For the roadmap of the Transitional Military Council of Chad to be respected in terms of deadlines, it would be necessary to raise 1,5 billion dollars, affirms Mahamat Déby.
The Chadian state has reduced its financial needs to "strengthen security, consolidate peace and organize a national dialogue" on time. But the funds to be raised remain colossal. After having estimated that $ 4,5 billion would be needed With the establishment of a democratic transition, the Chadian ministers revised their demands downwards. But the hole in the funds to start the transition remains significant: it is 840 billion CFA francs, or about 1,5 billion dollars, that Chad needs to raise for its proper functioning.
Since the coup d'état of Mahamat Déby, son of Idriss Déby Itno, the establishment of a civilian government has been the subject of international pressure, especially French. Countries have, for some, timidly condemned the way in which events unfolded. But all are of the opinion that the transition cannot last more than eighteen months. In the meantime, Mahamat Déby ended up giving in to the demands of the international community and of French President Emmanuel Macron by appointing Albert Pahimi Padacké as Prime Minister.
However, Chad's foreign partners, as well as mediators from all sides - Togolese diplomacy, ECCAS, the G5 Sahel and the African Union - are putting pressure on the Transitional Military Council (CMT), urging it to move quickly. . If the 18 months - from April - of transition are respected, elections will have to be organized before February 2023. However, from the start of the discussions, the head of the CMT, Mahamat Déby, gave his conditions: “He We need to reach a national agreement and that Chad's partners have given their full support to the transition process, ”he said in June. In other words, the pressure of the international community must be accompanied by financial aid.
Constitutional reform in sight
The Council of Ministers - with its 40 ministers and the lifestyle that goes with it - met this Thursday, July 29 to try to validate the roadmap for the transition. This famous roadmap includes no less than 123 actions to be carried out before Chad ends up organizing elections. These actions are divided into three axes, each more impracticable than the other. And the total cost of this plan, which must be financed by state funds, is high. So there is still a shortfall of $ 1,5 billion.
But what are the three axes of this transition plan? According to the local press, it concerns the strengthening of security and defense, the organization of national dialogue, the consolidation of peace and national unity, as well as the strengthening of the rule of law and governance. This requires, according to the Chadian newspapers, a "reform of the legal corpus, resulting from the resolutions resulting from the dialogue, as well as the organization of a constitutional referendum and free and transparent general elections".
It is difficult to see, in 18 months, Chad amending its constitution and calling the people to the polls to validate these modifications, before voting for the presidential election. But the CMT assures that the deadlines are tenable, if the international community puts its hand in the pocket. The transition provides for an inclusive national dialogue between August and December 2021 and legislative reforms until September 2022.