Governor cautions absentee civil servants

Civil servants in the northern province of Ouham in the Central African Republic (CAR) have been ordered to report to work or risk having their salaries returned to the public treasury, state-owned Radio Centrafrique reported on Monday. Ouham Governor Pierre Yamodo made the warning during his inauguration on Monday. The new CAR leader, Francois Bozize, is a native of the province, which was most affected by the October 2002-March 2003 fighting between rebels loyal to him and government forces. The fighting ended when Bozize overthrew President Ange-Felix Patasse on 15 March. Due to the fighting, thousands of people in the north, including civil servants, fled their homes and were until recently hesitant to return home because of insecurity. Following efforts by the army and the regional peace force of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States, the displaced have started returning home. However, humanitarian NGOs operating in the north have complained of the absence of qualified medical personnel in the war-affected areas, where hospitals are reportedly being run by nurses. Health officials recently reported a measles epidemic in the northern town of Nana Bakassa, 370 km north of the capital, Bangui, and diarrhoea cases were diagnosed by officials from the Ministry of Health, medical NGO Medicos Sin Fronteras and the Pasteur Institute in Bocaranga, 510 km northwest of Bangui. A UN mission that toured the north and northwest of the country from 28-31 July announced that some UN activities would resume in weeks in areas where administrative and military authorities had already reported to their workstations. The coordinator of the UN system who headed the mission, Stan Nkwain, told IRIN on 1 August that the residents were returning home in large numbers in areas where military and administrative officials had arrived.