Church calls for proper management of oil revenue

Roman Catholic bishops in the Republic of Congo (RoC) have called upon President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, the newly-elected National Assembly representatives and senators, and other leaders of public affairs to manage the nation's oil revenues properly for the common good. This is the first time that the bishops of RoC have spoken out on the issue, having previously left it to the country's politicians. In a statement released on 11 July, they called for laws to be passed, modeled on those of neighbouring Chad, requiring the sharing of oil revenue; the creation of an oversight committee composed of representatives of the state, the church, and civil society; the opening of special accounts in the public treasury as well as in international financial institutions; and the initiation of dialogue between the government and oil companies regarding the question of debt in RoC. Furthermore, fixed percentages of revenue would be distributed among central and regional government authorities, with funds earmarked for investment in priority infrastructure. The laws would require the regular publication of oil revenues and financial activity of the Societe nationale des petroles du Congo (SNPC), the national petroleum body. A percentage of these oil revenues would be saved for future generations, as in the case of Norway, and would only be made available once the oil reserves of the Congo had been exhausted. The bishops, in the same declaration, called for the support and cooperation of the international community - the IMF and World Bank in particular - in converting the national debt into social investments. RoC is the fourth largest producer of oil in sub-Saharan Africa, after Nigeria, Angola and Gabon, with a production of 13 million mt in 2000, or 265,000 barrels per day. Observers of the country believe that a number of the country's problems - such as war, poverty, corruption, environmental damage, and public debt - have resulted from the improper management of oil revenues. At the end of 1999, public debt reached US $5.4 billion, or $2,000 per person, of which 80 percent was for external debt. Seventy percent of the country's estimated 2.9 million people live below the poverty line, and more than 60 percent of the active population is unemployed.