From: barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us (Mr Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS: CONGO: TOUGH TASK AHEAD FOR LISSOUB
Originator: @gagme
Organization: Evanston, Illinois
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 23:00:32 GMT

Area: Africa, southern
Title: CONGO: TOUGH TASK AHEAD FOR LISSOUBA


brazzaville, aug 21 (ips) -- the newly elected president of
congo, pascal lissouba now faces the mammoth task of reviving
the country's ravaged oil-based economy.

he takes over from president denis sassou nguesso, whose
12-year single-party military marxist regime was marked by
political and economic degeneration.

today, the former french colony is experiencing an
unprecedented economic crisis. petroleoum earnings which
constitute 70 percent of the country's budgetary resources have
gone down from 32 billion dollars in 1982 to about 520
million dollars since 1990.

in an effort to redress the dismal financial and economic
performance of the country, the government had been forced to
adopt an international monetary find (imf) and world bank
prescribed structural adjustment programme in 1985.

but due to poor management, the programme, applied over a
period of four years, had failed to achieve the desired results.

in december 1991 the government of transition prime minister
andre milongo launched a home-grown economic revival and
stabilisation programme.

the programme had aimed to reduce the 80,000-strong civil
service and restructure public enterprises to which the state
had devoted 1.2 billion dollars since i986.

but, squeezed by the imf which was demanding the payment of
debt arrears amounting to more than 28 million dollars and faced
with union opposition to the idea of restructuring public
enterprises, the plan never got off the ground.

the non-application of this programme worsened the
economic woes of the government which has not paid students and
civil servants grants and salaries for the past four months.

but with the election of lissouba, a former president of the
u.n. economic commission for africa, many are confident that the
country may at last begin to resolve its economic difficulties.

in his congratulatory message to lissouba, president of the
high council of the republic (transition parliament) and
president of the electoral organising commission, bishop ernest
kombo said by choosing lissouba the people had opted for
''scientific efficiency''. (more/ips)


congo: tough (2)

speaking in a radio interview from the town of dolisie about
about 200 kms from here, lissouba urged the nation to rally
round his programme to revive and stabilise the national
economy. lissouba had already promised to effect a provisional
plan to ensure the payment of civil servants.

in a sweeping victory, lissouba won 61 percent of the votes
in the second round of the presidential elections held here
sunday, beating presidential hopeful bernard kokelas of the
congolese movement for development and democracy who won 38
percent of the votes.

lissouba, leader of the pan african union for social
democracy (upads) becomes the first president to be elected by
universal suffrage since the former french colony gained
independence in 1960.

sassou nguesso had lost dismally to lissouba and kokelas
in the first round of presidential elections held aug. 9,
becoming the third african leader, after mathieu kerekou of
benin and kenneth kaunda of zambia to be removed from power
by popular election since the clamour for multi-party
democracy in africa began in 1989. (end/ips/lo/tvh/oa)



-- 
Mr. Aaron Barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us -- posting from Evanston, Illinois
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african