- Niger has expressed outrage at the decision by the European Commission to block aid payments to the West African state as President Mamadou Tandja plans to hold a referendum on 4 August in an attempt to cling to power.
Niger's Foreign Minister Aichatou Mindaoudou said the EC’s decision was unfair and premature. “The president is not an illegitimate president, he is exercising a democratic and legal mandate which was granted to him by the people during free and fair elections," she said.
The European Commissioner for Development, Louis Michel informed President Tandja about aid cut through a letter, saying the Commission is also considering to break off the rest of its aid to Niger.
"It does not amount to a suspension. But at the moment, the Commission believes governance in the country is unsatisfactory and we cannot go ahead with the payment," he said.
The EU has been assisting Niger to construct roads as well as to finance health and education projects. Local sources in Niger say the aid is worth between eight and 10 million euros.
President Tandja dissolved parliament just a day after the Constitutional Court rejected a call for a referendum on 25 May to allow him to seek a third term in government.
Under the current law, President Tandja is barred from staying in office beyond December 22, when his second elected five-year term expires.
According to the constitution, a new parliament will now have to be elected within three months, but there was no immediate presidential announcement on a new election date.
The 70 years old leader was first elected in 1999 and re-elected in 2004.
A referendum aimed at changing the Constitution so he can run again is planned for 4 August.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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