Oil talks stall

After a few days of intense negotiations, talks on exploration rights in Eastern Lopongo stalled on Monday night. The parties decided to adjourn and reconvene the meeting in 10 days, after secretive discussions in Lopongo capital Banda failed to produce a deal between the government and the French-Italian petroleum giant Canistracci Oil.
According to people close the parties, there would be a few roadblocks to prevent an agreement. The fall in oil prices in recent weeks have complicated the financial aspects of the deal: when president Kwanto Sei Bruto first considered Canistracci Oil approaches, crude prices were hovering at $105-$110 per barrel; by Tuesday, Brent prices had dropped below $59. Canistracci Oil offered a deal around current market values, while Lopongo government is insisting for a target price of $85-$90.
A second, thorny issue is represented by the share of revenues for local administrations. Canistracci Oil is calling for an inclusion of Port Durame's authorities in the deal, in order to minimize local opposition to its operations. Kwanto Midevi, minister of economic development, strongly opposes the request, but Mobuto Labomba, governor of the Port Durame province, made clear he would resist any deal not including a share of revenues for its district.
Finally, Canistracci Oil is asking for a some latitude in ensuring its own security procedures, included the deployment of company's security guards. The government would prefer to maintain control of the security forces in the strategic region.
Canistracci's representative will return to Europe for further consultations, but are expected to return to Banda in the second week of November for trying to strike the deal that thus far has remained elusive.

Lopongo government to discuss exploration with French oil giant

A delegation of top managers from the French-Italian oil giant Canistracci Oil will meet Lopongo officials in Banda next week, to discuss exploration rights in the eastern part of the country, according to a spokesman of the company. On Friday, rumors about a move by Canistracci Oil sent the stock up 7% at the Paris Bourse, where the CAC index closed the day up 4.7%.

It is not clear yet what this negotiation implies for the political equilibrium in Lopongo. A few months back, ouvertures by British and American oil interests were rebuffed with a strongly worded statement by president Kwanto Sei Bruto. The president's statement marked a sharp departure from the generically pro-Western stance that Lopongo government held for several years.

According to some analysts, a deal with Canistracci Oil will reaffirm the historical bond between Lopongo and France. The relationship between the two countries became lukewarm a few years back, when president Sei Bruto rejected a French request to host a French Foreign Legion military base on Lopongan soil. Other observers interpret Sei Bruto's move as part of the ongoing, hidden power struggle with the Makeni-dominated political leadership in the East, which may favor the British and American oil interests already established across the border in Nigeria.

Personalities

Kwanto Sei Bruto – president of the Republic of Lopongo since a coup in 1976, leader of the Kenema tribe and the LURID party. Also president of the Supreme Court of Justice and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Kwanto Midevi – cousin of president Sei Bruto, notoriously greedy, inept and corrupted minister for Economic Development and Natural Resources.
Tebuto Disoto – minister of Internal Security and chief of the security forces. Also affiliated with the Kenema tribe and LURID.
Mo Kefai – indecisive leader of the Makeni LAID party, and minister of Social Justice.
Mobuto Labomba – LAID member and governor of the Port Durame district. Former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, removed by president Sei Bruto as considered too ambitious and unreliable, yet very popular and strongly supported by the Makeni tribe.
Ali Mentari – minister of Agriculture and Nutrition, leader of the Islamic party CIULA and the Muslim Koitu tribe in northern Lopongo.
Ovisto Laluche – religious leader of the animist LECCA party, from the Ouidah district.

Armed Forces

The Armed Forces of Lopongo count a few thousand men, and the following units:

• 1 armored squadron


• 3 infantry battalions


• 1 commando/airborne battalion


• 1 artillery battery


• 1 support battalion

The Presidential Guard is about 100 men strong, and it is composed mostly by foreign mercenaries (Angolan and Portuguese for the most part.) The President of the Republic is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.

Equipment includes: x 8 PT-76 as MBT, x12 BRDM-2 as IFV, x9 M113 as APC, and AA Gun ZPU-4. Air and Naval forces are limited to a few helicopters and three patrol boats.

Economy and Natural Resources

The economy of Lopongo remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton, bananas, and cocoa production, and regional trade. Growth in real output per capita has come to a standstill in the past six years. By the 2000s economic activity was declining and economic infrastructure had become seriously degraded. Rampant inflation has partially subsided, but remains in double digit. Efforts for an economic recovery failed because of the widespread corruption by public officials, which many feel is the chief cause for recent political uncertainty. Plans to attract more foreign investment have failed, mostly because of the near total government control on infrastructure - telecommunications, water, and electricity, among the most inefficient in the continent.

The country counts one international airport in Banda, and few minor airstrips, no railway system, and an underdeveloped road network (See image below). Lopongo is working with the World Bank to receive financing to build two major roads: from Natitingou to Djougou, and from Bo to Abomey.


Lopongo is supposed to be rich in minerals, although a modern mining has never been established. The country has the potential to become a major producer of gem-quality diamonds, which are supposed to be available in quantity in the mountains areas of Bombali and Sokbano. Nevertheless, Lopongo has historically struggled to manage the exploitation and export of diamonds.
Lopongo might also sit on important oil fields that are already being tapped by Nigeria across the border. Contentious negotiates with oil companies has thus far prevented exploration of the western areas in the Port Durame and Parakou districts.
A key indicator of success will be the effectiveness of government management of its diamond and oil sector.

Although trade unions in Lopongo represent up to 75% of the formal workforce, the large informal economy has been noted by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITCU) to contain ongoing problems, including a lack of women's wage equality, the use of child labor, and the continuing issue of forced labor.

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Welcome to the website of "Qui Lopongo", one of Africa's most respected independent news agencies!

We have been supplying news and exclusive reports from the Republic of Lopongo since 1991; our contributions have been featured in newspapers and magazines around the world on a daily basis. We are now pleased to provide you our online services through "Qui Lopongo" at http://lopongo.blogspot.com/ for even more timely information and in-depth analysis.

We are currently headquartered in Paris, with offices in London, Lagos, and Johannesburg. Thanks to our exceptional network of correspondents in Banda, Duambouti, Port Durame, and in every other major city in Lopongo, we are able to distribute up-to-date information in real time, despite the severe limitations to free reporting enforced by the local government.

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Politics

In Lopongo, the Parliament is mostly a consultive body, with weak powers to oversee the executive, and very little autonomy to promote its legislative agenda. Following a national agreement brokered by President Sei Bruto, the 110 seats were split among three leading parties:

• LURID – Lopongo Union for Reform, Independence and Democracy. The Kenema party led by cousins Kwanto Sei Bruto and Kwanto Midevi. It received 60 seats in the parliament;


• LAID – Lopongo Alliance for Independence and Democracy. The Makeni party led, at national level, by Mo Kefai, received 40 seats, campaigning under the banner “Get LAID in power.” The influential leader Mobuto Labomba was appointed governor for the Port Durame district;


• CIULA – Congress for Independence, Union, and Liberty in Africa. Ali Mentari’s Muslim party from the Koitu areas. It was awarded 10 seats in Parliament by the 2006 agreement.
  

There are three are political movements which opposed the brokered agreement of 2006, and were not permitted to participate in the general election:

• LECCA – Lopongo Earth-Chosen Congress for Africa. A religious faction, mostly concentrated in the Ouidah district, led by the animist preacher Ovisto Laluche;


• LUSH – Leninist Union “Sickle and Hammer.” A Marxist-Leninist formation, born from the remnants of the Communist Party outlawed after the 1976 coup;


• LIPPA – Lopongo Independence Party – Popular Alliance. A moderate, pro-Western party of democratic aspirations.

Lose, more extremists Islamic groups also operates, without much following, in the Kandi and Malanville districts.