This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

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FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2846
INFO AMEMBASSY ABUJA 
AMEMBASSY DAKAR 
AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE 
AMEMBASSY LONDON 
AMEMBASSY NIAMEY 
AMEMBASSY PARIS 
AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 
DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
USDOC WASHDC
DOE WASHDC

UNCLAS  NDJAMENA 001875 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS, TREASURY FOR OTA, 
ENERGY FOR GPERSON AND CGAY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CD ECON EFIN ENRG EPET PGOV
SUBJECT: CHAD ASSEMBLY AMENDS OIL LAW;BILL AWAITS 
PRESIDENT'S SIGNATURE 
 
REF: NDJAMENA 1851 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: Following a four-hour delay, the Government of 
Chad-proposed legislation to amend the existing Revenue 
Management Law passed resoundingly in the National Assembly 
on December 29.  The legislation now goes to the desk of the 
Head of State for promulgation (ratification).  The rapid 
debate and vote by the National Assembly is not a positive 
sign for the GOC's commitment to negotiations with the World 
Bank.  END SUMMARY 
 
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FOLLOWING DELAY, LAW COMES TO THE FLOOR 
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¶2.  The Chadian National Assembly voted on December 29 to 
ratify the Government's proposed legislation to amend the 
existing Oil Revenue Management Law.  The debate was 
originally scheduled to take place at 10 am, but a temporary 
boycott by Deputies from the Opposition, as well as confusion 
on the scheduling of the debate by members of the ruling MPS 
party forced a four-hour delay.  After the opposition finally 
agreed to enter the floor of the Assembly, the debate began 
at 2 PM. 
 
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GOC, OPPOSITION PRESENT THEIR CASES; LEGISLATION EASILY 
APPROVED 
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¶3.  The Government of Chad (GOC), which was represented by 
the Minister of Finance, Abbas Tolli, and the Minister of 
Plan, Economy and Cooperation, Mahamat Hassan, presented its 
case to the Deputies present on the floor.  Tolli noted that 
the Government had spent a great deal of time developing a 
strategy to alleviate the poverty of the Chadian people, and 
concluded that the passage of this legislation would give the 
Government the means to aid its citizens.  Tolli added that 
the World Bank, which often acted as a colonial institution, 
should not intervene in the country's sovereign right to 
amend its own laws. 
 
¶4.  Lol Choua, head of the opposition "Democratic Rallying 
for the People" (RDP) party, presented the opposition case, 
and said that the country risked isolating itself from the 
international community with the passage of this amendment. 
Following his comments, the President of National Assembly 
called for a vote on two pieces of legislation: the amendment 
to the Revenue Management Law and legislation authorizing the 
Government to collect revenues for fiscal year 2006 (NOTE: 
This legislation is a critical legal mechanism to permit the 
Government to began utilizing resources from the Fund for 
Future Generations, should the legislation become ratified. 
END NOTE).  Both pieces of legislation passed resoundingly, 
as 119 members voted for the legislation, 13 voted against 
it, and one deputy abstained. 
 
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NEXT STEPS 
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¶5.  In the next few days, the President of National Assembly 
will send a correspondence to the Office of Presidency with 
both pieces of legislation attached.  Following a review and 
approval by the Council of Ministers, the legislation will 
reach the desk of the President.  The signature of the Head 
of State is required for the law to come into force. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶6.  While the law still needs to be promulgated by the 
President, the one-day turnaround by the National Assembly -- 
while not entirely unexpected --  does not bode well for 
proposed negotiations between the Government and the World 
Bank on the revisions to the law. It is looking more and more 
as if the GOC will present the revisions to the Bank as a 
fait accompli, thereby forcing the bank to re-consider its 
 
 
technical and political missions in January (reftel).  Post 
will report on the reaction of the opposition groups, the 
donor community and the oil consortium in the coming days. 
 
TAMLYN 
 
 
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