Niger
vanuit Wikipedia, die vrye ensiklopedie.
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| Nasionale leuse: Fraternité, Travail, Progrès (Frans: Broederskap, Arbeid, Vooruitgang) |
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| Amptelike taal | Frans (amptelik), Hausa, Djerma, Tamajaq | ||||
| Hoofstad en die grootste stad | Niamey 13°32′N 2°05′E |
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| President | Tandja Mamadou | ||||
| Eerste Minister | Hama Amadou | ||||
| Area - Totaal - % water |
21ste 1,267,000 km² .02% |
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| Bevolkingsgrootte - Totaal (2005 skatting) - Bevolkingsdigtheid |
69ste 11,665,937 9,2/km² |
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| BBP - Totaal (Jaar) - BBP/Persoon |
136ste $8.713 biljoen $800 |
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| MOI (2003) | 0.281 (177ste) – laag | ||||
| Geldeenheid | CFA frank | ||||
| Tydsone | UTC +1 | ||||
| Onafhanklikheid | 3 Augustus 1960, van Frankryk | ||||
| Volkslied | La Nigerienne | ||||
| Internet TLD | .ne | ||||
| Skakelkode | 227 | ||||
Niger is 'n Wes-Afrikaanse sub-Sahara land wat heeltemal afgesluit is van die see. Niger verleen sy naam aan die Niger rivier, wat deur die gebied vloei, en is ook geleë in die Sahel. Dit grens aan Nigerië en Benin in die suide, Burkina Faso en Mali in die weste, Algerië en Libië in die noorde en Tsjaad in die ooste. Die hoofstad van die land is Niamey.
Inhoud |
[wysig] Geskiedenis van Niger
Hoofartikel: Geskiedenis van Niger
Redelike inligting dui aan dat menslike inwoners die gebied wat vandag die amper onbewoonbare Sahara van noordelike Niger geword het, ongeveer 600 000 jaar gelede bewoon het. Niger was 'n belangrike ekoniemse kruispad, en die ryke van Songhai, Mali, Gao, Kanem, and Bornu, asook 'n aantal Hausa state, het beheer oor gedeeltes van die area uitgeoefen.
Gedurende onlangse eeue, het die nomadiese Tuareg groot konfederasies gevorm, suidwaarts gestoot, en, aan die kant van verskeie Hausa state, in konflik gekom met die Fulani Ryk van Sokoto, wat beheer van groot dele van Hausa gebied verkry het in die laat 18de eeu.
In die 19de eeu, het kontak met die Weste begin met die verkenning van die gebied deur Europese verkenners —noemenswaardig is veral Mungo Park (Engels) en Heinrich Barth (Duits)— wat opsoek was na die oorsprong van die Niger Rivier. Alhoewel Franse pogings tot pasifisasie voor 1900 begin het, kon etniese splintergroepe, veral die Tuareg woestynbewoners, nie onder beheer gebring word tot 1922 nie, toe Niger 'n Franse kolonie geword het.
Niger se koloniale geskiedenis en ontwikkeling parallel die van ander Franse Wes-Afrikaanse gebiede. Frans het sy Wes-Afrikaanse kolonies bestuur deur 'n goewerneur-generaal in Dakar, Senegal, en goewerneurs in die individuele gebiede, insluitend Niger. Saam met die Franse burgerskap wat aan die inwoners van die Franse gebiede gegee was, het die Franse grondwet ook in 1946 voorsiening gemaak vir die desentralisasie van mag en beperkte betrokkenheid in die politieke lewe van plaaslike raadgewende samekomste.
'n Verdere hersiening in die organisasie van oorseese gebiede het geskied met die deurvoering van die "Overseas Reform Act"(Loi Cadre) van 23 Julie 1956, gevolg deur her-organisatoriese stappe ingestel deur die Franse Parlement vroeg in 1957. Hierdie wette het ongelykhede in die stemproses verwyder, en ook voorsiening gemaak vir die skepping van regeringsorgane, wat individuele gebiede 'n groter mate van self-regering verseker het. Na die totstandkoming van die Vyfde Franse Republiek op 4 Desember 1958, het Niger 'n outonome staat binne die Franse Gemeenskap geword. Gevolg deur volle onafhanklikheid op 3 Augustus 1960.
[wysig] Politiek
Hoofartikel: Politiek van Niger
Niger se nuwe grondwet is goedgekeur in Julie 1999. Dit het die semi-presidensiële sisteem van regering van die Desember 1992 grondwet (Derde Republiek) herstel, waarin die president van die republiek, verkies deur die burgers vir termyn van vyf jaar, en 'n eerste minister, wat aangewys word deur die president, oor die uitvoerende mag beskik. As 'n refleksie op Niger se toenemende bevolking, is die een-kamer Nasionale Vergadering uitgebrei in 2004 tot 113 lede wat vir 'n vyfjaar termyn verkies word onder 'n meerderheidsisteem van verteenwoordiging. Politieke partye moet ten minste 5% van die stemme verwerf om 'n setel in die wetgewer te bekom.
Niger se onafhanklike regstelsel bestaan uit vier hoër howe--die Appelhof, die Hooggeregshof, die Hoë Hof vir Justisie, en die Grondwetlike Hof.
Die grondwet maak voorsiening vir die gewilde verkiesing van munisipale en plaaslike beamptes, en die eerste suksesvolle munisipale verkiesing het plaasgevind op 24 Julie 2004. Die Nasionale Vergadering het in Junie 2002 'n reeks desentralisasie wette deurgevoer. As 'n eerste stap, sal administratiewe mag verdeel word in 265 kommunes (plaaslike rade); en in latere stadiums sal streke en departemente gestig word as desentraliseerde entiteite. 'n Nuwe verkiesingsbeleid is aangeneem om die desentralisasiekonteks te reflekteer. Die land is tans verdeel in 8 streke, wat onderverdeel is in 36 distrikte (departemente). Die Hoof administrateur (Goewerneur) in elke departement word aangewys deur die regering en funksioneer as die plaaslike agent van die sentrale owerheid.
Die huidige regering wat verkies is in Desember 2004, sluit sewe politieke partye in. President Mamadou Tandja is herverkies in Desember 2004, en het Hama Amadou weer aangewys as Eerste Minister. Mahamane Ousmane, die hoof van die CDS, is herverkies as die President van die Nasionale Vergadering (Parlement) deur sy mede-parlementslede. Die nuwe tweede termyn regering van die Vyfde Republiek het die amp betree op 30 Desember 2002. In Augustus 2002, het 'n reeks onluste binne die weermag plaasgevind in Niamey, Diffa, en Nguigmi, maar die regering kon orde herstel binne 'n paar dae.
[wysig] Onder-afdelings
Hoofartikel: Departmente van Niger
- Agadez
- Diffa
- Dosso
- Maradi
- Tahoua
- Tillabéri
- Zinder
[wysig] Geografie
Hoofartikel: Geografie van Niger
Niger is 'n Wes-Afrikaanse land wat geheel en al afgesluit is van die see, en geleë is langs die grens tussen die Sahara en Sub-Sahara streke. Niger se geografiese koördinate is 16°N (Lengtegraad) en 8°E (Breedtegraad). Die oppervlakte is 1.267 miljoen km², waarvan 1,266,700 km² land is en 300 km² water. Dit maak Niger 'n bietjie kleiner as tweekeer die grootte van die Amerikaanse Staat van Texas.
Niger begrens sewe lande aan alle kante, en het 'n totaal van 5,697 km van grense. Die langste grens is Tsjaad in die ooste, met 1,175 km. Dit word gevolg deur Nigerië in die suide (1,497 km), Algerië in die noord-noordweste (956 km), en Mali met 821 km. Niger het klein grense in die suid-weste (Burkina Faso met 628 km en Benin met 266 km) en in die noord-noordooste (Libië met 354 km).
Niger se subtropiese klimaat is hoofsaaklik warm en droog, met baie woestyngebied. In die verre suide is daar 'n tropiese klimaat aan die kante van die Niger rivier. Die terrein is hoofsaaklik woestynvlaktes en sand duine, met plat vlaktes in die suide en heuwels in die noorde.
Die laagste punt is die Niger rivier, met 'n hoogte van 200m bo seevlak, en die hoogste punt is Mont Greboun teen 1,944 m.
Sien ook: Lys van stede in Niger
[wysig] Economy
Hoofartikel: Economy of Niger
One of the poorest countries in the world, Niger's economy is based largely on subsistence farming, livestock, and some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Drought cycles, desertification, a 3.3% population growth rate, and the drop in world demand for uranium have undercut an already marginal economy. Traditional subsistence farming, herding, small trading, seasonal migration, and informal markets dominate an economy that generates few formal sector jobs. Although slavery is illegal, human rights activists say that the laws prohibiting it are seldom enforced.[1] The head of the government's National Commission for Human Rights and Fundamental Liberation claims that slavery does not exist, saying "Even if they have no salary, they refuse to leave the master because they are at ease with the master;" but foreign journalists report that, according to claims by opposition lawmakers, "about 10% of the members of parliament keep slaves or are from slave-owning families."
Niger's agricultural and livestock sectors are the mainstay of all but 18% of the population. Fourteen percent of Niger's GDP is generated by livestock production--camels, goats, sheep, and cattle--said to support 29% of the population. The 15% of Niger's land that is arable is found mainly along its southern border with Nigeria. Rainfall varies and when insufficient, Niger has difficulty feeding its population and must rely on grain purchases and food aid to meet food requirements. Although the rains in 2000 were not good, for the past three years rains were relatively plentiful and well distributed, contributing to good cereal harvests. Millet, sorghum, and cassava are Niger's principal rain-fed subsistence crops. Cowpeas and onions are grown for commercial export, as are limited quantities of garlic, peppers, gum arabic, and sesame seeds.
Of Niger's exports, foreign exchange earnings from livestock, although difficult to quantify, are second only to those from uranium. Actual exports far exceed official statistics, which often fail to detect large herds of animals informally crossing into Nigeria. Some hides and skins are exported, and some are transformed into handicrafts.
The persistent uranium price slump has brought lower revenues for Niger's uranium sector, although uranium still provides 72% of national export proceeds. The nation enjoyed substantial export earnings and rapid economic growth during the 1960s and 1970s after the opening of two large uranium mines near the northern town of Arlit. When the uranium-led boom ended in the early 1980s, however, the economy stagnated, and new investment since then has been limited. Niger's two uranium mines--SOMAIR's open pit mine and COMINAK's underground mine--are owned by a French-led consortium and operated by French interests.
Exploitable deposits of gold are known to exist in Niger in the region between the Niger River and the border with Burkina Faso. On October 5, 2004 President Tandja announced the official opening of the Samira Hill Gold Mine in the region of Tera and the first Nigerien gold ingot was presented to him. This marked a historical moment for Niger as the Samira Hill Gold Mine represents the first commercial gold production in the country. Samira Hill is owned by a company called SML (Societe des Mines du Liptako) which is a joint venture between a Moroccan company, Societe SEMAFO Inc. and a Canadian company, ETRUSCAN. Both companies own 80% (40% - 40%) of SML and the GON 20%. The first year’s production is predicted to be 135,000 troy ounces (4,200 kg) of gold at a cash value of USD 177 per ounce ($5.70/g). The mine reserves for the Samira Hill mine total 10,073,626 tons at an average grade of 2.21 grams per ton from which 618,000 troy ounces (19,200 kg) will be recovered over a 6 year mine life. SML believes to have a number of significant gold deposits within what is now recognized as the gold belt known as the "Samira Horizon".
Substantial deposits of phosphates, coal, iron, limestone, and gypsum also have been found in Niger. Niger has oil potential. In 1992, the Djado permit was awarded to Hunt Oil, and in 2003 the Tenere permit was awarded to the China National Petroleum Company. An ExxonMobil-Petronas joint venture now holds the sole rights to the Agadem block, north of Lake Chad, and oil exploration is ongoing. The parastatal SONICHAR (Societe Nigerienne de Charbon) in Tchirozerine (north of Agadez) extracts coal from an open pit and fuels an electricity generating plant that supplies energy to the uranium mines. There are additional coal deposits to the south and west that are of a higher quality and may be exploitable.
The economic competitiveness created by the January 1994 devaluation of the Communaute Financiere Africaine (CFA) franc contributed to an annual average economic growth of 3.5% throughout the mid-1990s. But the economy stagnated due to the sharp reduction in foreign aid in 1999 (which gradually resumed in 2000) and poor rains in 2000. Reflecting the importance of the agricultural sector, the return of good rains was the primary factor underlying economic growth of 5.1% in 2000, 3.1% in 2001, 6.0% in 2002, and 3.0% in 2003.
In recent years, the Government of Niger drafted revisions to the investment code (1997 and 2000), petroleum code (1992), and mining code (1993), all with attractive terms for investors. The present government actively seeks foreign private investment and considers it key to restoring economic growth and development. With the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it has undertaken a concerted effort to revitalize the private sector.
Niger shares a common currency, the CFA franc, and a common central bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), with seven other members of the West African Monetary Union. The Treasury of the Government of France supplements the BCEAO's international reserves in order to maintain a fixed rate of 656 CFA to the euro.
[wysig] Economic reform
In January 2000, Niger's newly elected government inherited serious financial and economic problems, including a virtually empty treasury, past-due salaries (11 months of arrears) and scholarship payments, increased debt, reduced revenue performance, and lower public investment. In December 2000, Niger qualified for enhanced debt relief under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program for Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and concluded an agreement with the Fund on a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). In January 2001, Niger reached its decision point and subsequently reached its completion point in 2004. Total relief from all of Niger's creditors is worth about $890 million, corresponding to about $520 million in net present value (NPV) terms, which is equivalent to 53.5% of Niger’s total debt outstanding as of 2000. The debt relief provided under the enhanced HIPC initiative significantly reduces Niger's annual debt service obligations, freeing about $40 million per year over the coming years for expenditures on basic health care, primary education, HIV/AIDS prevention, rural infrastructure, and other programs geared at poverty reduction. The overall impact on Niger's budget is substantial. Debt service as a percentage of government revenue will be slashed from nearly 44% in 1999 to 10.9% in 2003 and average 4.3% during 2010-19. The debt relief cuts debt service as a percentage of export revenue from more than 23% to 8.4% in 2003, and decreases it to about 5% in later years.
In addition to strengthening the budgetary process and public finances, the Government of Niger has embarked on an ambitious program to privatize 12 state-owned companies. To date, seven have been fully privatized, including the water and telephone utilities, with the remainder to be privatized in 2005. A newly installed multisectoral regulatory agency will help ensure free and fair competition among the newly privatized companies and their private sector competitors. In its effort to consolidate macroeconomic stability under the PRGF, the government is also taking actions to reduce corruption, and as the result of a participatory process encompassing civil society, has devised a Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan that focuses on improving health, primary education, rural infrastructure, agricultural production, environmental protection, and judicial reform.
[wysig] Foreign aid
The most important donors in Niger are France, the European Union, the World Bank, the IMF, and UN agencies--UNDP, UNICEF, FAO, WFP, and UNFPA. Other donors include the United States, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, China, Italy, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Iran, Denmark, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. While the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) does not have an office in Niger, the United States is a major donor, contributing on average $8 million each year to Niger’s development increasing to $12 million in FY 2004. The United States also is a major partner in policy coordination in food security, education, water management and HIV/AIDS sectors. The importance of external support for Niger's development is demonstrated by the fact that about 45% of the government's FY 2002 budget, including 80% of its capital budget, derived from donor resources.
[wysig] Foreign relations
Niger pursues a moderate foreign policy and maintains friendly relations with the West and the Islamic world as well as nonaligned countries. It belongs to the United Nations and its main specialized agencies and in 1980-81 served on the UN Security Council. Niger maintains a special relationship with France and enjoys close relations with its West African neighbors. It is a charter member of the African Union and the West African Monetary Union and also belongs to the Niger River and Lake Chad Basin Commissions, the Economic Community of West African States, the Nonaligned Movement, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The westernmost regions of Niger are joined with contiguous regions Mali and Burkina Faso under the Liptako-Gourma Authority.
[wysig] Afweer
The Niger Armed Forces total 10,000 personnel with approximately 3,700 gendarmes, 300 air force, and 6,000 army personnel. The air force has four operational transport aircraft. The armed forces include general staff and battalion task force organizations consisting of two paratroop units, four light armored units, and nine motorized infantry units located in Tahoua, Agadez, Dirkou, Zinder, Nguigmi, N'Gourti, and Madewela. Since January 2003, Niger has deployed a company of troops to Cote d’Ivoire as part of the ECOWAS stabilization force. In 1991, Niger sent a 400-man military contingent to join the American-led allied forces against Iraq during the Gulf War.
Niger's defense budget is modest, accounting for about 1.6% of government expenditures. France provides the largest share of military assistance to Niger. Morocco, Algeria, China, and Libya have also provided military assistance. Approximately 15 French military advisers are in Niger. Many Nigerien military personnel receive training in France, and the Nigerien Armed Forces are equipped mainly with material either given by or purchased in France. In the past, U.S. assistance focused on training pilots and aviation support personnel, professional military education for staff officers, and initial specialty training for junior officers. A small foreign military assistance program was initiated in 1983. A U.S. Defense Attaché office opened in June 1985 and assumed Security Assistance Office responsibilities in 1987. The office closed in 1996 following a coup d'état. A U.S. Defense Attaché office reopened in July 2000. The United States provided transportation and logistical assistance to Nigerien troops deployed to Cote d’Ivoire in 2003. Additionally, the U.S. provided initial equipment training on vehicles and communications gear to a select contingent of Nigerien soldiers as part of the Department of State Pan-Sahel Initiative.
[wysig] Demographics
Hoofartikel: Demographics of Niger
The largest ethnic groups in Niger are the Hausa, who also constitute the major ethnic group in northern Nigeria, and the Djerma-Songhai, who also are found in parts of Mali. Both groups, along with the Gourmantche, are sedentary farmers who live in the arable, southern tier of the country. The remainder of Nigeriens are nomadic or semi-nomadic livestock-raising peoples--Fulani, Tuareg, Kanuri, Arabs, and Toubou. With rapidly growing populations and the consequent competition for meager natural resources, lifestyles of agriculturalists and livestock herders have come increasingly into conflict in Niger in recent years.
Niger's high infant mortality rate is comparable to levels recorded in neighboring countries. However, the child mortality rate (deaths among children between the ages of 1 and 4) is exceptionally high (248 per 1,000) due to generally poor health conditions and inadequate nutrition for most of the country's children. Nonetheless, Niger's very high fertility rate (7.2 births per woman), means that nearly half (49%) of the Nigerien population is under age 15. Between 1996 and 2003, primary school attendance was around 30% [2], including 36% of males and only 25% of females. Additional education occurs through madrassas.
[wysig] Kultuur
Hoofartikel: Kultuur van Niger
- Musiek van Niger
- List of writers from Niger
Sjabloon:Sectstub
[wysig] Media
Niger started to develop diverse media in the late 1990s. Niamey boasts scores of newspapers and magazines, many of which are fiercely critical of the government.
Radio is the most important medium, as television sets are beyond the buying power of many of the rural poor and illiteracy prevents the print media from becoming a mass medium.
As well as the national and regional radio services of the state broadcaster ORTN, there are four privately owned radio networks which total more than 100 stations.
Three of them - the Anfari Group, Sarounia, and Tenere - are urban based commercial format FM networks in the major towns. There is also a network of over 80 community radio stations spread across all seven regions of the country, governed by the Comité de Pilotage de Radios de Proximité (CPRP), a civil society organisation.
The independent sector radio networks are collectively estimated by CPRP officials to cover some 7.5 million people, or about 70% of the population (2005).
As well as Nigerien radio stations, the BBC's Hausa service is listened to on FM repeaters across wide parts of the country, particularly in the south, close to the border with Nigeria. Radio France Internationale also rebroadcasts in French through some of the commercial stations, via satellite.
Tenere also runs a national independent television station of the same name.
Despite relative freedom at the national level, Nigerien journalists say they are often pressured by local authorities. The state ORTN network depends financially on the government, partly through an addition to electricity bills and partly through direct subsidy.
The sector is governed by the Conseil Superieur de Communications, established as an independent body in the late 1990s, headed by Maryam Keita, a former TV presenter at ORTN.
[wysig] Miscellaneous topics
- Lys van Nigeriens
- Communications in Niger
- Foreign relations of Niger
- List of Nigerien companies
- Military of Niger
- Transportation in Niger
- Yellowcake forgery
- Plame affair
- 2005 Niger food crisis
[wysig] References
- Samuel Decalo, Historical Dictionary of Niger, 3rd ed. (Scarecrow Press, 1997, ISBN 0-8108-3136-8) - a comprehensive collection of Niger topics
- CIA World Factbook
- US State Department [3]
- Unicef Niger statistics
[wysig] Eksterne skakels
Sjabloon:Sisterlinks Government
- Niger Assemblee Nationale official site
- Mission of Niger to the United Nations official site
Nuus
- allAfrica - Niger news headline links
- Nigerportal - Niger web portal on Niger in french
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