Hungry And Angry, West Africans Say No to Continuously Rising Food Prices

Tradingmarkets.com

Nairobi

April 03, 2008

The protests against high fuel and food prices have forced governments in West Africa to use repressive methods of yesteryears, hence reversing the gains made in the democratic arena over the past two decades, evoking memories of Gnassingbe Eyadema's strong-arm methods in Togo. 

However and despite the threat of repression, in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, angry citizens have taken to the streets to express their despair. 

In a matter of a few months, the prices of many basic commodities have suddenly gone up between 20 and 30 per cent, at times much more. 

For instance in Dakar, where the first attempt to demonstrate was violently dispersed by police last November, the price of rice has increased by 30 per cent between 2007 and 2008. At the same time, the price of powdered milk has gone 50 per cent up in a country where a large part of the population remains unemployed. Fuel is peaking at unprecedented highs and it goes with shortages. The same situation obtains in all the countries in the region. 

Bobo-Dioulasso, the second largest city of Burkina Faso and Ouagadougou the country's capital; Dakar in Senegal and Abidjan, the economic capital city of Ivory Coast were all severely hit, and the only response from governments was to send troops to disperse the protesters. 

In Cameroon, the two major urban centres Yaounde and Douala and other smaller cities also experienced the same scenes of violence for the same reasons. There as well, the government blindly repressed the protesters and arrested many people. At least 40 casualties were officially reported. 

These protests "are a strong signal directed to our governments to be careful and to manage the national resources well" Brahima Kone, says a Malian lawyer in Bamako. 

Mr Kone, the chairman of the Inter-African Union for the Defence of Human Rights (UIDH, an umbrella organisation based in Burkina Faso), believes the wave of repression noted recently is a sign of democracies "going backwards". 
"There's a regression in the field of democracy in West Africa," he says of the arrests and violence used by security forces against protesters. 

The same criticism was made in a joint statement issued in Abidjan by three Ivorian associations against their own government. 

In Burkina Faso, at least 180 people were arrested following violent protests at the end of February. 

UIDH also believes the demonstrations and subsequent repression are as a result of the misuse of the national resources at the expense of citizens. 

Meanwhile, the governments maintain that the main causes of the high cost of living are external, namely the rise of prices worldwide, with the crude oil now peaking at more than $100 (Sh6,200) a barrel. 

The high oil prices have been coupled with steep cereal prices all over the world, which has seriously affected countries like Senegal where even the staple food (rice) is imported, mostly from Asia. 

The West African countries, which use the CFA Franc, a currency tied to the Euro are, also suffering from the sharp fall of the dollar against the European currency. 

"We have done a lot since 2000, but the situation of the world markets is a disservice to us," the Senegalese Prime Minister Cheikh Hadjibou Soumare said after a violently dispersed demonstration on March 30, during which 24 people were arrested in Dakar, including two leaders of the consumer associations. 

"The populations are suffering from it and we are as well," the Senegalese PM said. However, he was criticised by the media for not containing the soaring prices of all basic commodities. 

The Ivorian government, whose repression of a protest march in Abidjan caused the death of a 25- year-old, announced a few "emergency measures", including a reduction of taxes and custom duties, but was equally criticised for acting "too late" and not addressing the issue seriously and properly for the long term. 

The list of "corrective actions" proposed were announced on national TV by Tyeoulou Dyela Felix, the Secretary General of the government on April 1, shortly after the media reported the death of one of the protesters, on the second day of street violence which once again disrupted the former West Africa "miracle" country - as Ivory Coast was known in its stable and prosperous days. 

The announcement of these measures was meant to stop criticism of the Ivorian government, particularly after the Ivorian press revealed that President Laurent Gbagbo was busy nightclubbing over the week-end with some French guests. 
Ironically criticism of the same "irresponsible" attitude was made of President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal for presiding over a lavish fashion show by the beach in Dakar, as the country starved. 

Under such circumstances, it is no surprise that some people are now targeting the officialdom's life styles and forcing them to look for other scapegoats instead of the opposition. 

In Cameroon for instance, President Paul Biya ordered the arrest of two of his former ministers on March 31, signalling his intention to fight the mismanagement of public funds and ease the country's suffering. 

Polycarpe Abah Abah, the former Minister of the Economy and Finance, and Urbain Olanguena Awono, a former Minister of Public Health were arrested along with some of their collaborators for allegedly mismanaging public funds. 
It was officially said that this was part of the operation "sparrow-hawk" - an anti-corruption campaign launched two years ago in Cameroon and which seems to have peaked again. 

In Senegal the decisions at government level were milder, with a little cabinet reshuffle, announced on March 31, during which the ministries of commerce and internal affairs changed hands. (Respectively Abdourahim Agne replaced by Mamadou Diop Decroix and Ousmane Ngom by Cheikh Tidiane Sy). 

The move in both countries were interpreted as too little and coming too late. 
The Malian newspaper Les Echos warned the government that it risked social strife and called for preventive measures before things went out of hand. 

Some people here believe it is the arrogance of the governments and their inability to listen, when first and soft signals are sent, which has caused what now seems to lead the region to general chaos. 

One of those calls being often made is to reduce expenses incurred by cabinet members and heads of states. 

The governments "should cut the size of their cabinets", says Demba Moussa Dembele, a Senegalese economist who argues that in the short term this could cut fuel expenses by reducing the fleet of flashy cars owned by ministers. 

Mr Dembele, who is also an anti-globalisation activist, foresees more difficulties looming and more unrest in more countries, if drastic measures are not taken both immediately and in the long term. 

For him, if African governments can't say "No" to the policies imposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, there's no doubt the current crisis will worsen and spill over to other countries. A year ago, similar protests by weary consumers in Conakry (Republic of Guinea) were quickly turned into a political confrontation. 

What then started as food protests finally led to weeks of street violence which ended with more than 100 people dead. International mediators had to be called in and they asked President Lansana Conte to loosen his grip on the country and appoint a new prime minister to reduce the tensions. 

This fear of things getting out of control is particularly understandable in the case of nations such as Cote d'Ivoire where the fragile peace after five years of civil war needs to be consolidated. 

In Burkina Faso people feel also weary and cannot easily accept all their suffering to be blamed on "external factors" while the same people are clinging to power, claiming to have solutions to the country's problems and always asking to be voted back. 

"We are only a few days from a general strike to take place on April 8 and 9 if the government does not satisfy our demands," says Tole Sagnon a trade-unionist from Burkina Faso. 

Mr Sagnon, who is also the General Secretary of the Confederation of Burkina Faso Labour Unions, told the Nation that the measures announced by the government in Ouagadougou after the violent February protests were insignificant and did not change anything. 

The measures included selecting "reference shops" where goods would be sold at fixed prices or a pledge to fight against speculators who artificially inflate the prices of goods. 

Now both the government and the Trade Unions in Ouagadougou are anxiously waiting for crucial talks which may determine the country's destiny. 
No doubt any decision taken there will reverberate to as far as Abidjan, Yaounde and Dakar. 

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