A magical and mystical country: Omar Ben Yedder interviews Bacar Abdouroihamane the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Equatorial Guinea.

African Business: What is your role here?

Bacar Abdouroihamane: We assist the Government in implementing projects aimed at improving livelihoods as well as encouraging rural community development. We advise the Government on administrative and judicial reforms, on environmental protection, on integration of women into development, on how to improve the human resource capacity at school and university levels.

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We work hand in hand with the Government and that is crucial because we rely financially on the Equatorial Guinean government. Since the discovery of oil and gas, Equatorial Guinea is no longer classified as a poor country. As such, the UN can no longer justify providing financial assistance without a cost sharing of programmes and projects with the Government, even if it has the profile of a poor country in the strictest terms of the definition. Where we can help effectively is in mobilising partners from bilateral and multilateral as well as the private sector and so they benefit from our experience in initiating and implementing projects that will have a positive impact on the population.

AB: Can you give us examples of the projects you have been involved in?

BA: We focus our assistance on the promotion of the rural communities. We have a series of projects to improve people's standard of living. More specifically, we focus on local development projects providing micro credits to cooperatives to produce and get involved in income generating activities.

For instance we are helping to set up a cooperative run by women in a poultry farm. They have started an egg production unit, which has already changed the make up of the village. This project enabled them to invest money to improve their homes and to start building a school. They have also bought a satellite dish giving them access to a new media which makes them feel less isolated.

Now they need better communication (roads) to commercialise their production and make themselves and their products more accessible to the mass market.

AB: Where is this village?

BA: On the road between Bata and Mongomo, in the mainland. In another similar project, we helped the people of a village transform their school and their health centre.

You now have many regional and sub regional hospitals but they are not sufficiently used by the population. The problem is that in some villages people are still attached to local traditions and local ways of treating illnesses. So these isolated zones need to benefit from the modern facilities in the cities.

We extended our assistance to the fishing sector where we are supporting cooperatives. As a result we have noticed catch increases by using more adopted techniques. The villagers have also started smoking the fish, creating more added value and generating more revenues. The cooperatives are able to pay back the loan and also fuel activity further down the economic chain.

These are some of the successes which we have been able to share with the people and this is how we engage them in the development process.

These new sources of revenue allow the families to give their children better education and medication as well as access to products which they could not afford before.

AB: Were the people receptive to the projects and your suggestions?

BA: I would like to stress that the projects are peoples' projects. We help them to identify, formulate the projects and also assist them during the implementation stages. Once this is done they then became eligible for micro credits; so in a sense it is a sort of joint venture.

AB: Do you promote particular industries?

BA: Other than timber and, today, oil and gas, there were no major industries in this country and the economy was in many ways very limited. We encourage local producers to diversify their crops both in terms of quality and type.

We are not involved in the timber industry. However producing higher quality wood, transforming it locally, creating added value would increase and also create new jobs and enrich the workers in rural areas and cities. With their incomes they can finance some basic needs.

AB: What are the biggest changes you have noticed in the country over the past few years?

BA: Just look at the number of cars, there are so many vehicles compared to two years ago. There are things here today that you would not have dreamt of seeing when I first arrived. We have seen tremendous change, even though there is still a long way to go. The emphasis has been on the physical and economic infrastructure--such as roads, ports, and airports.

There is still progress to be made in social infrastructure, education, water, health, sanitation and environment protection. The real challenge is to change the living conditions of the people and protect them from diseases (malaria, typhoid, TB, HIV/AIDS).

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Salaries are higher today with the booming of a service industry. The oil and gas industry has created numerous jobs. Human resources are the key to development.

All children should attend and complete the primary school cycle. Adults need to be retrained and women need to play a more important role in the economy. Ultimately the aim is to increase human dignity and address sustainable development challenges.

AB: Is there a model on which you base your strategies?

BA: One model? No, because there is not a perfect model. Each country has its strengths and weaknesses. But we are encouraging the decision makers to go and visit other countries which have been in a similar position--in the Middle East, Asia, South America--to learn from their experiences and avoid their mistakes and build the country from their successes. I know that an official delegation has recently visited a country in the Caribbean, and that more journey and study tours are planned.

AB: What attracts you to Equatorial Guinea, what makes this a special place for you?

BA: It is a country that is both magical and mystical. Magical in the sense that when you come here, you discover things totally out of the ordinary. Not many people had heard about Equatorial Guinea (before the news of the attempted coup hit international headlines) and those who had tended to confuse it with one of the two other Guineas in Africa--Guinea Bissau and Guinea Conakry.

But once on the ground here, you quickly realise the enormous challenges that the government, the people and partners in development have ahead of them--and for an international development practitioner, this is extremely interesting. These challenges, the people, the different living conditions and many other things give the place a particular charm.

AB: Are you saying that conditions are improving fast?

BA: Yes, in large part thanks to the important revenues generated from oil and gas extraction. As I said, things have changed greatly and mainly for the best, but one cannot and should not expect changes overnight.

The people of Equatorial Guinea were forced to live in extreme poverty for over two centuries and you cannot eliminate this overnight. It's a slow process and a matter of will. It depends on the will of the leaders of this country and the willingness of implementing this goodwill into action. There is a need to work hard and above all a long-term vision--and patience.

RELATED ARTICLE: Singularly 'singular'

EQUATORIAL GUINEA has been given a number of new names, such as Africa's Dubai, Eldorado or the new Kuwait. This is misleading. There is rapid economic growth, and many opportunities have arisen from the oil windfall, but Equatorial Guinea is a far more open country than you might first suspect.

Being different is something which gives Equatorial Guineans a sense of identity. The people of Equatorial Guinea pride themselves on being 'singular'. By this they mean their country, their peoples and their culture are unique.

Malabo has its own microclimate, and is very different from the rest of Africa. It is blessed with extremely fertile volcanic soil. The capital is an eclectic mix, with some impressive colonial Portuguese and Spanish buildings.

Venture outside the main towns and you will discover some traditional villages and communities, with very friendly people. At first they may appear quiet and shy, but if you engage in conversation with a simple 'hello' they will smile and be happy to talk to you.

What also differentiates Equatorial Guinea from much of Africa, and most modern capitals for that matter, is that the country is very safe for the visitor. Violent crime is almost unheard of and even petty theft is rare. Admittedly Malabo is relatively small, and as everyone knows almost everyone it would be difficult for a criminal to go undetected. For that reason, you can walk the streets at any time, day or night, in complete safety. The fact that it is small actually works to your advantage--it is easy to network and meet the right people quickly.