[dehai-news] Corruption in Gabon

From: Alex Tekie <atekie_at_att.net_at_dehai.org>
Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:12:46 -0400

Kindly please post this news item?  

Letter

Corruption in Gabon

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/opinion/lweb23kristof.html

Published: May 22, 2010

To the Editor:

Nicholas D. Kristof's column about Gabon's new national parks ("Visiting Africa
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/opinion/16kristof.html?scp=1&sq=visiting%
20africa%E2%80%99s%20eden&st=cse> 's Eden," May 16) mentions the country's oil-fueled corruption only in passing.

The decades of misuse of oil revenues are at the core of Gabon's poverty paradox. Anti-corruption campaigners trying to uncover missing millions have been harassed and jailed.

A United States Senate investigation
<http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearin
g_id=dd873712-eb12-4ff7-ae1a-cbbc99b19b52> published in February showed that former President Omar Bongo used loopholes in United States laws to transfer millions to bank accounts of American lobbyists.

The Senate can directly help Gabonese activists and others around the world by passing the bipartisan Energy Security Through Transparency Act
<http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.1700:> (S. 1700). The
proposed law would require any oil company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose its payments to foreign governments around the world.

At a minimum, Gabon will need good governance and transparency if it has any hope of becoming Africa's Costa Rica.

Ian Gary
Senior Policy Manager
Extractive Industries
Oxfam America
Washington, May 16, 2010    

         ----[Mailing List for Eritrea Related News ]---- Received on Wed Oct 19 2011 - 19:44:36 EDT