A $100,000 payment by Offor in 2002 "to a business owned by Sao Tome's President Fradique] Menezes," which Menezes has said was a campaign contribution intended for his re-election effort, was mentioned by Peel as evidence of the "curse" that allegedly follows the arrival of oil riches in impoverished parts of Africa.
Offor was also required by the Sao Tome deal to pay for the British education of the son of a key oil official, and to donate substantial sums for youth sports and educational programs, other mews articles and contract terms indicate.
Peel did not contact Offor for his side of the story.
Under the headline "Oil curse stalks Africa's new petro-state," Peel borrowed an image from an earlier article about poor residents living in the shadows of a crumbling cocoa plantation, and then spoke to a candidate for Parliament at a nightclub for background.
But concerns remain about a possible slide towards the kind of oil-related corruption that has undermined politics and economic well-being in Nigeria since the 1970s.
In 2002, a company controlled by Sir Emeka Offor, the Nigerian businessman who chairs Environmental Remediation Holding Corporation, a company holding valuable preferential bidding rights for oil exploration blocs, paid $100,000 to a business owned by São Tomé's President Fradique de Menezes.
Mr de Menezes has said the money was for political campaigning rather than a bribe.
In one of the capital's night clubs, an aspiring parliamentarian explains how being in government is “the only way to survive”: it allows access to lucrative contracts that are scarce in the country's tiny private sector. Opposite him, a sitting MP cheerfully describes how he runs a successful customs clearing business. “We are the ones with the money,” he says.
Mr de Menezes's government was deposed for a few weeks in 2003 in a bloodless coup whose leaders protested about management of the country's wealth.
The article was vague about the alleged corruption but hailed a new "transparency" law passed by Sao Tome's Parliament and noted the "international excitement surrounding a country widely styled as Africa's newest state."
The British writer, whose brother Quentin Peel is a top columnist at the paper, quoted one Sao Tomean on the nation's former slave trade with Portugal, "We are all cousins here."
The article can be found at
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/8d39dd48-6ff5-11d9-850d-00000e2511c8.html
On the issue that most concerns ERHC investors - the date awards will be announced - Peel was almost silent. The best he could offer was "soon":
The auction for the first exploration licence in a deep water zone being developed jointly with Nigeria is expected soon to yield São Tomé about $50m, or almost four times last year's total estimated government tax revenues. Estimates of the amount of oil in the zone run to more than 10bn barrels, although no reserves have yet been proved.
It was unclear why, with the recent arrest and confession of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's son, the baronet Mark Thatcher, and the ongoing U.S. Senate probe of illegal payments by ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, Marathon Oil and others in Equatorial Guinea, Peel searched out the Offor anecdote to illustrate his otherwise unsupported case.
7 comments:
I agree. I think Norval Scott was angry that some of us called him on the errors in his piece and got a colleague to badmouth us in return. But my horoscope says today that my imagination is working overtime!
People also fail to state that Offor made the contribution to Menezes' initial run for the Presidency. At that time ERHC's deal (which was an arbitral award) included working interest rights, royalty rights and other cash payments due from oil production. Menezes campaigned against the that ERHC agreement and won. Upon becoming President he was prodded very aggressively by XOM, among others, to cancel the contract, which he attempted to do (which, of course, you can't as it was an arbitral award). Clarly the money did not go very far...
Joe, you're back on bashing mode again you must've sold today. This is old news. Can't belive you are brining it up. I predict more bashing by you tomorrow. I hope sec investigate your blog against your trading activityl. Scum
I'm only reporting what the Financial Times of London says this morning. I have not bought or sold recently, and am holding for the pop, if it comes. Meanwhile, my 123,040 shares are intact, and if oprioces stay low I may acquire 200,000 more. Just so you know, Anonymous (Steve Kim).
Joe, why do you think Monkeytrots and Mongo bash ERHC? What is their purpose? Who are they? Any ideas? Are they connected to someone larger?
Joe, you got that totally wrong. I just got back home and saw my name mentioned. Not upset, though, just laughing. It proves how people can be wrong so easily. I have never posted anonymously so far. LOL.
Rancho says he knows why Mongo and Monkey bash and he knows they work for someone "larger." Some bashers are independent and just do it to pick up cheaper shares. Mongo and Monkey are different in that they are decent writers and get paid. Poor logicians, but decent writers. It's just a matter of unraveling the thread that connects several people. Some people have mongo and monkey's home address and phone number. But Rancho sees no need for that to be public. Rancho has solid respect for Joe Shea because he had the cajonies to say who he was and tells it like it is and didn't flee like a girl in a skirt (unlike the aforementioned, not sure if pun is intended) when rancho emailed him.
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