Interrogations, Arrests Mount in Ivory Coast Cocoa Probe

By Nico Colombant

Dakar

30 June 2008

More interrogations and arrests are being carried out in Ivory Coast aspart of a massive anti-corruption effort for the country's lucrativecocoa sector. Prosecutors opened their investigation into fraud lastmonth after a series of scandals in which massive amounts of money wentunaccounted for. VOA's Nico Colombant has more from our regionalbureau in Dakar.

Journalists following the cocoa investigation in Abidjan said three more top officials had been called in for questioning.

Theyalso reported Ivorian judges are in France, investigating bank accountslinked to Ivorian cocoa promotion, cooperative and export bodies.

Friday,a member of President Laurent Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front party,Jean-Claude Bayou, was the latest official implicated in the probe tobe put in jail.

Following the arrest, the president's partyreleased a statement calling for calm and said all Ivorians shouldrespect the rule of law, and the authority of the president. It alsosaid all those implicated, even jailed, should be considered innocent,at this point of the process, until proven guilty.

Cocoa officials say they have been well treated in jail and that they held a religious ceremony behind bars on Sunday.

Prosecutorsopened their investigation into the country's cocoa institutions on May30, publishing an initial list of 23 people being investigated.

The jailing of most of them has angered officials at the national association of cocoa producers.

Oneof its members, Laurent Kouassi, says that money from the cocoa bodiesis being spent to help farmers and producers with many differentprojects. He says if there is corruption in the sector, then it is by everyone, including ministers, and the president.

PresidentGbagbo is currently at the African Union summit in Egypt. Journalistsin Ivory Coast say there is nervousness among some ministers, thinkingthey may be fired after he comes back, and then investigated as well inthe sweeping cocoa probe.

The investigation comes in the run-upto scheduled November 30 elections, in which Mr. Gbagbo will facefierce competition from two opposition leaders. The elections aim toreunite the world's leading cocoa producer, divided in two since anorthern rebel insurgency in late 2002.

The cocoa producerKouassi says since there is so much talk about peace, producers do notwant to go on strike right now. But he says negotiations must takeplace, so that it is not just certain officials who are scapegoats.

Onefacet of the probe concerns the purchase of a former Nestle companyplant in Fulton, in the northeastern U.S. state of New York. U.Sofficials are also investigating whether some officials from theIvorian cocoa sector laundered tens of millions of dollars theyreceived to develop the plant.

The London-based watchdoggroup, Global Witness, has also been closely following the issue. Theauthor of a recent report on the Ivorian cocoa sector, Maria Lopez,says the investigation is crucial, but that more is still needed toreform the industry, which six million Ivorians depend on.

"Basically,we think that of course, the investigation is very good news," said Lopez. "The other good news is that the government also publishedfinancial data on what was going in these national cocoa institutions,so they have levels of bank accounts, how much money is left, but wethink that does not address really transparency in the long term. Forthat, there needs to be another set of dispositions taken."

Lopezsays Ivorian leadership has hinted structural progress may soon be onits way, but she says she wants action in this area as well.

"TheIvorian President Laurent Gbagbo talked last week about some kind ofanti-corruption legislation and we think he needs to be taken up onthat," she said. "We think there is some room for a law demanding cocoaexporting companies operating in Cote d'Ivoire publish what they paythe government and the cocoa institutions. This way, it is much moredifficult for money to go missing without anyone noticing. If youpublish regularly, at least yearly, what you as a company has beenpaying, then it is easier in particular for civil society and forIvorian citizens as a whole to watch what the government ispublicizing. We think there should be legislation if the president isreally serious about ensuring transparency in the long term."

IvoryCoast is the world's leading producer of cocoa beans. During the 1990sthe sector was rocked by allegations there was child labor on manycocoa plantations. U.S lawmakers have been actively involved in tryingto end those practices.