The outcome will be an early test of the power of the Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome, a former Communist party that is now weighing in as a possible ruling party come next year's presidential elections.
That's the word from mutawdadi, one of ERHC On The Move's most prescient contributors, who emphasizes that no one can tell when awards may actually come.
ERHC On The Move feels the MLSTP may be able to make points with Parliament by delaying the awards for another year, but at the same time could risk losing both votes and bidders. Another year without block signature bonus fees amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars may only win a backlash from Sao Tome's voters, and it may drive current bidders to greener pastures where block awards are actually made, not just predicted.
Here is mutawdadi's message:
The truth is - no one knows. No one. Nigeria cannot announce without Sao Tome. And decisions in Sao Tome take...well, it's a quiet kind of place, and they take their time. Nor are they too fussed about ERHC share price. Sam Dimka is decent and hardworking. But he is a spokesman, and in Nigeria that doesn't count for too much. Sao Tome's oil commission meets tonight. They consider reports from the petroleum agency (favourable) and parliament (not favourable). The key is the MLSTP, Sao Tome's biggest party. They have their eyes on the presidency next year. They have benefited most from the blood spilt between patrice and Menezes. But now they have to come off the fence. Let's see - but don't expect any accurate reporting from the islands in a hurry. Everyone there is in someone's pocket... .
Meanwhile, hurricaneoffor, the former markvo10 and orangeandwhite0 who keeps getting TOS'd for mutltiple aliases (probably by self-righteous hero stockhocker70) - or deletes them himself after psoting so many false alarms - has also gotten into the act with a new update echoing that of the notorious swingingk. His posts tend to be much more accurate and do not serve the interests of the We Are Golden Gang of stock manipulators who control the Raging Bull ERHE message board:
****UPDATE**** Just spoke with Secretary of the JDA. He said awards will be announced this week. I asked for the exact date and he said that it will be tomorrow or Wednesday. He leaned more towards Press Conference to announce Awards to be held Wednesday. He told me to call back tomorrow morning to confirm. Also, I received a call from another very good source saying that awards will be on Wednesday and an email from another good source saying awards by end of this week. Isn't Obansanjo due back late tomorrow? If so, this all makes perfect sense.
1 comment:
FYI, Joe, the MLSTP-Social Democratic Party is already STP´s 'ruling party.'
Prime Minister Damiao Vaz de Almeida´s two-party coalition govt is led by his MLSTP.
The confusion here lies in the fact that the Marvelous Islands have a schizophrenic power system - half presidential, half parliamentary. The president and the legislature, which gives rise to the govt, issue from separate direct elections.
A major bone of contention between de Menezes and several parties (in and out of govt) has been the latter's insistence on revising the constitution to clarify prerogatives and prune presidential powers.
It's not easy to understand and certainly doesn't ease the taking of pivotal decisions like the JDZ awards.
Ciao,
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