• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Government suspends eight diamond firms

BANGUI, 19 June 2003 (IRIN) - Eight commercial companies trading in gold and diamonds were suspended on Wednesday after they refused to allow an inter-ministerial commission to investigate their legal status, state-owned Radio Centrafrique reported.

The radio reported that the suspension was made in a ministerial decision by Mining and Energy Minister Sylvain Ndoutingaye. The minister directed security forces nationwide to implement the suspensions.

Set up in May, the Inter-ministerial Investigative Commission was mandated to check the legal status of all commercial companies, especially their exploitation and selling licences.

The latest suspensions were made a day after that of Trans Oil, a petroleum company belonging to former President Ange-Felix Patasse who was ousted by former army chief of staff Francois Bozize on 15 March. Two mining and timber companies Patasse owned were suspended in April.

The suspensions are part of the government’s campaign against corruption in the country's revenue-generating sectors.

Timber and mining activities were suspended nationwide after Bozize's coup, as many firms involved in these sectors were believed to have suspicious fiscal and legal situations.

Mining is the second revenue-generating sector for the government, after timber.

Theme(s): (IRIN) Economy

[ENDS]

The material contained on this Web site comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post any item on this site, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All graphics and Images on this site may not be re-produced without the express permission of the original owner. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003