Equatorial Guinea
Financial support increases for Africa's worst dictatorship

afrol News, 10 Febraury - As the small central African dictatorship Equatorial Guinea has the highest economic growth rate in Africa, the new oil nation is not receiving much foreign development aid. Foreign investments, in particular US and French, are however enormous, and now, even the UN is coming back with development aid.

Only last year, the UN had to withdraw its special Rapporteur on human rights from the country after 23 years of disclosures of systematic violations of virtually all types of rights - after pressure from investing countries and African neighbours. Today, the UN is returning to Malabo, the Equatoguinean capital, but this time with a big development programme.

Arriving town is Zéphirin Diabré, a senior official from the UN development agency UNDP, to implement a series of cooperation agreements with the government for the 2003-06 period, the UNDP offices in Malabo told afrol News. It considered the visit "historic", given that this is the highest official from UNDP ever to come to the country.

The UN office in Equatorial Guinea announces that the visit is part of the materialisation of various projects "worth approximately 95 million US$," which the "Equatoguinean government has obliged itself to co-finance with UNDP." The office does not give any information on the nature of these projects.

The Spanish ex-colony Equatorial Guinea has experiences one of the highest economic growth rates during the last years - almost 70 percent in 2001 - given its offshore oil production that started late in the 1990s. When a very substantial oil production is to be shared by less than 500,000 inhabitants, this would theoretically produce quick and sustainable wealth for everybody.

The Equatoguineans are however just as poor as they were before the oil boom started. All reports from the country confirm that oil revenues do not find their way to the population majority - in fact they are not even accounted for in a state budget. Revenues from oil production are shared between President Teodoro Obiang, the small clan in power and foreign oil companies, mostly American. It was further recently known that the dictator has several sizable bank accounts in the US.

Power sharing in Equatorial Guinea is done by the President and a small clan from the town of Mongomo; most are family members. The clan has been in power since independence in 1968 and Mr Obiang himself came to power in a military coup in 1979, when he overthrew and killed his uncle, President Macias Nguema. The population is controlled by a network of informers, ever-present police and foreign mercenaries.

Until the end-90s, there was a strong international pressure against the Malabo regime to implement democratic reforms and respect basic human rights. After oil revenues started to flow, the pressure has crumbled.

Last year, small Equatorial Guinea was the forth biggest receiver of US investments in Africa and in 2000, the country was granted the biggest-ever credit given an African country by a US federal agency. The US Embassy in Malabo, which was closed down due to the systematic human rights violations, was reopened recently.

But not only capital from Washington and Texas is present in Malabo. Several European states, such as France, and African countries (South Africa, Nigeria and Gabon) are not shy to invest in the country and have excellent diplomatic ties.

While foreign capital is pouring into Equatorial Guinea, also the countries of investment origin are easing the pressure on the Obiang regime. This for example resulted in the abolition of the UN human rights commission's special surveillance of the country last year. Today's engagement by the UNDP in Malabo marks the first return of development capital to Equatorial Guinea after the World Bank and IMF withdrew in protest in the mid-90s.

The repeated promises of President Obiang to start democratising were again let down last year. An arranged mass trial against the most prominent opposition leaders of the country - over an alleged plan to overthrow the President - led to the conviction of 68 persons. Human rights groups documented torture and false testimonials. Having arrested the opposition, the President suddenly announced elections and "won" a landslide victory after the remnants of the opposition boycotted the poll.

At this stage, ex-colonial power Spain is the only country to maintain a high pressure against President Obiang by making the EU condemn both the elections and the trial against the opposition. This has been at a high price for Spain, though. Malabo has confined oil contracts to French instead of Spanish companies, and government is introducing French as official language instead of Spanish.

Sources: Based on UNDP, govt reports, and afrol archives 

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