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•

DATE

Thu. 12 January

Fri. 13 January

Sat. 13 January

Sun. 15 January

Mon. 16 January

Tue. 17 January

Wed. 18 January

Thu. 19 January

Fri. 20 January

Sat. 21 January

Sun. 22 January

Mon. 23 January

Tue .- 24 January

Wed. 25 January

Thu. 26 January

Fri. 27 January

JH;gr 11 January 1984

ITINERARY FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

ITINERARY

Lv. New York (JFK)

Arr. Paris (ORLY)

Paris (Hotel Bristol)

Lv. Paris (LE BOURGET)

Arr. Casablanca

Casablanca - Morocco

Lv. Casablanca

Arr. Bamako

Bamako - �1ali

Lv. Bamako

Arr. Niamey

Niamey - Niger

Lv. Niamey

Arr. Cotonou

Cotonou - Benin

Lv. Cotonou

Arr. Lagos

Lagos - Nigeria

Lagos - Nigeria

Lv. Lagos

Arr. Lome

Lome - Toqo

HOURS FROM

TIME GMT

1845 -5

0735 +1

1100 +1

1300 0

1500 0

1740 0

1500 0

1740 +1

1200 +1

1330 +1

1630 +1

1700 +1

1200 +1

1215 0

AIRLINE AND FLT. NO.

PA114

EQUIP. STOPS

747 0

Special Aircraft G-3

Flying Time: 3 hrs.

Special Aircraft G-3

Fl ying Tirne: 2hrs. 40 mi:

Special Aircraft G-3

Flying Time:1 hr. 40 min

Special Aircraft G-3

Flying Time: 1 hr. 30 mi.

Special Aircraft G-3

Flying Time: lO mins.

Travel by car: 1 hr. 15�

,. .

. ,

-DATE

Sat. 28 January

Sun. 29 January

Mon. 30 January

Tue. 31 January

Wed. 1 February

Thu. 2 February

Fri. 3 February

Sat. 4 February

Sun 5 February

ITINERARY

Lome - Togo

Lv. Lome

Arr. Yamoussokro

Lv. Yamoussokro

Arr. Abidjan

Lv. Abidjan

Arr. Ouagadougou

- 2 -

HOURS FROM

TIME GM'r

1000 0

1100 0

0930 0

1015 0

1500 0

1615 0

Ouagadougou - Upper Volta

Lv. Ouagadougou

Arr. Dakar

Dakar - Senegal

Lv. Dakar

1000 0

1230 0

1000

Arr. Par is <LE ED.JR;ET) 16 30 (Hotel Bristol)

0

+1

Lv. Paris (ORLY) 1300 +1

Arr. �ew York (JFK) 1505 -5

A IRLINE AND FLT. NO.

JH;gr 11 January 198<

EQUIP. STO!S

Special Aircraft G-3

Flying Time: 1 hr.

Special Aircraft G-3

Flying Time: 45 mins.

Special Aircraft G-3

Flying Time: 1 hr. 15 mir

Special Aircraft G-3

Flying Time: 2 hrs. 30 m:

Special Aircraft G-3

Flying Time: S hrs. 30m:

PAllS 747 0

COMPOSITION OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL'S PARTY

The Secretary-General / Mrs. P�rez de Cu�llar /

*Mr. Abdulrahim A. Farah -

JH/gr 10 January 1 9 8 4

Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Questons and Co-ordinator, Special Economic Assistance Programmes

**Mr. Diego Cordovez-Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs

***Mr. Shuaib Uthman Yolah-Under-Secretary-General, Department of International Economic and Social Affairs

****Mr. Adebayo Adedeji Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa

Mr. Alvaro de Soto Special Assistant to the Secretary-General

Mr. Issa Diallo Principal Officer, Office of the Secretary-General

Mr. Fran�ois Giuliani Spokesman for the Secretary-General

**Mr. Giandomenico Picco . First Officer, Office of the Secretary-General

Mr. John Hrusovsky Operations/Administration Officer

Mr. Neil Breen Administration Officer

Ms. Mary Ellen Martin Secretary to the Secretary-General

* Mr. Farah will join the Secretary-General's party in Cotonou and will continue with the Secretary­General for the duration of the trip.

** Mr. Cordovez and Mr. Picco will join the Secretary­General's party at Paris and will continue with th• Secretary-General to Casablanca.

*** Mr. Yolah will join the Secretary-General's party at Lagos for the duration of the visit to Niger1a.

JH/gr - 2 - 10 January 1984·

**** Mr. Adedeji will join the Secretary-General's party· at Rabat and continue with the Secretary-General up to Dakar

***** Mr. Diallo will join the Secretary-General's party at Casablanca and continue with the Secretary-General for the rest of the trip.

= Mr. Louis-Pascal N�gre Assistant Secretary-General, Office of Personnel Services, will be joining the Secretary-General's party in Bamako for the duration of the visit to Mali.

Benin

Ivory Coast

Mali

Niaer

Niaeria

J norocco

Senegal

Togo

Upper Volta

. UN D P

Res.Rep. D. Whaley LOT lll.Zone Residentielle Cotonou, tel: 31.30.45-46

Res.Rep. A. Rotival Angle rue Gourgas et Avenue Marchand, Abidjan, Plateau tel: 33.13.41

Res. Rep. P. Coppini Immeuble �!ai ttre, Badalabagou Est.· Bamako, tel: 2 2.36. 94

Res.Rep. w. Semerdjian United Nations, ftaison de 1 'Africrue·,· Niamey tel: 7 2 -2 9-61

Res.Rep. A. Roejkjaer 11 0ueens Drive,rkovi , Lagos tel: 60. 37. 30,1, 2

-

Res.Rep. J.C.Petitpierre Irnrneuble de l'ONU, Anqle Ave. �oulay Hassan et Zankat Assafi

·Rabat, tel: 603.46

Res.Rep. D. McAdams 2 avenue Reume, Immeuble Bicis Dakar, tel: 21.3 2.44

F.es.Rep. G. Asplund 40 avenue des Nations Unies Lom4, tel: 21.34.2 1

Res.�ep. n. van Hulten Place Naba-Kom tace Gare Ran · ouaaddu2ou, tel: 359.95

,·

Country

Benin

Ivory Coast -

Mali

Niqeria

Seneaal

TO<!O

Upper Volta -

JMorocco

U N I C Offices

Director

Mr. Bernard · D erue lles

Mr. lUchael Santos

Mr. Ismail Diallo

" " II

Mr • Qti.nachi fken:iri, .Act. Dir.

Mr. Michel Santos

Mr. Bernard .Deruel les (Actin� Director)

Mr. Ismail Diallo

Mr. Salah Cheri f

Address

UNIC, Botte Postale 911 Lorn�, Togo ,tel:21-23-06

Centre d'Information des Nations Unies, Botte Postale 1 5 4 , Dakar, Senegal Tel: 2 2 -1070 - 2 2 - 5 0 6 6

t�IC, Botte Postale 1 3 5 Ouqadougou, Haute Volta " tel: 33-817

Home :35 2 - 2 5

UN Information Centre P. O.Box 1 0 6 8 , Lagos,tel.68022

UNIC, P. O.Box 1 5 4 Dakar, Seneqal,tel:22-1070-2250E

UNIC, P. O.Box 9 1 1 , Lorn�, Toqc tel:21. 2 3- 0 6

UNIC, P. O.Box 1 3 5 , Ouqadougot tel: 3 7- 8 1 7

UNIC, "easier ONU", Rabat­Chel lah, Morocco ,tel: 603-46

6 2 3- 0 4

1 1 Janua ry , 1 984

VI SIT OF

H I S EXCELLENCY MR . JAVI ER PEREZ DE CUELLAR SECRETA RY-GENERAL OF THE UNI TED NAT I ONS

TO

WEST AFRI CA 1 2 January to 5 Februa ry 1 984

Thur sday , 1 2 Janua ry 1 984 J 1 8 . 4 5 Hrs .

F r iday , 1 3 January 1 984 /

0 7 . 3 5 Hr s .

Sat urday , 14 January 1 984 I 1 2 . 00 Hr s .

1 3 . 00 Hr s .

sunday , 1 5 Januarx 1 984 j 1 1 . 00 Hrs .

- Leave New York ( JFK ) for Pa r i s , Franc e , Fl i ght PA 1 14 - ' 74 7 '

- Arr i ve Par i s ( Orly ) ( Sec retary-General will be accorded all Prot ocol of an o f f i c i al v i s i t: Salon d ' honneur , motorcade , and mon i tor i ng of hot el ) Go to Hot el Br i s tol

- Meet ing w i th M i n i s t er Chey s son at La Cell e St . Cloud

- Luncheon for Secret ary-General and Mrs. Perez de Cuellar hosted by Fo r eign M in i ster and Madame Chey s son ; M r . Guy Penne , Pre s i dent i al Adv i s e r for A frica n

A f f a ir s , will al so be pres ent

- Leave Par i s Le Bourget for Casablanca , Morocco

1 3 . 00 Hr s . j ( A f t ernoon )

J Monday , 16 Janua ry 1 984

Tuesdal , 1 7 January 1 984 vi 1 5 . 00 Hr s ./ 1 7 . 40 Hrs .

1 9 . 30 Hr s .

20 . 50 Hrs .

23 . 30 Hrs .

Wedne sday , 18 January 1984

0 7 . 00 Hr s .

0 8 . 00 Hr s .

- 2 -

- A r r i ve Ca sablanca

- Pre s i dent of Pak i stan would l i ke to meet Secretary-General ( The K i ng of Saud i Arab i a , the Pre s i d ent of Rep . Gui nea , and the For e ign M i n i ster o f Jordan have ind icated that they would l ik e to meet the Sec retary-General .

( Rest o f the programme w ill be commun i c a t ed by Mr . D i allo from Rabat )

- Confe renc e o f I slam i c Sol i da r i ty

- Leave Casablanca for Bamako , Mal i

- Ar r i ve Bamako - Of f i c i al welcome by H . E . General Amadou

Baba D i a r r a , Under Sec retary-General , Un ion Democ rat i que du Peuple Mal i en , and M i n i st e r of State i n cha rge o f Equ i pment . Presenta t i on to member s of the d i plomat ic c orps to be held i n Salon d ' Honneur . Int e r v i ew w i th nat i onal pr e s s Departure o f cortege for R e s i d enc e des Hot es , Koulouba

- Bu f f e t d i nner at UNDP o f f i c e , Badalaobougou

- Leave for Pala i s d e la Culture Cultu ral even ing g i ven by H . E . General Amadou Baba D i a r ra with mu sic and ballet

- Leave for Res id enc e

- Br eak fast

- Leave for Tombouctou w i th Under Sec retary-General of Un ion Democ rat i que du Peuple Mal i e n

1 4 . 30 Hrs .

1 6 . 00 Hrs .

1 7 . 00 Hr s .

1 7 . 30 Hrs .

1 8 . 30 Hrs .

1 9 . 00 Hrs .

20 . 30 Hr s .

2 2. 30 Hrs .

Thur sday, 1 9 January 1984

0 8 . 00 Hrs .

0 9 . 00 Hrs .

0 9 . 3 0 Hr s .

10 . 00 Hrs .

10 . 30 H r s .

1 1 . 30 Hrs .

1 3 . 30 Hr s .

1 4 . 45 Hrs .

•

- 3 -

- Welcome at Tombouctou par M i n i st er of the I nt e r i or , Governor , pol i t ical and adm i n i strat i ve author i t i e s and populat i on . of the c i ty of Tombouc tou

- Vi s i t to Kor i ome Pla i n

- Lunch

- Leave for Bamako

- A r r i ve Bamako

- Work ses s i on w i th Spec i al i st at Koulouba

- Vi s i t to Nat i onal Mus eum

- Meet i ng w i th A s soc i at i on Mal i enne pour les Nat i ons Un i e s at Hotel Am i t i e

- Return to r e s i denc e

- Gala d i nner g i ven by H . E . Gene ral Moussa Traore , Sec retary-Gene ral , Un ion Democ rat i que du Peuple Malien , and Mrs . Moussa Traore at the Hotel ne 1 ' Ami tiE!! . ( Ma j or Speech )

- Lea ve for res i denc e at Koulouba

- Meeting w i th Head of State ( time to be g i ven at lat er date )

- Meet i ng w i th Mini s t e r of Foreign l\f fa i r s

- Meeting w i th M i n i st e r o f Plan

- Vi sit to factory at It ema

- Vi s i t to Sonat am

- Vi s i t Bamako

- Pre s s confe rence at Hot el Ami tie - Lunch free - Leave for Senou A i rport

... UNDEVPRO 5232NI ZCZC NIM0173 C00093 SS NIM .COTONOU <UNDP> 19 1950Z MISC 83 URGENT SEMERDJIAN FOR DIALLO AND GUILIANI FOR INFORMATION SECRETARY GENERAL AS APPROPRIATE ALL PREPARATIONS NOW COMPLETED FOR OFFICIAL VISIT SECRETARY GENERAL 21 THROUGH 23 JANUARY.

Ap�pGRAMME OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED BY GOVERNMENT AS FOLLOWS : �� 21 - 13�30 ACCUEIL PAR ROMAIN VILON GUEZO, PRESIENT

,_.:(� ASSEMBLEE NATIONALE REVOLUTIONNAIRE ET DELEGATION COMPOSEE GADO � � 1 GRIGISSOU, PRESIDENT COMMISSION RELATIONS EXTERIEURES DU COMITE f' .. viA-. CENTRAL, MINISTRE TRAVAUX PUBLICS.,

- MINISTRE AFFAIRES ETRANGERES <TIAMIOU ADJIBADE> - MINISTRE DU PLAN <ZUL KIFL SALAMI>

, - MINISTRE INDUSTRIE <DOYEN DU GOUVERNEMENT> <GENERAL BARTHELEMY ..... l<:::.....') OHOUENS>

�, 1p�QO ENTRETIEN EN TETE A TETE AVEC PRESIDENT KEREKOU � 17�30 RENCONTRE �VEC PERSO�NEL SYSTEME NATIONS UNIES <IL EST PRO­

POSE QUE LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL ADRESSE UN MESSAGE AU PERSONNEL A �r CETTE OCCASION> 18�30 INAUGURATION EXTENSION BUREAUX PNUD EN

� ........ ''--..$ ) PRESENCE MINISTRES AFFAI RES ETRANGERES ET PLAN. 20�00 RECEP-�;..', T-ION RESIDENCE COORDONNATEUR RESIDENT <PERSONNEL NAf IONS UNIES

�� ET PROBABLEMENT DELEGATION OFFICIELLE GOUVERNEMENT>. JUMANCHE 22 9�00 VISITE AU MUSEE HISTORIQUE D'ABOMEY, PROVINCE DU ZOU <140 KM DE COTONOUl 16�00 SEANCE DE TRAVAIL , SALLE POLYVALENTE, HOTEL SHERATON AVEC PARTICIPATION PRESIDENT CIMMISSION RELATIONS EXTERIEURES, MINISTRES AFFAIRES ETRANGERES,

���LAN, INDUSTRIE, FINANCES, INFORMATION, INTERIEUR ET DEVELOPPEMENT �L""'\ .. ....,1WRAL. DISCUSSIONS PORTERONT SUR MEMORANDUM PRESENTE PAR CHEF DE (. L'ETAT, QUI D'APRES INFORMATIONS PRELIMINAIRES PRESENTERA POSI-

TION BENIN SUR AAA SITUATION ECONOMIQUE INTERNATIONALE <GENERALE, PMAt BENIN) BBB ACTIONS COMMUNAUTE INTERNATIONALE/ ROLE ONU <PROGRAMME D'ASSISTANCE ECONOMIQUE SPECIALE, OBJECTIFS ET SUIVI TABLE RONDE DE MARS 1983, ACTIVITES OPERATIONNELLES> CCC URGENCES <SITUATION ET BESOINS> SECHERESSE/S�HELISATION, DEPLACEMENT DES POPULATIONS. DOD DROITS DE L'HO�

�-20�30 DINER DE GALA OFFERT PAR CHEF DE L'ETAT A LA PRESIDENCE EtiNDI 22 9�00 D� DE GERBES MONUMENT MARTYRS 9�30 VISITE CENTRE NATIONAL AGRO-PEDOLOGIE <CREE AVEC CONCOURS PNUD/FAO>

,�1�00 DEUXIEME ENTRETIEN AVEC PRESIDENT KEREKOU .f�OO DEJEUNER - 15�00 CONFERENCE DE PRESSE - 16�30 DEPART. ·(i-R£ATFUL A-NY COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS BY RETURN TELEX OR TELEPHONE 361.20.30 OFFICE OR 30.09.50 HOME ON PROGRAMME WHICH ON WHOLE CONFIRMS THAT COMMUNICATED IN DECEEEEEMBEEE DECEMBER. ALSO NOTE, FOLLOWING OUR TELCONS THAT PRINCIPAL OFFICIALS BESIDES HEAD OF STATE AND PRESIDENT ASSEMBLY ARE MINISTERS FOREIGN AFFAIRS INDUSTY, PUBLIC WORKS, PLANING <WHALEY> COLL 83 21 23 21 16�00 17�30 18�30 20�00 22 9�000 140 16�00 1983 20�3 0 22 9�00 9�30 11�00 13�00 15�00 16�30 31.20.30 30.09.50

=01192020

NNNN

•

1 5 .00 Hrs.

1 7.40 Hrs .

20.30 Hrs .

Frida y, 20 January 1 9 84

0 8.30 Hrs .

0 9.45 Hrs .

1 1 .00 Hrs .

1 3.00 Hrs .

1 5 .30 Hrs .

1 7.4 5 Hrs .

1 8.00 Hrs .

20 .30 Hrs.

Saturda y, 2 1 Ja nuary 1 9 84

0 8.0 0 Hrs .

1 2.00 Hrs .

1 3.30 Hrs .

- 4 -

- Leave Ba mak o f or Niamey , Niger

- Arri ve Ni amey Of f i ci al wel come and i n st al lat i on at Hot e l

- O f f i ci a l d i nner fol lowed by cu lt ural even i ng g i ven by Brigad i e r a nd Madame Mi nt ou Kount che ( Ma j or Speech )

- Meet ing w i th Pre s i dent of Supreme Mi l i tary Counci l , Head of State

- Vis i t to Ag ryhmet Cent re ( Centre ag ro-hyd romet eorol og i que du CILSS )

- Vi s i t to Na t i onal Mus eum

- Lunch free

Work ing ses s i on

- Vi s i t to OPVN Shop ( O f fi ce des Prod u i t s Vi vri ers du Nige r )

- Vi s i t to Af ri ca House

- Rece ption given by the illlDP Re s i dent Representat i ve and Mrs . Semerd j ian

- Vi sit(to Nama rde Goungou forest project

- Pre s s commun i que - Leave Ni amey for Cotonou , Benin

- Arri ve Cotonou Te nt ative Programme ( official proqra mme t o be given at Cotonou)

Of fi ci al We l come then drive to Cons e i l de !'Entente Vi llas

- Courtesy ca ll on Head of St ate

Sunday , 22 January 1 984

Monday , 2 3 January 1984

16.30 Hrs .

1 7 . 00 Hrs.

- 5 -

- V i s i t to UNDP o f f i ce fo r add ress to i nternat ionally- and locally-rec r u i ted per sonnel o f UN system o f o rgan i zat ions ( UNDP , WFP , FAO , UNI CEF ) .

- Opening by Mr s. Perez de Cuellar o f o f f i ce extens ion and UN Documentat ion Centre .

- I n formal Recept ion w i th UN family pro fe s sional st a f f ( 1 7 fund s and agenc ies , 2 6 nat ional i t ie s )

- S i mple wreath-lay i ng ce remony at Martyr s Monument

- Vi s i t to Abomey H i sto r i cal S i te with stops en route fo r br ie f v i s i t s UNDP/UNCDF/UNICEF a s s i sted pro ject s.

- O f f i c i al aud ience w i th Head o f State , wo rk i ng ses s ion w i th senior Go vernment o f fic i als.

- State Banquet ( Ma jor Speech )

- Po s sible roun0-up w i th Head o f State

- V i s i t to Cotonou Port

- Pre s s Conference

- Leave Cotonou for Lago s, Nigeria

- Ar rive Lago s

( I t i s expected that Mr s. Per e z de Cuellar w ill part i c i pate in mo st of the act i v i ties except th e bilateral talk s ) ·· Tentative Programme ( deta il s will he given on a r ri val ) Arr i val Ce remon iesz rece i ved by Pre s ident , V i ce Pre s ident , ·Pres ir'iP.nt o f Sena te , Fede ral Go vernment Ministe r s and Ser v i ce Ch ie f s

Tue sday , 24 January 1 9 84

0 9 . 0 0 Hrs .

0 9 . 0 5 Hrs .

0 9 . 15 Hrs .

0 9 . 20 Hr s ;

10 .20 H r s .

1 1 . 20 Hrs .

1 3 . 00-Hr s .

- 6 -

- Leave a i rport for Stat e Hou s e Ma r i na

- Ar r i ve State House Ma r i na

- Mr . Pres i dent t akes leave of the Secret ary-General

- Sec retary-General , accompan i ed by M i n i ster External Af fa i r s , leave State House Ma r i na for Stat e Hous e Ribadu

- Ar r i ve S tate Hou se R ibad u

- Bi lat eral t a l k s

- Sec ret ary-Gen eral and M i n i s t e r External Af f a i r s r e t u r n Sta te House Ma r i na

- Recept i on for member s of Diplomat i c Corps

- M i n i ster Ex ternal Af fa i rs take s l eave of Sec retary-Gene ral

- Pr i vate d i nner

- Sec retary-General and Mi n i ster Ext ernal Af f a i r s l eave State House Ma r i na for Cenotaph - Ta fawa Ba lewa Square . Rec e i ved by Mi n i s t e r o f I nte rnal Affa i r s

- Sec retary-General lays wreath at Tomb of Unknown Soldier

- Leave for Nat i ona l Mu seum , Onikan

- Conducted tour w i th Mi ni s t e r National Gu i d anc e

- Lea ve for Nat i onal Theat r e Conduc ted tour of the CEBAAC

- Re turn to State House Ma r i na M i n i s t e r of Ext e r nal Af fa i r s t akes leave o f Sec reta ry-General

- Pr i vate lunch

1 6.30 Hrs .

20 . 00 Hrs .

Wednesday , 25 January 1984

0 9 . 00 Hr s .

0 9 . 30 Hrs .

10 . 30 Hrs.

1 6 . 00 Hrs .

20 . 00 Hr s .

20 . 1 5 Hrs .

2 0 . 30 Hr s.

2 2 . 00 Hrs .

2 2 . 30 Hr s .

Thu r snay , 26 January 1984

10 . 00 Hr s . .

10.10 Hrs.

11 . 00 Hrs .

1 1 . 30 Hrs .

1 2 . 00 Hr s.

1 2 . 1 5 Hrs .

1 9 . 30 Hrs .

- 7 -

- Sec retary-General to del i ver publ i c lec t ure at N i ge r i a Inst i tute of I nternat ional Affa i r s

- Pr i vate d i nner

- Sec retary-General d r i ve s to Murtala l·1ohammed Ai rport

- Leave for Ahu ja

- Loc al programme at Ahu j a

- Leave Ahu j a for Lago s

- Pre s ident leaves for St ate House Mar i na

- Pre s i dent and Sec retary-Gener al leave from State House Mar i na for Nat ional Theatre

- State Banquet ( r.1a jor Speech )

- Leave for State House Mar i na

- Pres ident take s leave of Sec retary-Gener al

- Pres ident leaves fo r St ate House Ma r i na ·

- Bilateral talks

- Pre s s Confe rence

- Lea ve fo r horner

- Depa rt ure ceremonies Leave by car for Lome, Togo

- Ar r i ve Lome Courtesy v i s i t to Head of State

- Off i c i al banquet g i ven by Hean of State in honour of Sec retary-Gene ral and M r s . Perez de Cuella r ( Ma jo r Speech )

Friday, 27 January 1984

-

10 . 00 Hrs .

1 5 . 00 Hrs .

16 . 30 Hr s .

20 . 00 Hrs .

Sat urday , 28 Janua ry 1984

0 7 . 0 0 Hr s .

0 8 . 30 Hrs .

10 . 00 Hrs .

1 2 . 3 0 Hr s .

1 5 . 00 Hrs .

15 . 4 5 Hr s.

16 . 30 Hrs .

20 . 0 0 Hr s .

Sunday , 29 January 1984

09 . 1 5 Hr s .

10 . 00 Hrs .

1 1 . 0 0 Hr s .

- 8 -

- Meet i ng w i th Head of Stat e ( th i s meet i ng cou l d take place very ear ly in the morn i ng)

- Wor k i ng s e s s i on w i th Togo government o f f i ci a l s

- Vi s i t t o Port o f Lome

- Vi s i t to UNDP and UNI C of fices

- Cu l tural evening i n honour o f Secretary-General and Mr s . Perez Cuel lar at "la Ma i son du Part i "

- Leave f o r Kpami me

- Vi s i t to br eed i ng farm at Kpamime

- Vi s i t to Somaph o i l r e f i nery

- Lunch at the Grana Hot el

- Vi s i t to art i sanal cent re

- Vi s i t to Na t i ona l School of Ag r i culture at Tove

- Lea ve for Lome

- Di nne r g i ven by the UNDP Re s ident Representa t i ve

- Pre s s Conference

- Leave Lome for Yamous soukro , Ivo ry Coa st

- Ar r i ve Yamous soukro Secret ary-General w i l l be met by by Mi nister o f State and Foreign Mi n i s t er wi th usua l honour s, incl u�i ng review mi l i tary detachment .

- Leave by car for "Res id ence d es Hotes "

1 2 . 30 Hr s

1 3 . 00 Hrs .

1 6 . 3 0 Hrs.

1 7. 00 Hrs .

20 . 0 0 Hr s .

Monday, 30 January 1 984

0 9 . 3 0 Hrs .

10 . 1 5 Hrs.

1 1 . 00 Hrs .

1 3 . 00 Hrs.

1 6 . 0 0 Hr s .

16.45 Hrs.

1 7 . 1 5 Hrs .

18 . 30 Hr s .

20 . 00 Hr s .

- 9 -

- Courtesy v i s i t to H . E . the Presi dent of the Republic at h i s res i dence

- ( Programme be i ng ar ranged for Mr s . Perez de Cuel la r , i nc l ud i ng vi s i t s of cult ural and soc i oec onom ic na ture and shopping tou r )

- Lunch w i t h Hean of St a t e

- Vi s i t to Yamous souk ro

- Meet ing w i th Head of St ate

- Pr i vat e d i nner wi th Head of State , e i ther alone or w i th Mr s . Perez ne Cuel lar

- Le ave Yamou s sok ro by pl ane for Ab id jan

- Ar r i ve Ab i njan Tr ansfer by Presi dentia l he l i copt er t o Pre s i nent i a l Pa lace

- Wo rking meet ing w i th M i n i s t er o f Fo r e i g n Af fa i r s

- Lunch w i th UNDP Re s i dent Re pre sent�ti ve and repre sent at i ves of d i f fer ent spec i a l i zed i n st i t ut i ons

- Vi s i t by Mi ni ster of Na t i ona l E�uc�t ion and Sc ient i f ic Re search to Sec retary­General at Pres ident i a l Pa lace

- Visit by Secretary-General to the the Na tional As sembly

- Vi s i t to the F.conom ic and Soc ial Counc i l

- Heeting with UN Deve lopment Sys te11 pe r s onne l , probably at pa lace

- O f f i c i al d i nne r hosted by Mi ni ster of Fo reig n Af fa i r s in honour of Sec reta ry-General and Mr s . Perez � e Cuel lar ( "Tenue ne Vi lle Sombre") ( Ma j or Speech)

( Sec retary-Genera l and Mr s . Perez �e Cuel lar w i ll st ay at Pa lace - Platea u)

Tuesday, 31 January 1984

- 09.30 Hrs .

10 . 15 Hrs .

1 3 . 00 Hrs .

1 4.30

15 . 00 Hrs .

1 6 . 1 5 Hrs .

1 7.45 Hrs .

19.30 Hr s .

Wednesday , 1 February 1984

0 7.00 Hrs .

- 10 -

- Meet i ng w i th Pre s i dent Bad

- V i s i t by M i n i ster o f the Ma r i ne followed by v i s i t w i th M i n i ster to Po rt o f Abi d jan and Abi d j an Ma r i t i me Academy ( merchant mar i ne ) wh i ch are f i nanced by the Uni ted Nat ions

- Return to Pre s i dent ial Palace Pr i vate lunch Leave for a i rport

- Press Conference ??

- Leave Abi d j a n fo r Ouagadougou , Upper Volta

- Ar r i ve Ouagado ugou

Tentat i ve Programme (We have a sked the gove rnment i f some cha nge s can be made rega rding th i s prog ramme )

( A sepa rate programme w ill be organ i zed for M r s . Pere z de Cuella r )

- Leave for Hotel S ilmande

( pos s ibil i ty o f stop at UN Pla za "en route " to ho i s t UN flag )

- ( Mrs . Pere z de Cuella r ' s ·v i sit to a rt i s anal cent re to be prepa red )

- Mee t i ng w i th Head of St ate

- Fo rmal d i nner at Pres iden tial Pal�ce Announcement dur i ng d i nne r of wi nner o f compet i t ion to f i nd best a rchitectu ral de s ign fo r monument at UN Pla za ( Ma jo r Speech )

- Depa rt ure for �ambao and Do ri

- V is i t to Tro ncon Ouaga-Kaya railway site

1 2 . 30 Hrs .

1 3 . 00 Hrs .

1 6 . 30 Hrs .

1 9 . 00 Hrs .

Thur sday, 2 Februa ry 1984

0 7 . 30 Hr s .

08 . 45 Hrs .

0 9 . 20 Hr s .

0 9 . 35 Hrs .

10 . 00 Hr s .

1 2 . 30 Hr s .

- 1 1 -

- V i s i t to Tambao m i ne

- Fly over part of UN road pro ject by hel i copter

- Leave for Ouagadougou

- Lunch at Ouagadougou g i ven by M i n i ster of State

- Wo rk meet i ng w i th government off i c i al s

- Recept ion g i ven by Sec retary­General at S ilmande Hotel

- Di nner f ree

- Fa rewell v i s i t to Pres ident

- V i s i t UN off ice, Place Naba Kom, where all UN pe r sonnel ( 600 pe rsons ) will gather . Secretary-Gene r al w ill g i ve 5-mi nute speech .

- Pre s s conference at UNIC ( annex to former meet i ng ) .

- Leave fo r a i rport

- Leave Ouagadougou fo r Dakar, Senegal

- Ar r i ve Dakar Off i c i al welcome by M i n i ster s ( rank to be dec ided by Gove r nment ) , UNDP Re s ident repre sentat i ves ann UN agency ch ief s .

- Go to Hotel

- Lunch

- Br ief courtesy v i s i t to Hean of State ( If Sec ret a ry-General not received by Head of St ate, i nte r-M i n i sterial meet i ng w i th Mr . Fa rah and Mr . Adede j i )

- Vis i t to UNDP off i ce and meeting with Head s of Agenc ies

Frida y, 3 February 1984

0 9 .0 0 Hr s .

0 9 . 45 Hrs .

( 10 . 00 Hrs .

1 1 . 45 Hrs .

1 2 . 3 0 Hr s .

1 5 . 00 Hrs .

1 7 . 00 Hrs .

Sat urday, 4 Februa ry 1984

0 9 . 00 Hrs .

10.00 Hrs.

16 . 3 0 Hrs .

Monday, 5 February 1 984

1 3 . 00 Hrs .

1 5 . 0 5 Hrs .

- 1 2 -

- Dinner given by Re sid ent Re presentative in' honour of Sec r etary-General with members o f delegation and Heads of Agencie s

- Leave by President ial plane for Saint-Louis, acc ompanied by the Minister o f Ru ral Development

- Ar rive Saint-Louis . Visit to the out skir t s of the Saed irrigat ion zone and the Kheune and Diama dams .

- Mr s . Per e z de Cuellar to visit Social Cent re)

- Leave Saint -Louis for Dakar

- Ar rive Daka r

- Lunch

- O f f icial Vis it to Head of State followed by short work ing ses sion (30 minut e s)

- Vi s i t to the I fan Museum - O f f i cial Dinner with Speech

Cult ural event during d inner ( Ma j or Speech)

- Pr e s s Conference at the airpo rt

- Leave Dakar for Paris, France

- Ar r i ve Pa ri s (Le Bo urge t )

- Go to Hotel Br istol

- Leave Par i s ( Orly) for New Yo rk, USA

- Ar r i ve New York

CO-oPERATION BEIWEEN THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE

ORGANIZATION OF THE ISlAMIC CONF:E:REN:E

Note for the Secretary-General on Co-operation between the United Nations and the

Organization of the Islamic Conference

Background on OIC

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) was set up in 1972 as a follow up of the First Conference of Kings and Heads of State and Government of Islamic Countries held at Rabat in 1969. The Rabat Summit had been convened at the initiative of Morocco and Saudi Arabia in response to the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Charter of the Islamic Conference, which has been largely inspired by the United Nations Charter, was finalized and adopted at the Third Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held at Jeddah in 1972. The main organs of the OIC are: the Conference of Kings and Heads of State and Government which has hither-to-forth met as required, the Conference of Foreign Ministers which meets annually and the General secretariat which is based temporarily in Jeddah. Jerusalem is designated to be the permanent headquarter of the Organization. ·

The second Islamic Summit was held in February 1974 at Lahore (Pakistan) in the wake of the Arab-Israeli war of October 1973 and the Third Summit was held at Taif (Saudi Arabia) in January 1981. It was decided at the Taif Summit that henceforth the Islamic Summit would meet every three years.

UN/OIC Co-operation

The. Charter of the Islamic Conference reaffirms the commitment of its member States •to the UN Charter and fundamental Human Rights, the purposes and principles of which provide the basis for fruitful co-operation amongst all peoples." The principles enumerated in the Islamic Charter, such as equality among states, respect of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of states, self-4etermination and pacific settlement of disputes are derived directly from the Charter of the United Nations.

In view of this, and the role envisaged for regional organizations by the UN Charter, it was to be expected that some co-operation would be established between the United Nations and the OIC. The first step in this direction was taken in 1975, when, at the initiative of the Islamic Group, the General Assembly adopted resolution L3369 (XXXl/ granting observer status to the OIC.

Subsequently, since 1980, the General Assembly has adopted a resolution every year calling upon the two organizations 'to co-operate in their common search for solutions to global problems, such as questions relating to international peace and security, disarmament, self--determination, decolonization, fundamental human rights and the establishment of a new international economic order•. Furthermore, the Assembly has requested the Secretary-General to strengthen the

- 2 -

co-ordination of the activities of the UN System in this field. On their part, the Taif Summit and the annual Islamic Foreign Ministers Conferences have also adopted resolutions calling for the strengthening of co-operation between the two sides.

In the political field, the problems of major concern to the OIC have been the Middle East and Palestine, Afghanistan and the Iran-Iraq war. On the Middle East question, the Islamic Group has generally followed the lead of the Arab Countries, except on the question of · Jerusalem on which the OIC has been in the forefront. On Afghanistan, the OIC has made vigorous efforts for the withdrawal of foreign troops and has been the prime mover of General Assembly resolutions on this question. On the Iran-Iraq war, the OIC has sought to play a mediating role both through a Goodwill Committee of Heads of State and through Secretary-General Habib Chatty.

In general, it can be said that OIC has been supportive of the efforts of the United Nations to find peaceful solutions to all these conflict situtations. Furthermore, the OIC stance in the areas of human rights, disarmament, self-determination and elimination of racial discrimination and apartheid and the accelerated development of developing countries have been generally in consonance with the thrust of United Nations decisions in these fields.

Apart from mutual consultations on important political questions, co-operation between the United Nations and its specialized agencies and the OIC also encompasses the economic and social fields. The OIC has entered into direct co-operation agreements with a number of UN agencies (UNDP, IYI'CD, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNESCO, FAO, ILO, WHO etc) and has carried out financial and technical co-operation projects with the World Bank and the IMF through the Islamic Development Bank.

In view of expanding co-operation in these areas the General Assembly decided by its resolution 37/4 adopted last year, to hold annual meetings between the Secretariats of the Organizations of the United Nations System and the Secretariat of the OIC. The first such meeting was held in Geneva in July 1983. The meeting was designed to strengthen co-operation in those areas where more than one UN agency was involved. It identified five priority areas for co-operation: food, science and technology, investments, assistance to refugees and eradication of illitracy and designated a lead agency for follow-up action in each of these areas. The outcome of this first meeting was considered to be highly satisfactory by the Secretary-General of the OIC as well as by the UN agencies.

It can be seen from the above that the UN/OIC co-operation in various fields has continued to proceed at a steady pace without placing any major administrative or financial burden on the United Nations so far. It has been along the lines of UN co-operation with other regional organizations and has been generally beneficial to the United Nations.

12 December 1983

'T'""__..___.__,,.,._-=---�------"'---------�---------------- --- ---- -----"--

. WESTERN . SAHARA

Note for the Secretary-General on the Question of Western Sahara

Eversince 1976, when Spain ceded Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania under the triparite Madrid Agreement, the General Assembly has consistently upheld the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. Likewise, the OAU has also recognised this right of the Saharouis. until 1981, Morocco resisted the application of these united Nations.and OAU decisions on the grounds that the Saharoui had already exercised their right by rejoining their mother-country - Morocco. In that year, however, under increasing military pressure from the Polisario Front and political isolation within the OAU, King Hassan accepted at the eighteenth OAU Summit held in Nairobi, the idea of holding a referendum in the territory.

The Nairobi summit established ·an Implementation Committee comprising Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania and Kenya - as the then Chairman of the OAU (in 1983 Kenya was replaced by Ethiopia when the latter assumed the OAU chairmanship). The Committee was to work out the modalities of a cease fire and organize a referendum in the territory in collaboration with the UN. The Implementation Commmittee met in August 1981 and February 1982 and worked out details of a cease fire and the referendum. A UN Team attended these meetings.

At these meetings, however, Morocco succeeded in blocking efforts to name the parties to the conflict and thus ensured that it would not have to negotiate or deal with the Polisario Front. The decisions of the Committee thus remained unimplemented.

In the meantime, a majority of African Countries recognised the Saharoui Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and on this ground, SADR represented by the Polisario Front was admitted to the OAU at a Council of Ministers meeting at Addis Ababa in February 1982. This provoked strong opposition from Morocco and its supporters who deCided to stay away from any OAU meetings where Polisario Front was present.

The ensuing deadlock, which for more than a year jeopardised the existence of the OAU itself, was finally resolved at the 19th OAU Summit held in June 1983 at Addis Ababa, when the Polisario Front agreed 'voluntarily and temporarily' to stay away from the Summit. In return, the resolution adopted by the Summit, for the first time, named the parties to the conflict: Morocco and the Polisario Front and urged them to enter into 'direct negociations' with a view to reaching agreement on the cease fire and thus facilitating the holding of a fair referendum without any administrative constraints. Morocco reluctantly accepted the resolution but entered a reservation on the question of direct negotiations with the Polisario Front on the ground that this would imply recognition and prejudje the outcome of the referendum • •

In the beginning of 1983, there was also a breaking of the ice in the relations among the states of the Maghreb region in response to the economic pressures generated by the world recession and the costly war in the Sahara. President Chadli adopting an open-door policy towards his

- 2 -

neighbours, entered into a co-operation and friendship agreement with Tunisia which was open to other states of the Maghreb region and envisaged regional economic integration. Tunisia also used its good offices to bring Algeria and Morocco together in.a Summit Meeting in February 1983. There were also reports of secret talks between Morocco and the Polisario Front which were denied by Morocco. Initial results of these contacts seemed encouraging as several high-level exchanges took place between Algeria and Morocco. The new Algerian policy of conciliation appeared to be designed to bring Morocco to accept the idea of a separate sa haran entity within the framework of a Greater Maghreb, whereas King Hassan hoped to persuade Algeria to withdraw its support from the Polisario Front in return for economic and other concessions. Another significant development at this time was the visit of Col. Qaddafi to Morocco and his reported agreement not to support the Polisario Front.

These encouraging signs were tested at the meeting of the Implementation Committee which was convened at Addis Ababa in September this year with a view to bringing the two parties around the same negotiating table. The fact that the meeting failed in its purpose indicates that the developments in the regional context did not really succeed in resolving the basic divergence in positions.

This became further evident during the current session of the General Assembly when King Hassan while reiterating his readiness to hold the referendum and for the first time clearly committing himself to accept its results, once again refused categorically to negotiate with the Polisario Front. The response from the other side was to seek the endorsement of the General Assembly for the 19th OAU Summit resolution urging Morocco and the Polisario Front to enter into direct negotiations. Morocco and its supporters had no option but to go along with this resolution which was consequently adopted by consensus. After its adoption, the Moroccan delegation, however, reiterated its refusal· to negotiate with 'a party which does not exist.' Significantly, however, both Algeria and Morocco while maintaining their basic positions refrained from polemics and direct attacks on each other indicating that they had not given up on their hopes of finding a compromise.

An OAU mission consisting of the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia and the interim Secretary-General of the OAU has recently visited Morocco, Algeria and some other African countries in an effort to break the deadlock. Some attempts at mediation are also underway by UAE and Saudi Arabia. Press reports and contacts by the UN mission at the Islamic Foreign Ministers Conference in Dhaka indicate, however, that no tangible progress has so far been made.

The question of Western Sahara is a difficult one which has come to involve not only the conflicting interests but also public emotions and the prestige of the protagonists. Despite its growing isolation, Morocco appears det ermined not to negotiate with the Polisario Front. And there

- 3 -

could be many pitfalls even if this obstacle is somehow surmounted. At

this stage, it is difficult to foresee an early breakthrough on this question. This deadlock casts a shadow on the future of the OAU itself.

The most promising avenue in the search for a solution remains within the context of the idea of the Maghreb. The goal of a Greater Maghreb, with growing economic integration and political cohesion, can provide the framework wi thin which Algeria, Morocco and the Polisario Front could compose their differences without_losing face and achieve at least a minimum of their objectives. In this context, some of the member States of the OIC (Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Libya, Guinea and Senegal) could make a contribution by using their influence with one or more of the concerned parties.

In his talks with the leaders of the OIC, the Secretary-General may reiterate his readiness to extend all possible assistance in the implementation of the UN and OAU decisions and urge them to explore every avenue to overcome the remaining obstacles.

20 December 1983

���-=---------�--------------------------------------��

•

Question of Chad

The following are note s relating to major problems

which confront Chad :

1 ) Border dispute with Libya

The border dispute with Libya erupted in 1 9 73

when Libyan forces occupied the northern Chad town of

Aozou. Libya claims the town as well as the region in

which it is located ( approximately 5 0 0 miles long and

6 0 miles wide ) under an agreement signed between France

and Italy in 1 9 3 5 when Libya and Chad were under colonial

rule. The pact was never ratified by the French Parliament

of the day, and in 1 9 3 8 it was denounced by France in a

diplomatic exchange of letters between Rome and Paris.

Many attempts have been made by OAU members to negotiate

a settlement but have failed.

Chad argues that the Charters of the OAU and the UN

uphold the claim of sovereignty, a claim further borne out

by an OAU resolution of 1 9 6 4 on the inviolability of borders

inherited from colonial powers. The problem has not been

resolved and Libya still occupies the disputed area.

2 ) National reconciliation attempts

a ) The Lagos Accord: Establishment of GUNT '

Nigeria has played a key role in mediation attempts.

Under President Obasanjo, Nigeria organi zed in August 1979

a peace conference, which all factions attended. Under the

agreement reached at the meeting, known as the Lagos Accord,

the Chadian parties agreed to form a National Union Government of

- 2 -

Trans ition tGUNTl, which would last for 1 8 months lunti l

February 19 81).

This Government came into bei�g on 1 1 November 1 9 79 ,

with Mr. Goukouni as President , Col. Kamougue as Vice

President and Mr. Habre as Defence Mini ster. But soon,

internal disputes led to the break-up of the Government :

Mr. Habre left N'Djamena for northern Chad with his

troops , a move which was followed by an outbreak of

fighting between him on one side , and Mr . Goukouni and

Col. Karnougue on the other.

b) 1 9 8 2 Conflict

The present Government in Chad , under His sene Habre ,

won control of the capital as well as most areas in Chad

in June 19 8 2. The ousted government of Goukouni fled

the country. Shortly afterwards , Goukouni reappeared in

northern Chad and declared his headquarters to be at

Bardai , which lies in the di sputed territory control led

by Libya.

3) Status of the His sene Habre Government

The credentials of the Habre delegation were que stioned

at the OAU Tripoli Conference in November 1 9 8 2 when

some states insisted on seating the rival Goukouni delegation.

But later at the UN General Assembly that year ,

also at the Non-Aligned Conference in New Delhi , and at the

OAU Addis Ababa Summit Meeting in 1 9 8 3 , Hissene Habre's

representatives were allowed to take the seat of Chad.

4) The military situation

- 3 -

In February 1 9 8 3 , tension flared up between Libya

on one s ide and Chad and Sudan on the other . President

Habre accused Libya of concentrating troops and mercenaries

on Chad's northern border .

I n April, the UN Security Counc il in a statement

released through its President, called on Chad and Libya

to settle their differences promptly and peacefully, on

the bas is of the UN and the OAU Charters .

In June, following an appeal for assistance made to

the United Nations by the Chadian Government, which charged

that Libya had launched a large- scale military operation

against Chad, France dispatched troops to check the advance

southwards of the Libyan- supported Goukouni troops. France

warned that, if fired upon, its troops would retaliate.

A lull in the fighting has taken place. However, on

9 December, Libya said that American and Sudanese forces

had moved into eastern Chad as part of a plan to "recoloni ze"

the country. Prior to that, in October, the Chadian Foreign

Minister said in his address to the General Assembly that

Libya was occupying half of its territory.

5) Latest developments

After both Mr. Habre and Mr. Goukouni made statements

to the effect that they would be prepared to enter into

negotiations to end the conflict, Ethiopian leader Mengistu

arranged for a meeting of all eleven Chadian factions to

be held at Addis Ababa . The meeting, originally planned for

- 4 -

December 1 9 8 3 , is now scheduled for 9 January 1 9 8 4 , to

allow for better preparation. All factions have indicated

their willingness to attend.

Mr. Goukouni stated on 15 December that Mr. Habre

would be treated as a representative of just another

faction at the· peace talks. The question of repres·entativi ty

at the Conference has long been a thorny issue , with

Mr. Habre insisting to be seated as the President of Chad,

and Mr. Goukouni re-asserting that only his National

Union Government of Transition (GUNT) could speak in the

name of Chad.

6 ) National reconstruction and deve lopment

An International Conference on Assistance to Chad

was held in 1 9 8 2 at Geneva and although moderately

successful, has not met all the country's urgent requirements.

Further, the return of some 70 0 , 0 0 0 Chadians expelled from

Nigeria aggravated the economic situation.

Chad has been seeking for some time to organize another

donors' meeting. On 29 November 19 8 3 , Chadian Foreign

Mini ster Idriss Miskine told foreign envoys in N'Djamena

that his country was disappoi nted by the international aid

pledged at the Geneva Conference, and called for a new

donors' meeting early next year. He also asked for urgent

food aid to check the threat of famine.

7) Possible request for UN peace-keeping operations

In January 1 9 8 3 , the OAU Ad Hoc Committee on Chad

decided to establ ish an African peace-keeping force in

I

� 5 -

Chad, composed of troops from Nigeria, Zaire and Senegal .

Unfortunately, the force was not a success, partly

because of the refusal of the warri ng parties to

co-operate with it and because of the expense . The force

was withdrawn after Habre seized control of the territory .

There are unofficial reports that, in the event of

the Chadian parties agreeing to the holding of a referendum

on national elections at the January 1 9 8 4 meeting, the UN

might be called upon to provide a peace-keeping force

during that period .

The Libyan and French forces would then be required

to withdraw from the territory .

NAMIBIA

.. . \ : � ' -· . r . .. .. ·-

Note for the Secretaxy-General

sl.l!!ra!Y of views expressed on the Question of Namibia

at the 38th Sessicn of the General Assenbly and in the Security Council

OJ.ring the qeneral debate at the 38th Sessicn of the General Assenbly,

representatives of about 135 countries made reference to the Questicn of

Ncr.dbia in their statements. Of these 42 were representatives of African

States, 36 represented .Asian States, 28 represented Latin Alnerican and

the Carihl:ean States, 23 represented �lest EUropean arrl other States arrl

11 represented Fast European States. At the 37th Session, representatives

of about 133 countries made references to the Questicn of Nanibia in the

General �te. Hany represP-ntati ves referred in their statsnents to issues raised in

the Further Report of the Secretary� Conoeming the Inplercentation

of Security Council Resolutioo 435 (1978) and 439 (1978) concerning the

Question of Namibia (S/15943 of 29 August 1983) • '!hey expressed ca1oern

that extraneous and irrelevant issues to the Question of Namibia cx:ntinued

to irrpede the inplercentation of the United Naticns Plan on Namibia. 'lhey

called on the Security Council to reassert itself and proceed with the

i.nr.ediate inplerentation of the Plan.

'!he tone of the debate at the 38th Sessicn was at the sarre level as

that of the debate at the 37th Sessicn. The front-line States reiterated '·

their position on the Question of Nanibia, calling for the ir:rredi.ate

i.ztt>lerrentaticn of Security Council resolution 435 (197R) • Zambia and Zint>al:Me as well as Tanzania called for practical n:!asures to re taken in acoordance with the provisions of the United Nations Olarter to ensure

the inplerrentatioo of Security Council resolution 435 (1978) •

Mule at the 37th Sessicn staterents by the representatives of the

front-line States referred to the \vork of the Western Contact Group,

they seer:ecl to have refrained at the 38th Session to making any reference

to the relevance of the Contact Group in the �tiating process on tl--e ()uestion of Nami.l:Jia.

-2-

'Ihe :representative of Angola was clearer in his stat:ertEnt at the

38th Sessioo as to the :requirertents of AB;)ola than in the 37th Sessioo.

Angola demanded the followin;J: (a) inmediate and \lllCX)nditional

withdrawal of South African� fran Angolan Territo:r�n (b) speedy

i.nplementation of Security <hlncil :resolution 435 (1978) : (c) cessation

of South Africa's attacks on Angola; (d) cessation of all logistic an::1

mill taey support of UNITA.

'Ihe Foreign Minister of Ethiopia speakinq on behalf of the Chairman

of the organization of African Unity stated that the organization of

African Unity held South Africa and mertbers of the \'1estem Contact Group

respcnsible for the delay in inpler.enting Secw:i ty Council resolutioo

435 (1978) • He :rejected that linkage policy and called for the

adq>tioo of catp:rehensive and nandato:ry sanctions against South Africa.

At the 37th Session , the representative of Ethiq:>ia had also called for

the adcption of CXITp:rehensive and mandatory sanctions against South Africa.

Sare r.embers of the Contact Group, especially the United States and

France did not make any :reference to the QJestioo of Namibia in their

staterrents in the General tebate at the 38th Session. '!he President of

the United States made a general reference to the political situatioo

in southern Africa, CXITparing it to that prevailing in Central Arrerica

aiXi stating that the United States discourages :reliance upon fo:rce and

seeks to construct a fr�:rk. for peaceful negotiatioos. At the

37th Session, the United States Secretary of State l""ade a brief rrention

of Narnibia.

HOt.;ever , the representative of Canada stated that linkage cx:mld not

be a p:reoax:li.tioo. for the int>lemmtation of the united Nations Plan.

'I11e first step towards the inplerrentation of the Plan according to the representative of Canada was that South Africa MUSt end its incursions

and interventions in Angola.

-3-

'l1le representative of the united Kingdan reiterated the {X)Si tioo that

his Goverrrnent together with other menbers of the �estem Contact Group

\\Ould amtinue to use its \\eight am influence to help ill'plercent

Security Ccnmcil resolutioo 435 . '!be representative of the Federal

lepllblic of Gennany stated that the presence of foreign troops inpaired

any effort to resolve amflicts by peaceful rreans .

other .representatives of States who made staterrents at the 38th

Session basically reiterated the positions they had taken at the

37th Session maintaining that the policy of linking the presence of

CUban troops in Angola with the Questioo of Namibia was a direct

interference in the internal affairs of Angola. They coodermed the <Xtltinued illegal occupation of Namibia by South Africa , the acts

of aggression and subversion against the African independent States

in the region and called for assistance to the struggling people of

Angola.

It should be noted that soon after the end of the General [):!bate

at the 38th Session, the Security <Duncil rret fran 20 to 28 October 1983 to discuss the Question of Nanibia. Fifty-one stater:elts were made durina

those rreetings. M:>st of the stater.ents reiterate1 the s� positions

that had been t.aY..en during the General [):!bate at the 38th Session.

A resolution oondeming and rejecting South Africa • s insistence on

linking the iniependence of Ncrn:ibia to irrelevant and e."Ct.raneous issues

as incaTpatible with resolutioo 435 (1978) , other decisions of the Security COlmcil and resolutions of the General Assembly on Namibia was

adopted l:.y 14 to 0 with one abstention (the United States ) as Security

Council resolution 539 (1983) . In abstaining, the representative of the

United States stated that his Goverrmmt wholly supported the spirit

of the resoluticn and shared the ardent desire of the rranbers of th£

Security <Duncil who wished to oontrirute to the p.roducti ve solution

to the problE!!l. However , there \\ere in resolution 539 (1983) certain

elem:mts that caused ooncem to the United States . He stated that the

resolution oontained a nurrber of references to past resoluticns which the United States Governrrent did not supr:ort.

-4-

rAlriD:J the Security Council debate two staterrents were made .by

representatives who had not had the qlpertunity to make statements in

the General Debate of the 38th sessioo , �ly, the representative of

South Africa and that of the South West Africa People • s Qrganizatioo (SWAPO) •

'!he representative of SWAPO reiterated SWAPO's readiness to sign

a cease-fire agxeerent and to co-operate with the Secretacy-<;eneral am

his Special Iepresentatives in the judicioos .ilrpleJrentatioo of the

united Nations Plan .

'Ihe South African representative stated that there was only cne

major issue to be :resolved and that was the withdrawal o£ CUbans fn:m

Angola on the uroerstarrling that they �d not be replaced by any other

hostile forces .

HORN OF AFRICA

HORN OF AFRICA

Sudan-Ethiopia Relations

In November 1 9 8 3 , tension flared between Ethiopia

and Sudan when Pres ident Nurneiri accused Addis Ababa of

backing anti-government Sudanese rebels. Ethiopia

dismissed the charges as "baseless and outrageous", adding

that some 2 5 , 0 0 0 southern Sudanese Christians and arninists

had sought refuge on its territory alleging persecution

by Moslem troops from northern Sudan. International

organi zations vis iting the area had confirmed the refugee

status of these people, Ethiopia further said.

Sudan also accused Ethiopia of preparing to launch

an armed attack against one of its border towns. Ethiopia

again rejected the allegations , suggesting instead that

President Nurneiri was trying to distract attention from

internal problems and secure more U . S. mil itary aid.

The accusations , it said, were made to coincide with President

Nurneiri's visit to Washington the same month. Relations

between the two state s have long been uneasy because of

bases which Eritrean secessionists use in Sudan to carry

out armed actions against Ethiopian troops .

Sudan had reported earlier that month that rebel

forces based in Ethiopia had launched an attack into

southern Sudan and had been repulsed with heavy los ses,

in a new upsurge of dissident activity.

Sudan-Libya

Sudan has repeatedly accused Libya of fomenting unrest

in the southern region of its territory. In May 1 9 8 3 , a

military rebellion was crushed and 70 mutineers were said

•

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to have been killed by the Sudanese army in the south.

Sudan and Egypt further accused Libya in February 1 9 8 3

o f sending arms to rebels in Sudan and mass ing'

troops

on the border in preparation for a coup in Khartoum,

which was only prevented by a U. S. show of force in the

Mediterranean. Tripoli has denied both claims.

On 18 February 1 9 8 3 , the Ambassadors of Egypt, Sudan

and Libya as sured the UN Secretary-General of their

governments ' wis h to reduce tension along their borders.

.. •

GlOBAL NEGariATIONS

�----·-�----- ----- -

T Brief for the Secretary-General on Global Negot iat ions

On Tue s day , 20 December , the P l enary o f the General Assemb ly t ook up item 3 8 "Launching o f g l obal negot iat ions o n internat i ona l economic c o-operat ion for deve lopmen t " . After the Pre s ident o f the General As semb ly informed the mee t ing on his ini t ia t ives and ac t iv i t i e s , and proposed how t o cont inue deal ing with the i s sue , a number of de legat ions t ook the f loor t o voice the i r support for h i s e f forts and propo s a l s .

The forma l dec is ion o f the As semb ly was t o leave the i t em open in order that informal c onsultat i ons might cont inue after the se s s ion ' s sus pens ion and so that the As semb ly might rec onvene on short not ice in the event that any dec i s ions or agreements emerged from the c onsul tat ions .

In order to ach ieve this result , the Pre s ident o f the General As semb ly he ld b i lateral c onsu1tat ions with .de legat ions of the Group o f 7 7 , the Wes t e rn c ount r i e s , the soc i a l i s t count r ies o f Ea s t e rn Europe and China . On 1 9 December , he he ld a f inal round o f mul t i latera l c onsultat ions with a l l of the de legat ions that had act ive ly part ic ipated in the exp loratory c onsultat ion s led by Ambas sad or Muftoz-Ledo of Mex ic o . At that meet ing , as we l l as in the s t a t ement s before the P lenary of the General Assemb ly , de legat ions expre s sed the ir approval for the init iat ives taken by the Pres ident and c ommended h i s e f fort s t o reach c oncret e result s .

The Chairman o f the Group o f 7 7 expre s sed in the P l enary that the open and f rank d i s c u s s ions dur ing the exp lorat ory c onsultat ions had brought a l l part ies to a good under s t anding . The p ropos a l o f the non-a l igned c ount r i e s and o f the Group o f 7 7 o n a two-phases approach t o c onduc t ing the g loba l negot iat ions provided the bas i s for these d i s c u s s ions . Ambas sador Muftoz-Ledo added that the level of the informa l c onsultations had fac i l i t ated a better interpretat ion of the Vers a i l l e s text and he as sured the As semb ly that "al l o f us c ould agree i f the att i t udes o f de legat ions c ont inued t o be pre s ided over b y good faith and a genuine de s ire f o r c ompromi s e " .

The de legat i ons of the wes tern c ount ries a l s o agreed that the exp lorat ory c onsultat ions were very useful in c larifying a number of i s sues and , i f the same spirit cont inued , many o f them fe lt that s ome c oncrete prop o s a l s would emerge . The more caut ious wes tern de legat ions were the EEC and the USA . EEC want s the consultat ions to p roc eed in a very informal way in order to s ound out further the Group of 7 7 . The USA i s o f the opinion that the c onsul t a t ions should proceed but that there was s t i l l much to c lar i fy by the Group of 7 7 .

The s oc i a l i s t c ountr i e s o f East ern Europe and China supported fully the e f fort s of the Pres ident and expre s sed the ir dec i s ion to work for the early launching o f the Global Nego t iat ion s .

The propos a l made by the Pre s ident o f the General As semb ly - and accepted unanimously by the As semb ly - wa s that these c onsultat ions should c ont inue within a s imi lar f ramework and beyond the present s e s s ion o f the General As semb ly . The proc e s s should c ont inue dur ing a c oncentrated per iod of t ime , pre ferab ly without interrupt ion , in order that delegat ions may consult c ont inuous ly and spec i fy the d i f ferenc e s that may s t i l l exi s t , so that the ir Government s c ould dec ide upon measure s to be undert aken for the l aunching o f the G l ob a l Negot iat ions . The Pre s ident added that he wi l l c onvene a new mul t i lateral meet ing t o report the p rogr e s s of these cons ultat ions at a date that should not go beyond the end of March 1 9 84 , in order for the Genera l As s embly to be in a pos it ion to take an appropriate dec i s ion during the s ame month for the launch ing of Glob a l Negot iat ions .

6�llugo Cub i l los � 2 2 December 1983

- - -· . ·-···· . ---=--------------------------------'--

UNITED NATIONS SUDANO..;.SAHELIAN OFFICE

(

UNSO/HQ 8 December 1983

UNITED NATIONS SUDANO-SAHELIAN OF FICE

1 . UNSO wa s e s tab l i shed by the Secret ary-General in 1973 , in the a f t ermath

o f the 19 68- 19 73 dr ough t which devas t a t ed ec onomic and s oc i a l l i fe in the

Sahe l , t o he lp the mo s t severely a f fec t ed Sahe l ian countries i n the

imp l ementat ion o f their drough t -re l a t ed med ium- t erm and long- t erm recovery

and rehab i l i t a t ion programme . The o r igina l number o f countrie s a s s i s t ed by

UNSO under th i s mandate was s ix , re f l ec t ing the i ni t i a l member s h i p of the

P ermanent I n t er - S t a t e C ommi t t e e on Drough t Con tro l in the Sahe l ( C I LS S ) ,

name ly Chad , Ma l i , Maur i t ania , N iger , Senegal and Upper V o l t a . In Dec emb er

19 73 , Gamb ia was added to the l i s t o f CILSS countries , fo l l owed by C ape

Verde in Dec ember 19 75 , expanding the group o f UNS Q- a s s i s ted c ountr i e s und er

i t s drough t - re l a t ed mandate to the pre sent numb er of · e ight .

2 . By now , UNSO has deve loped into an ins t i t ut ion o f th e Uni t ed Na t ions

sys t em mand ated by the Genera l As s emb ly to ac t as th e c e ntral po int and

pr inc ipa l body re spons ib l e for c o-o rd ina t i ng th e e f fo r t s o f Un i t ed Na t ions

agenc ie s in he lp ing the c ount r i e s o f the Sah e l , S t a t e s memb ers of C ILSS , t o

impl ement their med ium- t erm and long-t erm rec overy and rehab i l i t a t ion

programme .

3 . In Dec emb er 19 7 8 , the Genera l As semb ly c onferred on UNSO a second

mand at e de s ignat ing it , in add it ion t o i t s ori g ina l func t i ons , as " the arm

o f the Uni ted Na t ions t o be respons i b l e for a s s i s t ing , on beha l f o f the

U n i t ed Nat ions Environme nt P rogramme (UNEP ) , the e f for t s of the fi ft een

c oun t r i e s of the Sudano-S ahe l ian reg ion s i tuated s outh of the Sah ara and

nor th of the equa t or t o implement the P l an o f Ac t ion to C omb at De s er t i fi­

c a t ion" ; in imp l ement ing th i s mandate , UNSO opera t e s under a j o int venture

i

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o f UNDP and UNEP . The origina l f i fteen countries , fa l l ing under th is

mandate , were as fol lows � C ape Verde , Chad , E thi opia , Gamb i a , Ke ny a , Ma l i ,

Mauritani a , Niger , Nigeria , Senega l , Soma l ia , Sudan , Uganda , United

Repub l ic o f C ameroon and Upper Volta ( i . e . , all eigh t S t ates members o f

C I LSS were inc luded ) .

4 . In 1 9 80 , Dj ibout i , Guinea and Guinea-B i s s au were added to the l i s t o f

c ountries rec e iving a s s i s tanc e , through UNSO , in _ implement ing the P lan o f

Ac t ion to Combat De ser t i fication . In 19 8 1 , Be nin was a l so added t o the

l i s t o f des ignated c ountrie s , increasing the group t o the present number

o f nine teen . In 19 83 , the General As semb ly reque s ted the Governing

Counc i l o f UNEP to g ive cons iderat ion to add ing Ghana and Togo to the

l i s t .

S . The e f for t s o f UNSO , in as s i s t ing the c oncerned c ountr ies in their

drought- re lated and de ser t i f icat ion-contro l ac t iv it ies , aim ma inly a t �

a ) mitigat ing the e f fec ts o f the pas t , pre sent and pos s ible future

droughts ;

b) help ing a l l c ountr ies c oncerned in attaining s e l f-su f f ic iency

in s t aple food produc tion;

c ) enhanc ing the proc e s s o f soc io-ec onomic deve lopment in the areas

sub j e c t to drought , through sec t orial or mu l t i sec t orial

ac t iv i t ies geared at restoring or pro tec t ing the produc t ive

c a pac i ty of the land ; and

d ) arre s t ing and , as much as pos s ible , revers ing the proc ess o f

deser t i f ic at ion in the region .

6 . In d is charg ing its mandates , UNSO carr ies out the fo l l owing main

ac t ivitie s �

a ) a s s i s t ing the c ountr ies and their re spec t ive reg iona l

inst itut ions in the planning and formu lat ion o f pro j ec t s and

progr amme s deal ing with the med ium-t erm and long-t erm rec overy

and rehab i l itat ion programme , as we l l as with de ser t i f ication

contro l ;

b ) a s s i s t ing 1 n the mob i l izat ion o f the re sources nec e s sary for the

implementat ion o f the se proj ec t s and programmes , e i ther on a

I . . .

- 3 -

b i la t er a l bas i s , or through c ontr ibut ions to the Un ited Nat ions

Tru s t Fund for Sudano-Sahe lian Ac t iv i t ie s ; and

c ) manag ing the Trust Fund and init iat ing the impl ementat ion ,

through its resourc e s , o f proj ec t s and programmes not und ertaken

b i latera l ly or mul t i laterally .

7 . Proj ec t s supported by UNSO c over a wide range o f ac t ivitie s ; they are

c onc entrated in the agr ic ul tural sec tor and inc lude the deve lopment and

improveme nt o f wat er re sourc e s , fores try , inc lud"ing conservat ion , a f fore s­

tat ion, re fore stat ion and fue lwood plantat ions , range land and l ivestock

management , the d eve lopment of irr igat ion systems , the local manu fac ture

of agr ic ul tural t oo l s and equ ipment , the e s t ab l i shment and operat ion o f

seed mu l t i p l ic at ion programme s , the s t reng thening o f crop prot ec t ion

capab i l it ies , s and dune f ixat ion , a l t ernat ive s ource s o f energy ,

ins t itut ional support , re sear ch training , po l icy planning and

c o-ordinat ion . In add it ion , spec ial empha s i s is g iven to the development

and s t re ng thening of nat iona l and regiona l in fra s truc tures in the fields

o f feeder road transport sys tems , s t orage fac i l i t ie s , telecommunicat ions

and agro-me te oro log ical s erv ic e s .

8 . Of spec ial prominenc e among UNSO-a s s i s ted reg iona l ac t iv i t ies � s the

programme for the cons truc t ion , improvement and maintenanc e of a

region-wide sys t em in the Sahel o f all-weather feeder roads cons idered

e s sent ia l to provide year-round acc e s s to iso lated , drought- prone areas .

The e s t ima ted c o s t o f the programme , c ompr i s ing a lmo s t 5000 kilome ters o f

roads , i s over US$203 mi l l ion ( at 1982 pric e s ) . Of thi s amount ,

approximately US$130 mill ion had been sec ured by September 1983 for the

cons truc t ion of some 3000 kilome ters o f road s , e i ther on a b i lateral or

mu l t i lateral bas i s , or through contribut ions to the Trust Fund .

Approximate ly 1700 kilom� t ers of feeder roads have al ready been

cons truc ted with UNSO support ; of the se , c lose to 200 k i lome ters were

c ompleted during 1983 . It is now man i fes t that the feeder road

progr amme , which began as a modest venture pr imar ily designed to ensure

year- long acc e s s to iso lated regions o f the Sahe l , chronic a l ly a f fec ted

by drough t and relat ed nat ura l ca lami t ie s , i s bec oming an important

e l ement in the over- a l l deve lopment proc e s s o f the Sahel .

I . . .

' .

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9 . As a r e s u l t of the expand ing operat iona l c apab il i ty of the O f f ic e and

the dynam ics o f proj ec t planning and imp l ementat ion , the numb er of .

UNSQ- suppor t ed pr o j ec t s under the mandate of drough t -re lated recovery and

rehab i l i t at ion has inc reased s inc e 19 7 5 from 52 ( 2 1 regiona l and 3 1

nat iona l ) , cos ted at approx imat e l y U S $ 1 5 3 mi l l ion , t o 13 6 ( 3 3 reg iona l

and 103 nat iona l ) , requ iring a total f inanc ing of over U S$ 7 29 mi l l ion .

By Oc t ober 19 83 almos t U S $ 4 7 2 m i l l ion of th i s amount had become

avai lab l e from various quart ers . Th i s inc l uded b i lat era l and

mu l t i la t era l sourc e s , as we l l as a lmo s t U S $ 7 8 mi l l ion c ontr ibut ed by and

through the United Nat ions Trus t Fund for Sudano- Sahe l ian Ac t iv i t ies .

10 . In the c our s e of the ini t i a l deser t i fi cat ion contr o l pl anning and

programming mi s s ions , a t o t a l of 107 priority ant i-de s er t i f ic a t ion

pro j ec ts , some of th em a l ready operat iona l , c os t ing US$640 mi l l ion h ad

been ident i f i ed as fa l l ing with in the scope of the P l an of Ac t ion to

Combat De ser t i fi ca t ion , and submi t t ed by the Governments t o UNSO for

a s s i s tanc e , inc l ud ing re sourc e mob i l i zat ion . By Oc t ober 19 8 3 , th i s

numb er and volume have increased to 309 pr oj ec ts ( 2 6 reg iona l and 2 83

nat iona l ) , inc lud i ng programming and formu l at ion m i s s ions imp l emented

dur ing 19 8 1 - 19 83 , requir ing a total fi nanc ing o f over US$743 mi l l i on . Of

thi s to ta l , more than US$ 4 1 2 mi l l ion i s a l re ady ava i l a b l e from d i f f e rent

quar t ers ; these inc lude b i l a t era l and mu l t i l a t eral sources , as we l l as

a lmo s t US$38 m i l l ion provided through the United Nat ions Trus t Fund for

Sudano-Sahe l ian Ac t ivit ies .

1 1 . In genera l , because of the very na t ure of its mandates , UNSO t end s t o

a s s i s t proj ec t s wh ich c e ntre on the prob lems and l iv ing cond it ions o f the

poore s t segments o f the populat ion , regard less of whe ther they l ive in

c ount ries o f fic ia l l y de s i gnated as least deve loped or in areas o f ext reme

nat ura l , ec onomic and soc ia l hard s h i p in c ountr ies no t so des ignated .

I . . .

UNSO/HQ

NOTE

LE COMITE PERMANE NT INTER-ETATS DE LUTTE CO NTRE LA SECHERE S SE AU SAHEL

CI LSS

8 d�c embre 1983

Cr�� en 19 7 3 au mome nt ou les cons �que nc e s de l a s �chere s s e qu i a s �v i au c ours des ann�s 1969 - 1 9 73 dans l a R�g ion Soudano-Sah � l ienne � t a ient arriv� e s h u n point cu lminant , le C I LSS regroupe auj our d ' hui les hu it � t a t s d e l ' Afr ique de l ' Oue s t su ivant s :

C ap-Vert , Gamb i e , Haut e-Vo l t a , Ma l i , Mauri tanie , Niger , S�n�ga l , e t Tchad .

Ce c om i t � s ' e s t dot� des ins t anc es suivant es

La conf�renc e des Che fs d ' Etat qu i se r�un i t tous les deux ans . La pr�s idenc e de l a c onf�renc e e s t assur�e h t our de r3 l e par l e Che f d ' Etat d ' un de s pays memb re s pour une dur�e de deux ann�es . 1 1 n ' y a pas de r�gle � t ab l i e pour l ' ordre dans l eque l la rotat ion s ' exer c e . Ac t ue l l ement , l e pr�s ident e n exerc ic e d u C I LSS e s t l e P r � s ident d u Cap-Vert , Son Exc e l lenc e Ar i s t ides Mar i a Pere ira . L a procha ine c onf �renc e des Che fs d ' E t a t se r�unira h N i amey fin j anvier 1984 ( probab l ement les 2 7 et 28 j anvier ) . Le proch a in pr�s ident en exerc ic e du C I LSS s era le Pr�s ident du N iger , Son Exc e l lenc e Se iny Koun tch� .

Le Cons e i l des Ministres du C I LS S c ompos� des min i s tre s du D�ve lop­pement Rura l de s gouvernement s des pay s memb re s , qui se· r�un it une fois par an s ous la pr �s idenc e du "M i ni s tr e Coordonnateuru d�s ign� pour une p �riod e de deux ans �ga l ement . L ' ac t ue l min is tre c oordon­nateur e s t le Mi n i s tre du D�v e l oppement Rur a l du Ma l i , Mons ieur N . Kon� . L a pr� s ide nc e du Cons e i l des Mini s t re s e s t a s s ur�e h t our d e r 3 l e par l e Ministre d u D�ve loppement d ' un pay s membre . I l n ' y a pa s de r�gle � t ab l ie pour l ' ordre dans l eque l la rotat ion s ' exerc e . Le prochain ministre c oordonnateur sera d�s ign� en j anvi er 1984 .

Le Secr� t ariat ex�c ut i f du C I LS S dont le Si�ge e s t h Ouagadougou , e t q u i a , h s a t �t e , le secr�t a ire ex�c ut i f d� s ign� pour une p�riode de tro i s ann�e s . Ac tue l l ement , l e Secr�t a ire ex�c u t i f est Mons ieur Seck Marne N ' D iak de Maur itanie . La d� s ignat ion ( ou rec onduc t i on ) du procha in s ec r � t a ire ex�c u t i f int erv iendra lors de la procha ine con f�renc e des Ch e fs d ' E t a t s qu i s era pr�c�d� de la 1 9 �me ses s i on du Cons e i l des Ministre s , ( t outes deux pr�vue s h Ni amey fin j anv ier 198 3 ) .

I

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Le Secr�tariat ex�c ut i f du C ILSS c omprend des technic iens des pays sah�l iens d�tach�s par leurs gouvernements respec t ifs et des exper t s fourni s par l e s d i f f�rents partena ire s d u C ILSS parmi lesque l s on notera l e s Etat s-Unis d ' Am�r ique , la �pub l ique f�d �rale d ' Al lemagne , la C ommunaut� Economique Europ�enne ( CEE ) , l ' Organis at ion des Nat ions Unies pour l ' Agriculture et l ' Al imentat ion ( FAO ) , le Programme des Nat ions Unie s pour le D�ve loppement ( PNUD ) .

Le mandat du C ILS S peut se r�sumer A la c oord inat ion sur une base r�g io­na le de s e f fort s entrepris par les pays memb re s du C ILSS en vue de lut t er c ontre les e f fe t s de la s �cher e s s e et c ontre la d�ser t if icat ion . A l ' or ig ine le C I LSS , - en adoptant un programme d it de "premi�re g�n�rat ion" , s ' �t a i t f ix� c omme premi�re pr ior i t � la recherche de l ' aut o- s u f f i sanc e a l imentaire au niveau r�g iona l puis au niveau nat iona l .

Dans s e s e ffor t s , le CILS S re�o i t un c oncours part icul i er du Bureau des Nat ions Unie s pour la R�g ion Soudano-Sah�l ienne (UNSO ) et du C lub du Sah e l (organisme de l ' OCDE , dont le Si�ge e s t A Pari s ) .

Le s ac t ivit�s de l ' UNSO , re lat ive s au C I LSS et A ses E t ats-Membres , cons is­t ent e s sent iel lement A :

Promouvoir aupr � s de la Communaut� internat iona le des b a i l leurs de fond s , le s proj e t s et programme s du C I LSS et de ses Etats-Memb res .

Mob i l iser les re s sourc e s n�c e s s a ires A l ' ex�cut i on des pro j e t s et programme s pr�c it�s .

As surer , par l ' interm�d iaire des administrat ions loc a l e s et , quand c e la e s t n�c e s s a ire , avec l ' int ervent ion des agenc e s d ' ex�c ution de s Na t ions Unies , la r�a l i sat ion des proj e t s et programme s nat ionaux ou r�g ionaux f inanc � s par le Fond s d ' Affec tation Sp�c ia l des Nat ions Unies pour les Ac t ivi t�s Soudano-Sah� l i enne s ( Trus t Fund ) g�r� par l ' UNSO .

Par t ic iper , c onj ointement avec le C lub du Sahe l , aux e f for t s de programmat ion , s o it au niveau nat ional soit au niveau r�g iona l , entre­pr is par le CILS S , notamment dans les sec te-urs de la lutte c ontre la d� s ert i f ic at ion .

Les re lat ions de c oop�rat ion entre l 'UNSO et l e s d i f f�rentes ins tanc es du CILSS sont par t ic u l i�rement fruct ueuses . La c oord inat ion accrue de s ac t ions entrepr ises par le C ILS S , le C lub du Sahe l et l ' UNSO , en faveur des pays memb re s du CILSS dans les domaine s de la lut t e c ontre les e f fe t s de la s�chere s s e et c ontre la d�ser t i f icat ion r e s t e c ependant ins c r i t e A l ' ordre du j our .

Au c ours des deux derni�res ann� e s , l ' UNSO a accru sa par t ic ipat ion A la pri s e en charge de c ertaine s d�pense s de fonc t ionnement de Secr� tariat ex�cut i f du CILS S . C e t t e nouve l le approche a r�sult� des d i f ficu lt�s f inanc i�res importantes rencontr�es au cours de c e t t e p�riode par l ' ins t itut ion .

. . . / . . .

INTRODUCTION 'IO AFRICAN CIVU.IZATION

Chapler Fiv'

T H E G O L D E N A G E O F W E S T A F R I C A

The history of West Africa dates back to a remote antiq­uity. An African scholar, Abdurrahman Es-Sadi, who was born in Timbuktu in 1 596, wrote the Tarikh-es-Sudan (History of the Sudan). In this work the author claims that there was a town on the banks of the Niger River near where Gao is now situated, which was flourishing in the days of the eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt. The Tarikh was translated from Arabic to French by Professor Houdas of the Oriental School of Languages. So far as we know, there has been no English translation of this important work. Lady Lugard, who made a scholarly study of the ancient history of the western Sudan in the early part of the present century, seems to have obtained a good knowledge of the best sources and authorities dealing with that period of history; so we con­sider it proper to cite some of her reflections on the Tarikh­es-Sudan.

The ancient capital of the Songhay Empire stood where Gao now stands upon the Eastern Niger, and was generally called Kaougha or Kaukau by the ancients . . . . The "Tarikh" tells us that, according to tradition, it was from this town that Pharaoh obtained the magicians who helped him in the con­troversy which is related in the Twentieth Sourate of the Koran as having taken place between him and Moses. Barth, travelling through this neighborhood in the middle of the nine­teenth cenrury, also heard at Burrum, a little town near Gao, that it had once been a residence of the Pharaohs [A Tropical Dependency, p. 1 5 7 ] .

Another \Vest A frican city that has laid claim to an antiq­uity that connects it with ancient Egypt is Jenne.

196

T H E GOLDEN AGE OF W E ST A F RI CA 197

The most westerly manifestation of the influence of ancient Egypt in the Soudan [to quote again her Ladyship) is placed by the talented author of "Timbuctoo the Mysterious" in this town of Jenne, where, when he visited it at the end of the nineteenth cenrury, he found to his amazement, "a colony of Ancient Egypt" in the heart of the Sudan. He describes the architecture of Jenne as "neither Arabic nor Byzantine, Greek nor Roman, still less Gothic nor Western." "At last," he says, "I recall these majestically solid forms, and the memory is wafted to me from the other extremity of Africa . • . • It is in the ruins of ancient Egypt, in the Valley of the Nile, that I have seen this art before" [A Tropical Dependency, p. 161].

The talented author of Timbuctoo the Mysterious was Major Felix Dubois, a noted French authority on West African history.

Another place in West Africa that can boast of an ancient past, according to Lady Lugard, is Borgu.

We have seen in the "Tarikh-es-Sudan" that Gao was cele­brated in ancient times as a town of magicians, whence the Pharaoh on occasion summoned help. Borgu and its neighbor­hood to the south of Gao is to this day celebrated for the pursuit of magic, and the whole coast of West Africa is per­meated with a belief in witchcraft and charms. Doubtless when Egyptian records speak of the south, they f�eq�ently mean Ethiopia and Meroe. But that the name of Et�op1a was extended in some instances as far west as the Atlantic 1s made quite clear by ancient writers. Strabo expressly says so [A Tropical Dependency, p. 229) .

Archaeological investigations o f the future will i n all prob­ability bring to light some of the lost history of West Africa. The ancient Ethiopian city-state of Meroe was conquered in the fourth century of the Christian era by another group of Ethiopians, whose capital city was locat�� at Axum

. in

Abyssinia. Meroe became one of the lost cmes of Afnca.

198 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN CIVIL IZATION

Between the fal� of Meroe and the appearance of written records concemmg West Africa, there is a gap of nearly four hundred years; and when written documents become available they �e generally s.urrounded by an aura of mythol­ogy. The earbest account m Arabic of the West African peoples was written in 738 by Wahb ibn Munabbeh. Accord­ing to this eighth century Arab chronicler, among the descendants of the sons of Kush, who was the son of Ham and the grandson of Noah, were the peoples of the Sudan, who were the Qaran (perhaps the Goran, who live east of Lake Chad) , the Zaghawa (who still dwell in western Darfur and Wadai), the Habesha (Abyssinians), the Qibt (the Copts), and the Barbar (the Berbers).

Two centuries later .we get a similar story from the great

geographer, AI Masudt of Baghdad, who published, in 947, a famous book entitled: Meadows of Gold tmd Mines of Gems. In this work, we are told that: "When the descendants of Noah spread across the earth, the sons of Kush, the son of Canaan, travelled toward the west and crossed the Nile. There they separated. Some of them, the Nubians and the Beja and the Zanj, turned to the rightward, between the east and the west; but the others, very numerous, marched toward the setti�g sun." (Cited by Basil Davidson, in The Lost Cities of Afrzc�! P· 54.) In com�enting on this passage, Mr. Davidson says: Somewhere behmd the legend of migration from the valley of the �ile there may lie a large core of historic truth." (The Lost Cmes of A frica, p. 54.)

Lady Lugard expressed a similar opinion on this matter, many

. years ago, and she had the good fonune to have

her vte� confirmed by a meeting with Zebehr Pasha, at Gi­braltar m 1 886. The narrative is best given in her own words:

In corroboration of the view that the trade and influence of Meroe

. may have extended fart�er west than has as yet been

ascertamed by modern exploration, I may mention a fact told

THE GOL DEN AGE OF WEST A F RICA 199

me by Zebehr Pasha . . • • It was that, having occasion to act as the military ally of a certain native king Tekkima, whose territory lay somewhere south and west of the spot marked upon modern maps as Dem Suleiman or Dem Zebehr-that is, presumably about 8 degrees N. and 25 degrees E., he was in­formed that he had to fight against magicians, who habitually came out of the earth, fought, and then disappeared. A careful system of scouring disclosed to. him the fact that they came from underground, and when, after cutting otf their retreat and conquering them, he insisted upon being shown their place of habitation, he found it to be deeply buried in the sand, a wonderful system of temples, "far finer," to use the words in which he described it, "than modern eyes have seen in the mosques of Cairo and Constantinople." It was, he said, such work of massive stone as was done only by the great races of old. Through this underground city of stone there ran a stream, and by the stream his native antagonists lived in common straw native huts. "Were your people, then,'' he asked them, "a nation of stonecutters?" And they said, "Oh, no! This is not the work of our forefathers but our forefathers found it here, and we have lived for many generations in these huts" [A Tropical Dependency, p. 225, by Lady Lugard].

The Golden Age of West Africa, which we propose to discuss in this chapter, covers a time span from the beginning of the eighth century to the end of the eighteenth century. This period of history, in Africa, deals with the records of four great Trading Empires, namely: Ghana (70�1 200), the first great empire of the Medieval Sudan; Mali (1 20� 1 500), which absorbed the empire of Ghana and expanded it westward; Songhay ( 1 350-1 600), which slowly but surely took over the empire of Mali; and Kanem-Bomu, which evolved separately funher eastward in the Sudan.

The Ghanaian Empire of the Medieval era originated in the western Sudan, in a region nonheast of the Senegal River and northwest of the Niger River. At the apex of its political power it ruled over lands stretching westward to the At·

200 I N TRODUCTION TO A F RICAN CIVILI ZATION

lantic Ocean; eastward it extended to the great southward bend of the Niger; southward it expanded to a point near the headwaters of the Niger; and on the nonh the Empire of Ghana faded into the sandy wastes of the Sahara Desert. In its heyday the Ghanaian Empire covered a realm that would include parts of the modem nations of Guinea, Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania. The founders of Ghana were a people known as the Soninkes. They were a group of tribes related by a

common ancestry; and each tribe was made up of a number of dans. Among the most imponant clans of the Soninke were those who were called the Sisse, Drame, Sylla, and Kame. The various clans embodied a system of division of labor that was instrumental in regulating the various functions of government. For example, the Sisse was the clan of the r�ling cl��; for fr?m it was chosen the sovereign, the prin­Cipal polmcal offic1als, and the governors of provinces. The Kame dan provided the artisans who engaged in metal­working, such as blacksmiths, goldsmiths, silversmiths, etc. Other dans specialized in such activities as agriculture, fish­ing, animal husbandry, and the manufacture of clothing.

We Jearn from Soninke traditions that the Ghana Empire had its beginning about the year 3 00 of the Christian era. The first ruling dynasty seems to have been Berber invaders fro� North Africa. These interlopers remained in power unul about 700 A .C., when a leader of the Sisse clan of the Soninkes organized a revolut ion which ousted the Berbers. !he �ninke �ulers built up a� empire by subduing neighbor­mg tnbes. ThlS was comparatively easy, since the Ghanaians had fine weapons and tools of iron, and their neighbors did not. Besides iron, Ghana possessed another source of wealth

�hat "?ade it a _power to be reckoned with, namely a seem­

mgly mexhausuble supply of gold. The first Arab invaders in northern Africa in the eighth century learned from their Moorish converts of the existence in the Sudan of a great nation whose wealth was based on a gold supply of fabulous

THE GOLDEN AGE OF WEST AFRICA 201

extent. The Arabs, chiefly through efforts of their Moorish

allies, had easily taken over the Iberian peninsula; an� they

thought it would be a good idea to cross the desert .and mvade

Ghana. The lure of gold was a powerful attracuo�; so �he

invasion got under way, but it came to naught. The mvadmg

party was decisively defeated by the armed forces of Ghana;

so the Arabs called off the program of invasion and settled

down in towns of the western Sahara and the Sudan and de­

cided to become traders. The Empire of Ghana started out as a kingdom, then an-

nexed other kingdoms, and, like many other J?ng�o� of. the

past, evolved into an empire. The people o.f �hlS ong.�l kmg­

dom called their native land Ouagadou; so 1t IS of some mterest

to learn the origin of the name Ghana. The Sonink::S s�ke

the Mande language, and in that tongue Ghana meant �arnor

king," and was adopted as one of the titles of the Ki�g . of

Ouagadou. Another tide of the king was Kaya Magha ( king

of gold") , in allusion to the vast gold �reasu�es of the coun­

try. As the fame of the Soninke warnor kings. or Ghanas,

spread over North Africa, the �ople there refe�ed to ?,oth

the king and the nation over wh1ch he ruled as G�ana.

The ruler of Ghana was regarded as the pamarch, or

father, of the Soninke people; and besides this h� �as co�­

mander-in-chief of the army, head of the state relig.o�, ch1ef

dispenser of justice, and supreme overseer of the .nauon. On

the death of the monarch, his succe�r was. not his own �on,

but the son of his sister. The Somnkes, lik� most �fn�an

peoples possessed a matriarchal system of soc1al orgamzauon,

and he�ce adhered to the matrilineal principle of success.ion,

which even to this day is a prominent feature of West Afncan

society. · · h

The inhabitants of Ghana enjoyed great pro�penty m t. e

tenth and eleventh centuries. An efficient standmg army �IS­

couraged invaders and kept the peace internally, and the .nch

lands of the realm produced ample crops of cotton, millet,

...... - �

.. 202 INTRODUCTIO N TO A F R I CA N C I V I L I Z A T I O N a?d sorghum. But the chief source of the wealth of the em­prre was not agriculture, but trade. The caravan routes that traversc:d Ghana did � .brisk busines5, bringing into the coun­try van�us commodities that were in demand, including a la�e vanety of food products. These goods were traded for obJects of l�al manufacture such as metal artifacts, cotton cloth, and high-¥rade leather goods. (The famous Morocco leather of the M1ddle Ages was imported by the Moors f the W�st Africans who actually made the product.)

rom But m Ghana

. there were two items that overshadowed all others as potential staples of trade, and these were salt and �old. In Ghana there were neither salt nor gold mines, but It happene� that the Ghanaians were situated at a crossroads v�ntage P?mt where they could control the flow of these highly desrrable substances. The people of the western Sudan south of the desert had much gold, but they had to import salt from the northern Sahara, whereas the people north of the desert possessed an abundance of salt but lacked gold. A trade between the two areas developed and the citizens of �hana, by acting as middlemen, found it very lucrative. Startmg from the north, the �rade route commenced at Sijil­masa, then ran south to salt mmes near the village of Taghaza, a�d

. from t�ere across the desert to Ghana, and to the gold­�mnmg reg1ons further south. Gold became so plentiful that It had to be

.regulated by royal action. A decree was issued that all gold 10 nugget form become the property of the em­peror, a�d the

.people were restricted to the use of gold dust. A Mo�mh

.�nter of the eleventh century, EI Bekri of Cor­dova,

.:n �ntmg a�out the gold situation in Ghana, remarked that: W�thout th1s prec�urion, gold would become so plenti­ful that 1t would pracucally lose i rs value." The imperial tre�sury

.of gold nuggets at the royal palace in Kumbi, the capnal City of Ghana, must have been of incalculable value One nugget

.was so .large rhar it was used as a hitching pos� for the ruler s favome horse. The prize nugget of the royal

T H E G O L DE N A G E O F WEST A F R I C A 203 collection was a lump of gold weighing thirty pounds. The gold which was imported into Ghana came from a place named Wangara. The exact location of W angara is still un­settled, since the old gold traders did not want anyone to know the source of their wealth. El Edrisi (or Idrisi), a Moor­ish geographer, writing in the twelfth century, tells a�ut the gold country of Wangara. His description of the reg1on

· is worth reproducing, but his location of it is certainly false. According to Edrisi:

From the town of Ghana to the frontier of Wangara is an eight days' journey. This latter country is renowned for the quantity and quality of the gold which it produces. It forms

. an

island of about 300 miles in length by ISO in breadth, which the Nile surrounds on all sides and at all seasons. Towards the month of August, when the heat is extreme, and th� Nile ?v�r­flows its bed, the island or the greater part of the Island, 1s. an­undated for a regular time. When the flood decreases, nataves from all parts of the Sudan assemble and come to the country to seek for gold during the fall of the water. Each gathers the quantity of gold great or small which God . has all?tted to him, no one being entirely deprived of the frmt of his

. labor.

When the waters of the river have returned to their bed everyone sells the gold he has found. The greater part is bought by the inhabitants of Wargelan, and s�me by those of

. the

extreme west of Africa, where the gold 1s taken to the rrunts, coined into dinars, and put into circulation for �he

. purchase

of merchandise . . . . In Wangara there are flourishing towns and famous fortresses. Its inhabitants are rich. They possess gold in abundance, and receive productions which are �rought to them from the most distant countries of the world [Cited by Lady Lugard in A Tropical Dependency, pp. 1 1 1-12].

Lady Lugard rightly concluded that the Wangara country could not have been anywhere near the Nile. Her conjecture -that the location was on the banks of the Niger-is just a guess, and we may safely dismiss it as a statement of fact.

204 INTRODUCTION TO A F R I CA N C I V I L I Z ATION �odem scholarly opinion favors the environs of the Senegal Rtv�r as the true location of the Wangara gold fields. The a�ctent gold d�posits of Bambouk and Bure, near the Senegal River, are belteved to have been the sites of the .Wangara gold mines. The merchants of Ghana were shrewd traders, and the government saw to it that expons and imports were duly taxed. A tax of one dinar of gold was levied on every donkey-load of salt that entered the country and two dinars of gold were levied on each donkey-load of salt leaving the country.

T�e North African merchants who wished to trade in gold lirst JOurneyed to Ghana, and the jobbers of that country

�ould lead them with their salt and other merchandise to the nver banks of the gold country. Then the trading was con­ducted through a system known as dumb barter or silent trade When the merchants arrived at the trading site, they would b�at on drums to signal the opening of the market. The traders pded

. up t�e �alt and other goods in rows--each merchant

markmg his ptle with identifying insignia. Then the caravan wo�ld retreat one-half-day's trip from the trading place. Whde. the merchants were absent, the gold miners would come 10 boats loade

.d with gold. A pile of gold would be

placed ne�r every pde of merchandise, and then the miners would rettre a half-day's journey. When the merchants re­turned,

. if they found the gold supply correct, they would

gather 10 the gold, and beat their drums to let the gold miners know

. that the deal was satisfactory and they should come

and pte� up the merchandise. If not enough gold was left in the

.first 10st�nce, the traders left the precious metal untouched

unttl the m10ers brought what they thought was the right amo�nt. In the end each grou� would r�rum separately to the trad10g sp�t, to gather up the1r respective commodities, each pleased wnh rhe result of the exchange.

The W �ngara g�ld �iners were able to keep secret the exact location of theu m10es; but the location of the salt mines

T H E G O L D E N A G E O F W E S T A F R I C A 205 was known to one and all. Salt came mainly from the great salt mines at T aghaza, a town way out in the desert regions. The caravans from the north obtained their supplies of salt from the mines at Taghaza to carry it southward to be ex­changed for the gold of Wangara. Right in the path of this caravan route was Kumbi, the capital city of Ghana; and this city became a great trading emporium. Gold dust was the usual medium of exchange, but salt was so valuable t�at it also was used for exchange purposes. The famous MooriSh traveler Ibn Batuta visited the Sudan in the middle of the fourteenth century and noticed that salt was used as a medium of exchange, in the same manner as gold and silver, and that people who owned slabs of salt cut them up into pieces which they used as money.

Merchants from all directions converged on the markets of Kumbi bringing in an extensive variety of goods. Wheat was the main import from the north; sheep, cattle, and honey came in from the south; whereas dried fruits, raisins, and other food products were drawn in from all points of the compass. The merchants did a thriving business in such l�cally pro­duced goods as leather, and tassels made of pure golden thread, and a popular cloth known as chigguyiya. There was also a brisk demand for imports, such as robes from Morocco, and red and blue blouses from Moorish Spain. Among the exports were gum arabic, which was bought for use in the manufacture of silk in Spain. There was a good market for cowrie shells, which were used for currency, and for such items as ivory, pearls, and copper.

Besides the establishments of the merchants, there were the numerous shops of the various craftsmen dotting the m:u:kets. Blacksmiths turned out iron tools and weapons; gold, Silver, and coppersmiths engaged in the production of fine jewelry. Besides these were the shops of the potters, sandalmakers, and the weavers of cloth. And, sad to relate, there was also a trade in slaves. Since Ghana was a trading empire, the tariffs and

- -

206 INTRODUCTION TO A F R I C A N C I VI L I ZATION

ocher taxes levied by the state brought in a splendid revenue. The traders, on whom the prosperity of the country chiefly · depended, were �ell taxed, but the imposts were not onerous, and the traders d1d not .complain too much, for they made g�d profits, and an efficJent governmental organization main­tamed p�ace and prosperity throughout the land.

Kumb1, the capital of Ghana, was a twin city composed of two towns about six miles apan connected by

'a long boule­

vard. EventuaiJy the spaces between the two towns became s� fill�d with dwellings that the two towns merged into one b•g City. One town, EJ-Ghaba (The Forest), contained a sacred . grove of . trees used for religious purposes by the GhanaJans. Also m EI-Ghaba were the royal palace and a mosque for the use of visiting Moslem officials. The other town was. �pulated by Moslem merchants from the north, whose rehg10us needs were served by no less than one dozen mosques.

By the mid.dle of .the eleventh century the Empire of Ghana had reac�ed Its zemth; then a few years later it began a sud­den decJm� th�t Jed on to destruction. The neighbors of G.hana env1ed Its wealth, and began to make raids on the frm�es of the empire. A strong government and a large and efficient army managed to keep the empire intact during the first �alf of the eleventh century. About this time occurred the rJSe of the Almoravides, a Moslem religious sect. They :were bent on the conquest of Ghana, since that empire, though Jt housed a large Moslem population, was basically a pagan state. The. �fficiaJ religion of Ghana was the worship of the serpent-spun Ouagadou-Bida. _In the year 1 062, the Almoravide hordes under the Jeader­sh•p of Abu Bekr began an invasion of Ghana· but the task was n?t an. easy one, since they did not reach the gates of Ku�b1 unul 1 067. For ten years, first under the Emperor BassJ and finally under his successor Tunka Menin, the peo­ple of Ghana put up a magnificent resistance; but the city

T H E G O L D E N AGE OF WEST A F R I CA 207

fell to the invaders in 1 077. The Almoravide conquerors com­pelled the Ghanaians to submit to Islam and to pay them tribute and taxes; and those who resisted were massacred. When Abu Bekr died in 1 087, the Almoravide organization in the Sudan disintegrated. Surviving members of the Soninke ruling class tried to restore the Empire of Ghana, but they met with no success. The kingdoms of Mali, Songhay, and Tekrur had been parts of the Ghanaian dominions, and these states now declared themselves independent. A branch of the Soninkes established a kingdom further south with its capital at the city of Susu. The outstanding ruler of the Susus, King Sumanguru, captured Kumbi and made it part of his realm in 1 203. But the new kingdom was not to last long. In 1 2 3 5 the Susu army was defeated by hosts of invaders from the new kingdom of Mali. Kumbi held out for five years, and then was captured and destroyed by invaders from Mali. This was the death knell of the once great empire of Ghana.

The new state of Mali was established by the Mandinka (or Mandingo) people, whose capital city, Kangaba, was lo­cated on the Niger River, about 2 5 0 miles south of Kumbi. The first great ruler of Mali was King Sundiata, who ascended the throne in the year 1 2 30. This monarch expanded his kingdom into an empire. The capital was moved from Kan­gaba to Niani; and the king strove to build up a political organization that would guarantee peace and prosperity throughout his realms. He gained control of the salt and gold trade that had in times past been monopolized by Ghana; and of equal, if not more, importance, he promulgated a great program of agricultural expansion. He turned many of his soldiers into farmers. The rich soil was planted with cotton, peanuts, grains, and a variety of other crops. The soldier-farmers were also trained in the raising of poultry and cattle. With an adequate food supply assured, the foundations of the empire were greatly strengthened.

Mali was the first great Moslem state in the Sudan, unlike

·-

208 I N TR O DUCTION TO A F R ICAN C I V I L I Z A T I O N Ghana� whose rulers never embraced Islam. Sundiata, on his dear� m .I 2 55 , was succeeded by one of his sons, named Wah. Th1s ruler adopted the title of Mansa, which means emperor or sultan, and this title was transmitted to his suc­cessors. Mansa W�Ii was an able, but not a great, ruler; and, after the end of h1s earthly career in I 2 70, the country was governed for many years by monarchs of mediocre stature· bur there was a tum of the tide in 1 307, when Mansa Musa i a�cende� th.e thr�ne. In a reign of twenty-five years, he made h1s empue lllustnous, not only in Africa, but in the Middle �ast and E�rope as well. He was a man of many talents and mterests, bemg an ardent patron of the sciences and the arts and also a sincere devotee of the Moslem faith. Though � devout adherent �o Islam, he was not a religious fanatic, and he adopted a pohcy of toleration toward his pagan subjects. One �ay when the Mansa was holding court in Niani, an Egypuan merchant and a Moorish trader were in the crowd gathered in

.�he

.palace courtyard. The Egyptian said to the Moroccan: Is Jt true, as they say, that Mansa Musa is a generous and virtuous prince?" The Moor answered: "I have come to Mali often. Mansa Musa is indeed a good ruler and a devour Moslem." The Egyptian then asked: "Has he believed in that religion long? " "He and his ancestors have been followers of Mohammed for perhap� three centuries," was the reply of the gentleman !rom Morocco, who then told the Egyptian: "Mansa Musa 1s loved by all his people." "Are they all Moslems too?" was the query of the merchant from Egypt. "The men who run the government are Moslems " was the explanation of the Moorish trader. "But they are

'few com­pa

_red to the many people who are still pagans. I understand th1� troubles Mansa Musa. Too many of his people worship many gods, including the sun, moon, and stars. He would

T H E G O I. D E N A G E OF W E S T A F R I CA 209

like to have all his subjects worship the one God the Moslems call Allah."

On one occasion Mansa Musa sent a representative to the goldminers of Wangara, who were pagans, for the purpose of convening them to the Moslem faith. On �he r�turn of the special messenger, the monarch eagerly awaued h1s re�ly; and this is what he heard: "Your Majesty, this is not the time to pursue the Wangara people of the south. They have re­fused to accept our faith. The miners of Wangara even threatened to stop producing gold if they were forced to become Moslems. It would not be wise to try to force them. The Wangara are skilled at forest fighting. They u.se p�isoned arrows. The tsetse fly that brings

_rhe deadly sleepmg sickness

could destroy our anny." This message did not please Mansa Musa. He had hoped

to bring the Wangara goldminers into the Islamic fold; but he had a genuine respect for the rights of al.l the p�ople, �nd deemed it right and proper to follow the adv1ce of hiS coune�.

The greatest event of the reign of Mansa Musa was h1s famous pilgrimage to Mecca, which occurred in 1 3 24. Of all pilgrimages to Mecca, this one was beyond all doubt the most spectacular. After months of preparation, the royal pilgrimage, 60,000 strong, started the long trek to Mecca. To finance this journey, 80 camels were loaded each with 3 00 po�nds of gold dust. All necessities and accessories for such a JOUrney had been provided for-including a highly efficient com­missary department, staffed by excellent cooks �ho prepared elaborate meals which were served to the multuude at each . halting-place.

When Mansa M usa and his entourage reached Cairo, in July, I 3 24, the Sultan of Egypt respo

_nded with a grand c�le­

bration. After visiting the holy. cities of Mecca and Medma in Arabia, the Mansa and his party returned to Cairo. Gold and other valuable gifts were distributed with a lavish hand. There was a slump in the gold market in Cairo, brought about

2 1 0 I N T R ODUCTIO N TO A F R I C A N C I V I L I Z A T I O N

by a sharp increase in supplies of the precious metal, due to generous gifts to prominent citizens of Cairo by M usa. An official of the Egyptian government reported that the Cairo gold market required twelve years to return to normalcy. The Mellestine monarch was such a free spender that he finally ran out of gold in Cairo, and found it necessary to borrow enough money from certain merchants of that city to finance the return trip of his pilgrimage back home; and, he being a good credit risk, the debt was liquidated in due time.

During the visit to the holy cities of Arabia, Mansa Musa was introduced to Es-Saheli, a Moorish poet and architect from Granada. They became friends, and the Mansa one day said to Es-Saheli: "I would like you to return to Mali with me. We need men with your talents."

The Moor smiled, and replied: "Your Majesty, I shall be honored to return with you, and to help in any way I am able."

The elaborate pilgrimage was talked about for years, and gained widespread prestige for Mansa Musa. In the fourteenth century, cartographers of Europe published maps showing the location of Mali and calling attention to the wealth of its sovereign. Jn an atlas prepared for King Charles V of France, there is a drawing depicting Mansa M usa wearing regal robes and a kingly crown, and holding a scepter in one hand and a nugget of gold in the other.

Under M usa I, the Mali Empire embraced an area just about e<lual to that of western Europe. Under the direct rule of the Mansa were provinces governed by ferbers; and the chief municipalities were headed by inspectors, known as mocrifs. Law and order prevailed in the provinces, and mer­chants with their caravans traveled freely, having no fear of handi r ry . Tlu:re were a lso certa in vassal kingdoms not directly I I IHkr i l l l JWria l Cf l l l t rol . D urin!t the regime of l\1 usa r, from thinccn to twcmy-four of rhese semi-independent kingdoms

T H E G O L D E N AGE OF WES T A F R I CA 2 1 1 were in alliance with the empire. A standing army of one hundred thousand men was maintained, of which ten percent were cavalrymen, mounted on camels and horses. W�ile Mansa Musa was away on his pilgrimage in 1 3 2 5, the M�han army, under the command of Sagaman-dir, captured .the ctty of <?ao, on the middle Niger. This place was the capttal of the kmg­dom of Songhay, and this territory he�ce �ca�e � vassal state of Mali. On the return trip from hts haJJ (ptlgnmage), Musa visited the captured city of Gao, and received the alle­giance of the Songhay ruler, King �ssibai. M u� as a meas�re of insuring the loyalty of the new kmgdom to hts rule, earned back to Niani as guest-hostages, two sons of the Songhay king: the princes Ali Kolon and Sulayman Nar. Some years later, after the death of Musa, these princes escaped from Niani, returned to Gao, and founded a dynasty that chal­lenged the supremacy of Mali.

Everything in Mali seemed to be abundan�. The food supply existed in plentitude, and was of such vanety as to assure a balanced diet to all. Large cotton crops were grown, and ample supplies of cotton cloth were manufact�red. From the baobab tree, which grew wild, there were denv�d a me�l

_for

making bread, a red dye, and a. liquid possessmg medtcmal

properties. In cities, towns, and vdlage�, thr�ughou� the land, the various craftsmen plied their respecttve sk1 lls. Bes1des weav­ers, dyers, and tanners, there were blacksmiths, goldsmit�s, silversmiths, and coppersmiths, but the lifeblood of the .emptre was trade· and taxes were the paramount source of mcome for the go�ernment. Trade and commerce �ere b�isk, �nd the tax col lectors of the Mansa performed thetr duues wtth ad­mirable efficiency. In addition to the salt mines of Tagha7.a and the gold mines of Wangara, the Malians tapped

. another

source of wealth: the copper mines of Takedda, wh1ch were situated about 2 50 mi les cast of Gao. It is said that Mansa M usa regarded the Takedda copper mines as

. his pr�me source

of revenue. Foreign merchants who traded m Malt marveled

---

2 1 2 I N TROD UC TI O N T 0 A F R I C A N C I V I L I ZATION ;:�:o�r;spe�ity of the region and noticed that even the

Besid e�p � were not oppressed by poveny.

not onl es

f,NJam, there .were ?t��r great cities in Mali, noted

scholars1ip o�:mme�Jal acuvaucs, but also for culture and

T b k . ong t ese were Walata, Gao, and Timbuktu •m u tu, on the banks of th N' . •

Great Bend of th · e •ger, at the pomt of the at nver was betw G d N' . ;���!:�s b�a��

a��l�at�ss after t��

nem;�e

a:f M��im�!

and culture, Timbukru hng ay. As a �en�er of both commerce

Another cJ'ty . h ad no supenor m the western Sudan m t e western pan f h S d

• for both commerce and scholarsh

� t e u an, also. famous

was an inde endent cit !P• was Jenne. Th1s place

rule of M lp y state, whJch never submitted to the a 1.

When Musa I died i 1 3 32 h Maghan. Mansa Ma n '

.e was succeeded by his son father and du . �han

. was nenher as wise nor able as his

the cio/ of Ti;·��k

has reJgn Mali went into a decline. First, the Mossi co

tu �as lost to enemy forces. An army of city early �n r�:

;e�

go ��v�\�ca� the

TVolta Rive� attacked the

defending th · 0 ag an. he Mandmka garrison e cny, was overpowe d d T' '

captured and burned. Secondly M re ,

Man

I Jmbukru was

enough to prevent the es '

f an

hsa ag lan was not alert

h cape o t c two Songh · w om his father had been hold' h ay pnnccs

princes returned to G 1 mg as ostages. The escaped

Songhay dyn M hao, � lere they established a new asty. ag an d1ed after a f ·

was succeeded by his unci S I our-year reJgn, and

Musa I Mans S e, u ayman-a brother of Mansa

and he .abl

a �layman was a sovereign of high competence in J

3 59. y presJded over the destinies of Mali until his death The great age of Mali was now d nJlcrs were undistinm,ishcd

atJ

an en ; for the later d' . · o · . men, un cr whom the em . . Jsmtcgratcd. A hout the year I -J75 rl So h E . P!re 1ts capital t c .

' lC . ng ay .mp1re, WJth

M r . a •ao, rose to supremacy m the west Suda a I conunucd to decline. In 1 48 1 p

. n, as ortuguese sailors landed

T H E G O L D E N AGE OF W E S T A F R I CA 2 1 3

on the Atlanric coast of Mali. The Mali government attempted to hire these Portuguese as mercenaries to figh� the rising power of Songhay, but the proposed alliance was never ef­fected. Mali lingered on for nearly two centuries, but its day of greatness had passed into history, and it finally expired from innocuous desuetude.

From times stretching into the dim and distant past, the Songhay people have dwelled alongside the banks of the Middle Niger. The earliest traditions of these tribes tell of two groups of people, who were known as "masters of the soil" and "masters of the water." Other tribes later moved into the area and intermingled with the indigenous dwellers, and this mixture of groups in time became the Songhay na­tion. The traditional accounts of these early days are not con­sistent. A judicial appraisal of these traditions has been made by a talented student of African affairs, which we deem it appropriate to cite:

Tradition says that these migrants included the Sorko, a fisherfolk coming from the east (perhaps from Lake Chad by way of the Benue River) , and the Gow, who were hunters; and these two appear among the founders of the Songhay nation. Their most important settlement was at Koukya, or Gounguia; almost certainly this was near the falls of Labbezenga in the Dendi country, lying on the northwestern frontiers of what is now Nigeria.

Another tradition says that a group of Berber migrants ar­rived at Koukya, perhaps in the seventh centt.Jry A.D., being connected with the Lemta of Libya; and established themselves as chiefs of the Songhay people. Disturbed by this, the Sorko people are said to have migrated upstream and founded the settlement and later city of Gao, and even to have pushed on westward as far as Mopri in the lake region above Timbuktu. The "Berber" kings of Koukya later followed them; in A.D. 1 0 1 0 Dia (or Za) Kossoi took Gao from the Sorko and es­tablished the Songhay capital there, and it is from them that

- - �---

2 14 I N T RO D U C TI O N TO A F R I CA N C I V I L I ZA T I O N the state and later empire of Gao . One need take neither h

may be said to have begun. AU that comes out as r!la

eti�:�es nor �he

hatraditions too seriously.

f G h . Y sure IS t t the Songhay . o ao ad Its organized be . . .

empire that its civilization was the

gm;mgs t th.e r�g�o.n .of Dendi;

fated by migrant incursi . pro

d uc

ht o �atJve lmnatlve stimu-. . on, an t at wnh . oth .

k . nse m early centuries after th , ers, It too Its

tered its Iron Age ( The Lo t � · �estern Sudan had fully en­Basil Davidson].

s mes of Africa, pp. 99-IOO, by We have told of the esca f h Kolon and Sula man N

pe 0 t . e Songhay princes, Ali

Kolon, as legiti�ate hei�\ fro� t�lr captivity in Mali. Ali the last ruler of the n· d

0 t e nghay throne, foJJowed of monarchs caJJed the

��.s:na.s�, ��d established a new line During the

, nm, w lch means "replacement " half of the fr:::�:h

pc:�t�! th:

h fo;ne�nth century and fir�t

graduaJJy extended its swa y,

f e unn� dynasty of Songhay

empire of Mali Whe . 1 o the termory of the declining

succeeded to the Son

hm t e

hyear 1 464, Sunni Ali the Great ng ay t rone an ag f h' ments began Th • e o great ac leve-

Timbuktu, a.

cen;e;e; �g;h was heralded by the capture of

a place where the river p;opl;��me�ce and culture. It was mer for trading purposes· d .

t 1e nomads of the desert

b d . • an Jt was a so the seat f h 1 rare UnJVersiry of Sankore h' o t e ce e-

studenrs from many near d·

d� lch

!attracted scholars and

A h an lstant ands. not er great metropolis coveted b S Jenne, a city established in th h'

y honghay rulers was

Soninkes of Gh . . e t lrteent century by the of the Benue R

��� Jah� ·�ty was situated in the backwaters h�ndred miles southwes/

'of

u����k�e ��ger), �bout three nmety-nine attempts t

· e Mah had made h . 0 capture Jenne durin h d t eJr supremacy in the western S d

g t e ays of Bur Sunni Ali of Songh l

ui

an, and finaJJy gave up. • ay was a > e to dd h · expanding domains. A fter br' . T la t �t City to his

he decided that Jenne should1r:fmg lm >U�tu mto the fold, e next on hJs agenda of con-

THE G O L D E N AGE OF W E S T A F R ICA 2 1 5

quest. The capitulation of Jenne was no pushover, for the siege of the city lasted for seven years, seven months, and seven days. "At the end of the siege, the town," we learn, "yielded by honorable capitulation. No injury of any kind•was done to its inhabitants, and the seven days which are added to the period of the siege were consumed, it is said, by festivities on the occasion of the marriage of Sunni Ali with the widow of the ruler of the town who had died during the siege." (A Tropical Dependency, p. 1 74, by Lady Lugard.) The exact date of the fall of Jenne is not known, but it is believed to have occurred in the year 1473.

Jenne was a valuable prize to the Songhay, since it was a prosperous trading center, containing buildings of attractive design, and surrounded by great scenic beauty. It was also the home of advanced culture, being the seat of a noted uni­versity, which employed a staff of thousands of teachers who gave courses of lectures and conducted researches on a variety of subjects. Their medical school trained physicians and sur­geons of great skill. Among the difficult surgical operations performed successfully by doctors in Jenne was the removal of cataracts from the human eye.

Sunni Ali the Great incorporated much of the territory of the old Mali Empire into his own realm, and before his death in 1492 he had become one of the most famous rulers of his day. In North Africa he was regarded as the greatest sovereign south of the Sahara, and in the annals of Europe . we find him mentioned as Sunni Heli, King of Timbuktu, whose empire extended to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The son of Sunni Ali inherited the throne and, though nomi­nally a Moslem, he was, like his late father, a pagan at heart. Some of his Moslem subjects attempted to convert him to what they regarded as the true faith, but the new sovereign rej ected these overtures, taking the position that his personal religious convictions were none of the business of his sub­jects. The Moslem group staged a revolution, dethroned the

-

I NTRODUCTION TO A F R I C A N C I V I L I ZA T I O N incumbent ruler, and elevated Askia Mohammed I, a devout Moslem, to the sup�eme leadership ?f the Songhay Empire. The �rst sovere1� of the Ask1a dynasty enjoyed much populam}' among h1s Moslem subjects. He relished the society of lawyers, doctors, and students of the Islamic persuasion. He sought their advice and counsel, and bestowed honors upon . th�m. Like every good Moslem, he was eager to make the pdgnmage to Mecca and Medina; and, in the year 1 495, �e proceeded to do so, accompanied by an army of 1 ,000 mfanrry �nd a cavalry detachment of 500 horsemen. Some 300,000 p•eces of gold were allotted for the financing of this trip. One third of the amounr was used to cover the costs of travel; a?other third was distributed as alms in the holy cities of �rab1a, and for the support of an inn in Mecca for the �ousmg of Sudanese pilgrims; and the last third was expended m the purchase of merchandise. While in Egypt, Askia Mo­ha?Imed was �on?red in .a specia� ceremony by the Caliph of Ca1ro, who appomted him as h1s personal represenrative in the Songhay Empire. Since �any neighboring counrries were inhabited by pa­gans, Ask1a Mohammed considered it his duty as a Moslem pote�tate to l�unch a series of jihads (holy wars), in order to brm� these mfidels inro the fold. For -example, he annexed the terntory of the Mossi, on his southern border, and seized a large number of Mossi children, whom he reared as Moslems and trai�ed for service in his army. In or near the year 1 5 1 3, the Ask1a led the armed forces of Songhay into the Hausa States, a complex of kingdoms between Lake Chad and the Niger River. In. time all the Hausa States except Kano capitu­lated. After a s�ege of one year, the king of Kano sued for p�ace; and Ask1a Mohammed displayed the magnanimity of h1s character by allowing the defeated monarch to retain his throne. A� a furt�er gesture of good will, he gave one of his d�ughters m mamage to the king of Kano. After consolidating his Rausa conquests, the Askia subdued the nomad Tauregs of

2 1 6

T H E G O L D E N AGE O F W E S T A F R ICA 2 1 7

Air, and settled a Songhay colony in that region. The military record of the Askia was not crowned with complete success, for one kingdom proved itself invincible. Kebbi, a small king­dom, wedged between the Hausa states and the Niger River, was ruled by King Kama. This ruler, pro�ected �y the strong walls of his capital city, was able to mamtam the mdependence of his nation.

Askia Mohammed must be credited with the creation of a strongly centralized government in the Songhay Empire. The governors of the several provinces :were �h� personal. a� pointees of the sovereign; and a council of numsters was msn­ruted, and was directly responsible to �he crown. The most important ministerial posts were the Chief Tax Collector; the Chief of the Navy; the Chiefs of Forests, Woodcutters, and Fishermen· and last but not least, the Treasurer. The Songhay Empire u�der 1Askia Mohammed not only enjoyed. a high level of material culture, but was also the hom� o� an •�t�llec­tual achievement of no mean order. In the pnnc1pal .cltle� _of West Africa, such as Gao, Jenne, and Timbuktu, umversltl� and other educational institutions were established, and thetr level of scholarship was of a high caliber . . In the schools, colleges, and universities of th� Songhay Empue, cou.r�es were given in astronomy, mathematics, et�n�graphy, �ed1cme, hr­giene, philosophy, logic, prosody, d1ctlon, elocutiOn, rheton�, and music. Professor Ahmed Baba, of the faculty of the U�­versity of Sankore, in Timbuktu, was a scholar of vast eru.da­tion. He was the author of more than forty books, which treated of such diverse fields of study as astronomy, ethnog­raphy, biography, and theology; and he owned a fine library of I ,600 volumes. . When the Askia Mohammed ended h1s career on Earth on March 2, 1 5 38, at the age of ninety-se�en, .he was follow.ed on the throne by his sons, and under theu miSrule the emptre began to fall apart. Daoud, the last son of Askia Mohammed to rule the empire, maintained a stable government from 1 549

2 1 8 I N TRO DUCT I O N TO A F R I C A N C I V I L I Z A T I O N

to 1 5 82. �ut the great days of Songhay power were now fast �pproachmg an end. In 1 585 the salt mines of Taghaza passed Into the hands of the sultan of Morocco. This was a disaster to the �ng�ay Empire, and they were too disorganized to prevent tt. FIVe years later Songhay was invaded by a Moor­tsh army �ed by Judar Pasha, a Spaniard, captured by the M oors tn t�fancy, and reared in the precincts of the royal pal�ce. Thts army numbered only five thousand men but abour half of them were armed with firearms imported

'from England. The superior numbers of the Songhay army were no match �or the gunpowder of the Moors. In 1 591 , both Gao �nd Ttmbuktu fell to the invaders from the north. The Moonsh forces serried down as an army of occupation and quartered themselves in the Songhay cities for another cen­tury and a half. This period completed the decline and fall of rhe Songhay Empire. "From that moment on," we hear from a contemporary Sudanese scholar, "everything changed. Danger took �he plac� of security; povcrry of wealth. Peace gave way to dtstrcss, dtsastcrs and violence " At th b · · f h

· c cgmnmg o t e seventeenth century, the Golden Age of the western Sudan had reached its nadir. A fter the passing of the Songhay Fmpire, \Vest Sudanic culture moved eastward to the Central Sud"n t J( B • .. , o ancm-ornu and the I I a usa

. States; bu� none of these nations ever ros� to the levels arramed hy Ghana, Mali, and Songhay in thetr

. �o

.lden A!!c. The kingdoms of Kancm and Bornu, in the Vtcmtty of I .ake Chad, were originally separate states, but �ey later n_tcrged to form t he Kancm-Bornu Empire. Like hana, l\1a

.h, and Songhay, the beginnings of Kanem-Rornu are

. rooted m a remote past. There arc no written records to whtch we ca� refer, until the early part of the ninth cent�ry. A h�Hi t , that t i ii iC a sn�all grou p of states were clustered a hour I

;�k e (:had, the l l iO�t unporranr hein� those of the Zagawa and K.l�un peop�cs. 1 he early state of K anem-Bornu, in terri­cones srrcrchmg borh easr and wesr of Lake Chad, was first

T H E G O L D E N AGE OF WEST A F R I C A 2 1 9 ruled by kings of the Sefuwa family, and this dynasty man­aged ro survive for about one thousand years. The first king of this line, who ascended the throne about 850, was pagan, and so were his successors until 1086, when a Sefuwa monarch named Ibn Abd al-Jelil embraced Islam and adopted it as the official religion of the state; and all future rulers of Kanem­Bomu of the Sefuwa dynasry, which lasred another eight hundred years, were professing Moslems. The penetration of Islam into the Medieval Sudan was not an unmixed blessing. A judicial appraisal of this quesrion is given in a recent au­thoritative work dealing with West African history, as fol­lows :

The appearance of Islam in the Western Sudan was important for more than religious reasons. It opened many West African states to the influence of Muslims from North Africa and Egypt, and from still further afield, who introduced the arts of writing and scholarship. It insured good trading relations between the Western Sudan and the lands beyond the Sahara, so that contact between Kanem-Bornu and Egypt, Tunisia and Tripoli became valuable and constant. These were clear gains. On the other side it also opened the way for many bitter conflicts between those who accepted Islam and those who did not. Later history has much to say of these religious con­flicts.

The actual size of the empire of Kanem-Bomu varied with time and fortune, as did all these systems. Its central or metro­politan people were the Kanuri, just as the Mandinka were the metropolitan people of Mali and the Songhay the metropolitan people of the empire of that name . . . .

But whether large or small, according to the stress and shift of events, the success of the empire of Kanem can be compared to that of ancient Ghana, while it was perhaps even greater than the empires of Mali and Songhay, if only because it lasted longer. \Vhat the Kanuri and their allies and subjects were able to do, over a very long period and in a region of great im­portance, was to bring the advantages of a single system of

..

220 I N TRODUCTI O N TO AFRICAN C I VI L I Z ATION

law and or�er to a great many different peoples. And it was through . this

.large empire that West Africa kept in regular

touch wuh vual centers of civilization beyond the Sahara, es­pecially Egypt. It was through Kanem that the goods of Egypt and other northern lands, horses and fine metalware, salt and cop�r came into West Africa by way of the Eastern Sahara; and

. It was often through Kanem that the goods of West

Afnca, notably Kola and ivory, were taken in exchange to those northern lands. In this respect the markets of Bornu and Kanem were sometimes as important as the markets of Hausa­land, or as those of �he central and western regions of the Western Sudan (A H1story of West Africa to the Nineteenth Centur!, pp. 84-86, by Basil Davidson, with F. K. Buah, and the adv1ce of J. F. Ade AjayiJ.

For � comprehensive account of Kanem-Bomu history, the reader �s advtscd to consult the book cited above. For a good short btography of Mai ldris ( J 5 80-J61 7) , one of the great rulers o_f _Kanem-Bornu, see Great Rulers of the African Past by Lavm1a Dobler and William A. Brown.

The Hausa States, situated in the region now known as norrhe� �igeria, may justly claim a remote past history, but· most of It ts based on ancient traditions. More or less authentic record� carry us back less than one thousand years. The Kano Chromcle, a collection of traditions of the Hausas, informs us

. that the fi.rst king, or "sarki" of Kano, was Bogoda, whose

re1gn bega.n m 999. There were originally seven Hausa states, namely: B1ram, Daura, Gabir, Kano, Katsina, Rano, and Zaria. These states never formed an empire, nor were they ever brou�ht under the rule of a centralized government; each unit was mdependenr .

. Since they sometimes cooperated with each

other for the attammcnr of common objectives, we may desig­nate them as a confederation of independent states.

The nucleus of each of these states was a city or town in which was located the scar of the government. The p;os-

T H E GOLDEN AGE O F WEST A FRICA 221

perity of these cities was based on agriculture and trade, for the local farmers traded their products for goods manufac­tured by the craftsmen in their shops loca�ed in the ci�ies. These cities in time became foci of international trade, smce they were patronized by traders from other parts of the Sudan, and from Guinea, North Africa, and Egypt.

There was sometimes conflict between city dwellers and the inhabitants of the rural areas. According to the Kano Chronicle the ruler of Kano in the year 1 290 was Sarld Shekkara�. Some of the counselors of the king came to him one day and reponed that a spirit .of rebellion �eemed to be in the air throughout the surroundmg countrystde; and th�y suggested that repressive measures be taken. Shekkarau did not agree with his counselors: He thought that such problems could be settled amicably; so he agreed to meet · .delegates representing his discontented subjects. The delegatton came to the royal palace at Kano and addressed their complaints to the king. They made an eloqu��t plea �or local a�tonomy in respect to their customs and rehgtous behefs, declarmg t.hat: "If the lands of a ruler are wide, then he should be pattent. But if his lands are not wide, he will certainly not be able to gain possession of the whole

. countryside by imp�tie�ce."

Sarki Shekkarau agreed that thetr argu�ent� were mentonou�, and in the words of the Kano Chromcle, he left them theu ' .

power and their own religious customs." By the end of the fourteenth century, Kano and Katsina

had become the great commercial emporia of the Hausas. After 1400, most of the Hausa rulers were Moslems, and there was a wider contact with other Moslem states, such as Songhay and Kanem, which bro�ght �ew ideas and practices into the region. Under monarchs hke Kmg Mohammed Rumfa of Kano ( 1465-99), palaces were constructed, annies organ­ized, and a labor fvrce conscripted. In due time Kano became a thriving center of trade and industry, and even forged

- ,.

222 I N TR O D UCTION TO A F R ICAN C I V I L I ZATION

ahead of Timbukru and Gao. The city of Kano manufactured cotton goods for the entire western Sudan. By the advent of the nineteenth,cenrury, Kano might have become to West Africa what Manchester was to England; but unpredictable tides of history decided otherwise.

The Hausa States were an important link, commercially, between · the other states of the Sudan and the Mediterranean coast. For instance, the Yoruba people sent their trade goods through Hausaland to North Africa, and received their North African imports by way of the same channels. The prosperity of the Hausa States courted invasion from outside. They came under Songhay rule for a short time, but soon regained their freedom. Kano was in vassalage to Kanem for a part of the fifteenth century, but as a rule the Hausa States re­mained independent until the end of the eighteenth century.

Although the Golden Age of West Africa was over by the end of the sixteenth century, there were some parts of the western Sudan that managed to survive and prosper well into the nineteenth century. Between the years 1 8 2 3 and 1 830, among English explorers who visited West Africa, were Dixon Denham and Hugh Oapperton. They expected to find a land peopled by untutored savages; but what they did find was quite different. Winwood Reade, w�o explored the Niger region later in the same century, has left to us a bright pic­ture of what the earlier explorers experienced:

Denham and Oapperton, who first reached the lands of Hausa and Bomu, were astonished to find among the Negroes magnificent courts; regiments of cavalry, the horses caparisoned in silk for gala days and dad in coats of mail for war; long trains of camels laden with salt and natron and corn and cloth and cowrie shells-which form the currency-and Kola nuts, which the Arabs call the coffee of the Negroes. They attended with wonder the gigantic fairs at which the cotton goods of Manchester, the red cloth of Saxony, double-barrelled guns, razors, tea and sug:u, Nuremberg ware and writing paper were

T H E G O L D E N A G E OF W E ST AFRICA 223

exhibited for sale. They also found merchants who offer�d to h their bills upon houses at Tripoli, and scholars acquamted

�;th Avicenna, Averroes, and the Greek philosophers [T.be Martyrdom of Man, p. 230, by Winwood Reade).

I j

I

-

Appendix to Ch.pter y

w� have had o�casic�>n to cite frequently a sch�larl work en�uled A Troptcal Dependency: An Outline of the �1lcien • Hmory of the Western Sudan with an A ccount of the Modt

ern Settlement of Northe�n Nigeria, by Lad Flora Sha� �ug�.�d. The author of this book calls the S�dan "Ne ro­t�nd • however, even a cursory reading of the text shows �hat e people who founded the great nations of the S d not Negroes· 1 h" . u an were

. ' at east t IS IS the opinion of Flora Shaw Lu ard and she IS by no means al . dh . . . g • Mrs Luga d . d " . one m a ermg to this VIewpoint. · r

• 10 lscussmg the Fulah (F 1 " ) •

origin to the neighb h d f u am , traces t he1r

R. or 00 o the sources of the Sene 1 .:aver

h, and then �efers to them as "a partly white race." Af�: t t, er Ladysh1p proceeds as follows:

r

his���c �i::�:\1���::

i:�n:,�rk�ble r;ople in Africa within

this docs not recludc y ccn rom west to cast, but

origin which P m h

the theory of so�e more remote eastern Whether Ph

�>: avEe pre

.ccdcd t

.helr African immigration.

. oemctan, gypttan, Indian or sim I A b h are evidently a race distinct from the N'

"d

P yd

ra ' t ey ty s b hi

cgrm an other black inrth

y w kc� thi have been surrounded, and notwithsta;ld-

peopl� e �;�;t:rm:r���e ���u��g:on ;�::n:r�!on�a�� their

the dlstmctlve qualifications of th . h y kept

. c1r race t rough a kn fr::�:: ;:� t�ousand years. The Fulah of today is as dis�==�

record Ho egro as was the first Fulah of whom we have

record. of t��

o�st:�d��(. ha�e

hexisted in Africa before any

possible to say The H I IS Wit our present knowledge im­

which thou h.

. ausa and the Songhay are other races

Nc ro' t

g black •. are absolutely distinct from the ure g ype (II Tropzcal Dependency, P· 2 Z ] . P In the JV Af · est Tlcan Review, for September, 1 9S l , there

224

THE G O L D E N AGE OF W E S T A F R ICA 225 was an article entitled "The Negro Enigma," by Professor M. D. W. Jeffreys. So as not to risk any distortion of his opinions, we cite extracts from that article in his own words:

The Black Belt, anthropologically speaking, is that area on the earth's surface that comprises the dark-skinned races . . . • The black belt extends from Africa via India, to Melanesia and Australia. In this great arc the position of the Negro is the enigma. At the two ends, or horns, are people who are Negroes, but in the center there are none. The center is oc­cupied by a dark-skinned race, the Hindu, but he offers no difficulty. He belongs to the same race as the European, namely the Caucasian. . • . The Caucasian comes from an old human stock-a stock that is today called modern man. . • . The Swanscombe skull found in Great Britain is dated 2 50,000 years, and is our stock, not Negro. The skeletal remains dug up by the Leakeys in East Africa are us, not Negro. Boskop Man found in the Cape, is dated 50,000 years, and falls into our group, not that of the Negro. There are no Negro skulls of any antiquity . • . . The two Grimaldi skulls, one of a woman, the other of a boy are not Negro skulls. • • . So the enigma deepens: all the evidence points to the Negro being a comparatively recent race and here is the old Caucasian race in a continuous stretch from Britain to India. . . . Now in Africa there is continuous evidence, unlike anywhere else on the globe, of man's uninterrupted occupation of the earth for close on a million years. Africa is thus today accepted by many scientists as the cradle of the human species. Thus, in Africa from the Old Stone Age to Modern times, Modern Man is the tool maker. Nowhere is the Negro, unlike the Bushman, associated with these stone-age cultures.

Let us now tum to the scholarly production of a con­temporary authority. We have in mind It Began in Babel: The Story of the Birth and Development of Races and Peoples by Herben Wendt, translated from the German by James Kirkup. In this interesting work the author has a ten-page dis-

-

226 I N TRODUCTION TO A F R I CA N C I V I L I Z A T I O N

cussion on the topic: Where did the Negroes come from? "Even i� the wises� and most detailed anthropological and ethnolog•cal works, we are told, "no answer will be found to this. �uestion, though there are all kinds of hypotheses, supposmons and questionable indications." (It Began in Babel, p. 368.) First Mr. Wendt takes a look at southern Asia and Oceania and concludes that they could not have been the original home of the Negroes. Then he moves on to Africa, and we are assured that: "The African Negroes are of even more 'Negroid' type than the dark races in Asia and the South Seas. Their skin color is generally darker, their hair woolier �heir lip� more �ro�inent-in short their whole appearanc; IS m?re Negro-hke than that of a Tamil or a Papuan. Ac­cordmgly they must be the pure, original Negroes, and the black race must h�ve had its . birth in Africa. But apart from one or two excepuons, there IS no proof of this. All primitive Africans, ignoring Neanderthal or even older human types, �long broadly speaking to European humanity. . • • Then �� there arc no primeval Negroes in the dark continent, how d1d the Negroes come to Africa?" (Ibid., pp. 368-69.)

Mr. Wendt finally concludes that the word "race" has lost its meaning in Africa, and we should speak instead of "cul­tural group." "It is enough to say here," he concludes, "that there is after all no 'real Negro Civilization, ' but that Africa i� a mirror reflecting the most varied human cultures-just l1ke Eurasia and America." (Ibid., p. 377.)

We do not wish to prolong this discussion unduly but, in contrast to the opinions cited ahove, it is only fair to consider the c�nclusions of Sir Harry Johnston, who has been widely acclauned as an outstanding authority on Africa and its peo­ples. "Whether the African Negro was the first human colo­nizer of �frica," Johnston ":rites, "or was preceded by a lll� 1rc hrutt�h or more gencrahzcd type, such as the Gallcy­J ldl tl lan, ts nor )"l't known to us. But from the little we possess in the way of fossil human remains and other evidence

T H E G O L D E N A G E OF W E S T A F R I C A 227 it seems probable that every region of Africa, even Algeria and Egypt, once possessed a Negro popula�ion. : • .In Egypt a dwarfish type of Negro seems to. have mhabJted the Ntle delta some 1 0,000 years ago; and b1g black Negroes formed the population of Upper Nubia and Dongol.a � late as ab?ut 4,000 years ago." (A Hirtory of the ColoniZilt1011 of Afrtca, p. 5, by Sir Harry H. Johnston.)

Though holding that Negroid peoples can be traced to a very remote antiquity in Africa, Sir Harrr: Johnst�n felt cer­tain that some part of southern Asia, poss1bly lnd1a, was �he original home of this particular branch of the human spec1es.

There is a strong underlying Negroid element in th� mass of the Indian population [Sir Harry declares J and m . the Southernmost part of the great peninsul� there are f�rest �nbes of dark skin and strikingly Negro phystognomy, wtth fnzzled or wooly hair . . • . In the more eastern among the

. Mal.ay

Islands-especially in Buru, jilolo a�d Timor-the t�ten�r tribes are of obvious Negro stock. Sttll mor� marked

. IS this

in the case of New Guinea, and most of all m the Btsmarck Archipelago and northern Solomon Islands. In these las� t�e resemblance of the natives to the average Negr� of

.Afnca IS

most striking, although the distance is somethmg hk� 8,000 miles. Negro affinities extend east of the Solo�on Archi�lago to Fiji and Hawaii, and south to New Caled�ma, Tasmama and even New Zealand. On the other hand, Afnca for many thou­sand years has been obvi�usly the chie� domain of the Negro (A History of the Colomzatzon of Afnca, p. 3 ].

The attentive reader will have noticed that, if John�o� is correct in the conclusions enunciated above, then the opm10ns defended by Jeffreys and Wendt must lack all credence; a�d vice versa. In order to discuss any debatable or controversial question, we must clearly define the subject �atter und�r discussion. If this is not done, then any such dtscourse w�ll end up in a morass of utter sophistry, and will have no valid

228 I NTRODUCTION TO A F R I C A N C I V I L I Z A T I O N

meaning. It is pointless to discuss the question of where did �he Negro come from, or to pontificate on the Negro Enigma, If we do not, first o

_f �11, define the term "Negro." This has

never been done; or 1f n has, we are not aware of it. The late Sir Grafton Elliot Smith was a well-known an­

thro�ologist. Among his many published works was one with t�e �nle of T�e

.Ancient Egyptians and the Origin of Civi­

lzzatz�n. In th1s lntle book, he undertakes the solution of the quesuon of the racial origins of the Egyptian people. He starts off as follows:

"Not a few writers, like the traveler Volney in the eight­eenth

.century, have expressed the belief that the ancient

Egyptians �ere Negroes, �r at any rate strongly Negroid. In rece�t times

. even � wmer so discriminating as Ripley• �sually JS, has g.ven h1s adhesion to this view, which I con­Sider to be the most serious blot on his most valuable and in­tcresti�g memoir, Tbe People of Europe." (The Ancient Eg�ptzans and the Origin of Civilization, p. 3 7, by G. Elliot Smnh.)

.. "Within recent years," we are fun her told by Dr. Smith,

many scholars have advocated the view that there is a large element_ of Negr� in the compositio� of the Proto-Egyptian popu�auon, and R1pley, apparently as the result of a misunder­standmg of Sergi's views, boldly states that the Egyptians and the _whole Mediterranean race are descendants of Negroes! " (lbzd., p. 79.}

Sir Elliot Smith �dmits that the ancient Egyptians were not members of rhe whne race, and he is equally certain that they �ere not classifiable

_ in the black race. The Egyptians, accord­

mg to Professor Smnh, should be listed under the designation of the brown race. "There can be no doubt that in respect of many features," he allows, "rhe brown and the black races present many points of similarity . . . . That there is no close

. ; The lare Professor \\!illiam Z. Ripley of Harvard University· the correct t1t e of the book .referred to is Tbe R11ces of Europe. '

T H E GO L D E N A G E OF WEST A F R I CA 229

affinity between the two races is shown by an analysis and comparison of the intimate structure of the bodies of repre­sentative individuals. In the texture of bone, the architecture of the skull, the nature of the asymmetry of the body and the character of the variations--in these and many other re­spects there is evidence of the profound gap that separates the Negro from the rest of mankind, including the Egyp­tian." (Ibid., pp. 79-80.)

If there is a "profound gap" separating the Negro from the rest of the human race, one would expect Sir Elliot Smith to adduce some evidence tending to validate his theory; but this he does not even attempt to do.

The fact is that the stereotype of the so-called Negro race corresponds to no reality in the objective world. The German anthropologist, Ratzel, in his History of Mankind noted the

fact "that the hideous Negro-type, which the fancy of ob­servers once saw all over Africa, is really to be seen only as a sign in front of tobacco-shops, has on closer inspection evapo­

rated from almost all parts of Africa." (The History of Man­kind, 2nd edition, Vol. II, p. 3 1 3, by Friedrich Ratzel.)

In our own United States anyone reputed to have an Afri­can ancestry, however remote, is supposed to be a Negro. Let's carry this thesis to its logical conclusion. Since there is overwhelming evidence that the Cradle of Mankind was in Africa, then everybody must be considered a Negro. Accord­ing to the theory of evolution, to carry the argument a step further, we all have a common ancestry with the apes; there­fore, we are all apes. If the reader thinks this is an exercise in· leg pulling, we should like to offer the following example.

Soon after the United States became involved in World War II, an open-air political meeting was held in the Harlem section of New York City. In the crowd attending the affair was a gentleman who was in New York on a visit, and next to him stood a member of the staff of the local Y.M.C.A. The two men began to converse with each other, and the visitor

-

230 I N T R O D U C T I O N TO A F R I C A N C I V I L I Z A T I O N

asked the Y .M.C.A. clerk to point out to him the celebrities seared on the platform from which the meeting was being conducted.

The Y.M.C.A. man addressed the out-of-towner, as he pointed to political bigwigs on the platform, as follows:

"Sir! Reading from left to right you will notice a short, stout dark complected man; that is Mayor LaGuardia. Seated next to him you see another man of dark complexion; and he is Commissioner Newbold Morris. They may look like col­ored men from here, but they are, in fact, both white men.

"Now, on the other side of the platform you observe the presence of two men of very fair complexion. The one at which I am pointing is Congressman A. C. Powell, Jr.; and the individual seared immediately to his right is Mr. Walter White, the Secretary of the N.A.A.C.P. Though these two gems look like white men, they are actually Negroes."

Any . word that can be used so ambiguously as "Negro" should be discarded, since for descriptive purposes it is torallv devoid of meaning; but getting rid of this word is not going to ?e easy. That branch of the human race which may be de­scnbed as black or dark brown is customarily labeled "Ne­groid," a word which means "Negro-like." If "Negro" is dis­allowed, then "Negroid " will soon follow it into oblivion; for if "the Negro" is a mythical concept, how can anything be likened to a nonexistent emity. The question naturally sug­gests itself that, if we get rid of the word "Negro," what will we put in its place? This is a fair question, and we have a sug­gestion to present. In ancient times black men were called "Ethiopians." Why cannot we today, following the usage of modern anthropology, refer to members of the Black Race as "Ethiopoids," rather than "Negroids"?

Lord Bertrand Russell, the eminent phi losopher and mathe­matician, stated some years ago that many great men of the past, listed in our history textbooks as white men, were, if the truth were known, in reality, colored men. Offhand we

b

T H E GOLDEN A G E OF W E ST A F R I CA 2 3 1

think o f Spinoza, one o f the great metaphysicians of .all time.

In that deservedly popular book, The Story of P�rlosop�y,

a chapter is devoted to the exposition of the ph�losophical

system of Spinoza. The author of that work, Dr. W1ll Durant,

gives a description of Spinoza as reco�ded by a.

contemporary

biographer. "To the J>onraits of Spmoza which have come

down to us " Dr. Durant declares, "we may add a word of ,

"H description from Colerus." In the words of

. Co�erus: e

was of a middle size. He had good features m his face, the

skin somewhat black, the hair dark and curly, the eyebrows

long and black so that one might easily know by his looks

that he was de�cendeQ from Portuguese Jews." (The Story

of Philosophy, p. 1 7 3, by Will Durant.)

BRIEFS ON THE EIGHT WEST AFRICAN COONI'RIES

'IO BE VISITED BY THE SEI::RETARY-<;ENERAL

BRIEFS 00 THE EXDOfi:C, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL cniDITIOOS OF

EIGn' � AFRICAN CXXNl'RIES '10 BE VISriEO BY THE

SEX:RETARY �

SOCIO-B.X>NOMIC INDICATORS FOR IrnliAS OOUNI'RIES TO IE VISITID ==== �= ================o===================�===== ================= == =======�====== == == ======= ===========================��

Population I Area I GNP � Adult II CEREAL Food Aid Index of ' Ext ernal External n.!POilT Cereals food pro-.. Public Publ ic

COIDll'RY (millions) I (X)() US$ Literac•,r • ooo 1 000 metri � duct ion Debt Debt as �� Km2 % metric tons per 1981 oi" GNP

1901 1911 19('){) tons lry31 capita ($ mil- l9ql 1'.1\1 197�1* lions)

= =================== ========--== =======�= :::!== '--- ====== F========= F========::: f:=:...- = = = === I========= =-======= :::=========

Benin 3. G 113 320 ...,� �3 11 96 5'�9 !)�. 2 Ivory Coast 8. 5 322 1?.00 3� 619 0 110 4 , 4g-; 511 . � Mali � 6. 9 1 , 240 1� 10 102 50 AR 738 6h. 9 Ni�er 5.7 1 , 267 3:30 10 89 11 93 � 3n • .,

Nigeria 87. 6 924 �70 3h 2 , 441 0 91 A , (f)2 fl. C) Sene.r-:al s.9 196 L�30 10 4t:;� 153 7h 944 h2. � Togo 2.7 57 3HO lf\ 62 4 9) �(j) 99. 2 Upper Volta 6.3 2:7A ?1:0 5 71 51 911 29(1 23. 1

= ================= ==================== ======r=======================================================================s �=====

Source a Note s

World Dank, Uorld .Developnent Rep,ort, 1$3, Oxford University Press , New York, July 19.93. *1961-71 = 100

Benin, Ivozy coast, Mali , Niqeria, Niger, Senegal , 'lOgo, am t]R>er Vblta belong to the West African sub-region made up of 16 countries. '!hey are

countries which, despite different historical evolution, share a lot of ecx>ranic ,

social am J;X>li tical experience. All of the CDuntries to be visited I with the exoeptioo of Nigeria which is English-speak:i.I¥}, are Frendl-speaking.

Together, they cxmsti t:ute alx:ut 82 per cent of the total pcp.llation of

over 140 million in the entire West African sub-region. '!he projected rate

of pcpul.ation growth in the sub-region is 3.1 per cent per annun, am the

average pq;All.atioo density is arourXl 56 persons per square kilaneter . With

so many oountries aiX1 etlmic groups , the area is one of great am :rsmrkable

cultural diversity.

Besides , five of the eight cnuntries to be visited bel<D3 to the br:oad

group of 36 oountries all over the t«>rld identified by the United Nations

as least develqled. Of the 16 member States of the :E'X:nlAS sub-region, 10 are

LOCs an::1 five of these (Benin, Mali , Niger, Togo am Upper Volta) are arrong

the cnuntries to be visited. Basically, the IOCs have very loto1 GlP per

capita in the 1977-79 range of $ 323 to $ 387 , very loto1 percentage share of

manufacturing in GOP (less than 10 per oent) , am very loto1 literac.y rates

(below � per oent) • It is also vi tal to rote that three of the CDl.Ultries

to be visited (Mali, Niger am tJWer Volta) are altOlCJ the five � States

who are members of CILSS (the Pezmanent Inter-State Cbtmittee on DroUJht

control in the Sahel) • Imeed , West Africa is a heavily bal.kanized subregion. Qlly one of

the 16 countries , Nigeria, has a sizeable pcp.1lation of nearly 90 million

p:q>le . '!he pJpUla.tion of six other ccuntries raiXJes fran 5 to 10 millions ,

Mrlle that of the other 9 countries raiXJes fran O. 6 to 5 million. 'Ihus nest

of the oountries c'b oot have the opt:intml size for neaningful Developnent,

a fact which consequently unierlines the pressing need for ecx>JDni.c

en-operation am integration by poolin;J their resources for better am

IIDre effective developnent.

- 2 -

But despite the balkanization, the West African subregion has many

unifying elements. Peq>le of the same ethnic am lin3uistic group are ) spread across national bourdaries. For exanple , the Hausa am the Fulani

are fourxl in many West African a:nmtries - Nigeria, Quma, Mali, t.pper Volta,

Niger, GliDaa, etc. Religion further reinforces ethnic hatcgenei ty and

cultural similarity between the oountries of the re:Jion. In this respect,

Islan to which a prepoOOerant proportion of the pq:W.atia1 of the Slilregion

beloog is inp:>rtant in social and political life in Nigeria, Niger, Mali,

senegal , Glinea, UJ;per �lta and Mauritania, aroorq others.

Unlike other subl:egioos, there are l'X> acute border problems in West

Africa. As ItEiliJers of :E.XDmS , the countries of the region have a joint

defeooe pact. '!he cultural similarity am::ng the West African CXUltries

has been fortified by the free migration of people fran one country to

the other, particularly for cxmnercia1 venture ani euployment in the

eoon:mically 100re favoured ooontries like Nigeria am the Ivory Coast.

Historically, it has been a criss-cra;s IrOVenent involvin:J all the

countries of the subregion, with people migrat.irq and settliDJ in their

newly-fOUI'Ki banes . 'lhe first disruption of this free JOOVement was urxler

the Busia J:egime in Quma when so called aliens were asked to leave the

country. It was a disastrous decision whidl eventually led to the eoc::n:xni.c

downfall of <llana . Nigeria' s decision this year to expel! a large IlUltler

of illegal aliens , nDStly G'lanaians , was l'X>t well. received. It is iideed

to the credit of the affectsd countries that they have not retaliated by

also ordering aliens out of their territories .

It is eoorani.cally significant that all the countries conoemed lie

within the Sudaro-Sahelian belt, a fact whidl has been consequential for

their ecx:>nCillic evolution am. survival. In particular, all these countries,

by reasons of their geograpucal location am. recent climatic aberrations ,

have been vict:ilm; of a p:rolalged. dl:ought that has created cud deepened the

food crisis and the inalri 1 i ty of the countries to feed millions of their

pcpula.tions. '!he d:roujlt has been going em since the 1970s.

- 3 -

'!he ea>nanic wealth of West Africa derives principally fran agriculture

am mining. '!be major export crcps are cxx:oa, coffee, cotton, palm oil,

rubber , gl:'OllOOnut, gun arabic , etc. Mirerals whidl are IOOStly exported

include oil , tin, colunbite, uranian, bauxite , salt, phosphate, etc.

As a result of the drought ani bad agricultural rnanagem:mt, JOOSt coontries

of the subregioo have becane net inporters of focxl ani have cx:me to rely

increasingly on external food aid for the survival of their popl].ation.

'!be progress of i.!Xiustrialization has been very slow, partly because at

independence, these countries , in any case , did oot inher.j. t arrt worth;y

industrial base . 'lherefore, the contributial of manufacturin::] to the GP

in these ootmtries has been relatively very low too.

Globally, the West African subregion, like the rest of the continent,

has been in the grips of an unrelentin:} ea>nanic crisis. Since the 1960s,

the overall :perfonnance of the African ec:oranies has been deterioratin:}

steadily. '!he fu"blre, based on the present established trerXis , is to Sa!:f

the least grim tmless steps are taken to reverse the trerxl.

'lhe main manifestation of ec:onanic crisis has been the marked decline

of ea>mmic growth in all the countries of the subregion. '!here has been

dramatic decline in per capita output in 10 of the 16 countries of the

subregion, the only exceptions bein;J Cape Verde, Guinea, Ivo:cy Coast, Niger,

Nigeria ani Togo , whidl respectively had relatively better :perfcmnance • .Amther irrtx:>rtant element in the eoon:mi.c crisis is that a.l.Ircst all

the countries depem on the eJCpC>rt of primary cx:ttlla:li ties such as cocx:>a.

coffee, rubber, t:imbez; grourXInut, ani on various minerals , including gold, dicmnis , bauxite arxi iron ore. Petrolean became a major export a::rrm::xii ty

in Nigeria. Besides , min.inq ani the new i.!Xiustrial sectors are daninated

by transnational cmporations which prcm:>te :massive outflCM of capital.

'lhe gradng :inpoverishment of the people has been exarerbated by the

neglect of agriculture over the years arxi the a1aDning gi."OWth in the

inp:>rtation of basic food i tans . Irxlustrialization has generally focused on

the pmduction of oonsurer cp:x3s am has continued to depend l�ly on

� rc:M materials am t:edu'x'>logies poorly adapted to prevailing local

condi tiQ'lS .

- 4 -

The heavily balkanized states of West Africa have rx>t been able to

practice self-reliance to art:/ significant extent. '!he smallness of the

cnmtries am the scarcity of resoorces and tec::hrx>logical la'nrhatr have been parariDUilt. 'nl.us , the neoessi ty for pool.irJ3 resources for ecorx:mic

develc::ptent is reM generally accepted in the subreqion. Since inieperxBlce

arourx1 the 196Q:; , West African oountries have entered into bilateral am

nultilateral agreements for pw:poses of pratDt:in:J eooJatd.c �tion.

Apart fran nunerous bilateral tra:le agresnents, . 3f Inter-governnental

Organizations (I<n3) are in existence in the s'lll:):.region for prarot:in]

econanic oo-operatim.Y '!his list is a long one and means that West

Africa has indeed mre IOOs than the rest of Africa p.1t together.

But the sub-region has yet to make sl:bstantial progress in the

actual practice of econanic c:::o-q>eration am:ng its msri::ler States.

Iea:3ers of t:hou;Jht in goventTents have apressed their skepticism on

the eooronic advantages of cx:>-q)eration. EX:A ' s experience durirq the

last 25 years lends further SUJ;:p:>rt to the view that there is a lot of

scq>e for inqrovement. It was for this reason that the Nianey MJUICC

was established in 1978 partly to c::o-ordinate and hanrnnize the activities

of the ICDs . '!he stage is now set for the raticm.alization of the multi­

tude of IOOS in West Africa and for st:rengthen:i.n; the fet� that may

renai.n as is requil:ed by the Lagos Plan of Action and the Final Act

of Lagos.

!f See AppeiXtix 4 for a list of West African Inter-goverrrnental QrganizatialS.

' . AP�lDIX A

Nest African Intergoverrmental Organizations

1. C'..ouncil of understanding

2 . Organization for co-ordination and cooperation in the fight against endeni.c disease {CCCGE)

3 . Central Bank of Nest African States {BCFAO)

4 . Authority for the Integrated DevelO!;Jtleilt of the r. .. iptako­C-ounna �egion

5 . Econanic Camnmity for Livestock and �1eat { CEBV)

6 . Nest �.£rican !ti.ce DevelO!;Jtleilt Association {1:•'!A...liDA)

7 . Econanic Ccr.muni ty of l•7est Africa {CFAO)

8 • Organization for the develq:::rtent of the Senegal River {�1VG)

9 . T•!est African Develor:::rrent Ban.l( {EO:ziD)

10 . Nest African Health Carr.unity {�·W!C)

11 . Mano River Union {m.J)

12 . Nest A-t:rican �neta.rv Union {UJID.».)

13 . Econcr.ri.c camumi ty of l•!est African States {�1AS)

14 . West African Clearing Eouse

15 . Organization for the Developtent of the C-.arnbia �iver {Ct�JG)

16 . Benin and Niger Ccmron Organization for Pailways and '!'ransport {OCBN)

17 . Senegambia l?ennanent Secretariat

(1959)

(1960)

(1962)

{1970)

(1970)

(1970)

(1972)

{1972)

{1972)

{1972)

{1973)

{1973)

(1975)

{1975)

{1978)

(1959)

{1967)

I .

18 . Electricity Comunity of Benin (CEB)

19 . Niger-Nigeria Joint Ccmnission for ("_ooperation (NN.Jrr:)

20 . International Organization Against the African �1igratory I.Dcust (OIQ1A)

21 . Agency for Air '!'ransport Security in Africa (ASEX::!-lA)

22 . Inter-State Ccmni.ttee for �·?ater Rtu:iies (C!EH)

23 . Cocoa Producers Alliance

24. African Groundnut Council (AOC)

25 . I.ake Chad Ccmnission

26 . Camnn Organization for the Fight ·

Against I.Dcust and Fowl :r.>ests (CX!AIAV)

27 . African and �uritian camon Organization (OCM-1:)

28 . African Sociecy for the Develor;m:mt of Hillet and Sorghum-based Food (SAD WID.}

29 . Inter-State Ccmnittee for the Fight Against Drought in t.l)e Sahel (CILSS)

30. �iger Basin Authoritv (�.)

31. African and Malagasy Council for Bigher !".ducation

32 . African Solidarity Fund

(1970)

(1971)

(1952)

(1959)

(1960)

(1962}

(1964)

(1964}

(1965}

(1966}

(1972)

(1973}

(1980}

(1968)

(1976)

MOROCCO

Background

Morocco covers an area of 6 5 9 , 9 70 sq . km . with a

population of 19 mill ion ( 1 9 79 estimate ) . I ts capital

city , Rabat , has a population of 3 6 7 , 0 0 0 ( 19 71 ) . I t

share s a common border with Algeria and the Western

Sahara , which adjoins Mauritania .

History and Present Government

From 1 9 1 2 to 1 9 5 6 , Morocco was divided into a

French and a Spanish protectorate respective ly , and the

international zone of Tangier . Morocco achieved

independence in 1 9 5 6 .

King Hassan I I succeeded his father Mohammed V in

March 1 9 6 1, upon the latter ' s death . The King holds

supreme civil and rel igious authority in his capacity as

Commander of the Faithful ( I slam is the establi shed

State religion ) . The Kingdom of Morocc.o is a constitutional

monarchy with a s ingle chamber legislature . The King ,

as sovereign Head o f State , appoints the Prime Mini ster

and the Government , approves legislation and has the right

to dissolve parliament .

Foreign Pol icy

Morocco is numbered among the moderate African states

and maintains close relations with conservative French-

. speaking African states . Guinea , Senegal and Zaire are

considered within the OAU to be among the most influential

- 2 -

channe l s of communication with Morocco .

a) Re lations with Algeria

Fo llowing talks between King Has san and President Chad li

Benj edid of Algeria in Rabat on 26 February 1 9 8 3 , agreement

was re ached between the two countries to re-estab lish

diplomatic rel ations , and to partly reopen the Moroccan­

Algerian border to nationals of both countries for the

first time in seven years . Morocco and Algeria severed

re lations in 1 9 7 6 when Algeria recognized the Polisario .

b) Relations with Libya

Colonel Qaddaf i visited Morocco for talks with King

Hassan at the end of June 1 9 8 3 , aimed at normalizing

re lations between the two countries . The Libyan leader ' s

vis it was seen as a sign of rapprochement after a long

period of distrust and animosity . S ince 1 9 7 6 , re lations

between Tr ipoli and Rabat have mainly been strained over

Libyan backing of the Polisario Front .

c ) Question o f We stern Sahara

In regard to the que stion of Western S ahara , the

19th Summit Meeting of the OAU , he ld in Addis Ababa in

July 1 9 8 3 , urged the parties to the conf lict , Morocco

and the Po lisario , to undertake direct negotiations for

a cease- fire to create the necessary conditions for a

peaceful and fair referendum . At the same time it directed

the Implementation Committee , in co llaboration with the

parties , to work out the modalities and all other details

relevant to the implementation of the cease- fire and the

conduct of the referendum in December 1 9 8 3 .

- 3 -

The Implementation Commi ttee of the OAU on We stern .

Sahara met in Addis Ababa on 21 and 2 2 September . Fo l lowing

Morocco ' s refusal to meet with the Poli sario under the

auspices of the Implementation Committee , the meeting

was adj ourned .

An OAU miss ion visited Rabat and Algiers in November

19 8 3 for talks with King Hassan I I and Polisario leader s

respective ly on the proposed re ferendum . The talks were

aimed at facilitating the implementation of the decisions

of the 19th Summit of OAU in regard to the que stion of

We stern Sahara .

In hi s addre ss to the 3 8 th session of the UN General

As sembly , King Hassan reaf firmed that Morocco accepted

the cease-f ire and re ferendum proposed by OAU and that

Rabat would abide by the results of the referendum .

Following his statement to the General Assemb ly ,

King Hassan held talks with the Secretary-General .

The Economy

The principal mineral exploited i s phosphate , of

which Morocco is a ma j or producer . But agr iculture is

by far the most important industry , on which 7 0 per cent

of the population exists . The principal crops are wheat

and barley . Fi shing is an important part o f Morocco ' s

economy ; other re sources are livestock and wine production .

- 4 -

REPRESENTAT ION IN THE SECRETARIAT

There were 1 6, na tional s of Morocco on geographical

po sts at the United Na tion s Secretariat as of 1 5 November

1 9 8 3 , a s compared wi th a des irable range for the country

of 3 - 1 4 . Morocco is therefore over -repre sented .

I n add i tion ther e were , a s of 1 5 November 1 9 8 3 , 2 6

Moroccan na t iona l s on non-geographic po sts at the UN ('

Secr etar iat , plus 3 4 employed by UND P , 3 by UNHCR and 4 by

UNIC EF . The tota l number of Moroccan nat iona l s with the

United Nations and the above-mentioned organ i zations

therefore equa l s 8 3 .

FOREIGN BRc:lPJX:AST INFORMATION SERVICE

v. 1 Dec 83

MOROCCO Kina Hassan Announces Cabinet Reshuffle NC301 946 Paris AFP in English 1904 GMT 30 Nov 83

[Text) Rabat, Nov 30 (AFP) - Kina Hassan I of Morocco today announced a major Cabinet reshufne, creating a coalition gov­ernment in which a main leftist opposition party, the Socialist Union of Peoples Forces (USFP), will have a share of power for the first time in 23 years.

The government is headed by former Prime Minister Karim Lamrani and includes leaders and members of, besides the USFP, the lstiqlal, National Independents Rally (RN 1), Popular Movement ( M P), National Democratic Party (PN D), and Con­stitutional Union (UC).

The new aoverment will have three main official tasks:

I . Strengthening the interior front against developments in the disputed Western Sahara, where a self-determination referen­dum is proposed.

2. Ensuring the fairness of the elections to be organised next February.

3. Defining the economic program for next year.

Ki111 Addresses New Cabinet LD301 922 Rabat Domestic Service in Arabic 1600 GMT 30 Nov 83

[Text] At noon today at the royal palace, the ceremony of the appointment by His Majesty K ina Hasan I I , may God grant him victory, of the members of the new Cabinet led by Premier Mohammed Karim Lamrani took place in the great throne hall in the presence of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Sidi Muhammad. Here is the list of the members oft he new Cabinet:

Prime M inister

Minister of:

State State State State State State State State

Justice

Interior Foreign Affairs

Mohamed Karim Lamrani

Ahmed Othman Maati Bouabid Rahim Bouabid M 'hamed Bahini M 'hamed Boucetta Mahjoubi Aherdan Moulay Ahmed Alaoui Mohamed Arsalane

el Jadidi Moulay Mustapha

Bclarbi Alaoui

Driss Basri A bdelouahid Bclkeziz

Q J

Religious Endowments & Islamic Affairs

Planning, Cadre Formation and Vocational Training

National Education Finance Commerce, Industry & Tourism Traditional Industry & Social

Affairs Transportation Energy and Minerals Public Health Ocean Fisheries & Merchant

Marine Cultural Affairs Housing & Land Management Equipment Posts & Telecommunications Agriculture & Agrarian Reform Relations With Parliament Youth and Sports Labor & National Training

Minister Accredited to Prime Minister for Economic Affairs

Secretary General of Cabinet Minister Accredited to Prime

Minister Minister in Charge of

Cooperation Secretary of State for Foreign

A ffairs Secretary of State Accredited

to Prime Minister in Charge of Saharan Affairs

Secretary of State Accredited to Prime Minister in Charge of Administrative A ffairs

Secretary of State for Housing and Land Management

NORTH AFRICA

Information Hachemi Filali

M'hamed Douiri

Azzcdine Laraki Abdellatif Jouahiri Azzedine Guessous Abbas el Fassi

Mansouri Bcnali Moussa Saadi Dr Rahali Rahal Bensalem Smili

Said Bclbachir M'faddel Lahlou Mohamed Kabbaj Mohamed ei-Ansar Othman Dcmnati Ahmed Bclhaj Abdellatif Semlali Moulay lain Zahidi

Tayeb Bcncheikh

Abbas el Kaissi A bdelkarim Ghallab

Abdelwahid Rahdi

A bdelhaq Tazi

Khali Hanna Ould Rachid

Mohamed Touaani

A bdellatif Hajjaji

The prime minister and the members of the Ca binet one by one shook hands with His Majesty. His Majesty then made the fol lowing speech:

[ Begin Hasan recording) Thanks be to God and prayers and peace be upon our lord the prophet of God, his family and ar-ostle5, our honorable ministers. In accordance and in implementat ion of the speech we made on 5 November on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of the Green March we announced t he formation of a government whose tasks will be first to observe the fa irness and legitimacy of the forthcoming elections and second to mass the determinations and the [word indistinct) of ideas .n clpcctation of the forthcoming test, the test of the Saharan referendum, the test which I have no doubt we will come out of victors and winners. Before all I want here to stress. not in front of the Moroccan people, because the Moroccan people knows its leaders and the leaders of its parties. But I want to stress before the world

, proudly that in the period since 5 November and unt•l th is day,

r

MAL I

SOC I O-POLI T I CAL CONDITIONS

Compa red wi th Nige r i a w i th 1 5 per cent of the We st Afr ican

land area and 5 5 per cent o f i t s populat i on , Ma l i has a

relat i ve ly extens i ve 2 0 per cent of the tota l land area but

only 5 per cent of the We st Afr ican populat i on . A lot of the

land area , though , i s i n the Sahara de sert where r a i n i s rare

and sporad i c , a fact whi ch cont r ibu tes to the Repub l i c ' s

qual i f i c a t i on for membe r sh i p of the Sahe l Club . Land locked

Ma l i shares common bo rders to the north w i th Alger i a , to the

ea st w i th Niger , to the south-eas t w i th Uppe r Vol t a , to the

south with I vory Coa s t and Gui nea , and to the west w i th Senega l

and Haur i tania

The Repub l i c of Ha l i is ruled by Br igad i er General Mousa

Traore , Secret ary-Gener a l o f Uni on Democrat ique d u Peuple

Ma l i en ( UDPM ) . The Pres i dent wields execut i ve powe rs over th i s

former French ter r i tory whi ch at f i rst j o i ned wi th

Apr i l 1 9 5 9 to form the Ma l i Fede rat ion wh ich became

i n June 1 9 60 . Wi th the s ubsequent wi thdrawa l of

Senega l i n

independent

Senegal two

months later , the Republ i c of Hal i was born in September 1960 .

- 2 -

There i s only one pol i t ic al par ty ( i . e . UDPM ) . In 1 9 8 2 ,

th i s par ty enpowered the Pre s i dent to nom i nate the P r i me

M i n i ster and other member s o f the cab i net . He , the Pres i dent ,

i s to be elected by d i rect u n i versal s u f f rage for a s ix-year

te rm and the nat ional a s sembly , d i rectly al so , for three

year s . Des p i te recent sack i ngs o f unpopular m i n i ster s , i t i s

clear that the Pres i dent ' s s ucce s s and the popula r i ty o f h i s

government will depend to a large extent on h i s be i ng able to

re s usc i tate the a il i ng economy o f Mal i . Th i s w ill w i n h i m the

favours o f the t rade un ions .

SOCIO-ECONOMI C CONDITIONS

A member o f C ILSS and one o f the LDCs , Mal i ' s GDP per

cap i ta as well as l i teracy rat io i s relat i vely very low . The

cul t i vable land area ha s been e s t i mated as only 2 5 per cent o f

the total . Currently only 2 per cent o f the total i s

cul t i vated . Per iod i c and prolonged droughts have occurred w i th

d i sas trous consequence s for crop and l i ve s tock produc t ion .

Consequently , i r r igat ion i s seen as a pr io r i ty w i th i n the

f ramewo rk o f the Senegal R i ver Valley Scheme jo i ntly executed

by Mal i , Maur i tani a and Senegal .

The ma i n agr i cultural crops are m illet , so rghum , r i ce ,

groundnut s , ma i ze , etc . Co tton and co tton produc t s contr ibute

59 pe r cent o f expo r t ear n i ngs . Other expo r t c rops a r e

groundnut s , l i ve a n i mal s and gum a r ab i c . France , Ivory Coa s t ,

Federal Republ i c o f Ger many , Senegal and Japan a r e the

des t i na t ions o f the expo r t s a s well as the o r i g i ns of the

country ' s i mpo r t s o f mach i nery , food , chem i cal s , pet role um

produc t s , phar amace u t i c al s , etc . Pr io r i ty attent ion i s also

d i rected to a f fo restat ion and t ree plant i ng i n order to augment

the s upply of t i mber and fuel and as a pr i nc ipal means o f

combat i ng deser t i f icat ion and d rought .

- 3 -

The economic d i lemma of the Government whi ch der i ve s

pa r t ly from bur eaucra t i c m i smangement was once s ummed up by the

M i n i ster of Agr i culture Mr . N ' Fagnanama Kone as fol lows &

"We are a landlocked country 1 , 200 k i lometres away

f rom a l l seacoa s t s , s u f f er ing a drought for 10

year s . We are a ve ry courageous people • . • But don ' t

confuse the m i s takes of techn i c i ans , the c i vi l

se rvant s , wi th the far me r s who are su f f e r i ng . " ( Ri ck

Atk i nson , Nat i onal Correspondent , the Kansas C i ty

T i mes , 1 Oc tober 1 98 3 ) .

Indeed the revi val of agr i c u l ture i s the pr i mary obj ec t i ve

of the current deve lopment plan , 1 9 8 1 -8 5 , wh i ch wi 1 1 bene f i t

from the IMF s tandby c r ed i t . Ma l i accepted unpopular

cond i t i ons whi ch i ncude a 38 per cent tax r i se , res t r i c t i on o f

wages , and the l i mi tat i on of bank

in 1 9 8 2 f e l t very sat i s f i ed wi th

loans . A v i s i t i ng IMF team

the f inanc i a l and economi c

programme worked out

1 9 8 2 - 1 9 8 3 , the Fund

mi l l i on to a l a rge

for Mal i w i th the Fund ' s as s i s tance . I n

agreed t o contr ibute SDR 3 3 . 4 o r $ 3 3

v a r i ety o f proj ec t s and scheme s whi ch

i ncorporate i mprovements i n economi c management .

cut.

In 1 981 manu f actur i ng output s u f f e red from a severe power

The I DA has made ava i lable a cre d i t of S DR 20 . 4 m i ll i o n

or $24 m i l l i on to i mprove the supply of energy through the

extens i on and recons t r uc t i on o f Bamako ' s powe r network .

Be s ide s , an IDA grant of $6 . 4 m i l l i on i nter e s t - f ree c r ed i t w i l l

prov i de t e lephone and microwave l ink s between the capi tal ,

Bamako , and other towns . I n pr i nc i ple , pr ior i ty i s g i ven to

rural deve lopment as a means of i mprov i ng the qual i ty of 1 i fe

of the peopl e .

- 4 -

As a result of the i nabi l i ty of the economy to absorb most

t r a i ned and sk i l led Mal i ans , there i s a cons ide rable brai n

dra i n t o ne i ghbou r i ng count r i e s , espec i al ly I vory Coa s t . A

large number of Ma l i an t rader s are a l so found i n many count r i es

of the sub-reg ion . The government no doubt faces the c r i s i s of

not be i ng able to harmoni ze i t s educ a t i onal planni ng , in

pr i nc iple and pract i c e , w i th i ts human re sourc es deve lopment

e f for t s . The r e are many t r a i ned Mal i ans but no j obs a r e

ava i lable t o absorb them

A ma j or real i zat i on of the Government i s that economi c

centra l i zat i on o f enterpr i s es doe s not work . Thus , the

�ct i v i t i e s o f s oc i etes entrepr i se d ' etat , whi ch hand les a l l

i mport , export and trade matter s , ha s come under s evere

cr i t ic i sm even though the Government has found it d i f f i cult to

change the sys tem . I t should , o f cours e , be empha s i zed tha t

thi s centra l i zed sys tem o f econom i c ac t i v i t i e s i s far from

nat i ona l i za t i on whi ch i s non-ex i s tent i n Mal i .

BOUNDARY DISPUTE WITH UPPER VOLTA

On 1 6 Septembe r 198 3 , the Government s of Ma l i and Upper

Vol ta s igned an agr eement accept i ng tha t the border d i spute

be tween the two count r i es be s ubmi tted to the I nterna t i onal

Court of Jus t i c e for ad j ud i c a t i on .

BOUNDARY DISPUTE WITH ALGERIA

In Octobe r 1983 , Mal i · and Alger i a announced that they had

come to an agreement conc e r n i ng the border d i spute between

the i r two \ count r i e s .

- 5 -

FORE IGN POL I CY

Mal i pu rsue s a p r agma t i c fore i gn pol i cy w i th i n the

Francophone commun i ty and ma i nta i ns very c lose t i es w i th the

Republ i c of Gu i nea . In the pa st year , the Pres i dents of the

two s tates have held talks about a propos ed un i on of the i r

countr i es .

Mal i i s a member of the Communaute Economi que de l ' Af r i que

de l ' Oues t , an econom i c g roup i ng of French-speak i ng states i n

the reg i on . P re s i dent Traore has j u s.t been elec ted the cur rent

Cha i rman of the group . Furthe r , Mal i was readmi tted in 1 9 8 3 to

membe rsh i p of the \ve s t Af r i can �1onetary Un i on ( UMOA ) of

Francophone s tate s . I t i s a l s o a member of the Economi c

Communi ty o f We s t A f r ican States ( ECOWAS ) , wh i ch i nc lude s

French-speak i ng and Eng l i sh-speak i ng count r i e s .

REPRESENTATION IN THE SECRETARIAT

There were 1 2 nat iona l s of Mal i on geographical posts at

the United Na tions Secretariat as of 15 November 1 9 8 3 , a s

compared with a desirable range for the country of 2 -14 . Ma l i

i s therefore within its des irable range .

In add ition there were , a s of 1 5 November 1 9 8 3 , 2 5 Mal i

national s on.non-geographic po sts a t the UN Secretar iat , plu s

4 0 employed by UNDP , 1 by UNHCR , and 4 by UNICEF . The total

number of Ma l i national s with the United Nations and the above­

mentioned organi zations therefore equa l� 8 2 .

• M.UJ, REPlTBLJC OF (September 19 83)

Pr�ident ........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... . Min of State for Econom) l Planninc ....... .. . . . . .. . . .. . . . .................. . Min. of State for EQuipment .................... . . ........................... .. ........ . Min. of Acriculture .......................... . . . . . . . ........................................ .. Min of Finance ................. ..................... ............. ....... .................... .. Min. of Forei&n .\ffain l International Coo�rahon ................. .. Min of Information l TelecommunicatioN ................................ . Min. of Interior ................................... .................................... ........ .. Min. of JIISiice. Kee�r of the Seal ..... . ....... . .................................. . Min of Labor l Civil Stnice .................... ................................... . . Min. of Nat! Defe� ................ ............... . . . . . ...... . . . ........ . ... . ... . .

Min of !liatl. Education ................ . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . .. . . . . ....... .. Mm of Pllonmn5 ........................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ....... ............ .. �iir. of Pubhc Health l Soci&! Aft &irs ........................................ .. Mm of Rural Oe•elopment ............................................................ . Min or SJXIrb, Aru 6 Culture ........................................................ .

Mir. of Statt F1rm! l Enterprile! ........................... ....................... . Min or TrallSP('r1 I Publi� Work! ..................................... .......... ..

Traori, MOIW&. Bril CAn . Coulibaly, Oumar

Diana, Am.dou Babe. CAn J:ooe, N'Facnanama

liita, ldrisw

leye, Alioune Blondin

Niaoa. Cakou Fatou

Maip, Abdourahamane, Lt Col Oo1oiba, laa, Comrrw�ndDnt J:eita. Modibo Traore, Mo�Wa, Brti CAn Ly, Stkou. l.t Col.

Hama11i. Ah�r,ed Mohl.med AI

Traori, Saolc., Dr. Diallo, Mad1

Mariko, S'tji ldrissa I

Doucoure, BandJoUJoo Bid1a

Haidara, �iamadou

ANNEX I I

}

N I G E R

S OC I O - P O L I T I C A L C O N D I T I ON S

L a nd loc k e d N i g e r w h i c h h a s t h e l a r g e s t l a n d a r e a i n w e s t A f r i c a

s t a n d s a s t r i d e t h e e n t i r e b o r d e r o f N o r t h e r n N i g e r i a . I t s h a r e s

2 0 . 6 p e r c e n t o f t h e t o t a l l a n d a r e a , w i t h o n ly 5 . 3 m i l l i o n

i n h a b i t a n t s , i . e . s l i g h t ly l e s s t h a n 4 p e r c e n t o f t h e t o t a l

po p u l a � i o n o f W e s t A f r i c a . N o wo n d e r t h a t t h e p o p u l a t i o n d e n s i t y o f

N i g e r i s o n ly 4 p e r s o n s p e r s q . k m . a s a g a i n s t 8 4 f o r N i g e r i a .

T h e R e p u b l i c o f N i g e r b e c a m e i n d e p e n d e n t o n 3 A u g u s t 1 9 6 0 . I t s

f i r s t p r e s i d e n t M r . H a m a n i D i o r i w a s o v e r t h r o w n i n a c o up d ' e t a t i n

�p r i l 1 9 7 4 . T h e c u r r e n t H e a d o f S t a t e i s P r e s i d e n t G e n e r a l S e ny i

K o u n t c he who t o o k o v e r p o w e r a f t e r t h e c o u p . S i n c e Ap r i l 1 9 7 4 ,

p o w e r h a s r e s t e d w i t h t h e S u p r e m e M i l i t a r y C o u nc i l m a d e u p o f a r my

o f f i c e r s . U n t i l t h e B B C a n n o u nc e m e n t o f 1 5 · N o v e m b e r 1 9 8 3 t h a t t h e

P r e s i d e n t h a s a p p o i n t e d a n a l l c i v i l i a n t e a m o f m i n i s t e r s i n

r e ac t i o n t o a n a t t e mp t e d c o u p d ' e t a t o n 5 Oc t o b e r 1 9 8 3 w h i l e t h e

P r e s i d e n t wa s a t t e n d i n g t h e F r a nc o - A f r i c a n S u m m i t i n V i t t e l , F r a n c e ,

t h e p r a c t i c e w a s t h a t s o m e c i v i l i a n s a n d s o m e m e m b e r s o f t h e a r my

w e r e a p p o i n t e d M e m b e r s o f t h e C o u n c i l o f M i n i s t e r s by t h e P r e s i d e n t .

T h e l e v e l o f l i t e r a c y i s l o w a n d i t i s e s t i m a t e d t h a t b e l o w 1 0

p e r c e n t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n i s l i t e r a t e . L i k e o t h e r F r a nc op h o n e

c o u n t r i e s i n t h e s u b r e g i o n , t h e m o n e t a r y u n i t i s t h e C F A f r a nc w h i c h

i s b a c k e d by t h e F r e n c h f r a n c .

- 2 -

I n 1 9 8 0 , a c r i s i s w i t h L i by a l o om e d o n t h e p o l i t i c a l h o r i z o n .

P r e s i d e n t K o u n t c h e w h e n h e t o o k p o w e r i n 1 9 7 4 t e r m i n a t e d t h e

a g r e e m e n t s i g n e d w i t h L i by a b y h i s p r e d e c e s s o r . S u b s e q u e n t e v e n t s

w e r e t o l e a d t o t h e b r e a k i n d i p l o m a t i c r e l a t i o n s a n d t h e s u s p e n s i o n

o f t h e s a l e o f u r a n i u m t o L i by a i n J a n u a r y 1 9 8 1 . T h e b r e a k w a s

f u e l l e d by L i b y a ' s a c c u s a t i o n t h a t N i g e r u n d e r K o u n t c he w a s

op p r e s s i n g t h e n o m a d i c T u a r eg m i n o r i t y i n � h e N o r t h e r n p a r t o f t h e

c o u n t r y a n d b y a l l e g e d L i b y a n i n t e r f e r e n c e i n N i g e r ' s i n t e r n a l

a f f a i r s . L i by a w a s a l l e g e d t o h a v e b a c k e d s t u d e n t s t r i k e s i n Z i n d e r

i n 1 9 8 0 a n d t o h a v e r e c r u i t e d N i g e r d i s s i d e n t s f o r Qa d a f f i ' s

m e r c e n a r y I s l a m i c L e g i o n . F i n a l l y , t h e l a s t s t r a w w a s w h e n t h e

L i by a n E m b a s s y i n N i a m e y d e c l a r e d i t s e l f a p e o p l e ' s b u r e a u a n d i t s

s t a f f w a s c o n s e q u e n t l y g i v e n 4 8 h o u r s t o l e a v e N i g e r .

B u t i t w a s n o t l o n g b e f o r e d i p l o m a t i c r e l a t i o n s w e r e r e s t o r e d

w i t h L i by a o n 1 M a r c h 1 9 8 2 . I t h a s b e e n s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e

w o r e s n i ng u r a n i u m m a r k e t a s we l l a s t h e I s l a m i c a n d O A U s u m m i t s i n

N i a m e y a nd T r i p o l i r e s p e c t i v e l y i n 1 9 8 2 l e d t o a c h a n g e o f h e a r t by

P r e s i d e n t K o u n t c h e . -------- T h e i n t e r n a l r e p e r c u s s i o n o f t h e L i by a n c r i s i s

a n d t h e f a l l i n t h e p r i c e o f u r a n i u m o n t h e i n t e r n a l p o l i t i c s o f

N i g e r w e r e m a n i f e s t e d i n a c a b i n e t r e s h u f f l e a t w h i c h t w o T u a r eg s

w e r e a p p o i n t e d m i n i s t e r s .

S O C I O - E C O N O M I C C O N D I T I O N S

N i g e r i s a me m b e r o f t h e L e a s t D e v e l o p e d C o u n t r i e s a nd s u f f e r s

f r o m s e r i o u s e c o n o m i c p r o b l e m s o f t h e t y p e s t h a t a f f l i c t o t h e r

c o u n t r i e s a l s o i n t h e S a h e l r e g i o n . Ag r i c u l t u r e i s s e v e r e l y l i m i t e d

b y t h e p o v e r t y o f t h e l a n d . L e s s t h a n 3 p e r c e n t o f t h e t o t a l l a n d

a r e a i s c u l t i v a t e d . A b o u t 7 5 - 8 0 p e r c e n t i s d e s e r t o r j u s t

m a r g i n a l l a n d f o r p o o r g r a z i n g . R a i n f a l l i s v e r y l o w a n d

u n r e l i a b l e . T h e s e v e r e d r o u g h t o f t h e 1 9 7 0 s d e s t r o y e d l i v e s t o c k

e x t e n s i v e l y . I r r i g a t i o n a n d a f f o r e s t a t i o n p r o j e c t s a r e b e i n g

e x e c u t e d t o s a l v a g e t h e s i t u a t i o n . R e c e n t l y , G e n e r a l K o u n t c h e c h o s e

t o m a r k N i g e r ' s 2 3 r d a n n i v e r s a r y o f i n d e p e n d e n c e o n 3 A u g u s t 1 9 8 3

u n d e r t h e s l o g a n o f a f f o r e s t a t i o n t o c o m b a t d e s e r t i f i c a t i o n .

- 3 -

W i t h t h e a g r i c u l t u r a l b a s e , i t i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h e ma i n

e x p o r t c o mmod i t i e s , q u i t e a p a r t f r om u r a n i u m c o n c e n t r a t e , i n c l u d e

l i v e a n i m a l s , g r o u nd n u t , v e g e t a b l e s , h i d e s a n d s k i n s , c o t t o n , e t c .

F r a n c e i s t h e m a i n d e s t i n a t i on f r om wh i c h N i g e r a l s o i mp o r t s mo s t o f

t h e m a c h i n e r i e s a n d i n d u s t r i a l g o od s s h e r e q u i r e s . O t h e r t r a d i n g

p a r t n e r s a r e I t a ly , N i g e r i a , I v o r y Co a s t , B e n i n , U p p e r Vo l t a , W e s t

G e r m a n y , U K , e t c .

M i n i n g c o n t r i b u t e s c l o s e t o 1 7 p e r c e n t o f G N P . O v e r 2 0 0 , 0 0 0

t o n s o f u r a n i u m r e s e r v e d e p o s i t s h a v e b e e n i d e n t i f i e d ( 1 9 8 0

e s t i m a t e s ) . T h e m i n e r a l w a s d i s c o v e r e d i n 1 9 6 6 a n d t h e u r a n i u m

p r o c e s s i n g p l a n t w a s s t a r t e d i n 1 9 7 8 . F r a n c e l e d t h e w a y i n t h e

d e v e l o p m e n t o f u r a n i u m . U S A a n d J a p a n h a v e b e e n wo r k i n g o n o p e n i n g

t h e s e c o nd m i n e . N i g e r r a n k s s i x t h i n t h e wo r l d p r o d u c t i o n a n d

c o u l d b e c o m e t h e f o u r t h i f p l a n n e d i n v e s t m e n t s g o a h e a d . ·

T h e u r a n i u m m i n e s w e r e n a t i o n a l i z e d i n 1 9 7 4 by P r e s i d e n t

K o u n t c h e . T h e ag r e e m e n t s w i t h F r a n c e we r e r e n e g o t i a t e d i n 1 9 7 7 .

O t h e r m i n e r a l s b e i ng m i n e d i nc l u d e c a s s i t e r i t e , p h o s p h a t e s , a n d

c o a l . A l s o p r e s e n t i n t h e c o u n t r y a r e i r on a n d p e t r o l e u m , wh i c h a r e

s t i l l b e i n g s t u d i e d t o e s t a b l i s h t h e s i z e o f t h e f i n d .

T h e e c o n omy o f N i g e r h a s s l i p p e d i n t o l o w e r g e a r b e c a u s e o f t h e

f a l l i n t h e wo r l d p r i c e o f u r a n i u m o n w h i c h t h e c o u n t r y m a i n l y

d e p e n d s t o e a r n i t s f o r e i g n e x c h a n g e a n d w h i c h i n d e e d h a s t u r n e d t h e

e r s t w h i l e i n c o n s p i c u o u s c o u n t r y i n t o o n e o f s t r a t e g i c a n d p o l i t i c a l

i mpo r t a n c e f o r t h e W e s t a n d e s p e c i a l l y F r a nc e , i t s f o r m e r c o l o n i a l

p o w e r a n d n o w t h e m a j o r b e n e f i c i a r y o f t h e u r a n i u m p r o d u c t i o n .

I N T E R N A T I O N A L O R G A N I Z A T I O N : U N / E C A A N D O T H E R S

O n s u b r e g i o n a l a n d r e g i on a l c o o p e r a t i o n , � i g e r i s a m e m b e r o f

m a n y e c o n o m i c c o op e r a t i o n g r o u p i n g s . T h e c o u n t r y m a i n t a i n s g o o d

n e i g h b o u r l y r e l a t i o n s w i t h a l l A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s e x c e p t L i by a wh i c h ,

a s a l r e a d y i n d i c a t e d , i s a l l e g e d t o b e b a c k i n g s o m e d i s s i d e n t

e l e me n t s o u t s i d e a n d i n s i d e t h e c o u n t r y .

- 4 -

N i g e r h a s b e e n f u l l y i n v o l v e d i n t h e e x e c u t i o n o f t h e wo r k

p r o g r a mm e o f t h e Co m m i s s i o n . A p a r t f r om o c c a s i o n a l l y h o s t i n g

l e g i s l a t i v e a n d t e c h n i c a l m e e t i n g s o f t h e C o mm i s s i o n , s h e p r o v i d e s

g e n e r o u s h o s t f a c i l i t i e s t o t h e E C A R eg i o n a l O f f i c e i n W e s t A f r i c a ,

t h e w e s t A f r i c a n M u l t i n a t i o n a l P r o g r a mm i n g a n d O p e r a t i o n a l C e n t r e

( M U L P OC ) . A s w e l l a s p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h e wo r k o f E C OWA S a n d C E A O ,

s h e a l s o b e l o n g s t o 2 5 o t h e r I G O s . N i g e r h a s t h e d i s t i nc t i o n a m o n g

w e s t A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s o f b e l o n g i n g t o t h e l a r g e s t n u m b e r o f I G O s .

G i v e n h e r l a r g e M o s l e m f o l l o w i n g , N i g e r i s a l s o a m e m b e r o f t h e

I s l a m i c D e v e l o p m e n t B a n k f o r A f r i c a a n d t h e I s l a m i c Co n f e r e n c e .

REPRESENTATION IN THE. SECRETARIAT There wer e 4 nationa l s of Niger on geographical po sts at the

United Nations Secretar iat a s of 1 5 November 1 9 8 3 , as compar ed

with a desirable range for the country of 2 -14 . Niger i s ther efore

wi thin its desirable r ange .

In add i tion there wer e , a s of 1 5 November 1 98 3 , 9 Niger na tional s

on non-geographic pos t s a t the UN Secretar iat , plu s 1 4 emp loyed by

UNDP , and 4 by UNIC EF . The total number of Niger nationa l s wi th

the Uni ted Na tions and the above-mentioned organi zations ther efore

equa l s 3 1 .

ANNEX I I

THE NI GER (REPUBLIC OF ) (18 Noverr.l:·c r 19 83 )

Pres ident, Supreme Military Counc i l

Prime Minister

Minister of State for F inanc e

Minister of State for Planning

Minister of Civil Service and Labor

Ministe r of Commerce and Transpor tat ion • •

Min is ter of Foreign Affairs and Cooperat ion

Minister of Higher Educat ion and Re s earch

Minister of Hydrology and Environment • •

Minis ter of I nformation

Minister of I nteri or

. . .

. . .

Mini s ter of

Minister of

Minis ter of

Minis ter of

Jus t ice

Mines and Industries

Nat ional Defense

National Education

Kountch� , Seyni, Brig . Gen .

Al gabi t, Hamid """'2-

Adj i, Boukari

.t-1ahamane, Annou

Nadj ir, Hadj i

Nouhou, Amadou

oumarou , Ide

• • Maikas soua, I l la

Tounkara, Yahaya

Diallo, Daouda

Kountch� , Seyni , Brig . Gen .

Babibou, Al lele Elhadj i

Koutoubi , Sani

Kountch� , Seyni , Brig. Gen .

Mayaki , I s soufou M inis ter

Minister

Minister

of

of

of

Pos t s and Telecommunications • • Barmou , Salaou

PUbl ic Health and Social Affairs • • Moudi, Abdou , Dr .

Publ ic Works and Town Pl anning • • Yacouba, Mo�uni

!-�in ister of Rural Development • • • Ibrahim, Ari Toubo , Dr .

l�inister of Youth, Sports and Culture • • . Dj ibo, Amadou

Minister Delegate for the Interior . . . Maiga , Amadou Fiti Secretary of State for Conunerce and

Transportation Sownaila, Almoustapha Sec retary of State for National

Education . . . Darkoyi, Attaher Sec retary of State for Pl anning Mouloul , al -Hous seini

BENIN

SOC IO- POLITICAL CONDITIONS

The People ' s Repub l i c o f Ben i n w i th a populat ion of 3 . 5 5 mi l l i on people l i es next door on the We st Afr i can coast to Nige r i a wh ich i s the Republ i c ' s neighbour on the east ; the Repub l i c of Togo i s i n the west and the Republic of Niger i n the north . The At lant ic Oc ean washes the southe rn border of the Republ i c and a l so prov i d e s i t w i th one o f i t s i mpor t ant and ma jor out let s t o the wor ld .

Ben i n , wh ich at t a i n ed independence in 1 960 from the French i s the home o f the anc i ent Ki ngdom o f Dahomey whi ch was loc at ed ma i nly in the south of the present Republ i c ; the northern part wh ich was ent i r ely d i f ferent belonged to c ultural group� �und in Nige r . It is now ruled by Ex ec ut i ve Pres i dent Hath i ew Kerekou , a northerne r , who i s a professed r.1arx i st -Len i n i st and whose profe s sed ma i n pr e-occ upat i on has been the erad i cat i on of nepot i sm , unchecked corrupt i on and i ne f f i c i ency i n publ i c l i fe . He sees the count ry ' s problems as emanat i ng from i n e f fect i ve management by party and publ ic of f ic i als , and has under t aken ext en s i ve reshu f f l i ng and re-organ i z i ng , br i ng i ng in moderates to replace ideolog i c a l hard l i ner s . Wi th i n the f ramework o f the be l i ef that Mar x i sm i s a more e f f i c i ent way of mob i l i z i ng nat i ona l energ i e s , the count ry has adopt ed the s logan , " Comptons sur nos propre forc e s " to express i t s f a i th i n sel f - re l i anc e . Pres ident Kerekou has prov ided the count �y w i th pol i t ical stab i l i ty wh ich was pract i c a l ly unknown when he took over power i n 197 2 .

In Janua ry 1 9 7 7 , Ben i n s u f f e red a me rc enary attack wh ich caused exten s i ve damage to i t s c api tal Cotonou . Fol lowing a compla i nt by Ben i n , a Secur i ty Counc i l mi s s ion v i s i ted the count ry and con f i rmed it had s usta i ned heavy damage d u r i ng the attack . The Secur ity Counc i l and General As sembly subs equent ly appealed for spec i a l a s s i st ance to a id Ben i n .

SOC IO-ECONOM I C CONDITIONS

The ec onom ic s i tuat i on conforms w i th the count ry ' s LDC status w i th its low levels of GDP per capita and l i t eracy . Ag r i culture prov ides the main source of employment and a l so cont r ibut e s s i gn i f i cant ly to the GDP . Some m i nerals ( l i mestone wh i ch i s a l ready be i ng exploi ted ) and i ron ore , phosphat e , gold , chrom i t e , marble and uran i um are pres ent . L i ve s tock , f i sh i ng and fore s t ry are cons ider ably developed . The di r ec t i on of Ben i n ' s export - i mport t r ade is ma i nly to and from the West .

- 2 -

Ben i n ' s economy i s over shadowed by that of i t s ea stern n e i ghbour , Nige r i a , and most if its popu lat ion are i nvo lved in subs i st enc e farmi ng and acros s-border t rade with Nige r i a . Fol low ing nat i onal i zat i on of the mode rn sect or i n the 1 9 70 s , product i v ity s lumped and the bal ance of payment s de f i c i t wor sened . Severe ·

drought at the beg i nn i ng o f 1 98 2 fol lowed by f lood s i n the south have a f fect ed ag r i cu l t ural product i on and i n f rastruc t ure and reduc ed the cash earn ing s from export of agr icultu�al commod i t i e s .

The d i scovery of o i l , j u st enough for i nt ernal consumpt i on and not for export , w i l l prov i de Beni n w i th sav i ngs of the amount of money expended on the i mport of o i l , wh ich was about CFA 12 b i l l i on i n 1 980 . Thi s wi l l rel i eve i t of enor mous budg etary pr essure and release f unds for development in other sec t or s . Al l the same , the count ry w i l l cont i nue to depend on Uige r i a ' s ecnom i c growth and t rade between them wi l l cont i nue to be import ant .

FORE IGN POLICY

Ext ernal relat i ons have a l so undergone some re-a s ses sment and Beni n ha s c ont i nued to i mprove i t s relat i ons espec i a l ly w i th France . · The rapprochement wh i ch mark ed the Franco-Ben i no i s ·

Comm i s s i on meet i ng i n 1 9 7 9 has c ont i nued to flour i sh . Fo l lowi ng the meet i ng of the Comm i s s i on in 1 9 8 1 , Pres i dent Kerekou v i s i t ed Pa r i s and several French gover nment m i s s i ons have v i s i ted Cotonou , and the Repub l ic has rec e i ved s i gn i f icant f i nanc ial and commerc i a l a id .

With the except i on of Ch i na , the government ' s l i nk s w i th c ommun i st count r i e s are weak . Ch i na has bu i l t fac tor i e s in the count ry and has execut ed other deve lopment pro j ec t s w i thin the f ramework of a comme r i c a l co-operat i on agreement s igned w i th Ben i n i n 1 98 2 . The t i es with Libya have weakened cons iderably wh i le gr eat l i nk s with and a i d from the We stern count r i e s and Saud i Arabia are being encou r aged . St rong a nd c ordi a l econom i c t i es e x i s t betwe e n Ben i n and Niger i a . The Niger ian curr ency , the Na ira , c i rculates freely i n Ben i n and both Gover nment s have embarked on s everal j o i nt pro j ect s a l l of wh i ch are located i n Ben i n Republ i c .

Ben i n support s rad ical causes in i t s Af r ican po l i cy . It i s a sta unch support er of the Sahraou i Arab Democ rat ic Repub l i c and has c lose t i es with Alge r i a , Libya , Congo , Angola and other progre s s i ve count r i e s i n Afr i ca .

Ben i n i s a member of the Cons e i l de ! ' Ent ente , a reg i onal economi c groupi ng of French- speak i ng stat e s i n We st Afr i ca . It i s a l s o a member of the Econom ic Communi ty of We st Af r i can Stat e s ( ECOWAS } wh ich i nc l udes both French-speak i ng and Eng l i sh- speak i ng count r i e s i n the reg i on .

- 3 -

INTERNATI ONAL ORGANI ZATIONS a UN/ECA AND OTHE RS

Ben i n col labor ates act i vely with ECA through her ac t i ve par t i c ipat i on in the act i v i t i e s of the Commi s s i on . The Repub l i c att ends a l l ECA leg i s lat i ve and t echn ical meet i ngs . It s ent a h i gh-l evel delegat i on t o the S i lver Jub i l ee Anni ve r sary ce lebrat i on s of the ECA . A s igni f i c ant number of her nat i ona l s work at the secret ar i at at virtua l ly a l l leve ls of the servi c e . At the Fourth B i enn ial Pledg i ng Con fe rence in Add i s Ababa , 2 May 1 98 3 , Ben i n cont r i buted $ 5 , 000 t o the Un i t ed Nat i ons Trust Fund for Af r i can De velopment .

At the i nv i t at i on of the Gover nment of the Republ i c , a mu lt id i sc i pl i nary delegat i on of ECA sen ior o f f i c i a l s led by the Ex ec ut i ve Sec ret ary v i s i t ed Cotonou in 1 9 8 2 to work out areas of col laborat ion in d i f ferent f i elds of soc i a l and ec onomic act i vi ty . S i nce then , there has been f o l l ow-up act i v i t i e s a i med at conc ret i z i ng some of the recommendat i ons made dur i ng the v i s i t . An import ant prog ramme which ha s been rec e i v i ng ECA ' s ma jor at tent i on i s the establ i shment of a nat i onal node of the Af r ic a -wide Pan-Af r i c an Document at i on and Informat i on Sy s t em of the Comm i s s i on .

The Un i t ed Nat ions spec i a l programme of econom ic a s s i st ance for Ben i n was i n i t i ated i n 1 9 8 1 in response to resolut i on 3 5/ 8 8 , adopted by the General Ass embly on 5 December 1 980 , to meet the problemat i c econom ic and development need s o f the count ry .

In the area of s ub- reg i ona l economic co-ope rat i on , Ben in has been very act i ve and is repr es ent ed i n 18 Inter -Government al Organ i zat ions i nc lud i ng ECOWAS . It has only an obs erver s t at us w i th CEAO . Apart f rom the UN and the ECA , the Pepub l i c i s also a member of the OAU , ADB , ACP ( Lome Convent i on ) , French Monet a ry Ar ea , etc .

REPRESENTATION IN THE' SECRETARIAT

There were 11 nationals of Benin on geographic al posts at the

Uni ted Nations Secretar iat as of 15 November 1 9 8 3 , as compared with

a desirable range for the country of 2 -14 . Benin is therefore within

its desirable range .

In addition there were , a s of 1 5 November 19 8 3 , 14 Benin na tiona l s

on non-geographic po sts at the U N Secr etar iat, plu s 4 7 employed by

UNDP , 6 by UNHCR and 1 0 by UNICEF . The tota l number of Benin na tional s

with the uni ted Na tions and the above-mentioned organizations ther efore

equa ls 8 8 .

BENIN, PEOPLE ' s REPUBLI C OF

(September 19 83)

Presi<knt --"...................... . ..... . .. . . . .. .. .. ...................................... ..

Min. of Com mer� ........... ... ................ .... .................................. _ _. ..

Min. of Ol!ferut ....................... ................. . ................. -.................. . Min. of Finance _ ............... .. � ... .. ............ ........... ...... . ... .. . .. ... .......... .. Min of Foreill!l Afbin & Cool)o!ration ................ ............. .. ........ .

Min. of Hiaher Educa!ion & Sc1entific R�arch . ... ..... ................. . Min. of Industn·. Min� & Eneorn ........ ........................................ ..

Min. of Information & Propaganda . ............... ..... ........................ ..

Min. of Inspection of Public, Para-Public •. Provincial EnterpriJes -............................................................................ ..

Min of Interior • Public Securit)· ................................................. .

Min. of Justice '"'""''''-"""''" "''""'"''"''"'''''""······ .................... .. Min of Labor • Social Affain ...................................................... .. Min. of Plan, Statistics • Economic Analysis ............................... .. Min. of Popular Culture • Literacy ............................................. ..

Min. of Pl'iman' Education ............................................................ ..

Min. of Public Health ..................................................................... ..

Min of Public Works. Construction • Housinc ........................... .

Min. of Rural Development • Cooperatives ................................ .. Min of Seconciarl'. Technical • Profegional Education ............ .. Min. of State Farms, Livestock • Fishinl ..................................... .

Min. of Tourism. Crafts • Leisure ................................................. .

Min. of Transport • Communications .......................................... ..

Min. of Youth • Sports ............ " .................................................... ..

Prdect of ;\tacora Province ............................................................ . Prefect of Atlantic Province ........................................................... . Prefect of Boraou Province ............................................................ ..

Prefect of Mono Province .............................................................. ..

Prefect of Ou�mi Province ........................................................... .. Prefect of Zou Province .. _. ............................................................ ..

ler1Htou. Mathieu. Brii Wfl Ayayi, Ma.n&W lterekou, Mathieu. Bril Wfl. Amoussou, Isidore. Lt Col. Adiibade, Ti.amiou Monteiro, .\rmand Ohouens. Barthelemy, Brii. Wfl. Baba·Moussa, Amidou

Ahouanou, Paul Alladaye, Michel Dossou, Fr�is, Lt. Col. Biaou. Adolphe, Capt.

Salami, Zulkifouli Capo-Chichi, Tonakpon Graben Ali, Mouua Traore Akpo, Philippe, Cpt.

Cado, Ci.ricis1ou Caidihou, Justin Zadehoupn, Edouard Boukary, Alidou Ba AabaM, Gr�oire Taofiqui, Bouraima Cbasuidi, David

Boudov., Ali

Dankoro. �

Alavo, Jeu-oidier Azocahiho, Martin Dobou AzodOJbehou. Cod;o F� Comma, Mama s.nru

ANNEX I I

a ) The coup

Nigeria - Update

On 3 1 December 1 9 8 3 , President Shehu Shagari was

overthrown in a mil itary coup which brought to power

Ma j or-General Mohammed Buhar i . The new leader immediately

named a 16 -mernber Supreme Mi li tary Counci l ( containing

one civilian) , as the highe st ruling body in the country .

This military organ in its turn decided to create a

Federal Executive Counc i l ( FEC) of 1 8 Ministers to

replace the ou sted cabine t . The Mini sters have yet to

be named . The Supreme Mili tary Council later announced

the appointment of 19 mi l itary governors in the country ' s

state s .

b) The new Head of State

Ma jor-General Buhari , 4 1 , was trained as an army

off icer in Britain . He then became suc�essive ly prov inc ial

governor of the northern Nigeri cn state of Borne close to

the Chad ian border , Petro leum Commi ssioner (oil minister)

and head of the Niger ian National Pe troleum Corporatio�

in the previous military government which overthrew Gener al

Gowen in 1 9 7 5 and handed over power to the civilians in 1 9 7 8 .

Ma jor-General Buhari singled himse lf out as the commander

of the Nige rian forces which carried out mi litary ope rations

against the Chadian forces during border clashes two years

ago . Like Mr . Shagari , he is from the north of the country .

In statements made to the press and to the dip lomatic

corps , the new leader said that the armed force s took powe r

becaus e mismanagement and corruption in ex-Pre sident Shagari ' s

- 2 -

adminis tration had compounded Nigeria ' s economic d i f ficultie s

which were due to falling o i l demand , and thi s , there fore ,

had made the coup neces sary .

Furthermore the ous ted civil ian government had not

brought democracy to the country , he went on , and

" continuation of that sys tem would have sunk Nigeria into

the abyss of total economic collapse and pol i tical chao s . "

That government which had been returned to power in shame le s s ly

rigged elections la�t year , he stated , had " p lundered the

national treasury openly " , and " the ordinary Nigerian • . • had

become enslaved by a handful of Niger ians whose main interest

was not only to perpe tuate themse lve s in office at any cost ,

but a l so to share among themse lves the wealth of the country

while the ordinary man wal lowed deeper and deeper in

misery . "

· c ) The new economic policies

Maj or-General Buhari , who promi sed " the greatest good

for the greatest number " , said that reso lving Nigeria ' s

economic crisis by clearing a backlog of foreign debts

while improving the lot of the ordinary citi zen wou ld be

his admini s tration ' s top prior ity . He pledged to move

speedi ly towards improving the situation , and said tha t

his economic targets were : the provis ion of drinking wa ter ,

electrici ty and lower food price s for a l l . He also s ta ted

that he had no intere s t in traditiona l indices of econom i c

growth and gross dome stic produc t .

- 3 -

Pledging to fight widespread corruption , he warned

officials that his Government expected strict accountability ,

and that anyone misus ing government resources or making

personal use of government property would face j ai l terms .

Hi s g·overnment , he said , had already found documentary

evidence of · large- scale corruption , and tho se respons ible

would be put on trial .

He indicated however that there would be no changes

in the country ' s economi c pol icies abroad , that Nigeria

would remain a member of OPEC , and that it would continue

to honour its obl igations .

Fol lowing that statement , the new reg ime a l lowed the

first $ 5 0 million installment on a $ 1 . 9 bi l l ion loan ,

author i zed before the coup , to be repaid on time , . thereby

making a favourable impres sion on the world banking community .

The new reg ime i s also planning to continue talks

wi th the International Monetary Fund begun under Pres ident

Shagari for a $ 2 . 5 b i l l ion loan . Negotiations over the

loan had come to a s tandsti l l over President Shagari ' s

refusal to devalue the national currency , the naira .

Finance Ministry officials are sti l l scheduled to � ""' .

meet with IMF representatives in Washington QR 16w�&RY�

and Major-General Buhari has ind icated that he wou ld be

prepared to consider a devaluation of the over-valued naira .

He has also announced that his Government would see k

the assistance of Nigeria ' s corporate creditors in the d r ive

to restore economic hea lth , referring to talks underway for

- 4 -

a second refinancing of some o f the country ' s e s timated

five billion dollars of short-term trade debt .

The new leader promised moves towards sel f- sufficiency

through cuts in imports , re-phasing of expens ive pro j ects

requiring large amounts o f foreign currency , and cuts in

government spending . High priority would be given to

means of increas ing domestic production in areas such as

agro-based raw materials and petrochemical s .

Nigeria ' s total foreign debt now s tands at $ 1 5 bil lion ;

its foreign exchange income - e s timated· from current oil

prices - i s expec ted to be around $11 billion in 1 9 8 4 , out

of which $ 4 billion was to be set aside to pay o f f foreign

debt� in ex-Pre s ident Shagar i ' s 1 9 8 4 budget announced be fore

the coup .

d ) The aftermath o f the coup

With ex-Pres ident Shagari and ex-Vice President Alex

Ekueme in detention , and most members of the previous

government as well as state governors expected to be soon

taken into custody , the new mi l i tary regime moved swi ftly

to res tore normality to the country . A dusk to dawn cur few

was l i f ted and airports reopened . Dome s tic and internat ional

communications l inks were re-established .

e ) React ions to the coup

According to news reports from Lago s , the coup appe a r s

to have been popular . The national pre s s in general reac ted

favourably to i t , although it was condemned by other A f r i can

and European newspapers . The reaction of the internationa l

- 5 -

community , however , has been cautious in the ab sence of

any foreign pol icy indications from the new regime .

In London , former Prime Minister Edward Heath cal led

on international organ i z ations and richer nations to

increase their assistance to deve loping countries to he lp

the ir recession-hit economies , otherwise they might , l ike

Nigeria , suf fer a loss of the ir democracy .

NIGERIA

Socio-Political COnditions

Nic;,eria is the largest denccracy in Africa ard al:lrut the third

largest in the world. With an estimated population arourxl 90 millioo,

it is the nost pcp.Uoos African OOlmtry. '1be i.nexactitu:fe abcut its

actual pOpulatioo size is due to the fact that no true scientific

census has been held in the OOlmtry in recent tines . All previous

atterrpts (in 1962 , 1963 and 1973) -were bedevilled by political CCl'lSidera­

tions which led to a:mtroversies. 'l!le goal of b:>lding a reliable census

of Nigerians one day, remains a priority en the planning board of the

Goverrment which , no doubt, is conscious of the difficulties of seeing

the exercise thrc:ugh without blemish.

'lbe Federal �lie of Nigeria is nade up of 19 states , in addition

' l.to the new Federal capital territol:y in .NJuja. '!he date of nDVing to the

new capital has been brought fol:Ward to 1986 . 'Ibis initial rove will

involve the Office of the Resident, Cabinet Office, the Federal Ministries

of Planning, Defence, Justice, Finance and Internal Atfairs as -well as

the Natiooal Asserri:>ly, the Supreme Cburt , and the Federal Radio and Tele­

vision networks .

'!he Federation was welded out of several disparate entities�� . Sate

34 major ethnic groops exist in the OOlmtry even though the press , because

of sheer numerical strength nostly focusses on the Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo

as the daninant ones . British colonization of the OOlmtry was further

consolidated in 1914 by the unification of Northern and Southern Nigeria,

ard after several a:msti tutiooal developrents , the c::amtry attained

political independence on 1 October 1960 . It becane a republic, three years later, on 1 October 1963, by which tine there were only four political

regions which were later split into the present 19 states . It is synbolic

of the political consciousness of the people that right now the issue of

the creation of nore states is being debated and pursued with unrelenting

vigcm: ard interest.

-2-

Nigeria currently operates an Anerican-type of federal gove:mment.

Ulder the present constitution \tthlch was prarulgated in Ck:t:OOer 1978 am

cane into effect in OCtober 1979, executive power rests with the President

elected for four years with the possibility of serving for only two tnaJdmJrn

terns . '1he President awoints a Federal Executive ca.mcil with at least

one IrSti)er fran each state. The Federal legislature is a bicarreral

Natia'lal Assenbly. '!he Senate has five IT£1ri:)ers fran each of the 19

states . '1he 450 IT£1ri:)ers of the House of Iepresentatives :reflect population

distribution in the oountcy. Ministerial awointments are subject to

Senate ratification. Fa.ch state has a House of Assenbly na.de up of thW.i.oe

the ntmiJer of its directly elected IT£1ri:)ers to the House of Iepresenatives .

Nigeria is tmiquely a Irlllti-party countxy. Indeed its constitution

makes a Irlllti-party system marrlatory. A keenly oontested successor series

of elections to those in 1979 has just been carpleted with the re-election

of President Shehu Shagari for a seccni tenn. Six political parties ron­

tested the elections, and the National Party of Nigeria led by President

Shehu Shagari \«11 13 of Nigeria • s 19 state governorships election and a

canfortable majority in the Federal legislature. Following these election

victories , the President has now E!tDarked em a crusade to correct the

wrongs of the Nigerian econc::rey and tackle the prcblem of corruption.

Perhaps no one in the countxy is nore qualified to undertake this assign­

rrent than the President himself. A nan �tedly solem, serious and

honest, he cx:mnands the respect of serious-minded Nigerians and the world

at large. He wears a calm and collected countenance in situations that

l>tOUl.d unnerve nost rrortals .

Political awareness is :relatively pronounced in Nigeria. '!here are

5 Federal regional radio services each in English and cq:propriate local

languages in addition to external services in French , Hausa, Arabic , Geman

am SWahili. Fa.ch state also runs its own radio as \\!ell as television

services. catplete freedan of the press has becate one of the distinguishing

features of Nigeria. It is therefore not sw:prising that there are \\!ell

over 25 national and local �pers in the countxy.

-3-'!be declared foreign policy position of the countcy is anchored on

internatialalism and n£1li)ershi.p and support of the UN and OAU. It

respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of its neighbours and

holds sacred the. · inviolability of its own bOI:ders . 'l11e country makes no

pretences about its ccmn:i.tment to the struggle for the total liberation

of the African continent fran all fonrs of daninatioo, racism and dis­

cr:imi.nation and in this respect, provides roral and material assistance

and will cootinue to do so , to those natiooalities in the cootinent still

struggling to liberate thelrselves . Nigeria ' s unequivocal stand on imne­

diate independence for Namibia is very well known. Its role in the past,

quite apart fran its ecananic stature in the continent, has earned it a

seat anong the front-line states in the struggle for freedan in Soothern

Africa.

Socio-Ec:xJnanic Corrli tions

Evidence shows that in 1980 , the Nigerian ecx>IlCI'l¥ stagnated as the

industrial production index increased by just 0 . 5 per cent in cx:mparison

with 15 . 2 per cent in 1979. 'Ibis was attriruted to a decline in mineral

prcrluction and the slackening of growth in agricultural output. By 1981,

inflation stood at 20 per cent and the noney suwly declined by 6 per cent.

Oil , first discovered in Nigeria in 1956 and exported in 1958 has

brought Nigeria great wealth and has also transformed the ccnmtry into a

great constm"er of inp:>rted luxury goods at a tiire when agriculture has

declined. Sooner than expected , the �rld oil glut hit the Nigerian

� adversely by a drastic drq:> in oil exports . 'lbe plan to market

its liquid natural gas has not taken off for financial reasoos . other

Nigerian minerals include tin, colarbite , cassiterite, limestone, CXlal , iroo ore, lead, zinc and uranium. 'l11e presence of coal and iron ore fonn

the base for Nigeria ' s new steel industry which is said to be the single

nest inpartant industrial invest:Irent in black Africa. Eventually, the

steel mills will save foreign � by enc:n.traginq local manufacture .

-4-

:Aeoent indications for 1983 show that Nigeria is one of the heavily indebted ca.mtries in the world. Although not to the sane extent as

countries such as Brazil , Al:gentina and Mexico, its total indebtedness for

1983 is not less than tE$ 10 billioo and the debt servicing charge is

about tE$ 2 billion. COnsequently, there was a massive nm-down of Nigeria 's external reserves I!'Dstly in the last six mnths of 1981 and the

first three m::mths of 1982 . '!his deterioration of the econany causecl::the

Goverrment to inpose severe austeritymeasureS with stringent control of inports.

Despite this glOCJI¥ picture of the cotmtry ' s indebtedness , Nigeria ' s

econanic Il1lSCle has been waxing strong. Its trade, both in value and

quantity, with the Western coontries has grown significantly. For instance · about 12 per cent of the total oil .inports of the U'lited States

cares fran Nigeria. In 1980 , Nigeria was Britain ' s tenth largest narket

and the largest outside Eurq;le and the USA. Britain has approximately 20 per cent of the Nigerian narket, folla-Jed by West Gennany with · 16 per

cent, and the USA, France and Japan with about 10 per cent each . In exchange for nanufactured goods , machinery, and foods , Nigeria exports

nainl.y petroleum and agricultural products .

About 80 per cent of the pot:W.ation are involved in agriculture and

about 90 per cent of the production cares fran small holders with holdings less than 'OJo hectares in size. Nigeria has been inporting large quantities

of food, about 2 . 5 million tons , especially cereal, to off-set its focrl deficits . Consequently, extensive financial , material and teclmical assis­tance progranrres have been develq>ed and int>lanented. Particular mention

should be rrade of the special Federal progranrres for revolutionizing

agriculture in the oountry. First, is the Green Revolution Prograntte 'lttlich was inaugurated in 1980 with the aim of increasing agricultural production

and inproving rural infrastructure. Second , is the National Accelerated

Food Prcrlu::tioo Prograntre which seeks to increase production of maize , rice,

-s-

millet, sorghun, �t, and cassava. sane 4000 fanrers were involved

in this scheme during 1980/81 . '!he third is the National Fish Production

Project under 'Which fishennen are supplied with inputs such as outl:xlara

JrOtors , fishing nets am also assisted with storage, processing and

rrarketing facilities o

Althoogh agriculture is now receiving brice as nuch financial suwort

as it did in the 1970s with consequent growing awareness of the fntx>rtance

of solving the food crisis, the aim of food self-sufficiency by 1985 and

turning Nigeria into a net eJ(p()rter of food by 1987 is a difficult goal.

'!he Green !Evolution is not being helped by heavy urban migration and the

unwillingness of youths to work on the land. other factors holding back

agricultural progress have been a carbination of bad planning and totally

inadequate investment in agricultural infrastructure and extension

services , the lack of achievercent of set goals , and the l:imi. ted availa­

bility and use of experimental research o

'!he statistics are clearly revealing on Nigeria ' s agricultural

perfonnance. Apart fran food crops (cassava, millet, rice , sorghun,· - .

maize, etc) Nigeria 's perfonnance in the production of eJCpC>rt crops has

declined. 'Ihus , the prodoction of groundnut declined fran l o 5 - 2 . 0

million tomes in the late 1960s and early 1970s to only 620 ,000 tames

in 1979 ; and coooa prodoction fell fran 200 ,000 tonnes in 1977 , to

180 , 000 tomes in 1979 . S:imi.lar trends can be shcMn for cotton , oil

palm, etc.

International Organizations : UN/frA and Others

In OCI'lfonnity With its foreign policy, Nigeria is not only a nariJer

of the UN and OCA but also gives to these organizations considerable

suwort and participates fully in all their activities. 'Ihe Nigerian

Vice-President joined several other Heads of State in celebrating the

Silver Jubilee Anniverscu:y of the OCAo In the past, the country has made

substantial financial , noral and material contributions to the camd.ssion.

-6-

When the new EX::A building was catpleted, Nigeria was one of several

ootmtries which helped with fumishing parts of the building. In addi tim to large gifts of paintings and sculptures , the Nigerian lounge

was exclusively decorated by the Govermrent. At the Foorth Biennial

Pledging Conference, in kklis Ababa, 2 May 1983 , Nigeria da1ated $200 , 000

to the United Nations Trust Fund for African Develqrnent.

EX::A' s effort at institutioo b.lilding has received the suwort of

Nigeria , 'MUch has provided generous host facilities and financial s\g)Ort

to 0«> regional training centres for Africa , i.e. African Pegional Centre

for Engineering, Designmg and Manufacturing, Ibadan, Nigeria and Pegional

Centre for Training in llerial Surveys , Ile-Ife , Nigeria.

Lagos is the headquarters of :EXDiAS and Nigeria belongs to 10 IOOs

as �11 as to all UN agencies and organs . Nigeria was a foonding JneDt)er

of the ONJ and the ADB in which she plays a big financial and poll tical

role . She is also a strmg nsri:ler of the camcnwealth.

REPRESENTATION IN THE SECRETARIAT

There were 1 9 nationa l s of Niger ia on geographica l po sts

at the Uni ted Na tions Secretariat as of 1 5 November 1 9 8 3 , as

compared with a desirable range for the ·country of 6-17 . Niger ia

is therefore over -r epresented .

In addition there were , a s of 1 5 November 1 9 8 3 , 3 1 Nigerian

nationals on non-geographic po s t s at the UN Secretariat , plu s

9 0 employed by UNDP , 9 by UNHCR , 3 2 by UNICEF and 1 on Spec ial

Leave without Pay . The total number of organizations therefore

equa ls 1 8 2 .

1 .

2 .

3 .

4 .

5 .

6 .

7 .

8 .

9 .

10 .

1 1 .

12 .

1 3 .

14 .

1 5 .

16 .

1 7 .

1 8 .

19 .

20 .

2 1 .

2 2 .

2 3 .

2 4 .

2 5 .

2 6 .

2 7 .

NIGE RIAN FEDE RAL MI NI STERS

AGRICULTURE

ANIMAL & FOREST RESOURCES

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

AVIATI ON

COMMUNI CATI ONS

CUSTOMS & EXC I S E

EDUCATION

ESTABLISHMENTS & TRAINING

EXTERNAL AFFAI RS ( 1 )

EXTERNAL AFFAI RS ( 2 ) ( 3 )

FEDERAL CAP ITAL TERRI TORY

FINANCE

HOUSING AND ENVI RONMENT

INDUSTRY & COMMERCE

INLAND REVENUE & I NSURANCE :

INTERNAL AFFAI RS

JUSTICE

MINES & POWER

NATI ONAL GUI DANCE

POSTAL SERVICES

PUBLIC HEALTH

S C I ENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SOC IAL DEV . & CULTURE

STEEL DEVELOPMENT

STUDENT AFFAI RS

TECHNI CAL EDUCATION

TRANSPORT & AVIAT I ON

CHIEF ETENG OKOI-OBULI

ALHAJI BALA SOKOTO

MR . KEHINDE SOFOLA

MR . JOHN NWODO , JR .

CHI EF EMMANUEL ADIELE

ALHAJI MOHAMADU LUGGA

CHIEF SUNDAY M . AFOLABI

ALHAJI MOGA Z I MUAZU

CHIEF ELEAZAR ANYAOKU

ALHAJI HAS SAN MOHAMMED DR . JOSEPH SOWHO

ALHAJI HALI RU DANTORO

ALHAJI ADAMU CI ROMA

ALHAJI MOHAMADU BUHARI

ALHAJI I DRI SA_ .KOKQ

DR . B IMBO AKINTOLA

DR . I B RAHIM TAH I R

MR . ROBERT DOSHUN GUMUT

ALHAJI I DRI SU I B RAHIM

ALHAJI YUSUFF MAI TAMA- SULE

ALHAJI HAMI SU MUSA

MR . PAUL WAMPANA

DR . BODE OLOWOPOROKU

DR . S IMI JOHNSON

MR . AUDU OGBEH

ALHAJI B I LYAMIN USMAN

DR . ASUQUO OKONNO

ALHAJI UMORU DI KKO

. . . . /2

2 8 . WATER RESOURCES

2 9 . WATER SUPPLY

30 . WORKS

- 2 -

MR . EMMANUEL ATANU

ALHAJ I I . ! SA

MR . ISMAEL IGBANI

Soci�Political COOditions

'lbe a!pllblic of Togo ' s land area is only about one per cent of the

total land area of �t Africa \\bile its population of abOut 2 . 5 million

(1980) equals nearly 2 per cent of the total . It is a roastal country an the Atlantic with its state capital located in r..are .

Historically, it is difficult for Togo to exist without being ooncerned

and involved with developtents across its borders in neighbouring G:lana . Fran being a Gel:mm Protectorate since 1884 , the country was after the end

of the First World war, 1914-1918 , split between France and Britain. In 1957, British Togoland was ceded to Glana and subsequently, French Togoland

(present-day Togo) becane i.nqependent an 27 April 1960. Nevertheless ,

oamercial oontact between the two Togolands or indeed between G1ana and

Togo oontinued to flourish for as long as relations were cordial. Indeed, since the return to power of Jerry Rawlings in G'lana, Togolese opposed to

the G:>verrment have found refuge there in the sane way that they have tradi­

tionally done in Ivo:cy Coast and France .

On the other hand, as ORJOilel'lts of the various reg.irces in G1ana -civilian and mi.lita:cy alike - had also always found refuge in Togo, leaders

an each side accuse each other of encouraging subversive activities in the

other • s territory. '!he frequent and periodic closures of the border between

the two countries took place for reasons other than those often stated. For

exai'Iple, agitations in the Volta �an of Glana in favour of re-unification of fo:rner Togoland with the "notherland" (Iepubllc of Togo) influenced the

decision to close the border as it was known in Glana that the re-unification

novenents in the southern part of the country were supported by the regine in

power in Togo and it was also well known that the regine in power in Togo was seeking to re-open the Togoland case at the United Nations.

<1lana • s ecananic probletrs have cx:mpelled it to tighten its oontrol of

the border between it and Togo. 'lhis has been having harsh ecananic effects

an Togo as it has inp:>sed a check an the flow of illicit trade across the

- 2 -

lx>rders. In any case, the lx>rder was re-opened in March 1983 but only

between 6.00 a.m. and 6 .00 p.m. daily. Earlier, it was also opened on - - -28 January 1983 to allow G1anaians returning fran Nigeria to cross over.

Iecently, while on a vist to New York and Washington, President Eyadema.,

stressing that the relations between Togo and Qlana are very good, and that Ghana had only closed the borders with Togo for ecxn::mi.c reasons ,

eJCPressed the hope that with the rrediatians of Aimed Sekou Toure, the

President of Guinea, a solution would soon be found.

'!he first President of the Iepublic who was assassinated in 1963 was

Sylvanus Olynpio, whose family Irei'I'bers in exile with the De Souza family

renain QRX>Sed to the Togolese Q)venment. Currently 1 General GlasSingbe

Eyadema, is the President and Head of State. The President who is elected

for 7 years by tmiversal adult suffrage, has executive � and he rxmi.nates

his ministers. The National Asseni>ly of 67 neci:lers is elected for office for

five years . The official language is French and the nonetacy tmit is em franc.

Togo is a llB'I'i:ler of the West African M:metacy Union grouping together Benin, Ivo:cy COast, Senegal , Niger and Upper Volta.

Socio-Ecanan:i.c Conditions

Togo, \<bich is basically self-sufficient in food crops , inports large

quanti ties of cereals. Yams and cassava are the main staples . It also - . p:rodu:::es CXlCOa, ootton and palm oil and nuts. The estinated potential

arable land area is about 50 per cent of the total, 'While the actual cultivated

area is between 11 and 15 per cent. The northem part of the count:cy suffers

fran drought which the Governnent intends to tackle by inplE!IBlting sare

irrigatioo schenes. In order to adrl.eve the addi tiona! c.;pal of crop

diversification and food self-sufficiency by 1985 , the governnent will also

make efforts to iliprove water suwly, increase cultivated land area, and foster

sc1'lenes on replanting, nechni.zatian, raising p:rodu::::er prices, increasing pro­

cessing and storage capacity and :inproving organizational nanagemant. '!he

inprovement envisaged will be extended to developrent of livestock, forest:cy

and fishing.

- 3 -

'l.'bcp has also incurred a lot of fozeign debt through heavy borrowing for invest:Delt in industry and hotels under the five-year plan which ended

in 1980 . 'lhus , as early as 1978 , a severe financial crisis which was also

fanned by the sll.Dl> in the price of �te (Togo 1 s nain foreign exchange earner) hit the country. Foreign debt is estinated at over $1 billion and the debt servicing ratio is as high as 50 per cent. other minerals present in the CO\.Ultry include iran ore , l.il'lest.ale and nm:ble. It is estinated

that m:i.ning contributed 15 per cent to � in 1980 , the bulk of this cxmi.ng f:ran �te.

Other activities in the industrial sector include refining nainly for export, using Nigerian cnx]e oil SlJR)ly; manufacture c£ oerrent (1.2

million tons in 1981) for exp::>rt;palm oil processing, sugar refining and

several food prooessing activities .

France ( 30 - 35%) is the nain source of inports of machi.nexy and

other 9JOds followed by United Ki.ngdan (10-14%) and Federal Republic of Germany (9 - 10%) ; others are Netherlands , USA, Japan, Italy and Ivocy Coast. 'lbese sane CO\.Ultries and Nigeria are · the nain destinations of 'l.'bcp 1 s exp::>rts .

Intemational Organizations: w;n and Others

Apart f:ran rreniJersh.ip of the UN and ErA, Togo is also a IIE!II'ber of 1CP

(!.are Convention) , French lbletal:y Aiea, International Cocoa Organization, the Council of the Entente , etc. It also has an observer status with CEAO.

In West Africa specifically, Togo played a significant role, in ooncert.

with Nigeria, in ensuring the establislment of EXXl'lAS , and is a Iteiti:ler of 17 IOOs with extensive rreniJersh.ip in VE9t Africa.

'!be relatiooship with EX:'A has been very cordial. The executive Secretal:y

of the camrl.ssion acc:arpanied by senior officials made an official visit to

Togo f:ran 13 to 17 June 1982 at the invitation of its President. Subsequent

- 4 -

follow-up missions and activities have been undertaken by various EX:A

Divisions with a view to translating sate of the decisions taken during

the official visit into concrete actions. As part of Togo's participatia1

in sub-regiooal co-operation in West Africa, the countJ:y has not only

been an active I'l'ellDer and participant in the work of the Nianey-based .MULPOC , but also those of �, CEAO and other I<Ds.

REPRESENTATION IN THE SECRETARIAT

There were 9 national s of Togo on geographical posts at

the Uni ted Nation s Secr etar ia t as of 15 November 1 9 8 3 , a s

compared with a desirable range for the country o f 2 -14 . Togo

is therefore wi thin its desirable range .

In addition there wa s , a s of 15 November 1 9 8 3 , 9 Togo

nationals on non-geographic po sts at the UN Secretar ia t , plus

3 8 employed by UNDP , 2 by UNHCR and 4 by UNICEF . The total

number of Togo national s with the United Na tions and the above­

mentioned organiza tions therefore equa ls 6 2 .

TOGO, REPUBLIC OF

(September 19 83 )

Prnidt:'lt . . . .. . . .

!\.tin Clf C:nl Sr:-. let' & L�lv-r �tm i>f Comm�r"' ! Tun.po·-r: �tm Clf ht l ;!nd �� Educa11nn

�tin of }rd l -l:h Ot-cr� Educ:�tion l Sc:Pnttf1c

Rt'Va:ch ......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... ......... . . .

!\.tm. of FiN� 6 Econom� . ...... .. . ........ . . . . ... ....... .......... . . . .. .

�tin of Foreii;n :\ff.ain 6 CooJ;II"rahon .... .. ...... . . . . .. ...... .... . . .. .

�in ,r lnfonn.ation. Post 6 Telec<-.mmu"Jcahons .. .......... .... . .

\tin of lntericr .. .. . . ... ...... . . ..... . .. . . . . . . . . .. . .

!\.1m of Justi�. i.:eePI"r "f th� Su! �tin of \linn. Enern. H�·dnulic RPSOurt"eS 6 Public

WNi.; .. . . . ........................................... -.. .... , .. . . .. . . . ....... . . ... . . . . ....... . '1.1ir. of �.!1 �!erue . . . . . . . . . ................... ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... . . . . ..... .

\fir. of Plar. lnd:J.Str; 6 Adminiltrath� Reform . . . . .................... .

\hr !'! PubliC' He:�!th .. . . . .. . . . . ........ .

'l.tm co! Rur�l �'eiopm�nt .. .......................................................... .

\t:n of 1\ur.al \1anaa�ment ............................................................. .

�in of Soc :.a.! Affain 6 Women's Status ....................................... .

Min of l'outb. Culture 6 Sporu ................................................... ..

Min. in Cba!'1e of Rebtions ,. ith ParlW!Ient at the P:�::!�r.('v ······ . . . .. . . .. .. . . . . . . . . .. . ... .... . . . . .............. .......... .......... .

Iyadfaaa, CIWii111hi. �­Sapo, Nvandi Seibou Tdlalla, Pali Yao Albetiafa, lomlan

Atbetra, Arsah Thi-leainu, Tftf .Ua�Ahiaayo. Aaani (uma .Uie,bob. Cben)OD Lulf, lpotivi Tiovi-Diidqbi Ajuoa, Ayite !mwuko

Buquf, Bam Moussa Eyadfma, CIIILIIinlbe. �­WaDa, loffi (adanp

Bodjoaa, Hodab&lo Cassou, Anani �o. Samoo Amedoml, Abra. Jlra. Sama, (offi

Dapclzi, Maaa. Mra.

Mutdli, Soohie. Jlra. lao, u.c

Ann o: I I

Scxio-Politieal Corditions

'!be �lie of Ivoey Coast occupies sate 322 ,463 sq. Jan. of

territory within which live a pqW.ati.on of 8 . 25 million, which makes

it the thil:d largest cnmtey after Nigeria and Ghana on the West African

coast. As a fonrer French territory, the official language is French

and the currency is the CFA frarx:.

Since achieving political independence m 7 August 1960, the Republic

has been ruled by Executive President Houphc:u!t-Boigny '\filo befoz:e inde­

pendence held ministerial posts in the French Goverment. �­Boigny, now 77 years old, is reputedly stern and s.hJ:awi and has tumed

Ivory Coast into a ooe-party state with a relatively successful and

thrivinq eoonany. '!he leaCJership of the President has been a vital foxoe

in this respect. His awroach to African affairs underlines sate aspects

of his �s. It is for instance known that he one of the fomxling

fathers of the CWJ. But he has rarained sateWhat aloof and not veey mJCh

involved in CWJ activities. Recently, when CWJ Heads of State net in

.Pddis Ababa to z:esolve the crisis facing the organization as a result of

the admission of Western Sahara, President �t-Boigny not only did

not attem rut also his state visit to the United states took place around

the sane tine. He is also known to be a strong advocate for q:ening and

maintaining dialogue with apartheid SOUth Africa. en issues affecting

ecooani.c ex>-qlE!ratian and integration of West Africa in particular am of

Africa in general , the President is a tower of strength. His role in the

establishnent of :EXXHAS was vecy crucial and he personally attended the

now historic lagos Ec:alan:ic SUilln:i.t.

A nan , M10 bnxlks no CJIIX)Sitim, the President nurses a poll tical

philosophy geared to the strict maintenance of law and order. Because of

this and through his fatller-image, he has succeeded in tmiting the diverse

64 ethnic groups in the oountey. Partly as a trit.ute to the President, his

birthplace, Yai'IDllSSalkro, has been develcp!d into a nDdern city which, it

is hq:led, will eventually replace Abidjan as the capital of the countey.

-2-

QU.y a few na1ths aC¥J, there was sate social agitatioo led by

school teachers llilo felt that they were victins of sate austerity neasw:es

decreed by the Govenment 'Which cut-off rent subsidy to teachers . '!here

were allegatioos in the Gove.rrment circle that foreign foroes , led by

Libya, were tl:yinq to destabilize the regime in the Ivory Coast.

SOCio-Eoalanic Cooditioos

Agriculture is the life-blood of the nati.al; it is its first priority

am is an area where the Ivory Coast has made sate significant progress

in the productioo of food and cash crop . About 12 per cent of the total

land area is cultivated, 25 per cent is pasture and 20 per cent is forest.

Agriculture euploys nearly 80 per cent of ·the �llatial and accamts for

24 per cent of GDP . '!he 11Bin cash crq>s are coffee and cocoa at which

the health of the � depends. Ivory Coast is the biggest producer

of coffee in Africa and ranks thitd in the world after Brazil and Co1Ul1'bia.

'!be same is true of oocoa, for Ivory Coast is the l«>rld • s largest producer, having

overtaken Qlana several years ago . Other crops are cottal, sugar, ocxx:nuts ,

oil pa.1n&, rice, cassava , millet, pulses, nuts , tcmcoo, rul:tler, etc .

'!be camtry's forest facilitates the proci1rtiat of industrial \«Jed for

el!POrt ani local <XIlS\mptiat.

'!be Ivory Coast has been having a thriving export of fruits such as

pineapple, 1TEU'190 1 papaya, avocado, etc . to vari� parts of the l«>rld.

Small agro-based industrial plants transfoJ:In these fruits into juices

for export.

'!be West (France, USA, West Gennany, Holland and Italy) is the nain

� partner in tents of exports and inports. On the West ooast, Ivory

Coast inports goods £ran Nigeria and Senegal , and exports to Mali, ower

Volta, and M:>rocoo. Also vital to the ecortaey is the significant volme

of imnigrant workers f:ran ower �lta , Mali , Senegal and other neighbouring

countries estima� at about 25 per cent of the total pcpul.atiat in 1980.

-3-

until the current ec::x:n:mic crisis, Ivocy Coast was an exanple of

a success story in econanic develq:ment. It has ooe of the best managed

ecooani.es in Africa. '!he :recent discovery of oil in 1977 raises 1:q?es

of a better eoonani.c future for the Ivocy Coast. With exploi taticn going

en in a«> fields , it is expected that the camtcy will scxm be self­

sufficient and subsequently beoate a net exporter of both cru:1e and

refined petroleum.

Ivocy Coast has never hidden its pro West stance and has been very

critical of SOViet role in Africa. 'lhe oountcy cut dipl.atatic relations

with Russia saretine ago because the latter was alleged to be necXUing

in its internal affaira. Ivocy Coast is OOwe\ler a J.lE!!IDer of the Nal­

Aligned Group of countries. 'lhe oountJ:y shares a joint central bank, a

cam011 currency and a free trade zone with her frarlCX)J;ixne neighbours :

Niger, � VOlta, 5enega.l. and Togo. '!heir c:atlton currency, i.e. the

CFA, which is linked with the French franc , suffered f:ran the 1982 de­

valuaticn of the latter by increasing their iJrport bills.

· Internaticnal. OrganizatiatS : UN,/J!r.A and Others

Ivocy Coast has been an active nartler of the ErA since attaining

political independence in 1960. She participates fully in the work pro­

granne of the Carmissicm and also attends its legislative and tedmical

neetings. cne of EX:'.A 1 s statistical training ceritres is located with the

full support of the govenment in Abidjan which also hosts the African

Develq:ment Bank which is the oldest established EX::A instituticn in the

field of banking, finance and nonetacy affairs. '!he Bank stulles ,

prepares and finances develq:ment projects in African countries. '!he

African �t E\md of the Bank , a kind of African IDA, nobilizes

:fuOOs fran develcped ootmtries concerned with Africa 1 s develq:ment.

At the sub-regional level, the Niarcey-based Mt.JL1?CC caters far the

interest of the camdssicm in the Ivocy Coast which participates in the

work programne and activities of the Centre. 'lhe countcy shares the

nenbership of 19 IOOs with other Mrican oom1tries. She is a full llBii:ler

of BXfiAS, an organization established and currently administered with

her full participati.on and suwort·

Besides, over and above the W, ErA and BXfiAS, the Iva:y coast holds

the llleiii:lership of other intemati.alal organizati.ons including K:P oountries

associated with m: (Iare CCnventi.on) , Intematiooal Cocoa Organizati.on,

CEAO, French M:metary Area, etc.

REPRESENTATION IN THE SECRETARIAT

There were . ll na tional s of Ivory Coa st on geographica l posts

a t the United Na t ions Secretar iat as of 15 November 1 9 8 3 , a s

compared with a d e s �rable range for the country of 3 -14 .

Ivory Coa st i s therefore within its d e s irable range .

In add i tion there were , a s of 1 5 November 1 9 8 3 , 2 Ivory

Coa st na tiona l s on non-geographical po sts at the UN Secretariat ,

plus 1 employed by ITC , 1 6 by UNDP and 2·0 by UNICEF . The

total number of Ivory Coa s t national s with the United Na tions

and the above-mentioned organi zations therefore equa l s 5 0 .

FORE IGN BROADCAS T I��O���T ION 8 E�VICE - OA ILY REPO�T

ll Net ll

IVORY COAST

List of New Caltilltt Mtlllben Released II No• AB/81111 Abidjalf Dommie Strvict ;, Fmd 1145 GMT 18 Nov 81

[Text) We now have the list of the members of 11overnment. I will 11 i v e i t t o y o u · r a p i d l y .

Minister of:

State

Defense Justice &: Keeper of Seals Foreian Affairs Interior Economy and Finance Aariculture. Water and

Forest Resources Public Worb. Construction,

Posts &: Telecommunications

National Educatioli and Scientir�e Racarcb

Cultural Affain Information Labor &: lvorization of Cadres Y outb and Sporu Internal Security Mines Rural Development Industry Public Health and

Population Commerce Marine Civil Service Tourism Social Affairs Relations With National

Assembly

Auauste Denise Mathieu Ekra Camille Alliali Maurice Scri-Gnoleba Emile Kei Botuinard Jean Konan Banny Lanzeni Couhbaly Simeon Ake Leon Konan Koffi Abdoula�e Konc Denis Bra·Kanon

Anae Francois Barry-Battesti

Balla Kcit&

Bernard Dadie Amadou Thiam Albert Vanic-Bi-Tra Laurent Dona Foloao Oumar Ndaw Paul Gui Dibo Gilles laubhouet Bernard Ehui Alphonse Djcdje Madi

Nicolas Kouandi Anaba Lamine Fadiaa Jean-Jacques Bcchio Duon Sadia Yaya Ouattara Emile Brou

WfST AntiCA

..

G

UPPER VOLTA

Socio-Political Conditions

Like Niger, Mali and Chad in the West African slll::rregion, the Iep.Jblic

of Upper Volta is a landlocked oounb:y with no gateway to the sea . It is

a relatively nedi�sized counb:y of aw:roxima.tely 6 . 8 million people,

(1980 estimates) located on alx>ut 4.5 per cent (247 , 200 Km2

) of the West

African land mass . 'lhe geo-political relations ani posture of the counb:y

is defined by its having to share CXl111LOll borders with the following Six

countries: Mali to the northwest, Niger to the north-east, Benin to the

South-\Est, and 'l'Oc}:), <llana. and Ivocy coast to the south.

A fonrer French colony, Upper Volta achieved independence on

4 August 1960. Its capital Ouagadougou was the capital of the farrous r.t:>ssi

enpire which reigned before the advent of Europeans and one can today still

see IIDn'l.l[[eil.ts such as the palace of the Erq;Jerors and other historical

artefacts of the era.

The first Head of State of the Iepublic was President Maurice Yami.ego.

Iecently, the countcy has :Seen a quick succession of militacy rulers . Thus

in Noverrber 1982 , COlonel Saye Zerbe was ousted fran :petEr by Jean-Baptiste

DlBiraogo, a 42-year old ant¥ doctor who at the tine vowed to rid the

countcy of the canker-\'JOnn of corruption. In a rather quick succession,

another coup took place and captain Thara.s Sankara, aged 34 and who was

dismissed as Prine Minister in May 1983 staged a CXJie-ba.ck and toppled

OUedraogo who had earlier sacked him. Captain Sankara maintained in a

radio broadcast on 4 August 1983 that he had overthrown 0\Edraogo because he

represented the interests of the enemies of the people - "the interests of

neo-colonialism" . He was quick to deny in an interview with a French radio

that he was a pawn to Libya even though ilrmadiatley after the coup he, Captain

Sankara, tele{iloned the Libyan leader, COlonel Qaddafi who expressed his

"highest esteem for the revolution. " It should be renerci:Jered that captain

Sankara and his friends were arrested ani detained by OlBiraogo for naking

Pro-� statenents.

- 2 -

'!be disclainer was part of the effort of the Sankara regine to

reassure its neighbors that the new leftist revolution will oot caltri­

bute to destabilizaticn in the West African sub-regioo. It is also

significant that following a visit to Mali by captain Sankara, a c:xmm.mi.que

published en 16 Sept.eniJer 1983 reported that he and Mali ' s President Traore

had reached an acoord to sul:mi t the old border dispute between their ttr.1o

ocnmtries to the Intemational court of Justice at the Hague. They also

agreed to c:D eveything within existing structures to find a definite and

rapid solution. In further testinony of their desire for co-operation and

camumication, Upper volta has ratified financial agreerr:ent with Algeria,

a transport agreenent with USSR, the European Devel.optent FuDi and with Benin. She has also signed an agreenent with the Pan-African News Aqency (PANA) .

lbwever, although its relations with Mali, Qlana and Niger �

cordial, the regine of captain sanka.ra seens however to have serious pmblem3

with Togo and especially Ivory Coast. '!be situaticn, in this regard, is

:inp)rtant because Upper Volta being landlocked, depends very nuch on these

two neighbours for access to the sea , especially for the eJq;X>rtation and

:inp)rtation of camodities .

On relations with France , the French Minister of Co-operation and

Developtent, M. Christian Nucci, visited ouagadougou fran 14 to 16 Sept:srber 1983 and it was said that the visit marked a �ge in Franoo-Voltan relations

which had soured sinoe the coup. '!be Minister prani.sed that France would

tq;i'lold previous a:mnit:nents in Upper Volta and \VOuld incl:ease the financial

package for 1984" After the visi-t: President Sankara took part in the Franco­

African Smmit in Vittel in October 1983.

As things are at the nment, captain Sankara has yet to find internal

peace and stability. He is still haunted by "ghosts" of internal enemies

and a belief that his country will be invaded by hired nercenaries fran

abroad. As a result of this , he has , acoording to BBC rounded up, on 15 Noverrber

1983, about 15 old politicians inclu:ling two fonter presidents .

- 3 -

Indeed, Imnediately after � took over, captain Sankara introduced ·

serious changes in running the internal affairs of the country. '!be "Conseil

National de la :Revolution" (am) was established to decide en all policy . .

rra.tters. Its <Xllp)Sition, although not as yet revealed, is suspected to be

rra.de up largely of mill taJ:y persamel and civilians with extrere leftist

ideologies. It is worth nentioning that in eadl locality of the country,

the "Canite de Defense de la :Revolution" has been created to deal with daily

administrative rra.tters. "Tri.bunaux Popul.aires" have also been set up to

judge the foxmer politicians and other dignitaries of the previous regines .

As far as internal policy is ccncemed, it is interesting to oote that for

the last three ItD11ths that it has been in existence, the goverrment of

captain &mkara has 'cleaned' the public service by already dismissing sore

300 civil servants ccnsidered as not being fit for the revolution.

Socio-Econanic Conditions

Upper Volta has been variously rated the third poorest country in the

world and therefore a neni:ler of the world' s least Developed Countries.

Not only is the country landlocked, it is also a sahelian country and one

of the five nenbers of CILSS. Agriculture provides enploynent for about

82 per cent of the populaticn in a land nenaced by desert encroachnent

and widespread p.:>verty of the soil. The country suffered ilmensely fran

the droughts in the late 1960s and early 1970s . .Rainfall is not only

scanty but unreliable and planting is confined nostly to river valleys and

oases . The GJvemnent is giving a lot of attention to irrigation and water ocnservaticn progrannes. It is also felt that clearing the country of

river blindness, bilahrzia and rra.laria will greatly enhance agricultural

and livestock procilrtivity. Although fcx:xl self-sufficiency is the � of . .

the Govemnent, a significant arrount of cereals , at least 75, 000 tons when

the tines are good, has had to be :inp:>rted.

The World Food Prograzme , cognizant of the prevailing poverty, singled

out Upper Volta for the installation, in October 1981, of its largest rural

develq::m:mt schene in West Africa involving distribution of 35 ,000 tons of

food to develqnent workers over a period of two years . Additional credit

- 4 -

for agriculture has also been provided by IDA in April l982. 'lhe total

of such credit to tJRler Volta anounted to $90 million. In July 1982 , the . -W:>rld Bank armounoed further aid for seed illprovenent and anllra1 husbandry

�rth $11. 5 million in IDA credits. Other sources of aid have care fran the - -Netherlands , France , Norway, and the USA.

Industrialization has also contributed to econani.c grcMth. Alx>ut 18

per cent of GDP {1980) cane fran this sector which basically involved

activities in agricultural processing and manufacture of soap, cigarettes ,

shoes , t.yres, etc.

'lbere are known reserves of un� minerals, mainly manganese, linestone

and �te. Gold. mining which was s� in the 1960s was expected to

:reopen this year, 1983.

'lhe bulk of the illport-export trade is carried on with france, UK, USA, Federal Republic of Gennany, Italy, Japan, Glana, and Ivo:cy Coast. 'lhe inports in exchange for raw ootton, live anllrals , groundnuts , and hides and skins

include notably, nachine:cy, food, �uticals , building naterials , textiles and petroleun prodtrts. 'lhe crushing debt burden arising fran the unfavourable

balance of pa.ynents is very well known and acknc:Mledged.

Intemational Organizations : UN/OCA and Others

As a rrentJer of the EX:'A, the Republic of tJRler Volta has provided

support to the organization of several EX:'A legislative and teclmical �tings.

She was represented at the EX:'A Silver Jubilee Amliversa:cy celebrations in

April 1983 . tJRler Volta is a nenber of the Nianey-based MULPCX:: and has been

actively involved in the execution of its �zit prograrme particularly as it

relates to sub-regional co-operaticn in fulfilling EX:'A 1 s mandate in the

continent.

Additional evidence of the Iepublic 1 s contribution to sub-regicnal

co-operaticn is underlined by its nerbership to 22 IOOs. In this respect,

she is only surpassed by Niger with 25 . Besides , three of these IOOs have

- 5 -

their headquarters in Ouagadougou, the State ' s capital. 'lhese are :

(a) '!be cattle and !eat Eoorx:mic camunity of the COuncil of the Entente

States (CEBV) ; (b) The Penna.nent Inter-State camri.ttee on Drought COOtrol

in the Sahel (CII..SS) and (c) '!be West African Ecalcmi.c camunity (CFJ\0) .

REPRESENTATION IN THE SECRETARIAT

There were 8 nationals of Upper Volta on geographical

posts at the United Nations Secretar iat · as of 1 5 November 1 9 8 3 ,

as compared with a desirable range for the country of 2 -14 .

Upper Volta is therefore within its desirable range .

In addition there were , as of 15 November 1 9 8 3 , 1 0 Upper

Volta nationals on non-geographic posts at the UN Secretaria t ,

plus 5 5 employed by UNDP , 1 by UNHCR and 5 by UNICEF . The

total number of Upper Volta na tional s with the Uni ted Nations

and the above-mentioned organi zations therefore equal s 7 9 .

. .

CCMPOS ITION DU G CXTV ERN:ElfENT

DE LA REPUBL I�E DE HAUTE VOLTA PUBL IEE

LE 24 AOUT 1 983

-------------------- - - -- -

Pr e s id en t du Conseil Na t i ona l d e la Revolut ion , Chef d e l ' Etat , Mini stre d e l ' In ter ieu r et de la se cur ite Capita ine Thoma s SANKARA

M ini str e d ' Etat Del egue a l a Pr e s idence Cap itaine Bl a i se COMPAORE

M in i stre d e la Defense Nat i ona l e et des Anc iens Camb at t ant s Chef d e Ba t a i l l on Boukary Jean-Ba p t i s t e LINGANI

Mini stre d e s Affa ir e s Etr ange r e s Mon s i eur Hama Ar ba D IALLO

M inistre Charge d e s Soc ietes d ' Etat Capitain e He nr i ZONG O

M in i stre d e l a Ju s t ic e , Garde des Sc eaux Monsieur Tr in Raymon PODA

Mini str e de l ' Equ i pement et d e s Commun ica t i ons · Mons ieur Phil ippe OUEDRAOGO

Mini stre du Plan et d e l a Cooper a t ion Mon s ieur Ta lata Euge ne DONDASSE

Mini str e d e s F inanc e s Monsieur D am e Ju stin BARRO

M ini str e du Developpement Rur al Monsieur Se yd ou TRAOR E

M in i stre d e la Sante Publ ique Pharma c ien-commandant Abdou Sa l am KAB OR E

Min i stre du Commer c e , du Dev e l oppement Indu str iel e t d e s M ine s Mon s ieur Bou bac ar HAMA

Mini str e du Trava i l , d e l a Secur ite Soc iale et d e l a Fonc t i on Publ ique Mon sieur Fide l e TOE

Ministr e de l ' En se ignement Super ieur et de la Recherc he Sc ient if ique Mons ieur lss a TIENDREBEOOO

M ini str e de ! ' Educat ion Na t ionale , d e s Ar t s et de la Cu lture Monsieur Emm anuel DADJOUARI

Mini str e d e ! ' In f ormat ion Mon sieur Adama TOt� E

- 2 -

Mini stre d e l a Jeune sse et d e s Spor t s Mon s ieur Ibr ahima KONE

Mini str e d e l ' Env ironnement et du Tour isme Monsi eur Lae t ar e Ba s i l e GU I SSOU

Mini str e d e s Af f a ir e s Soc i al e s Mm e PALE nee Bernad e t t e ROAMBA

Secr eta ir e d ' Etat a l ' Int er ieur et a l a Secur ite Mons ieur Ernest Nongma OU_EDRAOGO

. . .

Se cr e t a ir e Gene ra l d u Gouvernement et du Con se i l d e s Mini st r e s Mon s i eur Nayabt ingou Emmanuel CONGO KABORE

SENEGAL

SOCI O-POLITICAL CONDI T I ONS

The Republ i c of Senega l , whi ch was the cent re for Fr ench

coloni al rule i n \'lest Afr i ca , rank s s i xth i n populat i on and ninth i n

land area among the West Afr ican ECOWAS count r i e s . The Republ i c .

was , be fore i ndependence i n June 1 960 , part of the shor t - l i ved

Federat i on of Ma l i in 1 9 5 9 . The f i r s t Pre s ident , who held of f i ce

from 1 960- 1 98 0 , wa s the renowned Leopold Senghor who wa s s ucc eeded

by the i ncumbent Head of Stat e , Pres ident Abdou D i ouf on 1 January

1 98 1 . Elected by un i versal suff rage for a f i ve-year renewable t erm ,

the Pres i dent w i elds execut i ve powe r s . Also elec t ed at the t i me ,

for the same durat i on as the Pres ident , are the membe rs of the

uni cameral Nat i ona l As sembly . Be s ides , there i s a Pr ime Mini ster

appoi nted by the Pres i d ent . With a mult i -party sy stem of government

( P res ident D i ouf lega l i zed 10 pol i t ical part i es as aga i nst 3 under

Senghor ) the ru l i ng party i s the Part i Soc i al i st e Se nega l a i s . Wi th

a h i ghly educat ed , voc a l and ag i tat ing el i t e , i t i s hoped that th i s

f reedom to cr eate part i e s of any i deolog i ca� colour w i l l not prove

to be an expens i ve gamb le and count er-product i ve .

S i nce t ak i ng o f f ice , Pr e s i dent D i ouf has worked hard to bu i ld an

image for hims e l f and more i mportant ly to correct many of the error s

made dur i ng the last years of Pres ident Senghor ' s rule . He has

proven h i mse l f to be an e f fect i ve and dec i s i ve admi ni s t r ator . Hi s

shrewd dec i s i on in lega l i s ing many more pol i t ical pa rt i e s in the

count ry ha s gone a long way t o smothe r i ng d i s s ent in the count ry .

II

- 2 -

H i s stand i ng , i nt e rnal ly and externally , wa s enhanced by h i s qu ick

dec i s i on t o come to the m i l i t ary a i d o f S i r Dawda Jawara when a coup

thr eat ened to topple h i m f rom off i c e as the Head of Stat e of the

Gamb i a . It was as a r e s ult of th i s that the Confederat i on by the

Senegamb i a was born i n February 1 98 2 . P r ed i ctably , prog r e s s on the

c on f ederat i on has been slow for i t was act ua l ly born i n a moment of

great uncerta i nty for S i r Dawda who probably could not res i st the

powers i n Dakar , who , want i ng somethi ng i n return for the i r he lp ,

saw a chance of ful f i l l i ng the i r long-t i me des i re of br i ng i ng Gamb i a

c l o s e r to the i r pol i t ical orb i t and f i na l ly amput at i ng thi s sore

f i nger thrust in the i r m i d s t by the Br i t i sh in the 1 9th cent u ry .

Wh i le the c onfed e rat i on has the r i ng of h i st or i cal i ne v i tabi l i ty i n

v i ew of the prox i m i ty o f the two count r i e s and the u s e of Wollof as

a common language , ther e is no doubt that f urther pol i t i c a l ,

psycholog i ca l , economi c and soc i al cons i d erat i ons have to be we i ghed

be fore the agreement c an be fully i mplemented . It i s good enough

that both s ide s to the agreement rea l i se th i s .

Interna l ly , Pre s ident D i ouf who i s a devout Moslem has been

work i ng hard and caut i ous ly to cult i vat e the f r i end sh i p and support

of the count ry ' s a l l -power ful rel i g i ous f igure s , the Marabout s who

l ead three ma i n Senega l e s e s ect s and command the loyalty of the i r

Mos l em fol lowe r s . Th i s a f fords h i m r e l i g i ous back i ng wh i ch coupl ed

w i th that of h i s well orga n i zed party should make h i m form idable enough .

SOCIO-ECONOM I C CONDITIONS

Like the pol i t i c a l sys t em , it i s a l so al leged that Pre s i dent

Senghor left the economi c sys t em in d i s a r r ay . W i th an empty

t reasury , i nt ernat i ona l con f i dence in the coun t ry sagged . Thi s

unfavourable economi c c ond i t i on has been worsened by the prolonged

drought · wh ich has completely eroded the augmentat i on of farm and

a n i mal product s and plunged the count ry i n a stat e of cont i nued

exte rna l dependenc e for food .

- 3 -

Although i t i s not a membe r of CILSS , Senegal has shared the

ecolog i cal and c l imat i c m i s fortunes of the Sahe l i an count r i es .

Poor r a i ns last year and thi s yea r have caused s e r i ous shortages

of r i ce and cerea l s . WFP t ook mea sures to send 1 5 , 000 tonne s of

r i ce t o Senegal i n November 1 98 3 , br i ng i ng the total emergency

drought re l i e f as s i s t anc e to $9 . 1 mi l l i on th i s yea r .

Agri culture employs some 7 5 per cent o f Senega lese i n cont rast

t o 1 0 per cent who are employed in i ndu s t ry and yet i t only

cont r ibut es 8 . 5 per cent of the GDP . The heavy dependence on

agr icult ure has exposed the ec onomy to severe loss o f revenue

a r i s ing from bad weather cond i t i ons and unfavourable external

commod i ty market i ng . The count ry , as a result , s u f fered from heavy

balance of payment s de f i c i t s and a burgeoni ng foreign debt . The

lack of dome s t i c sav i ngs ha s meant that the Count ry ' s deve lopment

plans have had to be f i nanced f rom f oreign sources . Ru ral

development i nvolv i ng the exte n s i on of i r r i gat i on sy s t ems and

act i v i t i es of · co-operat i ves has b�en g i ven attent i on in order to

curta i l the count ry ' s food de f i c i t and . combat desert i f icat i on .

The r i s i ng value o f the US dollar aga i ns t the CFA f ranc pl us the

40 per cent f a l l in the wor ld ma rk et pr i c e �f groundnut s in 1 9 8 1

have not �ade the recovery of the economy pos s i bl e , nor ha s the

h i ght cost of s e r v i c i ng publ i c debt be en he lpful . Despi t e imme n s e

soc ial pre s s ure , the Government was forced i n 1 98 2 to i nt roduce and

fol low-up on ha r sh budgetary and f i scal mea sures i nvo lvi ng ra i s ing

the pr ice of es sent i a l commod i t i e s , f ree z i ng wages and rec ru i t ment ,

and i mpos i ng t ax i ncreases on employees .

As i t s ec onomic s i t uat i on wor sened , Senegal t urned to the IMF

and the World Bank for a s s i s t ance . At the end of 1 9 8 1 , the count ry

had a t otal loan of £380 m i l l i on from the Bank , the IDA and IFC .

France as the f orme r colon i a l powe r and ma jor t rad i ng pa rtner has

made exc ept i onal a s s i st ance ava i l able . Some f r i end ly Arab count r i e s

have also been he lpi ng .

- 4 -

The c u r r e nt scena r i o i s unl i k e ly to change s i gn i f icant ly i n the

nea r f u t u r e . S e negal i s mak i ng f rant i c e f for t to u sher i n a mode s t

sty le o f l i v i ng more i n keeping w i th i t s fa l l i ng reve nues . Neverthe l es s , wi thout add i t i onal nat ural re sourc e s , pr i nc i pa l ly

m i neral s a nd fert i l e land , the ec onomy wi l l cont i nue pl umet t i ng for

i t ca nnot thr i ve bet t e r by depend i ng on for e ign a i d in the absenc e

of foreign inve s t ment .

FORE I GN POL I CY

Senegal i s one of the mo st i n f l uent i a l stat e s in Afr i c a . It

ma i nt a i n s c l o s e t i e s w i th Ivory Coa st and other con s e r vat i ve

Fr ench-speak i ng Af r i can s t at e s . I t s pos i t ion on the ques t i on o f

We s t e rn Saha ra evo l ved f rom e x - P r e s i dent Segho r ' s ant i - Pol i sa r i o

st ance t o a more pragmat i c approach by Pres i dent Diou f . I n adopt i ng

th i s new a t t i t ude , Pr e s i dent D i o u f i s s a i d to have been i n s t ru menta l i n savi ng the l a s t OAU Add i s Ababa Summ i t Me et i ng from col_l aps e .

Re lat i ons wh i ch were once t ense w i th L ibya a r e s a i d t o have

i mpr oved fol low i ng the meet i ng between the lead e r s of the two

nat i ons at that OAU mee t i ng .

Senegal i s Cha i rman of the UN Comm i t t e e on Pa l es t i ni an Right s . It has prov ided a cont i ng ent t o the peac e-keep i ng force i n the

Middle Ea s t .

INTERNAT IONAL ORGANI ZAT IONS & UN/ECA AND OTHERS

Pa r t ly for reas ons of h i s t ory and pa rt ly for the dynami sm of it s

f ormer poe t -ph i l ospher Head of S t at e , Leopold Senghor , Senegal i s

one of the bet t e r know Francophone count r i e s of Afr i c a . It i s a ful l and act i ve member o f the ECA . Cur r ent ly , t wo ECA t ra i ni ng and

r e s e arch i nst i t ut i ons are locat ed , w i th the gene rous suppo rt of the

Senega l e s e Gove rnment , i n Daka r . The s e are the Inst i t ute for

Ec onom i c Deve lopment and Plann i ng ( IDEP ) and the Af r i can Reg i ona l Cent r e for Technology ( ARCT ) .

- 5 -

In Afr i c a , Senegal i s an ac t i ve member o f the OAU , ADB , Af r i c an

Gr oundnut Counc i l , Af r i can St a t e s a s soc i t ed w i th EEC ( the Lome Convent i on ) , CEAO , and ECOWAS . Of the many I nt e r -government a l

organi zat i on s i n We st Af r i ca , Senega l i s a member o f 20 .

Senegal i s a member o f the Med i at i on Comm i t t ee e stabl i shed by

the I s l a m i c Con f e r ence i n 1981 on the I r an - I rac con f l i c t . Senegal

i s a l so cha i r i ng the Ad Hoc Comm i t t ee on Kampuchea .

Amba s sador Ma s s amba Sa r r e head s the Commi t t e e on the Exerc i se o f

the Ina l i enable R i ght s o f the Pa l es t i n ian People . Senegal pr e s i ded

over both the Int e r nat i onal Con f e renc e in Support o f the St rugg l e of

the Nam i b i an Peop l e for Independ ence ( Ap r i l 1 98 3 i n Pa r i s ) and the

Int erna t i ona l Con f e r enc e on the Que st i on of Pa l e s t i ne ( Augu s t 1 98 3

in Gene va ) .

REPRESENTAT IOU IN THE SECRETARIAT

There we r e 1 3 nat i ona l s of Senegal on geog raph i ca l pos t s at the

Un i t ed Nat i ons Sec r e ta r i at a s o f 1 5 Novembe r 1 9 8 3 , as c ompa red w i th

a de s i rabl e range for the count ry of 2-14 . Senega l i s the re fore

w i th i n i t s d e s i rab l e range .

In add i t i on the re were , a s o f 1 5 November 1 98 3 , 74 Senega l

nat i ona l s on non-geograph i c pos t s at the UN Sec r e t a r i at , pl us 42

employed by UNDP , 18 by UNHCR and 1 7 by UNICE F . The t ot a l numbe r of

Senegal nat i ons w i th the Un i t ed Nat ions and the above-ment i oned

organ i zat i ons ther e fore equa l s 164 .

Li s t of Pr inc ipa l Government O f f i c ials

S �NEGAL

Pre s ident

Pres i dent of the National A s s embly

Min i s ter o f S tate for Fore ign Affairs

Minis ter of Armed For ces

Minis ter o f Commer ce

Min i s ter o f E conomy and F inance

Min i s ter o f Indu s tr i al Deve lop-ment and Crafts

Min i s ter o f Informat ion) Tele­communications and Re l ation s wi th Par liament

Mini s ter of In ter ior

Mini s ter of Jus t ice, Guard ian o f the S e al s

Mini s ter o f Rur al Development

Minis ter of Trade

Mini s ter Wi thout Por tfolio in Pr ime Mini s t er ' s Office

Abdou DIOUF

Habib TH IAM

Mous taph a NIAS SE

M�doun e FALL

Fal i lou KANE

Mamadou TOURE

S er igne Lamine DIOP

D j ibo Lai ty KA

Ibr ah im a WONE

Doudou N 1 DOYE

Bator DIOP

Abdour ahmane TOURE

Mr s . C arol ine DIOP

CONFEDERATION OF SENEGAMBIA

Pre s ident

Vice Pr es ident

Min i s ter of De fen s e

Mini s ter of Econom i c A f fairs

Min i s ter of F· inance

. Min i s ter of Fore ign A f fairs

Deputy Min i s ter of Foreign Affairs

Abdou D I OUF ( S enegal)

S ir Dawda Kai r aba JAWARA (Gambia)

M�doune FALL

( S enegal)

Dr . Momodou S • K. MANNER ( Gambia)

Sher i f f S aikula S ISAY ( Gambia)

Mous taph a NIAS SE ( S enegal)

Lam in Kit i JABANG ( Gambi a)

Popula tion: 7 mi llion

Annua l grow th rate (% ) : 2 . 6 ( 1 970-198 1 )

GNP per capita: $ 1 80 ( Dollars 1 982)

GNP average annual grow th ra te (% ) : 4 . 6 ( 1970-1981 )

MALI

Vo ting power: ( IBRD) .08 ; ( I DA ) .2 1 (% of total)

I DA C umu lative Lending Ope ra tions : Number: 3 1 c redits

BAN K-MEI�BER COUNTRY RELATIONS :

$301:3 . 9 mi l lion ( Net of canc e llati on)

Agriculture and t ranspo rtation represent the large st share of past commi tments wi th e leven and eight operati ons representing 34 and 26 percent respec tively of t o ta l commi tment s . Th e education, telec ommunications , and energy secto rs each had 2 operations and there has been one each fo r small­s cale indus t ri es , urban development , power and water supply , te chni cal assistance , health deve l o pment , and rura l wa ter supply . In addi tion, the Internationa l Fi nanc e C o rporation has made two invee tments �or a to tal of $ 3 . 2 mi l lion equi valent i n bleach and plast i c manufac turing and sheanut p rocessing. Pr oject implementation has gene rally been good .

CURRENT ISSU�S :

There are three b road �ea.s o f_ Jlte ,lt_cono!I1Y whe r_e �ol�9l _re.torm i s ne eded : public fin� �tate enterpyi �es , and agri cultural pricins and management."'""- �- - .-..-. -

Regarding public finances , �he Gover�menj ha� re centlr �naged t o uctuce bnd"get de£1 clts A.na:ii'.r""ius through short-term measures to controi expendi ture , increase taxe s , and strengthen tax collection: l'urthe r action t owards permanent financi al stabi lity wi l l require better allocation of pub lic resources , reduced pub lic c onsump tion, increased financing of development­related re current cos ta , and a better targeting of investment s . _some slgni ficant actions have been undertaken to es tablieh a aou.nd financ.:i.Jl structure -- limi ting wage increas es , re placing automa tic hi ring in the civi l servi ce with entry exams , and reducing scho larship expendi tures - - and furthe r improvement wi l l be needed , in pa rti cular to strengthen public inves tment programmi ng.

The Government has begun to address the financ ial losses of the pub lic ent erpri s e sect o r , whi ch are crea ting a liquidity crisie in the country ' s banking sys tem . IDA has financed a study of the sector, and the

I�ali , page 1

... . . ,.

1

,, . · � .

authori ties have endorse d recommendations t o divest a number of public enterprises , to revis e polic e s concerning levels of pri cing and taxation and p rice regulation, and t o adopt external management cont racts to rehabi li tate ce rtai n essential and financial ly viab le enterpri se s . The second IMF Standby requi res s t rong measures in two of the mo st unpro fitable public enterprises: SOMI EX and Ai r Mal i .

Jle.f2.r.!!. 1_11 a£_icu_l_.!u ral. :gr�c �n& and mana,geme{lt g! ri.U'al de.vaJ �mt J.a }ein·s pursued. rlth im,porta-q� advanc � s in a n�"be1:. Q.f !l� · Gove rnment has raised o fficial producer prices for most crops in the laet c ouple of years and has liberalized coarse grai n marketing. I t has also mad e some progres s in reduci'rig t'he large defici te of the agricultural marke ting board ( OPAM ) and in redi rec ting i t a operations . Furthe r reforms of paddy marke ting, ric e pricing and i rrigation c o s t recovery are s till necessary to res tore incentives for ri c e production. Continued d i s cussion o f thes e issue s , as wel l as instituti onal issues related to i rrigation s ector management , are being carrie d out in co nsul tation with I DA and other donors in the context of a plan to rehabi litate the c ount ry ' s (and We s t Afri ca ' s ) l arges t irrigation ne twork , the Offi ce du Nige r. U nd e r a recent ly-approved IDA credit (Mali Sud II Rura l Deve lopment ) actions are being t aken to remove d i s t ortions in input pri ce s , to improv e pro ducer incentives in the cotton sec t o r , and to redi re c t cotton export pro fi t s from financing c onsume r subsidi es , in order to preserve the s ec to r ' s financial viabi lity and s trengthen i t a cont ribution to budgetary revenues .

PLANNED BANK GROUP LENDING :

Le nding s t rategy in Ma li i s focused on linking project financing with importa�t sector- l evel poli cy refo rms , as maj or projects are designed with s ignificant s e ctoral adju s tment comp onents whi le other proj ects aim to s t rengthen ins ti tutional capacity at the sector leve l as we l l as finance pro duc tive investment . Fo r the nea r term, two maj o r s ectoral adjus tment c redits are being appraise d : rehabili tation o f the Office du Niger irrigation s cheme , inc lud ing significant organiza tiona l , pri c e policy and c o a t recovery reforms ; and rehabilitation o f pub l i c ent e rpri s e s . Other pro j ects include a Thi rd Education pro j ect , c ontaining reform measures to s t rengthen primary educ ati o n , a thi rd pro j e c t in Mo pti , which will addres s institutional and pri c e i s sues in the i rrigation s ector, a fifth highways project , which will both finance cons truction and continue efforts to improve inves tment a l location and coat rec ove ry for maintenance , and a forestry pro j ect. Fo r the medi um to long term , the fo cus will be on agriculture, with pro jects ant icipated fo r i ns ti tutional suppo rt , rural services , and agricultural res �arch , as well as area d evelo pment . The re will b e f�rther operations to st rengthen economi c infrastruc ture and s upport basic ne eds , notably through e ducati o n , wat e r , and health and population pro j ect s . Depending on the Government ' s c ont inued e fforts at p o licy reform, IDA may also c onsider s tructura l ad j u s tment support to addre s s important intersect oral issues .

January 1 0 , 1 984

M.a li , page 2 .

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IIOWLUIOIU.l FUIID FOR AGRICIILJURJ.l DE\'ILOPA\ENI

J. �� FAO FA:>< 2 . r:r.'j� Ref. No:

1 3 January 1 984.c:::c::;:;.../v:..:.,:.;,..;_/.._ ........ • =' .... �-----

Dea r Mr . Secreta ry-Genera l ,

Al though P re s i dent Al -Sudeary i s outs i de of Rome for the moment , he ha s a s k£d me to commu n i c a te �i th you about I FAD prqgrammes i n Af r i c a p r i o r to you r forthcoming t r i J · to rev i ew the devel opment probl ems of th i s i mpo rta nt pa rt of the wo rl d .

We a re ex treme l y g ra tefu l to yPu for you r s trong i n terest in and su pport to I FAD . We feel certa i n that th i s wi l l have a very pos i t i v e i mr•a c t on our nex t round of d bcu s s i ons regard i ng ! FAD ' s ·

Second Re pl �n i s hment wh i ch a re schedul ed to ta ke pl ace i n Rome on 29 Februa ry- 1 Ma rch .

Equa l l y we a re ve ry hea rtened by the a ttenti on your forth­corni ng t r i p wi l l g i v e to the severe ec01 10mi c prob l ems of Afri ca . Worl dwi de concern s abou t econom i c prob l ems and the need fo r recove ry have gi v en fa r too l i tt l e empha s i s on the d rastic impa ct that present economi c c i rc umstances have had on Afr i c a . You r tri p shou l d be a

· d rama t i c rea ff i nna t i on of the need to focus g reater concern on these prob l ems .

I FAD i t se l f ha s been g i v i ng i n�rea s i ng pri ori ty to African a gri cu l tu ra l and rura l devel opment need s . Despi te reduced resou rces a va i l ab l e to us , our enti re members h i p recogn i z es the need for thi s attenti on . Encl osed wi th thi s l etter you wi l l f i nd a bri ef account of the underl yi ng theme s of IFAD p rog raMmes i n Africa and a des ­cri pt i o n of some of them . Pres i dent Al -Sudea ry and I hope tha t you w i l l f i nd th i s i s u s efu l back ground i nforma t i on a s you underta ke th i s importa nl mi s s i on .

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I

rAOFA X 2 IFAD OP&RAIIONS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

The Sub -Saharan Afri c an t low overa l t econom1.c rowth a l with rapt rates o f popu l at i on increa se . The agr icultural lec tor in mos t count r ies i a charac t e r i �ed by a fa l l i ng tre nd in per cap i t a food produc t ion . I n rec ent years • t h e reg ion has a l s o been su ffe ring from a marked dec l ine in export e a rnings from pr imary commod it ies . On the other hand . the imp ort of food g r a i n s - in p a r t ic u l a r , of . coiDillod i ties auch as wh eat for wh i ch t he r eg i on ' s own p rod u c t ive c apa c i t y is s t i l l very much l im i t ed - h a s b e e n r i s ing . Th i s toge t he r wi t h the inc re a s i ng d emaod for fore i gn exchange for i nd u s t ry and t he aai n t e nance of the ec onoaay � bas s t ra ined the ba l a nce of payment s of a larae number o f countries in the \ regi o n . '!:!:!..� f.!!!.!nc ial d i f f ic u lj:_i e a encounte red by the �Member Goverament_a a a a re s u l t o f t h i a a i t u a t ioQ have inev i t a b ly re sul ted · a a lar er � nd e r - fund i ns.__ of ag r ic u l t .u r al support me a�e-;- f o r tbe 111al lho lder aecto.,r wh ich produc e s the bu lk of food in n e a r l y a l l · ·.ountriet of the reg ion :

The burd en of ad j u s tme nt c au aed by the recent e c onomic c r i a i a has been unequ i t ab l y sha red by d i f ferent coun t rie s and 1egaaent 1 of popu l a t ions . The ru r a l poor in the l ow- inc ome d e ve lop i ng count rie• have e s pec ia l ly s u f f e red from the e f fec t s , p a r t i c u l a r ly in Sub-Saharan Africa .

Der ived from the o b j e c t ive s s t a t ed in the reeme nt latabl i a !t i IPAD1

.the Fund i s ba a ic a l y gu id ed 1n 1 t a operat ion by the fol loviq

prov11 1ons :

a ) fi nanc i!'l o f projec t s and proaramee specifica l ly d u iped to intrgduce, e xpand or improve food production ayatema, 4inc l ud l na ma rket i ng , s t or age a nd d i str ibut ion atpec t a , i n de ve loping cou n t r i e s with s pec ial emphat i a on i nc r eat i n.g the out put of food i n the poore s t food d e f ic it count r ie s ;

b ) inc re aa ina the leve ls of nutrit ion amona tbe poo rest ae ... nta of the popu lat ion in a l l d eve lop ing count riea by auppo rt i n& proJ ecfa arid enc ouragina app rop r iat e ins t it u t ional aad pol icy re fo nu ; and

c ) re sourc e s to be aade availab l e for ag r1c u l t ur a l d eve opme nt 1n d eve op ins Member State1 .

The cho ic e o f count r i e s fo r I FAD ' a pro iecta i • baaed o n a n obiec t i ve ana ly s i s of a wide range of soc i o-ec onomic ind icators tucb a1 incoee . populat 1on , re sourc e ava i l ab i l i t y , nut r i t iona l t tatus , food sec ur ity s t a t u s , ba s ic need s 1 t a t u a . d e g ree of economi c d ive r a i ficat ion , and t he s t a t e of t h e i n t e nt& 1 ( bud ge t a ry ) and e Jt t � m a l ( ba l ance o f paywe.nt a ) ba l a nc e , The c uu n t ry - l eve l bac k g r o u nd a na l y s i s p rovi d e s the b a a ic pro f i le

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FAO FA X Z - 2

I •

which ia helpfu l in pu t t ing togethe r the · firat though t s o n a pou ible inve stment et rategy for the rural poor in re spe c t ive count rie e . For examp l e , such a� ana lysis wou ld a i ng l e out co�nt r i e • with poo r rat i ng• for a l l ind icator s , wh ich wou ld augg e • t a g loba l approach to pove rty a l l e v i a t ion a t t acking bo th sho rt and med i um-t erm prob l ema rel a t ed to imba lance• in inte rnal and ext e rna l f i nanc e as we l l as l ong- term struc t ura l prob l ems con t r i but ing t o food insec ur i t y , poo r nut r i t ional 1tat u s , a lov l e ve l o f economi c d i ve r s i f i c a t ion aod poo r qua l ity o f l i fe for a l a rge ma j o r i t y o f the popu l a t ion .

� The IFAD 't majo r t arge t group, i rre epec t ive o f the a t age o f economic . !!I.Yelnpment of t h e c ou n t ry, i a t he small and laadl eu farme ra . nte rural poor comp r i s e t he d e ve loping wor ld ' 1 g reat untapped reeourc e o f labour aki l l s ao.d ent erp r i s e . There i s abund an t e v idence that uaa l l farme ra , a iven acc ea a to re l i ab le water eupp l ie s , t o pu rchaaed fal"lll i npu t e , c red it and ext ens ion se rvi c e s , c a n ac h i eve produc t i v i t y leve l • , e q ua l to o r exceed ing t h at o f l arg e fa rme r s . A d eve l opment a t ragt egy , i nvo l ving low c ap it a l intens i t y , 1hou ld t hu s gene ra t e ad equ a t e eurp l u s e a to ensure the cos t -recovery of such inve smen t s . IFAD ' • a im i s t hus to ad vance • at one and the same t ime , ec o nom i c e f f ic i enc y and the a t t a c k on pove rty aod mal nut r i t i on . In that respec t , the promo t io n o f t he r o l e of women in food produc t ion i • a maj o r c onc � rn p a rt i c u l a rly in A f r i c a .

IFAD ' a int e rvent i ons in Afr icaJ t h e r e fore_._have been d i rec t ed to prov id e much ne ed ed f i nanc i a l and t e c h n ic a l supeort for i nc reaa itig food­��uc t ion in the sma l l ho ld e r l ec t o r . The und e r ly i ng e t ra t egy hae been to ( a ) e nc ou rage r e s t ruc t u r i ng o f t h e ag r ic u l tu ra l prod u c t ive base o f t he economi e s ; ( b ) empha s i ze a l a rge r d i rec t ion o f re source s toward s mo re coat e f fec t ive and qu i c k-y i e ld i ng sys t ems of prod uc t io n ; acd , ( c ) lld voc a t e t he int rod uc t ion o f ac approp r i a t e package o f po l icy aod inst itut ional improvement s . T ra ns l a t ed into op e rat !_ ona l t e rms & th i • has me ant adopt i na

roj ec t s for the imp rovement o f d e l ive ry �It ems o f ag r i c u lt ura l i n u t and­��t , some t im e s integrated w i � o t he r e s s ent i a l fac tore--con a t ra i n i na­ruru d eve lopment . To ac h ieve t he se obje c t ive s , IFAD ba a toc uaed i n i t a �ojec t a in t h e recion on i n s t i t u t ion ��.i !� _i � ,_ur•naion re �cb and tra ining . Adapt i ve re search ba sed on farming s y s t em approach e e to expand t e scope fo r inve l tllle n t s i n sma l lho l d e r l e c t o r bat re c e ived part icular attent ion � IFAD baa a l s o part i c ipat ed , whe rever pos s i b l e , in ove ra l l review• of eec t o r a l i a e ue s and po l i c i e s .

Current ly . IFAD i s .a s s i a t i ng a w id e variety o f rural aa r icul t u u l deve l opment p roj e c t s in Sub-Saha ran A f dc a . Du rinL i t s s ix o f operat ion_ eod � Dec ember 1 983 , IFAD c o nt r ibuted , in var ious forma , t o �2-2rojec t s . T�e t o t a l c o s t � t h e s e p ro · ec t l i s about US 1 66� l l ion out o f wh ich IFAD ' s c ont ri but ion is USS 544 e i l l io� or 33% .

Rural and ag ricu l t ura l d e ve lo pment projec t • absorb eoce )2 o f t h• tot a l numbe r o f p rojec t • opera t i ng in A f r i c a w i t h a loan amount and t o t a l inves tme nt co s t o f US S 3 6 5 m i l l i on a nd US S 1 1 1 1 ai l l ion re a pec c i we l y . The bal anc e o f p rojec t s are mad e u p o t s pec i f ic ac t i v i t i e e ioc l ud i na c red i t and ma rke t i ng , irr igat i on , l i ve s toc k , f i ahe ri e s , ex te na io" a nd re searc h .

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� Ra i a ing ' tfarm family i ncomes � inc rea s ina the product ion of food crops � i ac reai{ng the p rod uc t ion of cash c rop• in are a• vhere c .. h crop prod uc t ion i a • fan int egra l part of the fa rming ayatem, i.mprovina income d i s t r i but ion ard nut r i t iona l s t and ard • and imp roving commun ication• aad ma rke t acc e s s ·· re , in one way or anothe r , among t he major obj ec t i ve s in a lmo s t a l l p �o j e c t a . The s e objec t i ves are rea l i zed p r ima r i ly through; prov i s ion of a, p ropriat e f a rm input s and t h e i r t imely d e l ive ry ; provi aion of ext endon• � r e s e a rch , ma rke t i ng , cred i t and . t ra ining fac i l it ie a ; prov 1. s 1on o f 1 i n f ra s t ruc t ure , i . e . feeder road a , al l veather -road a . at orage � markei c e n t r e s , e tc .

· � Aa a ru t e r of �o l icy and t o the _extent pos a i b l e� IFAD ' • projec t a

aim at ac t iv e l): invo l v i n the t a r e t J!OUp �1 1 I t a el O f tho proj e c t l i f e . We hav-· l e arned d u r ing t h e sho r t apan o f our operat ion that not only t h e so i l s ·of proj ec t a r eas need to be known , bu t more important ly the nature and asRJ ra t ions of the i r peop l e .. u s t be u nd e r a t ood . The cul tural { d imen s i ons of eve l o£ment are there fore rec e ivina inc reat ina attent 1on 1n pro ' e c t d e s i � In a lm o s t a l l p ro ' ec t a ever e ffort ia .there fore , ud..!,. to e nc ourage-� farme r s ' �art ic i p a t ioa in t he �� · ec t d eaiao •gd im lement at i o n i t h rough p r omot i on o f i n fo rma l vi l l age groupa , fa r.zae r a ' a s s oc iat ion a� wome n ' a ad v i s o ry se rv ice s .

1 i . . i . Pos t -ha rVe s t l o s s e s a re a l s o rece v 1 ng ad equate att ent �on n proJect d e s ign . Nearls al l Fund a s s i st ed proj e c t s in Sub-Saharan Africa coatain a component a im� a t t h e red uc t ion o f po s t -ha rve s t loase s . � t ime a , t h i a a s p e c t provid e� t h e ma in foc us for part ic u l ar p rojec t s . For exaap l e , a fi sh e r i e s d eve �proent p roj e c t in t h e Cuve t t e of Congo a ims at imp rov i ng the qua l i ty t p roc e s sed f i sh a nd red ucing t h e losaea c auaed by inap prop r i a t e k i ng and t ra nsport at ion . A f i sh i ng proj ec t in Dj i bout i has a l so a imi l o b j ec t i v e s .

I n the 'bs e n c e o f mod e rn inpu t s and wi t hout au f f ic ient p r i c e i ncent ive s , a . wi thout a ma rke t f o r purcha s ing c onsumer aood a , e vea t he mo s t progre s s i o f sma l lhold e r • would hea i t a t e t o prod uc e a marke t ab l e wou ld rather rat ional ize the ir pat t e rn of product ion sub s i s t enc e ay a t ema . Such syateme are , howeve r , vulne rable h fac tors as ove r-po pu lat ion aod the hazard s o f d rouaht and d i ae a a e a h we have wi t ne s sed in ful l force ove r thia laat d ec ad e .

I 111ere fore , IF baa a a aoc i a ted vitb i t a l eOd ing o�rat ioa, a _coat inuiaa.

l icy d ia logue v � t h r c i i e nt membe r coun t r i e s wi th a view to eueure t hat overnment 1 e p o ramme a p ro v id e the r igh t incent ive fra.ework

for ag r ic u l t ura 1

Dur i ng tM l a s t two years , the Fund baa a h o init iated proa r .-e lend i ng t o t h e a g r i c u l t u r a l l e c t o r . Such p ro g raaae loana a ia ·co provid e ba s i c a g r ic u l t ura l aupp l i e s t o t he s� l l fa rme r s and fiaberaen the provi s io n of wh i c h i s c o n s t ra i ned by an ac ute aho rtage of - fort i&n excha nge . The three p rog t'.tcow� loans p rovid ed to Ugand a , Hoz-b ique aod Ma lawi a re the e xamp l e s o f t h i a rec ent or ie ntat ion in our l ead iaa ope ra t ions . The c omb i nP.d p r ::>g r a::�IJe l o a n a in the s e count riea -.oun t ed to US $ 48 m i l l ion ag a i n s t t h e to t a l coal of s ome USS 77 mi l l ion .

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ta'llyhJf the ehroaie food defic it faeed by .. ay Sub-saharan African count

. . ; IFAD has a h i fted i t a emphaaia to Sub-Saharan Afr ica by

provid in& tot 1 a s s i s tance of USS 304 m i l l ion for 31 proj e c t • in the periocl 1981-8 . . compared to us$ 206 mi l l ion for 21 proj ac t l in the period 1978-80 . Ae � re au l t , the a h a re o f f i nanc i a l re sources channe l l ed to the l reg ion inc reased from 2 to 33% of IFAD ' • ove r a l l loan operat lona over­the per iod unt�r c ons id e ra t ion_. Th i s i nc rease 1n tlie rel at i ve share of­reaource' was �cbieved th rough a subst ant i a l inc rease both in terms of the numbe r of projec t � and the abs o l ute amount o f loans ( 48% each) during 1978/80 � 198 J .

Hobil i z a IFAD- i ni t i..ated wh ich !FAD c provided ' by African hve l

be no ted that resource Qn• t ra i n t a have a ffected the in var ious reg ions over the year1 . To some ext ent ,

e f fort l tO mob i l i Ee add i t iona l resourc e& throush has been pos s i b l e to protect the eaaent i a l priorit ies but

proj ec t s in each resion ia much l arge r than the resources hold a par t ic u larly t rue for Afri c a South of Sahara .

add it ional re sourc e s baa t aken p lace in 17 of rojec t a at a t o t a l i nves tment coat of US$ 417 mi l l ion � to

US S 1 7 3 mi l l io n , and about USS 200 ai l l ion va l mu l t i l at e ra l and b i l ateral agenc i e s (Wo r ld Bank ,

aent Bank , OPEC Fund , I s l amic Bank, WFP , UNDP , lFW , ne e , USAID, EDF , B e l a i um � Norway ) .

to the l oan fund s , over US$ 31 ai l l ion vae provided ia a s a i a tance gu.nt a i n Afr ica by the end of 1983 . Crant

l ized for a vid e s p ec t rum of ac t ivi t ie • rana ina from s ional re search ins t i t u t ion• aod preparat ion of project•

eva luat ion .

t he Be l ian Parl iament enac t ed � lav e s � �b l ish i ns __ th� the Th irdWo.sld " with the pu�oae of "ensur ing th�

persona threat e ned by hunger ,. aa lnutrit ion and in reg ion• of the Th i rd World vh ic h7 reg i ater tba hiati . . t­

clue to theat! c•u•e• " · To achieve these o J ec t ivea , tile hat the resourc e s of the "Survival Fund 11 have to be uaed on o f programme • inc l ud ina intearated rura l deve lopMat lea a i.ed at' ae l f-auffic iancr in food , thu• provid iq the

wi th me ans wh i c h wou ld enab le them to enaure the ir own to promo t e the ir own d eve lopment in tbe future . �coEd iaa aut hor i z ed re sourc es of the Survival Fuod wi l l .. ount to approx iMate ly USS 200 m i l l ion ) .

�--,--J.._,_i_t_a_u_n_i que mand a t e , IFAD vas inv i t ed to au4JH tbt ro le of i n t h e opera t ion o f t h � Sut'viv•l . � . Soon after the ra t 1 flc a t 1on o . t he l a w , I F AD inv i ted UN ICE F and WHO for a j o int r•• ponle to the Be lg iart' ini t ia t ive . The firat a t ep vas to evo lve a coac e pt ua l framework add r--. ins t h e mul t i-d isena ional object ive• of t h e Survival Fund •• a baa i s �r a conc rete p rog ramme of act ion . Subsequent lJ , an IFAD/WHO/UIII ICEP" working group pre-pas.ed a ro�l which was preaented to tbe Bel&i•a ·�tr i t iu ia Oc tobe r 1 983,

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' la pro s a l i a· bas ed on converaence betweea IPAD ' e Lend ina ·

Po l ic iea and �it eria and obj ec t ive s of the Survival Fund ; IFAD • a experience i n tbe d e s ign and fo l low-up o f projecte/programmu aimed at a target group which i s a l lo the main focus o f the Surviv:al FuDd ; WHO ' 1 global and broad -ba s ed expe r ience in the hea l t h aec tor; and UNICEF ' • unique expe r ie nc e in he l p i ng d eve lopina countries to improve the cond i t ions of chi ldren and mot hera at the moat vulne rable aepent of the target ·popu lat ion.-

In . tbe course o f ere ar ing_ the ropo a a l . an exaai nat ion o f the_ re levant , ind ieators. revealed t h at al though pocke t l of hunger and uad erdev� opment ; can 6e found in moat reg ion• o f the world their Inc idenci is h ig�eet on the�ican cont inent�icb include• 26 of the � "Leas t · �ve loped Count rie s " and regis ter s far above av!Braae 110rtal ity rates . In i l luetra t ing the sc ope of the proposed 1trate11 • e�b-reajona __ an iiidaround the *oro of Af rica we re cons idered •• poa a ib le choice for an in1t1a targ e t area fo r Surviva l Fund ac t iv i t iet •

. The coo perat ive approac h to prog r a�e des ign out l ined above has been

adopted due to the mu l t i p l e c auses of hunge r . · aalnut rit ion and underd e.veJ opment and gives I FAD an op port un i ty to play a lead ing role us ing i t a b ro ad e x pe r ience in programming for target aroupl particularly at risk • .f It i t ant ic i pa t ed that t h i s approach would be Ul� at a l l atage a o f project and programme formu l a t ion acd imp lement a t ion . It i t also antic ipated that t h i s could lead to a range of opportunitiea for broad er cooper at ion � pa rt 1c 1pat ion by other interna t ional agenc ies and mu l t i late'al 'financ i a l i oa t i t u t i oas •• we l l aa for co-financ ing opportuni t ie s be tween IFAD and Be lgiwa.

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Coi!aborat �n vi th the Surviva l Fund ie oov progre saiog sat i e bc ' r i ly: I The propo 1ed at rategy hae already been t rana lated into ac t ion . · fi-r�t two pro " ec t s to be f i nanced from the Survival Fund are under for.u l at i oo a ad their im l ementat ion ia eched uled t_o 1tart in Aprll 1_9 __ _! a ) " ..S Ju l 1984 ( S oma l i�) . Moreove r , the proceu of

rograaa· f« 198 5 / 86 and form_ulat ioa of a coh-e rent aDd iatea.rated deve lo e f tQn for-th ree target countriea (Kenya, S01Mlia aDd Uganda ) bas - -,t arted .

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