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| Africa: Horn |
| Petrol sales suspended in Eritrea (as in NO GAS!) |
| 2004-10-16 |
| Eritrea has banned the sale of petrol to the public because of the rising price of oil on world markets. Information Minister Ali Abdu Ahmed said diesel would remain available, but petrol had to be conserved for essential use. Earlier this month petrol went up by 40% and diesel 25% after a month of fuel rationing. Shortages are widespread as the country struggles to pay off debts incurred during its border war with Ethiopia. "Our priority is to provide petrol to public services and development programmes in the best interest of the nation," Mr Ahmed told AFP news agency. The suspension of the sale of petrol should not provoke anxiety says Ali Abdu Ahmed Information minister (Is this guy for real?) "We do not want superfluous consumption. (sounds like Jimmy Carter) We cannot let the people with money consume all the petrol," he said. (What about enough gas to drive to work?) Eritrea imports all its refined fuel products and is short of foreign exchange after buying large quantities of modern aircraft to use in the war, which ended four years ago. The border between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been closed ever since, depriving Eritrea of access to its natural markets. Ethiopia used to be Eritrea's largest export market and the fees charged for the use of its Red Sea ports used to bring millions of dollars into the nation's coffers. The minister did not indicate when the suspension would be lifted. (Oh...wonderful. Is this a preview ..? |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #10 the difference between starving and eating being so much more dramatic than choosing between McDonald's and La Petite Pierre Good line. Poverty may have economic roots, but starvation is invariably political. |
| Posted by: john 2004-10-16 8:05:19 PM |
| #9 or Tron - that was a bad movie |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-16 6:31:56 PM |
| #8 But not Troon, Troon is spoken for. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-10-16 6:22:40 PM |
| #7 Grab a name A5032, well said. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-10-16 6:22:08 PM |
| #6 If Ethiopia isn't exporting through Eritrea, how are they doing it? Djibouti? Puntland? Wonder how they're doing this. They might have decided that after the border war, the best way to punish the Eritreans is economically. If that's the case, it's working. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-10-16 1:36:17 PM |
| #5 I am not familiar with Erithean history but watching developments in the Sudan, Nigeria, and other African nations makes me despair. In Africa it seems that if you canât defend your property it will be taken. The militarization of one tribe leads to surviving tribes militarizing. Where would you put your money, a development program so your people can grow their own food or a military program so your peopleâs food wonât be stolen? In a tribal culture âyour peopleâ arenât identified by national borders. Many people may be starving in a nation while the rulerâs âpeopleâ are doing just fine. |
| Posted by: Anonymous5032 2004-10-16 12:57:16 PM |
| #4 Too true, Tom. I'd vote for development programme -- I suspect they'd spend more on the newest and bestest if they could find any spare cash under the sofa cushions. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-10-16 12:08:24 PM |
| #3 The difference between starving and eating must be particularly dramatic when your country, that can only produce a fourth of the grain that it needs, spends money on modern fighter aircraft to defend a disputed border-zone of near-worthless land. This dispute still has potential to flare up again, in which case Eritrea will be using its limited petrol for military purposes. "...petrol to public services and development programmes in the best interest of the nation..." Would the military be a public service or a development programme? |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-10-16 11:01:27 AM |
| #2 (the difference between starving and eating being so much more dramatic than choosing between McDonald's and La Petite Pierre). Hear! Hear! I'm stealing that. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-10-16 10:51:58 AM |
| #1 A little reminder that the world's poor suffer disproportionally when the economy is poorly, and enjoy disproportionally when it goes well (the difference between starving and eating being so much more dramatic than choosing between McDonald's and La Petite Pierre). |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-10-16 10:27:20 AM |