/ 4 February 1999

AIR AFRIQUE PRIVATISATION

SHAREHOLDER countries of African regional airline Air Afrique will meet in February to discuss privatisation, which raises implications for air rights in Africa, sources close to the organisers say. Leaders of the 11 Francophone African states are to discuss a replacement for managing director Sir Harry Tirvengadum, who quit unexpectedly on Saturday, but sources said privatisation is also on the agenda. Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Republic, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo each own 6,4% of Air Afrique, or 70,4% in total. They agreed in October to cut that to 51%, but one Ivorian source said a more radical option is under discussion.