CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by D. Balla Moise, Côte d'Ivoire, September 1999
THEME = ECONOMY
Rising fuel prices, commodity prices rocketing everywhere...
all the result of organised chaos
Unfortunately, what's feared has happened. As was to be expected, fixing prices of petroleum products at our service stations following the increase in petrol prices on the international market, has caused an increase in transport costs. Snowballing protest groups suggests a bad time ahead for the government.
Protests have been mainly in Yopougon (a working class area in Côte d'Ivoire's economic capital, Abidjan), and in Dabou (in the south). Other urban centres in the interior are ready to follow suit. The authorities, as usual, are keeping a deafening silence, apart from more or less successfully dealing with the protests. Since the price increases, the police have been controlling the hot spots with a heavy hand in order to disperse the demonstrators. On 25 August 1999, in Yopougon, the riot police killed by mistake, young Guy Mathias, who was going about his own business.
The government also makes use of delaying tactics to diffuse crisis situations. For instance, in April 1999, women protested vehemently against the rocketing prices of basic commodities. Nothing happened. Then on 4 June, the government published the following statement: "At the request of the Head of State, a 118-member Commission will start an official inquiry for a limited period into present market prices and their continuing change, especially regarding basic commodities. The Commission will then report back to the government and the people".
However, the government has once again shown what it's about. The "special" Commission proved to be cosmetic only, especially when the far-too numerous Ivoirien government has itself organised or encouraged the chaotic pricing situation - the original cause of the protests. To tell the truth, consumers are not so much protesting against fuel price rises, as against the whole disorder existing in transport pricing and among foodstuffs in the markets where each shopkeeper, each carrier prices his/her prices according to his/her whim, taking advantage of price-rigging by the Ministry of National Commerce whose staff- members are paid for doing nothing.
Côte d'Ivoire's citizens have no illusions: the State is opting out of the manufacturing sector of industry. More than yesterday, citizens are fully aware that prices are inevitably fluctuating. But they expect the State, seemingly having given up, to take on its responsibilities. If the present shambles is anything to go by, such is not the situation. The on-going protests spell out clearly that people have had enough. They feel they've been left to their own devices in this price warfare, where anything seems to go.
The fact that the government has taken to use strong-arm tactics when dispersing protest gatherings, shows that it's lost control of the situation plus any intention of taking the situation in hand by setting up a National Disciplinary Council, as happened in Senegal five months ago. As the State seems to have already thrown in the sponge, Ivoiriens are doing pretty well what they want. Garages are mushrooming everywhere obstructing the public highway, drivers ignore red traffic lights. the "racketeers in uniform" carry on with their dirty business and corruption runs riot - yet again.
In a word - the State's authority is held to ridicule because of the reigning indiscipline. At the same time, the authorities never cease to proclaim their much vaunted slogan: "Progress for all: happiness for everyone".
But shouldn't one rather say: "Labour for all: happiness for a few".
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