Chad agrees to transparency program for oil revenues
August 23, 2007 (N’DJAMENA) — Chad, one of Africa’s newest oil producers, said Thursday it will adhere to a program designed to put pressure on governments to be open about revenues from exports of oil, natural gas and minerals.
Launched in 2002 by Britain’s then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is meant to allow ordinary citizens to hold their leaders to account.
“The principles of this initiative will from now on be applied by Chad and the revenues … will be declared in total transparency,” said Chadian Prime Minister Nouradine Delwa KassirA Coumakoye in a statement.
Many experts believe that producing oil in unstable countries encourages repression and corruption as ruling elites scramble for a share of the windfall.
An impoverished central African nation, Chad shares a border with the violence-wracked Darfur region of Sudan, whose conflict has spilled over into Chadian territory.
Competition for power in Chad has intensified since it began exporting oil three years ago through a World Bank funded pipeline. Rebels last year attacked, but failed to take, the capital.
In 2006, the World Bank froze the country’s oil revenue accounts and suspended loans after President Idriss Deby tapped into revenues intended for poverty relief programs.
He told reporters shortly before elections that the money would be used to buy weapons instead.
After the Oil Ministry threatened to shut down production, a compromise was reached with the World Bank that allowed the government to use 30% of revenues for its own purposes, up from 20%. The remainder is marked for development programs.
Power has never changed hands at the ballot box in Chad, which was a French colony until 1960. A 1990 takeover by Idriss Deby brought a semblance of peace after three decades of civil war and an invasion by Libya.
But Deby, who is serving a third term as president, is becoming increasingly isolated and members of his own family have joined the rebellion. Last year’s election was boycotted by the main opposition, who said the vote was not free or fair.
(AP)