Sacked oil minister Boukar Michel tried to sail too close to the wind

摘要

In the end, Boukar Michel was onlyable to hold on to his seat for less thanseven months. The Chadian ministerof petroleum was sacked by simplePresidential decree on January 11 withno word of warning or explanation.According to our sources, the formersecretary general to the oil ministrywas fired after riling several membersof President Idriss Deby’s inner circle.The minister secretary general to thepresident and former prime ministerKalzeube Payimi Deubet had campaignedstrongly against Michel. Aswe revealed, Michel, an engineer whobuilt the bulk of his career within theoil ministry, was appointed head ofthe ministry thanks to the formerspeaker of parliament and currentadvisor to the president Delwa KassireCoumakoye ( AEI 817). Whilecertain sources suggested the decisionto fire Michel came after hereportedly granted the same permitto two different firms, above all hehas paid the price for having been tooindependent in a position where allimportant decisions are made fromon high. There has been a steadyparade of oil ministers in recent years,most of whom only held the role fora few months. Michel’s recentlydeceased predecessor, the Deby familysolicitor, Bechir Madet, had managedto retain the role for two yearsthanks to his close relations with thehead of state. Until a replacement isannounced, finance minister AllaliMahamat Abakar will oversee theministry for the interim.