Macron in Ivory Coast: meets troops, set to launch anti-terrorism academy

French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Ivory Coast, where he plans to share a holiday meal with French forces Friday evening, at the start of his West Africa visit aimed at confronting the region’s rising jihadist violence.

The weekend trip is providing a respite for Macron from the ongoing strikes back home over his plans to raise the retirement age, which have paralyzed transport ahead of the holiday season.

France has some 4,500 military personnel stationed throughout West and Central Africa, where Islamic extremist groups have carried out unprecedented attacks this year against local armies in Mali and Niger. Attacks are multiplying, too, in Burkina Faso.

The security situation Africa’s Sahel region is deteriorating by the day, said Ivorian political analyst Geoffroy Julien Kouao. Ivory Coast is not only home to a French military base, it is also the region’s economic powerhouse and it came under attack in 2016 when al-Qaida-linked militants sprayed gunfire at a popular beach, killing 19 people.

“Let’s not forget that Ivory Coast shares 800 kilometers (500 miles) of border with Mali and Burkina Faso so the military component dominates this visit by the French president,” Kouao said.

Macron was to meet with leaders of the Sahel countries in France earlier this month but the meeting was postponed when an Islamic State affiliate carried out the deadliest assault on Niger’s military in recent memory. Officials said 71 soldiers were killed when their army camp was overpowered near the volatile border with Mali.

During his first stop Friday evening at a French military base, Macron is meeting with those on the front lines of the fight including some commandos who were involved in the operation in Mali during which 13 soldiers died in a helicopter collision.

On Saturday, Macron plans to help launch the International Academy to Fight Terrorism, which will focus on regional strategies and training those involved in the fight against extremism, according to the French presidency.

He also will pay a visit to Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou in Niamey on Sunday before returning to France, where the summit with West African leaders has been rescheduled to mid-January.

Macron’s high-profile visit to Ivory Coast’s commercial capital also comes ahead of pivotal elections scheduled for October 2020. The former colonizer has substantial economic interests there, and past outbreaks of violence have seen French expatriate civilians targeted.

Ivorians remain scarred by the post-election bloodshed in 2010-2011 that left more than 3,000 people dead after then-President Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede defeat to Alassane Ouattara, who ultimately prevailed and then was reelected in 2015.

Initially Ouattara was limited to two terms, meaning the 2020 election would be a wide open field. Ivorian elections, though, have proven to be anything but predictable: Ouattara recently has given signs he might consider a third bid if his nemesis gets involved.

Gbagbo, who was accused of unleashing violence to cling to office after losing the runoff vote, remains popular among some Ivorians and it’s unclear what kind of influence he could have. He has been acquitted of criminal charges at The Hague in connection with the violence, though International Criminal Court prosecutors have launched an appeal.

Before that electoral crisis Ivory Coast already had suffered through a civil war that began in 2002 and left the country with a rebel-controlled north and a loyalist south until a 2007 peace deal. During the crisis a 2004 bombing killed nine French soldiers and an American scientist who had sought refuge at the base amidst the fighting.

On Sunday, Macron will pay tribute to the victims of a 2004 bombing during Ivory Coast’s civil war this weekend in Bouake. A trial is to begin in France next year, 15 years after the attack that killed nine French soldiers and an American civilian who had sought shelter at the French army base.

The Belarussian pilot and two Ivorian co-pilots who carried out the bombings are accused of murder and attempted murder, but will not be there because the international arrest warrants were never carried out.

The American victim, Robert Carsky, 49, grew up in Syracuse, N.Y. and spent most of his adult life working in West Africa as a soil scientist and crop researcher. A representative from the U.S. Embassy in Ivory Coast is expected to join Macron and his entourage at the site.

“These events took place in a context of war and relations between Paris and Abidjan were abysmal at that time,” Kouao said. “Macron and Ouattara want to erase this difficult moment and show that the two countries have excellent relations today.”

SOURCE: AP

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Some West African nations that need to decolonize their currency

The CFA Franc has always seen as a vestige of colonialism, but now eight West African countries are aiming to decolonise and start their own currency.

Eight West African countries have proposed to withdraw their currency reserves from the French central bank.

The proposal would look to replace the euro-linked CFA franc with a new common West African currency: eco. The French-regulated CFA franc is currently used by 155 million people across the African continent in 14 West and Central African countries.

The CFA franc is currently used by eight West African nations, but its days could be numbered (Thierry Gouegnon / Reuters)

The CFA was specially created in 1945, after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement, which saw the world usher in a new global monetary system with the US dollar replacing the gold standard. The French-regulated CFA franc was for the French colonies of Africa, it is linked to the euro and its convertibility is guaranteed by France. According to the arrangement, described by analysts as a colonial relic, these African countries had to deposit half of their foreign currency reserves in the French central bank.

Benin’s President Patrice Talon announced last Thursday that the West African Monetary Union wants to take back control of its currency. Eight African countries including Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Niger and Guinea Bissau have reached an agreement to pull the reserves from France. 

"We all agree on this, unanimously, to end this model," Talon told French media last Thursday.

The move, if it happens, could also have serious implications for the French economy.

Decolonization?

The CFA franc has been the currency used by French colonies since 1945, and despite the subsequent independence of several African nations, it is still in use. The system is seen as one of the last vestiges of colonialism and the CFA franc has always been a target of criticism. 

Talon said that the decision may take time, but it has been adopted at the meeting of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

"The injustice has gone for too long. It is time to discuss issues with France to clarify many things, to allow us to have our monetary sovereignty. We do not have it today,” Chadian President Idris Debby said during a media briefing last Monday.

An agreement was made to introduce a single currency, eco, for the entire region by 2020. 

According to the plan, as a first phase, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, which currently have their own currencies, will launch the eco. Then in the second phase, the eight countries which use the CFA franc will replace their currencies.

The eco first came to the fore in 2003, however, it has been delayed several times. 

Will it be any different this time? 

Nassir M A Doutoum, an Africa Researcher at the Association of Researchers on Africa (AFAM) told TRT World that as part of a decolonisation process, most leaders of African countries have attempted to realise moves like this in the past. Leaders like Sekou Toure, Modibo Keita, Sylvanus Olympio and Thomas Sankara criticised the colonial policy of the CFA, and some of them even stopped using it. 

Doutoum Said: “But somehow, the leaders who tried to give on up on CFA were eliminated or killed. In the past, African countries were not ready to realise it, however, today’s circumstances are different. As of today, the struggle against CFA is not just based on leaders and intellectuals, also most of the African public supports the idea.”

According to Doutoum, France has tried to prevent several NGOs in various African countries that have been protesting CFA and trying to raise awareness about the damage it does to Africans. 

There have already been protests in the past to say no to the CFA and the issue may be gaining even more momentum among the public. Doutoum sees that the developments as a whole may allow this attempt to succeed.

AFAM Researcher Kaan Devecioglu described Talon’s statement during an interview with TRT World as both courageous and divorced from reality as he believes that the statement was mainly political. 

He says that whoever criticises the CFA in the continent gains sympathy and support, but it is just rhetoric. He says every country has to form a consensus, which is no easy task.

How will France’s future in Africa be shaped?

Professor Ahmet Kavas, an African expert, Turkey’s former ambassador to Chad and founder of the Association of Researchers on Africa (AFAM), said: “Even France recognises the independence of the African countries which it colonised in the past, but France still keeps deep political, cultural, economic, and social ties with these countries.” 

In this context, Kavas stated that for Africa’s natural resources to reach markets, France stipulates the CFA (also known as west-middle African franc) be used as the mandatory currency in its previous colonies. He adds that to maintain competitiveness in the international arena and to sustain its current position, France doesn’t want to abandon opportunities provided by its colonies.

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Côte d’Ivoire: Why the hurry, Guillaume Soro?

By Jeune Afrique

It's not Guillaume Soro's announcement that he will stand for president in Côte d'Ivoire's 2020 election that is surprising so much as the timing.

On 12 October the former rebel leader and prime minister under both Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, who resigned as parliamentary Speaker following a much-publicised falling out with the president in February, was the first to officially throw his hat in the ring.

“Several pro-Soro parties have already chosen me as their candidate, so yes, I will be a candidate.”

In one sentence, pronounced in front of a crowd in Valencia, Spain, Soro put an end to the fake suspense that has surrounded his candidacy for the 2020 presidential election for several months. Welcomed by thunderous applause from his supporters in the Spanish diaspora, the announcement was then widely relayed by Soro’s campaign network.

One question remains: Why was Soro in such a hurry to make his announcement? Especially since, with just over a year to go before the presidential election in October 2020, the country’s main political parties – including the ruling RHDP – have not yet revealed their choices.

Setting his own pace

The announcement comes a month after a meeting in Paris between Soro and Henri Konan Bédié, the leader of the Parti Démocratique de Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI) who became Alassane Ouattara’s main opponent after being his ally for eight years. At that meeting the two men agreed to each present a ticket in the future presidential election in the hope that they could transfer the votes of the best-placed opposition candidate in the event of a duel with the RHDP.

“In reality, he wants to position himself as a serious challenger – if not the most serious challenger of the upcoming presidential election, the one who will set the pace,” says academic and political journalist François Konan, who notes that up until his declaration “Soro’s been hesitant, walking on eggshells”.

“Guillaume Soro is looking first and foremost for security. He wants a status – that of a candidate – that will attract more external attention in order to ensure his safety,” says political scientist Sylvain N’Guessan. During his speech in Valencia, Soro accused the government in Abidjan of having tried to get him arrested by the Spanish police the previous week.

Formalising the break with the RHDP

“In many cases, countries are battling for the return of their nationals who are in trouble in other countries. In my case, it’s my country that is fighting for all other countries to arrest me,” he said, without pointing the finger specifically. Then he added: “Don’t we have the right as politicians to choose our own party?”

For Sylvain N’Guessan this is a “victimisation strategy” aimed at “drawing attention to himself in order to attract potential voters”.

“It is also about Guillaume Soro reassuring his supporters that the divorce is indeed consummated with the RHDP,” says the analyst, who also points out that the former Speaker wanted to silence the rumours that have been circulating in recent weeks about a supposed truce with the presidential party.

Distinguishing himself within the opposition

The third reason for this “premature” statement, according to N’Guessan: “Soro’s playing his trump card against an opposition that lacks a common strategy, that’s divided by internal crises and personalities. He wants to have an impact in the event that the opposition opts for a single candidate from the first round.

Until now, only Pascal Affi N’Guessan, Laurent Gbagbo’s rival and legal president of the Front Populaire Ivorien, had openly declared his intention to run. The October 2020 election will be the first to be held on the basis of a “ticket” for president and vice-president, a new feature introduced by the 2016 constitutional reform.

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Ivory Coast farmers expect strong start to cocoa main crop after rain

ABIDJAN, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast cocoa farmers predicted a strong start to the October-to-March main crop on Monday after above average rains in most of the growing regions last week.

The marketing season starts next month in the world’s top cocoa producer and farmers said they were waiting for the new government-set farmgate price, expected to be higher than last season, to sell their beans.

A mix of rainfall and sunny spells would help beans dry properly and strengthen the development of pods for harvests next year, they said.

“There is cocoa everywhere. Farmers are just waiting for the new farmgate price to sell,” said Amidou Toure, who farms near the western region of Duekoue.

“This year trees have produced lots of pods,” Toure said. “The main crop is promising.”

Data collected by Reuters showed rainfall in the western region of Man, which includes the region of Duekoue was at 41.1 millimetres (mm) last week, 7.1 mm above the five-year average.

In the centre-western region of Daloa, producing a quarter of Ivory Coast’s national output, farmers said they were cutting pods hit by the black disease to avoid contamination.

“We will have lots of beans until at least December,” said Albert N’Zue, who farms near Daloa. “But if the weather is too wet in October we can lose a lot to the black pods disease.”

Rainfall in the region of Daloa, which includes Bouafle, was 37.9 mm last week, 8.1 mm above the five-year average.

Similar comments were reported in the eastern region of Abengourou where rainfall was slightly below average and in the southern regions of Agboville and Divo, where it was above average.

In the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro farmers remained upbeat on the main crop prospects.

In the western region of Soubre farmers said they were hoping for sunny spells in October to ensure good quality beans.

Data showed rainfall in Soubre, which includes the regions of San Pedro and Sassandra, was 24 mm last week, 2.9 mm above the five-year average.

Average temperatures ranged from 25.2 to 27.1 Celsius. (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Juliette Jabkhiro and Alexander Smith)

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