European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 05, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Of different kind of african Leader Felix Hou Houet Borgny has made Ivory coast a showcase of development. F by Larry hein2erling associated press Elix Hou Houet Bovigny is a different kind of Leader in Black Africa. He is outs Okenly pro Western avoids the revolutionary rhetoric of Black nationalism actively encourages foreign investment and has no time for the african Brand of socialism. After 17 year surf his Rule the Ivory coast a former French Colony remains one of the most politically stable and economically thriving showcases of development in sub Sahara Africa this is an example of How to make it in Black  observed an admiring Western ambassador. It shows that the third world can be fuelled by something other than Oil or anti colonial rhetoric. Hou Houet Bovigny holds views and pursues policies at borne and abroad clearly repugnant to Many fellow african leaders. He ears soviet imperialism in Black Africa sup ports dialogue not War with White governed South Africa maintains extremely close relations with France and believes Africa s future lies in building a euro Afri can economic  critics Brand him an Uncle Tom a Black Frenchman and a  but the French educated Hou Houet Bovigny now 71, rules Over one of the few real and economic Success Sto Ries in Africa and can afford to ignore barbs. It can be seen in the Busy four Lane highways that Loop through the Modem capital of growing numbers of sky scrapers overlooking Abidjan s lagoons. It s there in the luxury hotels packed with business men Well stocked supermarkets impressive and grow ing display of Light Industry nonstop construction of new Homes shops and office buildings arid the City s port reputedly the Best in West  impresses economists most is that it has All been done without Oil or other Mineral wealth but through a carefully managed agricultural Economy. Pineapple Palm Oil and other products Are joining Coffee Cocoa and Wood As important exports. There is virtually nothing this soil can produce thai they Are not producing As part of a program of diversification said one economist. Since Independence in 1960, the Economy has grown an average of 7.7 per cent a year exports have in creased seven times business turnover five times the Gross National product More than five times to $3.7 Bil lion at current prices. It has become Africa s biggest Coffee producer ranking third in the world after Brazil and Colombia and is the world s second largest producer of Cocoa since it overtook Nigeria in-1974. Only Nigeria and Gabon with their Oil wealth surpass this economic performance in Black Africa. Ivory coast s careful economic planning has spurred unprecedented development in other areas. In Short the policies of the government of the Ivory coast Are rapidly moving the entire populace into the 20th  says an economic report by the . Embassy i Abidjan. The literacy rate has risen from 8 per cent in i960 of the population of 7 million to More than 65 per cent and As High As 90 per cent in some Urban centers. There is an educational television program which reaches Between 250,000 and 300.000 primary school students in 1,500 schools. Abidjan the French Flavoured capital is rapidly be coming a financial marketing and telecommunications Center for West Africa. Hou Houet Bovigny rules by consensus boasts his Conn try has no political prisoners and leads his country in the manner of a benign Monarch. Hou Houet Bovigny has worked closely with France to develop his country and it is a source of some criticism. At Independence there were some 10,000 French in the Ivory coast. Today the number is estimated As High As 60,000. They run hotels bakeries supermarkets and other Busi Nesses and provide thousands of technical advisers at All Levels of government. But things Are changing. There is now a very significant ivorian cadre. The Heads of most Banks and companies Are now ivorian and 1 dorians Are gradually moving the French out of top positions says a Western Diplomat but what comes after Hou Houct Borgny his current term of office runs to 1980. He is reported in excellent health and works an 18-hour Day. The aging president now rules through the country s Only political party the democratic party of the Ivory coast. Constitutionally Phillipe Yace 55. President of the National Assembly will assume Power in the. Event of death there Are fears that Hou Houet Bovigny s demise in office could provoke political trouble among the nation s 60 ethnic groups. Some observers believe however those in Power now know they would have too much to lose by spoiling the country s stability and economic development by creating political unrest. Chances for a peaceful transition Here Are better than anywhere in Africa says one Western Diplomat. Europe s an pair girls by David Minthorn associated Pressw Estern Europe s a pair girls Are acquiring some rights after years of working As Low paid maids Cooks an cleaners placement Agen cies report. Thousands of these Young women travel to common Market countries each year to study French. German. English and other languages. They pay their Way by per forming Domestic chores for local families. Britain currently has 20.000 of them. France has 6.000 and West Germany 2.000. According to government estimates. Although most Are europeans there Are about 200 americans in France and 60 in West Germany in the program. In Exchange for housework or baby sit Ting five or six hours a Day. A pair girls Are Given room Board and pocket Money amounting to about 580 a month in France and Germany and $48 in England. In their free time the Young women who Are 17 or Over attend language classes and cultural events the of pair program is based on the traditional German concept of House Daugh ters and these work study arrangements began flourishing in other european coun tries after world War i. The term a pair is French for on even terms meaning the Young women Are supposed to be treated As members of the family rather than servants. But in practice Many com Plain about being overworked and some have difficulties adjusting to their hosts the placement agencies say. Some girls Are Given so much House work they Don t have time to attend their language  says Elisabeth Reich a German of pair placement official. We have to Contact their Host families and remind them of their  the Council of Europe Jias issued common Market guidelines to counter exploitation of a pair girls. Rules stress that the Young foreigners should not be used As substitutes for cleaning women and should not be asked to do heavy House  a Host family is obliged to provide the a pair girl with her own room All meals an allowance health insurance and one Day off a week. Placement agencies sanctioned by the governments Are supposed to Moni Tor the families and Deal with complaints. In Germany a pair girls Are placed by protestant or roman Catholic youth Agen cies or by Federal labor offices in majorities. Mrs. Reich s Agency the protestant association for International youth work headquartered in Bonn last year placed More than 1.000 a pair girls mostly French and English women wit German families the Agency also has offices in London and Paris to help hundreds of German a pair Girts working abroad. Efforts to place germans with Ameri can families in the jolted states have been hampered by . Visa regulations she said. In France most a pair Are placed through educational institutions such As the sorbonne in Paris and the Alliance Francque. The government requires a work contract to assure the family will provide for the girl s needs and limit her work to a maximum of five hours a Day. But French officials report that the number of a pair girls has been declining about 10 per cent a year Over the last two years because of rising living costs inability of girls to adapt to French life and exploitation by some families. Britain s private employment Agen cies specialize in finding families or a pair applicants but offices Are be coming More cautious about where they Send the women. There is the Odd family one has to be careful of. When they Call up we just say we Don t have anybody right  the spokeswoman for a London Agency  complaints Are from Young women who Aren t Given a fixed work schedule so they can attend English  it s very 50-50," the spokeswoman added. Some of these girls Aren t that fantastic. There was one who could t get out of bed until half past eleven every  Page 10 the stars and stripes sunday june 5, 1977