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Guinea-Bissau |
POLITICS
Commitments already entered into with other countries
by the government of the deposed President Kumba Yalla,
who was overthrown on 14 September,
have been re-confirmed by the coup-makersThe 14 September coup-makers set up a Military Ruling Council for the Restoration of Constitutional Democratic Order (CMROD), and said they intended to respect the commitments already entered into by the previous government with other countries. CMROD wants to ensure that Guinea-Bissau is spared the same kind of boycott imposed on the country by the international community as that following the June 1998 to May 1999 civil war.
Changing attitudes
Indeed, even before the recent coup, Guinea-Bissau’s well-wishers had started to change their negative attitude towards the government which had been voted into office as a result of impartial democratic elections: i.e. Parliamentary elections in November 1999 and Presidential elections in January 2000. A number of projects were underway which would be suicidal for the country’s well-being to halt now.
Guinea-Bissau used to be completely isolated by international financial backers. It was just starting to emerge from this situation and in May had begun to examine ways and means of paying its debts. The government had also succeeded, after great efforts, to once again be considered for loans by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This meant that the World Bank’s embargo imposed a few years ago, was now at an end.
The European Union (EU) used to have somewhat frosty relations with Guinea-Bissau, but the situation was improving. In particular, the EU intended to maintain its fishery agreements with Guinea-Bissau covering the period 2001-2006. (The EU had been on the point of cancelling these agreements). The EU was also planning to finance a road maintenance programme to the tune of 30 million euros.
Other co-operation schemes
A French travel company intended to promote two tourist areas as possible destinations. Firstly, Varela (about fifty kilometres from Bissau), an area well-known for its beaches; secondly, the Bijagos Islands, just off Bissau, the capital.
In August, a Swiss company was negotiating the financing of an agricultural resource project covering nearly 100,000 hectares: 50,000 hectares for the production and the processing of cashew nuts, sugar-cane, sugar and molasses; 45,000 hectares for the cultivation of oil palms for producing vegetable oil. Also, 85,000 hectares of forestland has been set aside for the lumber industry i.e. timber, paper and planks for house-building. A total investment of some 500 million dollars.
Negotiations were underway with the United States for airport infrastructure improvement, equipping hospitals and acquiring high-speed motorboats as fishery protection vessels.
Together with an Indian company, work had already started on exploiting phosphates.
Great hopes
The African Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank were working out a number of projects to make it possible for Guinea-Bissau’s economic and social «lift-off».
The World Bank had already given its «go-ahead» for the government to pay the seven-months salaries owing (linked to the private sector’s revival). This was all part of the country’s recovery programme and figured on the government’s political agenda. On 18 August, the government had appealed to the international community to help it emerge from its general crisis (See ANB-BIA, 1 June 2003).
CMROD‘s decision to retain these economic and financial commitments, even to strengthen them, helped by an apolitical government and supervised by the military to ensure stability, should enable Guinea-Bissau to speed up its development, taking into account its enormous richness.
- Justin Mendy, Senegal, September, 2003 — © Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment