oil has become a means for the regime to strengthen its armed forces, reward its cronies and co-opt members of the political class. This has further limited political space for the opposition and helped keep the country in a state of political paralysis that has stoked the antagonism between the regime and its opponents. As a result, there is recurrent political instability that is likely to ruin all efforts to use oil for the benefit of the country and its enduring stability. For the people who have not seen their lives improve and who are subjected to increased corruption, oil is far from a blessing. Given the current situation, the following measures should be taken to extricate Chad and its external partners from the petroleum trap:
Arabica Robusta on 05 Oct 09It is past time to assign the "oil curse" appelation to Chad, as well as to promote the same institutional changes that were supposed to be in the original projects. One has to ask: Why is oil flowing well while the country continues to implode?
