When FIFA’s Blatter commends somebodies development you should look into it; as the President Obiang of Equatorial Guinea has a son in Teodorin who loves the luxurious life in Los Angeles, as the paperwork shows!

“This is the first time I have been to your country but it will definitely not be the last. You have so many development projects going on that I will almost certainly have to come back,” Blatter said” (Embassy of Equatorial Guinea, 2010).

When Sepp Blatter have seen development he have seen some brown-envelopes and adjustments made for the FIFA organizations and the other football bodies that have helped enrichen that organization and not develop the country that FIFA is in. If it was so then the stadiums of Brazil would be used for something else than a Bus-Park. But this here is not about the use of FIFA, but his visit surely gives the prospect of how the society is. As this country I will be focused on have had a tightknit organization built around the Executive and the Party he is running.

“Cabinet Ministers and public servants in Equatorial Guinea are by the law allowed to owe [sic] companies that , in consortium with a foreign company, can bid the government contracts  and should the company be successful, then what percentage of the total cost of the contract the company gets, will depend on the terms negotiated between the parties. But, in any event, it means that a cabinet minister ends up with a sizeable part of the contract price in his bank account” – Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue

I will today show a little levels of corruption from the grand-family of the longest staying President on the African Continent per today. This President have just recently won yet another election with over 90% and secured a new term in the country he has run since a coup d’état in 1979. About the way President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasongo, who have filtered the oil-rich monies to himself and family over the years and used government funds on expensive things for himself or his son Teodorin Obiang who at some point even dated the American rapper EVE. But, hey take a look!

“According to the documents from the Justice Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Teodorin, who earns a few thousand dollars a month as a minister in his father’s government, transferred about $75 million into U.S. banks between 2005 and 2007, via wire transfers processed by Bank of America, Wachovia, UBS, Union Bank of California and First American Trust” (Global Witness, 2009).

In 2011 this was the official salary of Teodorin Obiang as Ministry of Forestry:

“His official salary today is approximately $6,799 per month, or less than $100,000 per year, according to the official E.G. sources” (United States District Court for the Central District of California, 2011).

This is just the beginning and shows to what extent that Equatorial Guinean President and his son have bought with the government funds. This is money earned through the exporting crude-oil and the dividends from it. The Government gets the earnings with the ELF contracts for instance. So there is money to spend of the President as the oil-money could be used for personal affairs it seems. Not that it is justified and therefore it has even cause controversy in the United States as his son are leaving in Los Angeles.

What spending had Teodorin Obiang done in Los Angeles:

“The Defendants in rem, obtained through the abuse of public office and illegally laundered through the abuse of financial institutions and businesses in the United States, are believed to be currently located within the Central District of California” (…)”The Defendants White Crystal-Covered “Bad Tour” Glove and miscellaneous other Michael Jackson memorabilia” (…)” These items are believed to be located at the defendant real property located on Sweetwater, Mesa Road, California” (…)”The Defendant, 2011 Ferrari is described as followed: One 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO” (…)”The defendant 2011 Ferrari is titled in the name of Teodoro Nguema Obiang and is believed to be located at the Sweetwater property” (…)”The 2004 PSI Report revealed that, from at least 1995 to 2004, the Government of E.G. directed that payments from the oil companies be made into accounts at Riggs National Bank in Washington D.C. According to the PSI Report, aggregate deposits to E.G. Government accounts totaled hundreds of millions dollars at a time and were so large that by 2003, the E.G. portfolio had become the bank’s largest single costumer relationship, with balances and outstanding loans that together approached $700 million. The PSI Report concluded that Riggs Bank “turned a blind eye to evidence (,) suggesting the bank was handling the proceeds of foreign corruption” (…)”In March 2001, Nguema bought a new 2001 Bentley automobile in Beverly Hills, California, paying for it with a personal check for $360,000, drawn on his Riggs Bank account. A few months later, he brought a second 2001 Bentley, from the same dealership in Beverly Hills, for which he paid $57,500 in cash and $228,000 by personal check drawn on the same account. In 2001, at the age of 33, he also bought a $6,5 million house on the Antelo Road in Bel Air” (…)”For example, he spent millions of dollars to buy dozens of sports cars and luxury vehicles. These included, amongst others, 24 cars with a total declared value of $9.68 million that he stored at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angles until November 2010, when he shipped them, along with $400,000 worth of motorcycles, to France. These cars included a $ 2 million Maserati, two Bugatti Veyron sports cars for which he paid $ 2 million Maserati and $ 1.3 million respectively, eight Ferraris (including the defendant 2011 Ferrari), seven Rolls Royces, five Bentleys, four Mercedes, A Porsche, two Lamborghinis, and an Aston Martin” (United States District Court for the Central District of California, 2011).

Here I have just showed how much monies have been moved to a Bank Accounts over a Period which is in the amount of 700 Million Dollars and can only be seen as grand amount of monies taken from Equatorial Guinea to be used for personal affairs in United States. As we later see the amounts spent on cars and the sophisticated cars and size of the car park that is filled with Bentleys, Ferraris, Aston Martin, Bugatti Veyron, Rolls Roycs and even a Maserati. That shows the level of spending and the ignorant value of the government funds, as spending on a crystal-white Michael Jackson glove together with a house in Bel Air and the one in Sweetwater estate. But this is not it all, sadly the Obiang family spending in the US is staggering.

If you think that Teodoro and Teodorin were done in this time period to spend money in the United States, they did more!

“In June 2005, Nguema purchased two 50-foot, high-performance racing boats in Ft. Myers, Florida, for a total of over $ 2 million” (…)”Between April and June 2006, Nguema’s luxery expenditures included a combined total of $68 million on just two assets; the defendant Malibu mansion, for which the purchase price was $ 30 million, and a Gulfstream G-V private jet, which cost over $38 million” (…)”In a single month in 2004, for example, he spent over $80,000 at Gucci and over $50,000 at Dolce and Gabbana in a shopping spree in the United States” (…)”From June 2010 through June 2011, Nguema spent a total of approximately $3.2 million on various items of Michael Jackson memorabilia, including $275,000 for the defendant “Bad Tour” glove, $80,000 for a pair of crystal-covered socks, $140,000 for a jacket and shirt, and $245,000 for a basketball signed by Michael Jackson and basketball star Michael Jordan” (…)”Nguema created companies in various names, including “Beautiful Vision, Inc” and “Unlimited Horizon Inc.,” and opened bank accounts in the United States in the name of those companies. Nguema also wired transferred funds to bank accounts controlled by intermediaries, who then used the money to pay for his personal expenses, or transferred money from those accounts t accounts in the names of the corporations he formed, and then used the corporate accounts to pay his personal expenses” (United States District Court for the Central District of California, 2011).

How did Teoderin buy the Michael Jackson Memorabilia?

“In August 2010, an intermediary registered Nguema to bid in a live auction of celebrity memorabilia (called the “Legends” auctions) taking place on October 9, 2010, in Macau, China (October 8, 2010, in California). The intermediary advised the auction house by email to “Please make sure that [Nguema’s] name does not appear anywhere, he should be invisible,” and to “please make sure that where a name needs to be, my name is there. This is very important” (…)”The auction house prepared two invoices in the same name of the intermediary, totaling $1,398,062.50, using the address of the Sweetwater property” (…)”When one of Nguema’s assistants received the invoices, she instructed the auction house to revise the invoices to indicate that the purchases were being billed to “Amadeo Oluy, Malabo, Guinea Equatorial-“. These items were shipped to E.G.” (…)”In December 2010, another function of celebrity memorabilia was held by the same auction house, this time in Beverly Hills, California. An intermediary came to the auction on Nguema’s behalf and successfully bid in the defendant white crystal-covered “Bad Tour”glove and other defendant items listen in Attachment A-1, attached hereto. The total cost of these items was $872,125.00” (…)”On January 31, 2011, Nguema caused $872,112.00 to be wire transferred from an account in the name of Eloba Construction, S.A., Equatorial Guinea to an account at American Business Bank in Los Angles in the name of the auction house, Julien Entertainment, to pay for the items purchased at the December 2010 auction. This items was subsequently packed for shipment and delivered to the defendant Sweetwater property” (…)”On March 29, 2011, an employee of the auction house sent her employer a email regarding the invoices for the items purchased on behalf of Nguema, asking,

I assume I need to rewrite the invoices in the same fashion as I’ve done in prior sales? (putting lots on one page, adding catalog page numbers and changing the Buyer’s name” (…)”In June 2011, Nguema again used an intermediary bid on more Michael Jackson memorabilia at another “Music Icons” auction. The intermediary successfully bid on the items costing a total of $379,692.00 sent by “Oluy Amadeo” in Equatorial Guinea to the bank account of the auction house at American Business Bank in Los Angles, California. The items purchased by Nguema at the June 2011” (United States District Court for the Central District of California, 2011).

As you can see the son of President Teodoro Obiang really have a thing for the memorabilia of the late Michael Jackson and have spent a fortune on it. That shows where monies go to. So it is not only the properties, but all from signed posters, gloves, statues and bags; all kind of former fandom equipment and limited editions that are signed by Michael Jackson and used by him in his lifetime.

Here is an letter from CSO’s on the case:  

“Mr. Nguema’s attorneys, Juan P. Morillo and Tomislav Joksimovic, at the time of Clifford Chance US LLP, formally “agreed, and…so advised [their] client, that none of [Mr. Nguema’s] assets in the United States [would] be moved or otherwise made unavailable until…the government has had an opportunity to consider any evidence presented [by Mr. Nguema’s counsel]”.4” (…)”About three weeks later, Mr. Lyons informed Ms. Hudson “that the items of Michael Jackson memorabilia named as defendants in the complaint [were] no longer in the United States.”7 Her October 27, 2011 formal demand that Mr. Nguema return the Michael Jackson memorabilia to Government representatives in the United States went unheeded. Indeed, Mr. Nguema’s contempt for his legal obligations and the commitments made by his representatives were amply illustrated by his decision some time later to flaunt the Michael Jackson memorabilia in a highly publicized exhibition in Equatorial Guinea” (…)”According to the same information received, Mr Roberto Berardi had found out early 2013 about the asset forfeiture action by the United States Department of Justice against the US-based properties that his business partner had purchased by using accounts in Equatorial Guinea banks in the name of Eloba Construccion. Mr Roberto Berardi had subsequently raised the issue with his partner Mr Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mangue. There are reasons to believe that Mr Roberto Berardi could be a very damaging witness in the US investigation and was therefore arrested and imprisoned” (…)”Ensures that Mr. Nguema and/or his family does not, and does not appear to, retain de facto control over disposition of any funds or other benefits that are intended to be, or may be, allocated to the benefit of the victims of the alleged corrupt practices, namely, the people of Equatorial Guinea” (Apdhe, Open Society Justice Initiative, EGJustice and Sherpa, 2014).

This here is the picture of how the Government of Equatorial Guinea is spending their monies on the family of the dictator instead of building infrastructure, health-care and the education. There is viable evidence of fraud and embezzlement as the government funds getting send directly from Equatorial Guinea to American banks used on whatever luxuries that Teodorin Obiang wants or needs in his collections. Either if it is a fancy car or something from Michael Jackson memorabilia. That proves to what extent this family eats the government funds and doesn’t care how it looks. The country is nearly never in the headlines, last real time before the recent elections was because of the African Cup of Nation that was held there and even made Sepp Blatter visit the country from his hectic office days in Switzerland.

You can think about the information and what signal it really sends. What this means for the government of Equatorial Guinea that the President Obiang can stay in power since 1970s and over 30 years. The viable price of that is the embezzlement and the grand-corruption. Together with the made corporations to move the embezzled money from the Nation to other places like Los Angeles, California. Peace.

Reference:

Apdhe, Open Society Justice Initiative, EGJustice and Sherpa – ‘Proposed Settlement in US v. One White Crystal-Covered “Bad Tour” Glove and Other Michael Jackson Memorabilia; Real Property Located on Sweetwater Mesa Road in Malibu, California; One 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO; and US v. One Gulfstream G-V Jet Aircraft Displaying Tail Number VPCES, Its Tools and Appurtenances (collectively, the “Case”)’ (05.08.2014) letter to Eric H. Holder Jr. Attorney General in U.S. Department of Justice.

Embassy of Equatorial Guinea – ‘FIFA PRESIDENT PRAISES DEVELOPMENT IN EQUATORIAL GUINEADURING VISIT’ (08.06.2010)

Global Witness – ‘Secret documents reveal multi-million dollar shopping spree by Africandictator’s son; US authorities fail to act on evidence of corruption’ (17.11.2009)

United States District Court for the Central District of California – United States of America V. One White Crystal-Covered “Bad Tour” Glove and Other Michael Jackson Memorabilia; Real Property Located on Sweetwater Mesa Road in Malibu, California; one 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO – Case of Forfeiture in REM. (13 October 2011).

Interesting WikiLeaks about Uganda: Bunyoro, Lake Albert & Oil-deals

Here is WikiLeaks which shows quotes from 2007 to 2011 where Bunyoro, Rwenzuru and the security of the oil-rich Western-Uganda. Think that this should be interesting reading – also insights to the situation. Have an awesome time reading!

The Corruption story of Muhwezi and Mukula amd the NRM:

“Many Ugandans were happy to see Muhwezi and Mukula, members of the so-called “mafia”, arrested for corrupt activities” (…)”oo Much or Inefficient Corruption. Kategaya and Musa Ecweru, Minister of State for Relief and Disaster Preparedness, told P/E Chief the core issue was that Muhwezi, Mukula, and Kamugisha took more money than they had been authorized and failed to account for it. Muhwezi had been found “not politically responsible” in a Cabinet white paper follow-up on the Global Fund Investigation report in March. According to the Kategaya and Ecweru, the debate within the Cabinet over Muhwezi’s fate was heated, but that ultimately a majority of ministers rallied behind Muhwezi because they themselves could be implicated for corrupt activities. The President accepted the Cabinet recommendation, but still wanted to find a way to “clip Muhwezi’s wings.” The President decided that the use of the immunization fund for personal gain would provide a strong case against Muhwezi” (…)”Succession Politics. Another possibility, and not excluded by other theories, was that the arrests were an attempt by President Museveni to remove potential successors. This includes both Jim Muhwezi and First Lady Janet Museveni. Both have presidential ambitions and both profited beyond Museveni’s expectations from the embezzlement. Muhwezi’s financial independence, alleged ties to the Forum for Democratic Change’s Kizza Besigye, and the perception that he was advancing his own political ambitions rather than the ruling party’s could have contributed to the decision to arrest him at this time. Several Cabinet members say that Muhwezi, the former Chief of Military Intelligence, has been allowed to get away with corrupt activities because he has files on key political players and the First Family and has threatened to use them” (…)”The NRM-dominated Parliament also selected Muhwezi to head the Parliamentary Group for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. One Cabinet member told PolChief that there are signs of other politicians rallying to Muhwezi’s side because they fear they could be next in line for an arrest warrant. Ecweru posted Mukula’s bond to demonstrate ethnic solidarity” (…)”The arrests are generating a significant amount of speculation regarding the future of the ruling party and implications for the war on corruption. Many political contacts and other Western diplomats are wondering if Museveni has a clear game plan, desired outcome, or defined roles for the IGG and public prosecutors” (WikiLeaks, 29.05.2007).

Ugandan Boarder Tension:

“Museveni and his Congolese counterpart Joseph Kabila met in Tanzania to discuss border issues after Congolese military units moved a border demarcation four kilometers into an agreed-upon no-man’s zone on the Ugandan border” (…)”Lt. Gen. David Tinyefuza, Museveni’s security czar, reported to Museveni that Congolese units allegedly erected a border crossing four kilometers on the Ugandan side of the border. However, a team of security officials led by Deputy Director of the External Security Service Emmy Allio, who is from West Nile, determined that the Congolese had not moved the demarcation posts into Uganda, only into the agreed-upon no-man’s zone. In his report to President Museveni and the Minister of Security Amama Mbabazi, Allio argued that the GOU should not “make a big deal” out of the incident. He found that the powerful Governor of Ituri ordered the move, with backing from some elements in Kinshasa, but that Kabila was likely unaware” (WikiLeaks, 21.05.2008).

”According to a joint statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Museveni and Kabila “noted with satisfaction” that progress had been made in the border demarcation process. They pointed to the Fifth Session of the Joint Permanent Commission in Kampala December 12-15, 2007, the Joint Border Remarking Committee in Bunia and Entebbe, and other bilateral engagement on the issue as evidence that efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the border question were ongoing” (…)”Museveni and Kabila agreed to accelerate the co-administration of the Rukawanzi Island as the demarcation process takes place. Situated on Lake Albert, Rukawanzi Island was at the center of the August 2007 border flare-up that led to the Ngurdoto-Tanzania Agreement. (Note: Congolese soldiers killed a British Heritage Oil worker in August 2007 claiming that the oil barge had strayed into Congolese waters (ref A). End note.) The prospect of oil exploration on Lake Albert, which is dissected by the Ugandan-Congolese border, has further complicated the demarcation process” (WikiLeaks, 21.05.2008).

The Oil-deals and Boarder Tension:

“The most recent border tensions comes in the wake of Kinshasa’s decision to revoke an oil exploration concession to a neighboring block in eastern Congo’s oil-rich region that it had granted to Tullow Oil and Heritage, two of four oil companies operating in western Uganda. The Congolese government awarded the tender to South Africa’s state oil company PetroSA, claiming that Tullow and Heritage violated Congolese territorial waters on Lake Albert (refs A and B), (WikiLeaks, 21.05.2008).

Museveni’s Plan to “Ring-Fence” Bunyoro:

“An internal July 15 memo from Ugandan President Museveni has deepened the ethnic divide between groups living atop newfound oil reserves in Uganda’s Western Region.  The memo, which was leaked to the press on August 2, instructs the Minister for Presidential Affairs to consider restricting key elected offices – including parliamentary seats – in what was once the Bunyoro Kingdom in Western Uganda to ethnic Banyoro only.  The memo also recommends preferential land ownership rights for ethnic Banyoro for the next twenty years.  Museveni’s memo may have been designed to appease, or perhaps distract, Banyoro leaders angered by long-standing land disputes and the government’s continued refusal to reveal plans for oil revenue sharing (reftel)” (…)”Museveni has not backed away from the idea of investing specific ethnic groups with special electoral privileges in Western Uganda, and several members of his Cabinet who hail from Bunyoro have ratcheted up pressure on Museveni to move forward with his proposal. Museveni’s apparent willingness to consider rewarding one ethnic constituency by disenfranchising many others reinforces concerns about his re-election strategy for 2011 and Uganda’s commitment to the transparent management of impending oil revenues” Sampson/WikiLeaks, 19.08.2009).

”Two other individuals of note reportedly also spoke at the August 15 Bunyoro Symposium: the Bunyoro Kingdom’s spokesman Henry Ford Miriima and Presidential Advisor on Land Issues Kasirivu Atwooki. In recent days Miriima has advocated for taking President Museveni’s “ring-fencing” idea even further, arguing that non-Banyoro living in Bunyoro should assimilate into Banyoro culture and adopt the Banyoro language of Runyoro” (Sampson/WikiLeaks, 19.08. 2009).

Tension because of Museveni’s plan to “Ring-Fence” Bunyoro:

“Tensions between the Banyoro and “immigrant” populations in Bunyoro have been simmering for some time. President Museveni’s memo significantly heightened these tensions by elevating them to national prominence. Explanations of why Museveni seized on the Bunyoro question now, after more than two decades in power, focus on two topics: elections and oil. Using Uganda’s 2002 census as a guide, one local news magazine noted that the Banyoro are in fact not marginalized and that ethnic Banyoro hold 10 of the 14 parliamentary seats from the four districts that make up the Bunyoro Kingdom. Although Banyoro appear to be the largest ethnic group in these districts, they do not hold a majority. Restricting elected offices to only ethnic Banyoro would therefore disenfranchise a majority of the population resident in these districts” (Sampson/WikiLeaks, 19.08. 2009)

“Captain” Mike Mukula, disgraced former Ugandan Health Minister and current National Resistance Movement (NRM) vice-chairman for eastern Uganda, warned that the 2011 presidential elections will be worse than the deeply flawed 2006 presidential contest. Mukula, whose political reputation was battered by the 2006 Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) scandal, said the September 10-12 riots provided a brief preview of one potential election scenario. He also said President Museveni’s popularity was decreasing within the NRM, and speculated that Museveni may be interested in setting up his son, Muhoozi, as dauphin. Mukula said Museveni ultimately listens to only two countries – the U.S. and the U.K. – and urged the U.S. to pressure Museveni to reinstate presidential term limits. Mukula himself, however, hopes to run for president in 2016″ (…)”Mukula lost his Cabinet post in 2006 and was briefly imprisoned in 2007 after being accused of diverting USD 1.5 million from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) program to NRM coffers. Describing himself as Museveni’s “fall guy,” Mukula blamed his involvement in the GAVI scandal on Museveni’s need to placate international donors concerned about corruption, and his own rising popularity as evidenced by a newspaper poll that listed Mukula as more popular with the NRM faithful than the President” (…)”Now the NRM’s vice-chairman for eastern Uganda and a key member of Museveni’s re-election campaign, Mukula complained that there is no separation between the NRM and Ugandan state institutions. He called the military Uganda’s “fourth estate” and said Museveni regards the army as his personal political party. Mukula highlighted the complete dominance of Museveni’s Banyankole ethnic group throughout the government, military, and business community, and asserted that the NRM now serves as nothing more than platform for the President, springing to life only during election campaigns” (…)”Bukenya, an ethnic Baganda, as the NRM’s most popular leader. He said Museveni kept Bukenya on as his Vice President to keep tabs on Bukenya’s potential presidential ambitions” (…)”Mukula said the recent political moves made by Museveni – from pandering to ethnic Banyoro along Lake Albert (ref. A), to the recognition of the Rwenzururu Kingdom in southwestern Uganda and the decision to support the minority Banyala’s quest for autonomy from the Buganda Kingdom (ref. B) – were all designed to obtain the two percentage points needed to push Museveni from 49 to 51 percent during the first round of voting in 2011” (…)”Mukula said Museveni was increasingly patterning himself after Robert Mugabe and wants to position his son, Lieutenant Colonel Muhoozi Kainerugaba Museveni, as his eventual successor. Muhoozi returned from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in mid-2008 to assume command of the new Special Forces, a still-murky component – or potentially entirely separate unit – of the praetorian Presidential Guard Brigade comprised of all the PGB’s elite, technical, and specialized non-infantry capabilities. Noting that Muhoozi may still be too young to mount a credible presidential bid in 2016, Mukula again volunteered that he had presidential ambitions of his own for 2016” (Sampson/WikiLeaks, 23.09.2009).

The Oil-deals between ExxonMobile/ENI/Tullow/Heritage Oil Company with corruption and deals made with the Ugandan Government:

“A December 17 report by the External Security Organization (ESO), which Intelligence Coordinator General David Tinyefuza allegedly forwarded to President Museveni, says Security Minister Amama Mbabazi is “eyeing” a $200 million commission for securing a deal between Heritage Oil and the Italian firm ENI” (…)”confidential Ugandan intelligence report on negotiations between Heritage Oil and the Italian oil giant ENI (see attached document and reftel). Tullow has previously expressed concern that ENI is using illicit payments to Ugandan officials to obtain government authorization for purchasing Heritage and depriving Tullow of oil holdings in Lake Albert” (…)”The report says western governments – including the U.S., U.K., Sweden, and France – oppose the opaque ENI deal, that Tullow hopes to sell 50% of its Ugandan holdings to ExxonMobil, and that ENI offered Ugandan officials facilitating an ENI-Heritage agreement a $200 million “commission” (…)”The report claims that Mbabazi is using a front company belonging to the European owner of Asante Oil, and that ENI representatives distributed “fat envelopes” to a number of visitors – including Energy Ministry officials, representatives from the Office of the President, journalists, and Bunyoro Kingdom officers – while installed at a safari lodge in Murchison Falls National Park close to where drilling has occurred. NOTE: EconOff witnessed ENI’s presence at this lodge during a trip to Murchison in early December. END NOTE. Much of the report highlights ENI’s Libyan ties and accuses Qadhafi of funneling money to the Bunyoro and Buganda Kingdoms to destabilize the Museveni regime. The final two sections of the report purport to “show how ENI corrupts a country’s leadership and forces them to take unpopular selfish policies,” and the “dangers” of an ENI/Libya deal” (Sampson/WikiLeaks, 13.01.2010).

Continuation of Mbabazi and Government involvement in Oil-Deals:

“We believe Mbabazi is positioning himself for a significant payoff, but the security report is undermined somewhat by Tullow’s apparent involvement in its drafting. In December, ExxonMobil said it lacked concrete evidence that its Ugandan interests have been harmed, but noted that ENI’s involvement has had a negative impact. If the Heritage-ENI sale proceeds unchanged, it will significantly reduce the value of Tullow’s Uganda holdings, zap ExxonMobil’s interest, and put Uganda on the road to rampant oil sector corruption” (Samson(WikiLeaks, 13.01.2010)

“President Yoweri Museveni has ordered the freeze in order to protect the rights of locals, whose tenure continues to be threatened by the influx of business people interested in the oil-rich land, Stephen Birahwa, a lawmaker representing Bulisa told Dow Jones Newswires” (WikiLeaks, 29.05.2011).

Peace!

Links:

Richards/WikiLeaks – [OS] UGANDA/ENERGY – Uganda imposes oil land ban – FRANCE/UK/CHINA (06.06.2011), WikiLeaks, Link: https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/31/3161601_-os-uganda-energy-uganda-imposes-oil-land-ban-france-uk.html

 

Sampson, Aaron & WikiLeaks – MUSEVENI MIXES TOXIC BREW OF ETHNICITY AND OIL IN WESTERN UGANDA (19.08.2009), WikiLeaks, Link:

https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09KAMPALA946_a.html

 

Sampson, Aaron & WikiLeaks – UGANDA: NATIONAL RESISTANCE MOVEMENT INSIDER SEES TROUBLE AHEAD (23.09.2009), WikiLeaks, Link: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09KAMPALA1096_a.html

 

Sampson, Aaron & WikiLeaks – UGANDA: SECURITY REPORT DETAILS OIL SECTOR CORRUPTION (13.01.2010), WikiLeaks, Link: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/10KAMPALA19_a.html

 

WikiLeaks – UGANDA: MUSEVENI AND KABILA DEFUSE BORDER TENSION (21.05.2008), Link:https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08KAMPALA674_a.html

 

WikiLeaks – UGANDA: CORRUPTION SCANDAL’S POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS (29.05.2007) Link:https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07KAMPALA909_a.html

Discussion: Top ten % usage of GDP on Armies in the African nations – discussing the main use of those armies.

(Angolian Army picture from EUCom)

This is little piece will be about the irony of how we spend our money. It will also address how the ten African countries spend their money.

List of Top ten African countries with highest military spending with % of GDP:

1. Eritrea – 6.30%

2. Burundi – 5.90%

3. Mauritania – 5.50%

4. Madagascar – 5.10%

5. Morocco – 4.80%

6. Algeria – 4.30%

7. Guinea-Bissau – 4.30%

8. Sudan – 4.20%

9. Zimbabwe – 3.80%

10. Namibia – 3.70%

(Source: Daily Monitor Uganda)

Number 1: Eritrea

Isaias Afewerki the Eritrean president, who has run the country since 1993.That after being the boss of the independence against Ethiopia. So that he is paranoid of the big brother in Addis Adeba isn’t surprising at all, especially since there is still border conflicts between them. Also Afeweki isn’t famous for neither democratic rulings nor elections so a dictator or totalitarian leadership style sure need some more then meagerly coins to suppress its citizens.

Number 2: Burundi

Pierre Nkurunziza the Burundian president has been in charge since 2005. He is of for his third term and not careering about limits to the stay power. So I am sure that he needs some forces to keep his company to continue to be commander and chief. In 2010 most parties boycotted the elections which gave Nkurunziza a second term. Also, Pierre is famously having a regime that is interrogating, harassing and tales about ghosting journalist. That Human Rights Watch has addressed with a lot of instances. They have parts of the army in Somalia as AMISOM; the forces of Nkurunziza aren’t just to tangle his own citizens. Some do other stuff also it seems.

Number 3: Mauritania  

Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz the Mauritanian president who has been that since 2009. After the election the man hasn’t been the most popular president. The unemployed youth isn’t supporting him anymore. I am sure it’s helps to become the Chairman of AU in 2014. The most embarrassing moment in his own career was while in France in 2012: That he was shot in the stomach and had to go to the hospital in Paris. Mauritania has had issues with the military groups that comes from Northern Mail, so that has to one of many reasons why the country is using such much resources on the army!

Number 4: Madagascar

Hery Rajaonarimampianina 25. January of 2014 he became the president of this island republic. He took over after the famous DJ Andry Rajoelina who took over in the coup of 2009. So that the army has monies to spend to keep things in order is understandable. The army has proven to be a bit unstable, especially in 2012 when there was a mutiny at an army-base outside of the airport in the capitol of Antananarivo. That is when the army used it force and shut the mutiny down. Also the same year the military forces used aggressive means to shut down teacher strikes in 2012. So what is up next for them in Madagascar and Mr Rajaonarimampianina doing with it…? Time will tell.

Number 5: Morocco

Abdelilah Benkirane was appointed by the Moroccan King in 29. November 2011. Morocco has reasons to be armed up – first is the control over Western Sahara and the citizens there who is struggling for their independence. Secondly is the armed race between Morocco and Algeria. Morocco has been a part of the peace mission in Kosovo until 2014. Where the forces will do missions now is something I don’t know.

Number 6: Algeria

Abdelaziz Bouteflika has ruled the country since 27. April 1999. In 2011 the country was finally out of state of emergency. Even though the country has after the Arabian Spring seen more outside guerrillas whom is connected to Al-Qaeda. The oil rich country has been in armed race with Morocco for a while even had some shooting on the border crossings with the neighbor. The other uses for the army have also taken 40 missiles near the border to Libya. So the use is there, also to keep control over the citizens like all strong forced governments.

Number 7: Guinea-Bissau

Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo has acted as president since 11. May of 2012. The president who has had a tough stay in charge that being said: the month long treatment in Germany in 2013. The incidents of the military chief of staff General Jose Americo Babu Na Tchucu arrested in USA for drugs. That other military learders is being accused of trafficking drugs as well. So the army isn’t just shooting, they are travelling with powder. Usually the troops has been used for coup d’etat at many times like in 1980s, 1998,1999, 2003, 2005(2 coups), 2009, 2010 and yet again in 2011 and 2012. The Government and army is tangled together. Time will tell before the next coup d’etat is happening!

Number 8: Sudan

Omar Al-Bashir the man who took charge of the big country through a coup d’etat in 1989. He has been elected 3 times after that, I am sure they been rigged and secured to get more than 51 % of the vote to secure him the seat. The civil war between the North and South lasted for 19 years from 1983 – 2005. That led to the South becoming a independence state out of the government of Khartoum. The Bashir government has supported the LRA against the Ugandan government because President Museveni supported the rebellion army of SPLA who fought for sovereign South-Sudan. The Janjaweed has also made issues in Darfur and made it a bigger crisis. The last one is in the border regions towards South Sudan. Because hey, Al-Bashir misses all that oil money, secondly if he can establish anarchy in the regions, he can regain control! That is what he wishes and he is using all of the military power that he has and wants to.

Number 9: Zimbabwe

President Robert Mugabe has been in charge since 1987. He was the shiny light of independence struggle from British colonial powers and making Rhodesia to what is todays Zimbabwe. He used the forces to initially get Zapu and PF into Zanu-PF. This is where Mugabe has made the country his. He runs it and controls it. Ever since that he had used the force to keep his power in a way of rigging elections and destroying the powers of those who oppose him. The army was also used for a time during the wars in the 90s in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the support of the deceased Laurent Kabila. So it’s no surprise that the army is on a certain level to both control his citizens and also do business where ever that makes money for the chief!

Number 10: Namibia

Hifikepunye Pohamba has been the ruler of the country since 21. March 2005. He has claimed that the civil servants have issues with the government projects therefore he surely needs an army to shut that down. During the great struggles Nambian forces have had bases in Angola. That was while they were shooting at the UNITAS to get rebel forces done and out of Angola. The Namibian army was also involved in the diamond trade of war in Democratic Republic of Congo so they sure has had the need for a great army. So they have had their uses outside the borders and sure the government of Namibia is happy for that. The army chiefs of Namibia have promised to use their forces to help Zimbabwe to fight of imperialist – that is in 2014. So they sure need a big sized army.

As we see they are using the armies and monies being used. Sure it’s all necessary! Peace.