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IRIN-WA Update 122 of Events in West Africa, (Tuesday) 13 January 1998
[As a supplement to its weekly round-ups of main events in West Africa, IRIN-WA will produce a daily synopsis of reports on the region. IRIN issues these reports for the benefit of the humanitarian community but accepts no responsibility as to the accuracy of the original source.]
BENIN: Government hospitals on strike
The national trade union of nurses and midwives in Benin started a two-day strike on Tuesday for better working conditions, sources told IRIN. The sources said negotiations were underway, but that no agreement had been reached.
Meanwhile, AFP said government hospitals, and maternity and emergency wards in the two largest cities, the capital Cotonou, and Porto Novo, were deserted. It quoted one staff member as saying the strike action was their only means of putting pressure on the government. Health minister, Marina Massougbodji, however, gave instructions to ensure that staff were available to assist doctors.
NIGER: Civil servants strike for better conditiions
An estimated 40,000 civil servants in Niger started a two-day strike on Tuesday demanding better living and working conditions, AFP reported. Schools remained closed for lack of teachers, while hopitals and government offices were manned only by skeleton staff. Minister of Civil Service, Oumarou Soumaila, said earlier he had made "large concessions" to the trade union but had not reached a comprehensive settlement.
However, Ibrahim Mayaki, secretary general of the Union des Syndicats des Travailleurs du Niger (USTN), the country's largest union, claimed their demands had not been met. It was intolerable, he said, that not a single salary had been paid during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims. The UTSN organised more than a dozen strikes in 1997 mainly for better wages and backpay seven months in arrears.
SIERRA LEONE: Journalist arrested
Sierra Leone's Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) arrested a journalist from a privately owned Freetown newspaper on Saturday, according to Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF). The Paris-based press freedom watchdog told AFRC Chairman Johnny Paul Koroma in an open letter no reason had been given for the arrest of Sylvanus Kanyako of the 'Herald Guardian'.
According to RSF, however, Kanyako's arrest followed an article in 'The Herald' on Sunday urging parents not to send their children to school because of "insecurity in the country."
Last Friday, the AFRC warned journalists against "destructive practices", AFP reported. "Any newspaper, which does not follow government regulations, will pay the price," Information Minister Mohammed Bangura was quoted as saying.
NIGERIA: Abacha-brand rice to go on sale
A youth group campaigning for Nigerian head of state General Sani Abacha plans to sell some 15,000 mt of "Abacha"-branded rice, media sources reported on Monday. According to a 'Youth Earnestly Ask for Abacha' (YEAA) spokesman, the bags of imported rice will be stamped with a message urging Nigerians to support Abacha as a presidential candidate after the scheduled handover to civilian rule in October 1998.
The rice will arrive in March and be sold "at well below the market rate," the spokesman said. The BBC quoted him as denying the US$ 5 million scheme would funded by the Nigerian government. Abacha-branded television sets went on sale last November.
CAMEROON: Editor in court
The editor of the independent Cameroonian newspaper, "Le Messager', appeared in court on Tuesday charged with disseminating false information, sources told IRIN.
The editor, Pius Njawe, has been in detention since his arrest in December following an article alleging President Paul Biya might have heart problems. The sources said Njawe could face three years in jail, a US$ 4,000 fine and the closure of the newspaper. Late Tuesday, the case was still being heard.
WEST AFRICA: Fifteen nations discuss anti-corruption strategy
Delegates from 15 West African nations met in Cotonou, capital of Beninon Tuesday to discuss ways of combatting corruption in the region, AFP reported. The conference, organised by the World Bank with financial backing from Denmark and Switzerland, will last until Thursday.
Benin's President Mathieu Kerekou said in an opening address: "Corruption is not purely an African phenomenon. It has tentacles throughout the countries of the world." In recent months, Kerekou has launched a crackdown on corruption and fired several directors of state companies for dubious practices and syphoning funds.
Abidjan, 13 January 1998, 17:30 gmt
[ends]
[The material contained in this communication comes to you via IRIN West Africa, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN IRIN-WA Tel: +225 21 73 66 Fax: +225 21 63 35 e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci for more information or subscription. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this report, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. IRIN reports are archived on the Web at: http://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to archive@dha.unon.org . Mailing list: irin-wa-updates]
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 17:53:42 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 122, 98.1.13 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980113175157.21148A-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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