Chad's Deby pledges war on graft
2011-08-08 22:35
N'djamena - Idriss Deby Itno vowed he would battle corruption as he was sworn in as president of Chad for a new five-year term on Monday, extending a rule which already stretches back more than two decades.
"There will be no pardon for people who misappropriate public funds", said Deby at the ceremony in the capital N'Djamena.
"We will fight against those who corrupt and those who are corrupted. Anyone looking for an easy way to make money can stop."
Deby won nearly 84% of the vote in elections on April 25, which the opposition boycotted.
He has ruled Chad since 1990, winning re-election in 1996, 2001 and 2006.
Eleven heads of state attended the inauguration, including Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in Sudan's western Darfur region.
Deby also promised to develop agriculture in Chad, still one of the world's poorest countries despite growing oil exports and an abundance of uranium and gold.
"I will dedicate my first three years of this term to rural areas, because self-sufficiency in agriculture comes from rural development and we must become self-sufficient (concerning) food", he said.
