September 7, 2011: With the inauguration of the Chinese oil refinery in Djermaya, Chad, the market is doing its best to adjust to the new addition. The timing could not have been worse, as Chad finds itself in that period between the close of the rainy season and harvest, where the roads are at their worst.
Between a 40%+ tax on imported goods and the subsidized cost of production in Djermaya, imported gasoline and diesel just cannot compete with the price offered at the Chinese refineries.
Every gas station and fuel distributor in Chad (and perhaps elsewhere) wants to buy the cheaper fuel from the new refinery. As a result, suppliers are having difficulty keeping up with the demand, and everyone from motorcyclists to transportation companies to private companies who use generators, from N'Djaména to Goz Beïda, is struggling to provide their need for energy.
Please pray that immediate energy solutions may be found soon, and that long-term improvements will also be felt as time goes by.
Central African Republic rebels seize Birao town
Rebels in the Central African Republic have taken over the town of Birao after heavy fighting with the army, a UN official has told the BBC.
The CPJP rebels have seized key strategic places including the armed forces' command base and the airport.
Birao had been under UN guard since June but the peace mission ended two weeks ago.
No casualty figures have been released but one humanitarian worker was killed during the attack, the official said.
The head of the UN humanitarian agency in CAR, Jean-Sebastien Munie said a large number of rebels led the attack on Thursday.
"The rebels' attack took the national forces by surprise."
The CPJP rebels are the only militia which remains outside the country's peace process.
Birao lies in a highly unstable region near the borders with Sudan and Chad, both of which have several rebel groups of their own.
