The Song of Mawu. Jeff Edwards

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СКАЧАТЬ yet, but whatever he attempts will result in more resentment from the Hansa government in Sonateria, and therefore less chance of getting a peaceful diplomatic solution to the problems out there. He has to be stopped, but that’s just one aspect of a very complicated situation that exists out there.’

      ‘Perhaps we can appeal to Joseph Lattua. Convince him to have Bollan expelled from Namola. If Bollan is forced into exile he won’t be a problem and his special forces will disband if they don’t have someone to pay them,’ said Rod Taylor.

      Ali nodded, ‘I thought much the same thing. When I found out that Bollan’s men were recruiting among the refugees I rang Lattua and pleaded that very case to him.’

      Eliza piped up, ‘That scheming bastard was all smiles and fine words but what it amounted to was that The Fund is not wanted out there, especially if we intend to reclaim the land which we legally leased. They’ve taken our property and have no intention of giving it back. As for Bollan, it seems he’s quite welcome to stay and train with Lattua’s army as long as he has the money to pay for his accommodation and equipment.’

      Justine, from her seat at the end of the table, saw Bree and Sam exchange a further look. ‘Do you two have something to contribute to this?’ she asked like a stern schoolmistress to a pair of first formers.

      They exchanged a further glance before Sam nodded, indicating that Bree should be the one to speak.

      ‘What you said about Lattua is just how we remembered him.’

      ‘You’ve met Lattua?’ asked Eliza.

      Bree nodded, ‘Joseph Lattua was the subject of our first assignment together with Inland Security. The World Bank had made Lattua’s government a substantial loan for them to invest in setting up local business enterprises. However, Lattua channelled the funds directly into his own bank accounts and bought himself a yacht. Then he sailed it to Monte Carlo and gambled the rest of the money away.’

      Sam added, ‘We followed him to Europe to see if we could find where the money went, in the vain hope that the World Bank could recover some of their funds, but he was too quick for us. What he didn’t spend or gamble away disappeared into secret bank accounts.’

      ‘That’s where they say all Bollan’s money is as well,’ said Justine, ‘In the years before he was overthrown, the entire Treasury of Sonateria was systematically looted by him.’

      ‘They’re very much alike,’ agreed Rod Taylor, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if they both use the same bankers.’

      ‘So, other than the World Bank’s money, where does Namola get his money?’ asked Justine.

      ‘It’s been a while, but I’ll see if I can recall what we found out about President for Life Joseph Lattua and the country of Namola,’ said Bree, ‘Let’s see. The West African country of Namola is located on the Bight of Benin. Its capital city, Lobacra, is located on the Tombine River and has a population of approximately one million, while the population of the entire country is about ten million, most of whom are farmers and graziers and live in the country around the provincial capitals. Like their neighbour Sonateria, most of the population are Sontars, which is why the refugees from that country were allowed to cross the border when the uprising took place.

      Namola was originally a German colony, but fell under British control during World War I, when they introduced a system of government based on the Westminster system.

      In 1975 the country gained its independence, but remains a part of the Commonwealth.

      The country is, and always was, largely rural, with exports limited to some maize and beef. However, the country’s true wealth comes from an open-cut gold mine in the country’s north which is owned and operated by the Canadian company Yukon International.

      This was added to in the past decade by the discovery of a significant oil-field off their coast by an American corporation.’

      ‘What about Lattua?’ asked Justine.

      Bree continued, ‘Like a lot of sons from poor farming families in the years after independence, Joseph Lattua and his brother joined the army while still teenagers. It was while Joseph was in the army that he came to the attention of his superiors, not for his prowess as a soldier, but as a boxer. He represented Namola in the Commonwealth Games and became in instant hero when he became the first Namolan to win an international sporting gold medal. He was rewarded with a commission in the army and went on the represent Namola in the Olympic Games, where he won a silver medal. As a result, his fame within Namola skyrocketed and more promotions followed.

      With his brother by his side, he continued in the army for several more years and eventually rose to second in command of all Namola’s armed forces.

      Then fate took over. Namola’s Vice President became upset because the aging President refused to retire and allow for the normal transfer of power to his much younger underling. Not satisfied to wait, the Vice President tried to take matters into his own hands and launched a coup aided by the army’s commander.

      The President appealed to Lattua for help, and he used his popularity with the troops to convince them to support the President. The coup was quickly brought to an end with the Vice President and head of the armed forces being arrested. The ringleaders disappeared, and were never heard from again while Joseph Lattua was rewarded with the now vacant Vice Presidency, and his brother became the head of armed forces.

      The old President died suddenly a year later, apparently of natural causes, and the brothers suddenly found themselves masters of Namola.’

      ‘But what about the opposition? Operating under the Westminster system they would have had to submit themselves to regular elections, wouldn’t they?’ asked Brian Reynolds.

      ‘Joseph Lattua was very popular to begin with and had no trouble winning early elections. It was only when his bad governance became apparent that the population began to shift their support to the opposition parties. Lattua was able to file false charges against them and they too were rounded up and ‘disappeared’. Then he had himself voted President for Life and introduced his own style of democratic rule.’

      ‘Which was?’

      ‘I think he must have read up on Roman history when he was in the army, because he divided Namola up into provinces. Each province is controlled by a Governor who report directly to Lattua. The Governor is in complete control of everything that takes place within his province except for the armed forces. The only stipulation is that they supply Lattua and the central administration with a set amount of taxation revenue each quarter. If the Governor is fortunate to be able to collect more than the central government requests, then he is able to retain the residue. Consequently, the Governors are extremely earnest in their collections, while being very reluctant to waste any of the excess by spending on the long suffering taxpayers and the provincial infrastructure. As a result, the entire country has been slowly grinding to a halt, with roads and rail falling into disrepair. The schools and hospitals are a shadow of what they need to be and all the while the Governors continue to squeeze as much taxation funds as they can out of the populace. However, the money is getting tighter and tighter every year and the Governors are now being forced to take extreme measures, even resorting to dubious schemes like indulging in the sex and drug trade to reach their yearly taxation allotment.’

      ‘How much longer can this situation continue?’ asked Suzie Brown.

      ‘It was bad back then. I can only guess at how much worse it is now.’

      ‘How СКАЧАТЬ