Law advisory body rejects government's emergency programme

Central African Republic's law advisory body, the National Transitional Council, rejected on Wednesday the government's 98 billion francs CFA (US $1 = 595 francs CFA) emergency programme, saying it had failed to tackle, satisfactorily, the issue of embezzled funds. "The embezzlers are still free and are sometimes promoted to higher positions," the council said in a report read out during its plenary session. Prime Minister Abel Goumba and other senior officials of the transitional government attended the presentation. Voting 37-0 against the programme, with 17 abstentions, the council recommended that the government repatriate the embezzled funds from foreign banks. It also called for urgent legal action against the suspected embezzlers, saying such a move would reinforce good governance by deterring further embezzlement by public officials. The emergency programme, prepared by the government in August, had indicated that 47.49 billion francs CFA were needed to revive and stabilise public finances, 20.62 billion francs CFA to relaunch economic activities and 13.27 billion francs CFA for humanitarian and social actions, among other priority areas. Criticising the programme, the council said the plan failed to take into account recommendations made by national conferences on mining and forestry that were held in August and September, respectively. The council also criticised the government for failing to pay civil servants salaries for September and October. In its recommendations on the country's food security, the council urged the government to introduce fishing in the war-ravaged north to enable the people to diversify their food sources. Northerners live mainly on cassava and cereal cultivation and are now facing acute cereals shortages because of two lost planting seasons. As for the mining sector, the council recommended that the government modernise the exploitation of diamonds and gold in order to make the sector profitable. It could do so by inviting competent foreign firms to invest in the industry, the council said. The national conference on mining had called for the eradication of corruption in the sector and for the setting up of brigades in mining sites and on the borders to prevent illegal cross-border trade. It also recommended the updating of the country's mining code. On transportation, the council urged the government to include in its programme the rehabilitation of provincial airstrips, which have not been repaired for years. It said some regions remained inaccessible to humanitarian workers, especially during the rainy seasons, due to bad or non-existent roads. Highway robbers and cattle raiders continue to terrorise the people in some remote areas, the council said. Regarding human rights, the council denounced violations by security forces and called for legal action to be taken against five members of the presidential security forces who were accused of gang-raping a woman in the capital, Bangui, on 28 October. Following an outcry from human right bodies and the public, Bozize ordered the arrest of the five officers and directed that an urgent inquiry be conducted. "All your recommendations will be inserted in the government's programme," Goumba told the 96 council members. In August, Bangui state prosecutor Firmin Feindiro issued an international warrant for the arrest of former President Ange-Felix Patasse, currently in exile in Togo. He is alleged to have stolen at least 70 billion francs CFA ($116.6 million) during his 10 years in power. Former army chief of staff Francois Bozize overthrew Patasse on 15 March following a six-month rebellion. Bank accounts for most of Patasse's 26 former ministers that were frozen in April have been unblocked. Goumba said that the revised programme would incorporate recommendations made by the national reconciliation forum that ended in late October as well as those of the national conferences on mining and forestry. Apart from the government's emergency programme, the council, whose current extraordinary session started on 25 October and is due to end on Friday, has been examining laws banning illegal arms and the looting of public and private property. The emergency programme became the first government initiative the council has rejected since its establishment by Bozize in May.