VZCZCXRO8056
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHNJ #0118/01 0921730
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021730Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6841
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 0590
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0207
RUEHBZ/AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 0035
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 000118 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR AF/C AND AF/SPG 
NSC FOR GAVIN AND HUDSON 
LONDON FOR POL -- LORD 
PARIS FOR POL -- D'ELIA AND KANEDA 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS ECON EAGR AU CD
SUBJECT: BEFORE PARLIAMENT, PRIME MINISTER REVIEWS HIS 
GOVERNMENT'S PROGRESS 
 
REF: NDJAMENA 0104 
 
NDJAMENA 00000118  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (U) Prime Minister Youssouf Saleh Abbas appeared before 
Chad's 155-member National Assembly, along with his 41-member 
Cabinet, March 31, to respond to questions on the successes 
and challenges of his 11-month old government.  The PM, who 
had received questions posed by parliamentarians in advance, 
read prepared responses to each.  He gave his views on the 
rising cost of living, the government's unpopular decision to 
ban use of charcoal for cooking, police offenses, and the 
high crime rate.  He expressed continued support for the 
Sirte Accord with the Chadian rebels, the August 13 Accord 
with the Chadian opposition, and the electoral reform 
committee, as elements of the government's program for peace 
and security.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------ 
ENVIRONMENT AND COST OF LIVING 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (U) The PM explained the government's December 2008 
decision to ban use of charcoal for cooking and prohibit 
tree-cutting (to produce charcoal) as necessary initiatives 
to protect the environment and fight desertification.  He 
referenced Chad's long-standing participation in the 
Interstate Commission to Fight Drought in the Sahel (CILSS), 
and added that Chadian citizens needed a better understanding 
of environmental issues and civic responsibility.  He also 
announced government subsidization of butane gas, as well as 
reduction in the price for automotive gas. 
 
¶4. (U) On the rising cost of living, the Prime Minister 
pointed out that Chad was challenged by the global economic 
downturn and by the need to import nearly all commodities 
through the Cameroonian port of Douala.  The government had 
spoken with Cameroonian authorities to agree on import tax 
exemptions for some goods, he noted.  The PM charged that the 
hoarding of rice and grain was driving up market prices and 
reported that an inter-ministerial committee had been set up 
to evaluate the feasibility of price controls.  He noted that 
the GOC was nearly finished restructuring the Agriculture and 
Commercial Bank to provide easier credit. 
 
¶6. (U) The PM explained the re-imposition of a tax on 
construction materials, whose 2007 elimination had resulted 
in the loss to the government of USD eight million.  He said 
that the government was working with the Chinese government 
on construction of a cement plant in the south that would 
come on line in 2010. 
 
--------------------------------- 
ILLEGAL WEAPONS AND LAND DISPUTES 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Questioned about ongoing disputes between herders and 
farmers in the south, the PM stated that limited natural 
resources were at the heart of increasing tensions.  He then 
elaborated on the GOC's efforts to confiscate illegal 
weapons, describing a committee formed under the Ministry of 
Interior to check houses and cars.  In response to the 
assertion that lawful owners of permitted weapons had had 
their firearms confiscated, the PM replied that the new 
committee could be investigated for abuse of authority. 
 
--------------------------- 
NATIONAL RECONCILIATION 
ELECTIONS AND PRESS FREEDOM 
--------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) The PM reaffirmed his government's commitment to 
national reconciliation, regional stability and elections 
through implementation of the Sirte Accord (with Chad rebels) 
and the August 13 Accord (between Chad political parties). 
He expressed support for the work of the Electoral Reform 
Committee, and revealed that the GOC was in the process of 
re-evaluating the notorious "Ordonnance Five," an emergency 
decree limiting press freedom in the wake of the events of 
 
NDJAMENA 00000118  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
February 2008, with the intention of modifying or canceling 
it. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶9. (SBU) The session was mostly business-like and 
non-confrontational, before a Parliament dominated by the 
pro-Deby MPS alliance of political parties.  The Parliament 
has been calling individual ministers for testimony before 
various committees.  This was a modest but welcome exercise 
of the workings of Chad's constitutional system.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶10. (U) Minimize considered. 
NIGRO