CEE Bankwatch Network
Friends of the Earth International
Center for Environment and Development
environmental defense
Banks and Exxon celebrate Chad-Cameroon
pipeline International organisations support
Chadian day of mourning
(Paris,Yaoundé, Amsterdam, Washington
09/10/2003) International organisations
support the coalition of Chadian civil
society groups who have called for a national
day of mourning on October 10, the date of
the official inauguration of the publicly
financed Chad Cameroon Oil Pipeline. The
call, which is supported by Human Rights and
women's organisations, unions and NGOs, warns
that Chadian oil revenues 'will only be
another weapon in the hands of a plundering
oligarchy used to oppress the Chadian
people.' The groups denounce the insecurity
and impunity which prevail in the country and
which 'will only increase with the
exploitation of oil'. On September 12, the
government prohibited a peaceful march
organised by human rights groups.
The 3.7 billion dollar Chad Cameroon oil
project, which is managed by a consortium of
Exxon, Chevron and Petronas, represents the
biggest private investment in Africa today.
In June 2000, the World Bank decided to
co-finance the project against the wishes of
Chadian, Cameroonian and international
organisations. A month later, the European
Investment Bank (EIB) followed with an
additional loan of 144 million Euro.
A mechanism has been put in place that is
supposed to ensure the transparent management
of oil revenues, but continued corruption and
lack of capacity in the Chadian government
has cast doubt on its effectiveness. "The
World Bank's assessment of the situation in
Chad is based on unrealistic assumptions",
says Susanne Breitkopf, Africa Campaigner at
Friends of the Earth France, "While World
Bank officials organise satellite conferences
for the international press, Chadian citizens
are literally left in the dark, without means
to communicate their grievances." The Chadian
government, notorious for its corruption and
human rights abuses, used the first $4.5
million of the signing bonus that it received
from the oil companies to purchase arms. "It
is cynical for the World Bank to claim that
the situation has changed. In its own
internal project report to the executive
directors of August 2003, the Bank found new
financial 'misreportings' by the Chadian
authorities," says Breitkopf.
Magda Stoczkiewicz, leading the EIB
campaign for Friends of the Earth
International and CEE Bankwatch Network adds:
"The EIB loan was given despite negative
advice from the European Parliament, putting
EU money into a highly controversial project.
The Chad-Cameroon pipeline example puts into
question the usefulness of channelling EU aid
to Africa via the EIB."
According to a network of Chadian NGOs
active on issues related to the oil sector,
the Commission Permanente Pétrole de
N'djaména (CPP), the project has already
caused considerable harm in the oil producing
area and the measures promised by the World
Bank to protect the environment and the
population have not been implemented to their
satisfaction. In a press conference in
N'djaména, CPPN representatives criticized,
among other things, the increased food
insecurity and social tensions in the oil-
producing region, due to the massive
migration induced by the project. During the
construction of the pipeline, prostitution
developed on a large scale, increasing the
spread of AIDS. "In Cameroon, the
construction of the pipeline has not brought
benefits to the population. Instead, it has
caused destruction of the environment and of
important resources such as fisheries." says
Samuel Nguiffo, director of the Center for
Environment and Development in Cameroon, and
adds: "October 10 will be a public
celebration of the broken promises of the
pipeline construction in Chad and Cameroon,
and of human and worker's rights abuses. The
World Bank should not be proud. We are
joining our neighbours in Chad in the day of
mourning, because we ourselves have no reason
to celebrate this day."
Meanwhile, the oil companies are exploring
other oil-rich areas in Chad and Cameroon and
any additional oil will use the existing
pipeline. New exploration is occurring
without informing the Chadian public, thereby
ignoring the World Bank and EIB loan
agreements. As a condition of its financial
support, the World Bank required that any oil
to be transported through the pipeline be
developed in compliance with the standards
set for the Doba project. International
organisations have expressed their support
for Chadian groups, who have declared, 'The
ceremony of October 10 has for us no meaning,
it is a non-event.'
According to Korinna Horta,a scientist
with Environmental Defense in Washington: "A
regional development plan was promised to
mitigate the negative impacts of the project
and ensure development benefits for the
people most directly affected, yet to date no
such plan has been made public or thethe
regional structures put in place to
administer the promised oil funds".
For more information contact:
Susanne Breitkopf, Friends of the Earth,
Paris tel. +33 1 48513222 mobile +33 6
77775868
Samuel Nguiffo, CED, Yaoundé: tel. +237 222
38 57
Magda Stoczkiewicz, CEE Bankwatch,
Amsterdam: +31 20 622 13 69 mobile +31 652 41
03 23
Korinna Horta, Environmental Defense,
Washington - Lisbon: +351963920759
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