. Almost 3,000 masters degree and Ph.D continued ability to deliver assistance without a fiscal holders have returned to work in their countries, bringing authorization. new ideas, new work ethics, new skills. As prime minis- The U.S. is a thought leader within the OECD/DAC ters, cabinet officials, university vice chancellors, invari- donor community. The new Foreign Assistance Act will be ably they have helped to shape transitions to open, partic- scrutinized as a blueprint for the next 20 years. The inter- ipatory governance and strengthened civil society as well. national community quickly will see that Russia, the NIS, AID has set forth four priorities: economic development; Eastern Europe and the Middle East are priorities because democratization; population and health; and environment. they have spending authorizations attached. On the other Economic development requires a literate labor force. hand, without an authorization, Africa, despite its cav- Democratization requires a citizenry that can indepen- ernous development deficits, will be seen as a second dently evaluate information. The correlation between liter- order of priority. acy and lower birth rates, higher labor force participation, Ultimately, the proposed "Peace, Prosperity, and Free- and higher yields per hectare are well-documented. dom Act" is a reflection of the values and priorities of the The new legislation should contain language resound- American people. Through it, we recommit ourselves to ing a ringing endorsement of the primacy of education in working to improve the quality of life and economic com- the development process. petitiveness of the developing world. Africa is central to Fourth, the legislation should contain a specific mone- our commitment and deserves to have monies committed tary authorization for Africa. Foreign aid reform that does to that goal protected with a legislated funding authoriza- not safeguard Africa is a betrayal of the purpose of devel- tion. After all, such an action will reflect the best tradition opment assistance. While other regions have advanced of American democracy. •

The African-American Institute and the Government of Ghana host the 24th African-American Conference March 27-31,1994 Accra, Ghana "Reintegrating Africa Into The New Global Paradigm'//• A gathering of African and American policy-makers to examine political and economic policy initiatives toward Africa in a post-Cold War global order. For further information, contact the AAI Office of Public Affairs (212) 350-2929 Air Afrique "lies 3 time a week!

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