Dumping of toxic waste in African ports—usually after some kind of bribe—has long been a problem.  Ivory Coast, however, has been substantially free of the scourge that has made west Africa one of the worst toxic dumps on the planet—at least until August 19th at 11:00 a.m., when the Probo Koala, a Panamanian flagged vessel, tied up in the Port of Abidjan.

The Facts.  The Tommy Company, charged with loading and unloading goods for the port, transferred 400 tons of mysterious cargo from the ship into 24 trucks that headed in the direction of the dump at Akouedo.   Twp days later, on August 21, hundreds of people living near the Akouedo dump, the Vridi canal and the warehouse at Plateau Dokui began arriving at hospitals in Cocody and Treichville complaining of headaches, diarrhea and vomiting.   At this point the Centre Ivoirien Anti Pollution (Ivory Coast anti-pollution center), located at the port, told the captain of the Probo Koala to stay in Abidjan and make himself available for further questioning.  Samples taken from polluted areas had indicated the presence of toxic substances, specifically caustic soda and hydrogen sulfide.  Nevertheless, the ship left port without any objection the following day.

Danger Signal.  And the authorities?  The Ministry of Health waited two weeks after the incident to issue its first official communiqué, which was made available on Tuesday, September 5.  The Minister acknowledged the presence of toxic substances, but said that testing was still in progress.  In the meantime, at least two of the more than 500 people affected have died.  Marina Comelli, an Ivory Coast resident for more than six years, told PeaceReporter, “This tragedy is compounded  by the fact that medical care is not free. and most people do not have money to buy prescription medications.”  Inevitably, discovery of the grossly unlawful activity unleashed a wave of  protest.  “Abidjan has been completely blocked by the demonstrators’ barricades,”  according to Comelli,  “although so far there have not been any fights.  The demonstrators only want to know more about what happened and to learn how these toxic substances, which have spread throughout the Abidjan lagoon, managed to get here.”  Exactly: how?  

Responsibility.  From the beginning, investigations point to the obvious responsibility of government authorities.  In particular, the general administration of the Abidjan port knew that several African countries, including Senegal, Nigeria and Togo, had earlier refused permission for the ship to dock in their ports.  Neither can the Navy be excused, as it could have taken measures such as ordering inspections by customs agents.  Unofficial sources mention hefty payoffs for allowing the ship to offload its poisonous cargo.  So far, the authorities can only be charged with gross negligence, at least until an investigation can better ascertain who is responsible.  PeaceReporter will continue to follow these events, waiting for further developments.