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Guinea dictator getting all oil money { August 26 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://politics.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,9174,1290990,00.html http://politics.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,9174,1290990,00.html Equatorial Guinea Oil rich, dirt poor John Vidal Thursday August 26, 2004 The Guardian John Vidal recently returned from Equatorial Guinea, one of the few western journalists to visit in recent years Within hours of arriving in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, visitors are quite likely to be followed by informers, stopped by the army and arrested by police who will strip the film from their cameras, follow them to their hotel, question their motives for being in the country, demand permits and question anyone they have talked to. Since the alleged coup attempt in March, Equatorial Guinea - with a population smaller than Sheffield - has become one of the most paranoid, suspicious and xenophobic countries in Africa. Effectively now a military state on permanent red alert, it has been run for 25 years as a semi-dictatorship by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who is convinced that western powers, neighbouring countries and some of those closest to him are plotting to depose him to get at the country's vast oil wealth. The linking of Mark Thatcher with the alleged coup attempt only confirms Mr Obiang's belief that privileged westerners are plotting to overthrow him. But nothing is clear in Equatorial Guinea. The country which was so poor after independence from Spain in 1968 that it was reputed to have offered itself to be run by neighbouring Cameroon for $1m (£559,000), is now one of the fastest growing countries in the world. Exxon is already exporting nearly 300,000 barrels of oil a day to the US and Marathon is investing $3bn in one of the world's largest gas plants. Mr Obiang, say his opponents, is only in power as long as the west and its companies want him to be. The question of where the oil money is going is becoming embarrassing to the president. It is believed that oil and gas should already be benefiting the country by at least $2bn a year. But there is little evidence that the oil money is going anywhere but to Mr Obiang, his family or a small elite of advisers, government officials and security chiefs. There are no public accounts of payments made by the oil companies, and although the people closest to Mr Obiang claim that $400m a year is being spent on health, housing and education, the vast majority of the people are uneducated and live in slums. According to businessmen and the president's opponents in Spain and in Malabo, no business can operate without paying large amounts to the offshore accounts of the president and his coterie, who also demand shares in businesses. Mr Obiang and his advisers deny all the charges, claiming that the accounts are open and transparent. The facts · President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who overthrew his uncle Francisco Nguema in 1979 · National anthem Caminemos Pisando la Senda de Nuestra Immensa Felicidad (Let's Walk Down the Path of Our Immense Happiness) · Capital Malabo · Population 494,000 (UN, 2003) · Area 10,830 sq miles · Languages Spanish and French · Main exports Cocoa, coffee, wood, petroleum · GDP (2001) $1.85bn (£1.03bn)

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