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IRIN-WA Update 491 of events in West Africa (Tuesday 22 June)
SIERRA LEONE: Mediators deliver proposal to President Kabbah
A mediating board has travelled to Freetown to make a compromise proposal to President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah on the number of posts the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) would hold in a government of national unity, a source close to the Sierra Leone peace talks told IRIN on Tuesday.
The mediators, led by Togolese Foreign Minister Joseph Koffigoh, include representatives of the governments of Guinea, Nigeria, United Kingdom and the United States. They were due to meet Kabbah on Tuesday, the source said.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Sierra Leone, Francis Okelo, and the Secretary-General of the Economic Community of West African States, Lansana Kouyate, were also scheduled to attend the meeting.
Koffigoh had said on Monday that the Sierra Leone government had agreed "in principle" to a power-sharing arrangement but that the level of RUF participation was "still posing a problem".
The source told IRIN the mediating board would propose to President Kabbah that the RUF be given four cabinet posts, including one senior one and two as deputy ministers.
He said the board had endorsed the government's proposal that Sankoh be offered the chairmanship of a Commission for Management of Strategic Resources and Reconstruction in lieu of the vice-presidency, which the RUF leader had requested.
The board was also to propose a "phased withdrawal" of ECOMOG as the Sierra Leone army was reconstituted.
Those eligible for inclusion in the new Sierra Leonean army could include people from the RUF, Civil Defence Forces (pro-government militias) and the AFRC (Armed Forces Revolutionary Council - the former army) provided that they met the criteria for qualification, IRIN learnt.
If Kabbah agrees to the proposals, they will be taken back to Sankoh for his response. The source said Kabbah would be under pressure to agree to the proposals given the heavyweight composition of the board.
Meanwhile, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sierra Leone Kingsley Amaning told IRIN the RUF had suggested that a humanitarian working group go to Pendembu, an RUF stronghold in the eastern district of Kailahun, to discuss the logistics and modalities for humanitarian access with local RUF field commanders.
Amaning said a working group was holding discussions in Freetown on Tuesday to determine who from the humanitarian community should go on this mission.
The RUF's proposal is in keeping with a joint statement signed on 4 June whereby both sides agreed to guarantee safe, unhindered access by all humanitarian organisations to areas they control.
Support available for demobilisation
The United Nations and the international community are ready to help bring about lasting peace in Sierra Leone if the Lome talks succeed, according to UNOMSIL.
At a meeting on 17 June at the United Nations in New York of the International Contact Group on Sierra Leone, Britain pledged US $10 million towards a Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme, UNOMSIL said in a statement.
The World Bank pledged US $9.1 million at the meeting, which was convened by the United Kingdom.
The DDR programme is designed to facilitate the reintegration of some 33,000 to 40,000 Sierra Leonean ex-combatants into civilian life. It is expected to cost between US $33 to US $45 million, according to UNOMSIL.
The European Commission said at the meeting that a US $30-million rehabilitation and humanitarian aid package was being finalised for submission to member countries. The package would cover governance, health, roads and electricity programmes.
It was agreed that Britain would convene another meeting after the signing of a peace agreement so as to further stimulate donor contributions to the peace process in Sierra Leone.
SENEGAL: Separatists meet to seal rifts
Senegalese separatists, riven by internal differences, on Tuesday began a three-day meeting in The Gambia to prepare a joint position for possible peace negotiations with the government in Dakar.
"This is a genuine effort to heal the rift," a senior official of the Gambian Department of State for Foreign Affairs told IRIN.
The meeting of the Mouvement des forces democratique de Casamance (MFDC), which wants independence for the region of Casamance in southern Senegal, is being attended by representatives of its southern and northern fronts, and its political leader Diamacoune Senghor.
[See Item: irin-english-1074 titled 'Separatists meet to seal rifts']
Japan promises Dakar US $2.9 million
Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura promised on Monday 357.5 million yen (US $2.9 million) in aid to Senegal, according to the Japanese news agency, Kyodo.
Of this amount, 309 million yen (US $2.58 million) will go towards building hospitals and 48.5 million yen (US $404,160) will be used to buy audio and video equipment for the national theatre in Dakar, according to Kyodo.
GAMBIA: Cuba sends 150 doctors
The Gambia has received 150 Cuban doctors to staff its greatly expanded health service, the state-owned newspaper, `The Gambia Daily' has reported.
The group, which arrived on 16 June, is the largest contingent of foreign doctors from any one country ever to serve the African nation. Their arrival followed a visit to Cuba in May by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.
Under an agreement reached between the two countries, the doctors will serve three-year terms, after a two-week orientation on the country's health system and national treatment manual, the newspaper said.
Quoting the permanent secretary in the Gambian Department of State for Health, Abdoulie Njie, the paper said 18 out of 20 Cuban doctors who arrived there three years ago would return to Cuba soon, at the end of their tour. Two have had their terms prolonged because of their expertise in specialised areas.
Equipment and medicines for the newly built Farafenni General Hospital, 106 km east of Banjul, where some of the Cubans will work, is due for delivery at the end of June.
GUINEA BISSAU: Refugees
The security situation in Guinea Bissau has improved and conditions are now in place for the voluntary repatriation of refugees to that country, according to UNHCR, which has signed tripartite agreements to that effect with the governments of Guinea Bissau and the various countries of asylum.
The repatriation of refugees from Senegal to Guinea Bissau was to have begun last Saturday, but had to be postponed pending the repair of the Senegalese naval vessel originally intended to be used in the operation or the identification of another ship, a UNHCR source told IRIN.
The refugees fled to Senegal during an army mutiny against former President Joao Bernardo Vieira, which ended in his ouster in May.
Delivery of humanitarian aid
Meanwhile, vehicles transporting humanitarian supplies from Senegal to Guinea Bissau have to make various payments to government officials before reaching Bissau, IRIN learnt.
Relief trucks have to pay 15,000 CFA (about US $25) on entering the country, OCHA-Guinea Bissau reported in its humanitarian situation report for 1-15 June. They also have to make unauthorised payments to the police at each checkpoint on the road from the border to Bissau, OCHA said.
The delivery of humanitarian aid was blocked during May by Senegal's closure of its border with Guinea Bissau.
In the health sector, the risk of measles epidemics in Fulacunda and Ga-Mamudo were quickly brought under control due to immediate action by government health officials assisted by WHO and MSF, OCHA reported.
NIGERIA: Panel inaugurated to probe uncompleted projects
President Olusegun Obasanjo has inaugurated a panel to review projects left uncompleted in Nigeria between January 1976 and December 1998, extending the probe to cover the period he ruled as military leader.
In an interview broadcast on Monday by state-owned Voice of Nigeria, he also dispelled speculation that his administration merely wanted to probe previous regimes. "If then it is to probe past governments and government leaders, then I am being probed and my previous government is being probed by your panel," he said.
The radio said observers had described Obasanjo's decision to include his period of military rule (1976-1979) in the period of review "as a signal to those in positions of responsibility to strive to be accountable".
The panel will take stock of all uncompleted projects, supplies and services for which contracts were awarded by government ministries since 1976. It has nine months to complete its task.
Hundreds of projects, some of them already paid for, have never been finished.
Senate asked to speed up vetting of ministerial nominees
Obasanjo has asked the Senate to speed up the confirmation of his 49 ministerial nominees so he can get on with the business of governing, news reports said.
"This is to ensure that government business was not unduly delayed," Radio Nigeria quoted Doyin Okupe, the president's special assistant on media and publicity, as saying.
Obasanjo submitted his nominations to the Senate some two weeks ago, in line with constitutional requirements.
Some senators have complained that the nominations are not sufficiently balanced by religious or regional representation within the Nigerian federation. These complaints have slowed down the confirmation process.
Five killed in renewed clashes
Five more people have died in renewed fighting in the troubled Niger Delta region of Nigeria, AFP reported. Quoting newspaper reports on Monday, it said armed Ijaw youths on Saturday attacked the Itsekiri town of Kantu, near the oil city of Warri. The attackers burned homes, killing the five, according to AFP.
In a related development, the speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Francis Megwelle, called on the feuding communities to denounce their leaders for encouraging youths "to embark of senseless killings and destruction of property", `The Guardian' newspaper of Lagos reported on Tuesday.
"There is a sinister force at work that had plagued Warri," Megwelle said. He added that the issue of relocation or creation of a local government council headquarters - blamed for the cause of the unrest - had nothing to do with the real reason for the crisis.
"The issue is just being used by the leaders," he said. "It is greed."
SAHEL: Weather and crop situation
The rainy season started under generally favourable conditions this year in the Sahel but reduced rains in June threaten seedlings in parts of the subregion, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says in a just released report.
The season started generally on time - even early in southern Senegal - and there was above normal rains in early to mid-May, according to the 'Sahel Weather and Crop Situation 1999' report for the first half of the year.
However, the rains decreased significantly in early June in the centre and the east of the Sahel, according to the report, issued on 16 June by the FAO Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (FAO/GIEWS)
By contrast, in the west, they progressed northwards over Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea Bissau.
In Mali, the rainy season started in April in the extreme south and moved northwards in May.
In Burkina Faso, rains started in mid-April, became widespread and were generally above normal over the south and the centre up to mid-May, but they decreased significantly in early June, according to the report.
Similarly, precipitation was widespread over southern Niger and Chad in May but decreased in early June.
Seasonably dry conditions prevailed in Cape Verde, northern Senegal and Mauritania, according to FAO/GIEWS.
The report added that land preparation and planting were in progress following the onset of the rains, and crops were emerging satisfactorily in Burkina Faso, southern Chad and Mali although reduced rains in early June threatened recently planted crops, notably in Burkina Faso.
Efforts were underway to control grain-eating birds reported in Chad, Mali and Niger, while rodents were sighted following plantings in Niger.
Isolated desert locusts were reported in Mauritania, and low numbers are expected in the summer breeding areas of the Sahel once seasonal rains begin. However, no significant developments are expected.
Abidjan, 22 June 1999; 19:25 GMT
[ENDS]
[IRIN-WA: Tel: +225 217366 Fax: +225 216335 e-mail: irin-wa@ocha.unon.org ]
Item: irin-english-1080
[This item is delivered in the "irin-english" service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information or free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org or fax: +254 2 622129 or Web: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer.]
Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 1999
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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