Libya's Brega Port under siege as guards prevent exports

Libya’s energy sector was dealt another blow on 11 July when a group of protesters from the Oil Facilities Guard closed down the Brega Port and prevented a cargo that was in the port from loading.

The members of the guard are demanding that they be paid their backdated salaries, just as those members of the guard who were blocking the ports of Es-Sider, Ras Lanuf have been paid. One of the guards told the Turkish media on 11 July that “we closed Brega today as they haven’t given us our financial dues for several months. We will prevent all ships from being loaded with fuel. There is a cargo [in the port] and we won’t allow it to load oil until we receive our dues in full.”

Brega, run by the NOC’s Sirte Oil Company subsidiary, is a relatively small port with a 90,000 b/d capacity that has lately been used to supply the Zawia refinery. Its closure is a challenge given the troubles with the eastern oil export terminal ports over recent months and the fact that it will still take a while before operations are back to normal in Ras-Lanuf and Es-Sider, handed over earlier this month.

Given that the protesters are making purely financial demands the situation should be resolved easily enough. Despite this, with the political scene in such chaos and with the economic situation in deep crisis, how long it will take the government to resolve this standoff has yet to be seen.

Meanwhile, workers at the 103 Oil Field 200 km from Ajdabiya and operated by the Zuetina Oil Company stopped working this week. On 9 July the workers began an open sit-in at the field in protest against the company’s board. It is not clear exactly what it is about the board that the workers are protesting about, but they are refusing to leave unless their demands are met.

The good news, however, is that the agreement between the head of the Cyrenaican Transitional Council (CTC) politburo, Ibrahim Jedhran, and the government appears to be holding despite the fragility of the situation on the ground. It was reported this week that foreign workers have returned to work in the oil fields in Jalu and that European companies are restarting their operations.

For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.

© 2014 Menas Associates

Libya: Preliminary results of Constitution Committee elections

The preliminary results of the elections for the constitution committee, or Sixty Committee, which was established to draw up the country’s new constitution, were released this week. Although most of those elected are not well known, the initial results indicated that the liberal trend did well.

So far, only 47 out of the committee’s members have been declared because voting has yet to take place for the remaining 13 seats. Two of these seats remain empty because they were set aside for the country’s Amazigh (Berber) minority which boycotted the elections on the grounds that the Amazigh were under-represented in the committee and because they were given no guarantee that their rights would be protected in the new constitution. 

The other 11 seats remain unfilled because the elections to these posts could not go ahead on 20 February as a result of various security issues. Despite the fact that the Higher Election Commission announced that voting would take place for these seats six days later, similar disruptions and security violations occurred, meaning the re-runs did not go ahead.

In such circumstances it is difficult to see how this committee can start work. This means that the constitution writing process is likely to be delayed even further, suggesting that Congress’ Plan B for early elections will almost certainly have to be implemented, providing that the Congress itself lasts that long. 

Indeed, the head of the Higher Election Commission, Nouri Al-Abbar, who resigned this week (see below), informed the GNC that “in the best circumstances and even with the availability of logistical support, the earliest time that elections can be held is between 5 to 10 months”. Whether Libyans will agree to wait that long has yet to be seen.

For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.

© 2014 Menas Associates

Ghana: PPP anti-corruption march finally goes ahead

Following approval by Ghana's police forces the much awaited Progressive People's Party (PPP) protest against corruption finally did go ahead last week. There was an interesting tagline from a PPP national youth coordinator "Divine Nkrumah" that corruption under the Mahama government was like a "General Mosquito" causing infection that should be eliminated immediately.

The term "General Mosquito" has often been used to refer to NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia , who is currently arguing for the abandonment of the party's internal Electoral College system in favour of a less secure voting system.

 

PPP protesters, carrying a range of attention-grabbing banners, relayed accusations of misappropriation of government funds and controversial "judgement debt" cases. They also echoed suggestions from PPP communications director, William Doworkpor, including the reduction of executive power, separating the Attorney General's office from the Ministry of Justice to prevent partisan interference, and setting up a new, impartial "national commission" to investigate judgement debt cases.

 

Despite the PPP's anti-corruption calls some observers have questioned the party's own claims to be above the fray on probity matters. For example the local Research and Advocacy Platform (RAP) group has accused PPP flagbearer - and former 2008 Convention People's Party (CPP) presidential candidate - Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom (above) of being involved in corruption at the State Enterprises Commission (SEC) while working on an SEC contract in the late 1980s. The group said that Nduom fraudulently claimed to be a representative of a noted US accounting firm. Previous accusations against Nduom have claimed that he was paid a significant sum in US Dollars for his services and that he was eventually appointed to the SEC while still a contractor which is a significant conflict of interest that he has yet to explain.

 

It has been alleged that Nduom was saved from further investigation by the intervention of the US Embassy and that the matter was never resolved. RAP is now calling for the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to reopen investigations. No political party in Ghana, no matter how small, seems safe from corruption allegations against its senior members.

 

For more news and expert analysis about Ghana, please see Ghana Politics & Security.

 

© 2013 Menas Associates