Chad is surrounded by conflict-torn neighbours. Armed conflicts in Chad’s neighbours; the Central African Republic, Libya, Nigeria and Darfour in Sudan have negatively

affected the development of the country as development and investment resources have been diverted to tackle the teething problem of influx of refugees, Finances and Budget Minister, Kordjé Bedoumra reportedly told Business Africa.

There are between 400, 000 to 500,000 refugees the country is taking care of, the Minister said, further adding that over 120,000 to 130,000 Chadians have also been repatriated. Chad’s neighbour to the West , Nigeria is facing the Boko Haram insurgence, armed fighting continues in Libya to the North. The sectarian fighting in the South east in the Central African Republic is permanent source of insecurity while instability in Darfour, Sudan remains an insecurity hurdle in the east. The refugee situation, Kordjé Bedoumra reported said has compelled Chad to take security measures.

He acknowledged that the expenditure on tackling refugee problems have compromised investment and development projects in the country. However, he stated, peace and security were primordial to development and Chad has no choice than to pay the price. This is because resources that ought to have been used in investment and improving the living conditions of the population are diverted to manage security problems. Consequently, the development pace of the country has been greatly slowed down. “Chad is ready to pay the price because it knows the gain”, Kordjé Bedoumra reportedly said, stating the country’s determination to integrate the security agenda in the national policy.