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 The people of
the Comoro Islands are of African and Asian origin and, except for
those of Mayotte, almost exclusively Muslim. Similar to most of the
other small island states, associated with Africa, the Comoros
suffer from a lack of natural resources and are heavily reliant on
external financial aid. Having been rivals since ancient times, the
various island societies have difficulty in forming a united nation.
Three of the four islands consolidated politically to become
independent from France (in 1976), but since then disillusionment
has set in, especially among the populations of the two smaller
islands in the federal dispensation.
Since 1997 the Comorian federal state
has been threatened by secession on the part of the islands of
Anjouan and Moheli whose inhabitants have experienced governance
from Grande Comore ?the larger island and locus of the federal
government ?as oppressive and economically unrewarding. A tendency
towards authoritarianism and the fact that only lip service has been
paid to the tenets of federalism lie at the root of the Comorian
problem
The country
 The
four main Comoro Islands and associated islets are spread like
stepping stones across the northern end of the Mozambique Channel ?
a stretch of Indian Ocean between the African coast and Madagascar.
Three of the islands, Grande Comore (Ngazidja), Anjouan (Ndzuani)
and Mohéli (Mwali), constitute the federal republic, while the
fourth, Mayotte (Maore) is French territory (see Mayotte). Their
French names are in general use, like the indigenous ones given in
parentheses.
The islands are the summits of a submerged volcanic ridge. Mount
Karthala, rising to 2 040 m on Grande Comore, is still active and
has the largest crater of all active volcanoes in the world. This
island is geologically much younger than the others and its soils
less fertile than theirs. Owing to the porous volcanic soil, Grande
Comore has no rivers or streams, but there are lakes in the extinct
craters on the island. An elongated territory of about 70 km in
length, Grande Comore is the largest of the islands and nearest to
the African coast. From Moroni on Grande Comore, the largest town in
the archipelago and capital of the republic, the distance to Dar es
Salaam, the nearest port city on the mainland, is about 650 km.
Southeast of Grande Comore are, first, Mohéli, the smallest and
least developed sister island, then triangular-shaped Anjouan, the
second largest, with Mayotte, the third largest, lying nearest to
Madagascar.
The climate on all the islands is
tropical hot and humid, with rainfall abundant in most places but
there are semi-arid spots. The islands are occasionally ravaged by
summer cyclones. The Comoros offer magnificent scenery but
desiccation and erosion have set in as a result of deforestation.
Although the soils have been exhausted through lack of care, the air
is fragrant at times with the scents of flowering plants that gave
rise to the sobriquet, Perfume Islands. Aromatic and spice crops
cultivated on the islands are ylang-ylang, jasmin, vanilla, cloves,
cinnamon and others. Wildlife and vegetation is rather similar to
that of Madagascar and very different from African fauna and flora.
Anjouan is home to a species of fruit bat whose wings can extend to
more than two metres.
The saga of the search for a living
coelacanth, a prehistoric fish, ended when, in 1952, one was caught
off the Moroni coast and certified as such by Prof J L B Smith of
Rhodes University in South Africa. The search started when, in 1938,
a dead specimen of the fish, assumed to be a missing link in the
evolutionary chain, was found in a trawler net off the South African
coast. Once believed to have been extinct for 70 million years, the
coelacanth is nevertheless an endangered species.
The people
The islanders are of mixed, mainly
Arab, African (Swahili) and Malagasy origin. Arabic and French are
the official languages, spoken by few people. The general medium of
communication are the different dialects of Kiswahili, spoken on
each of the islands. These tongues are collectively known as
Comorian Swahili. Most people are Sunni Muslims, with many still
practising polygamy. A conspicuous feature of Comorian society is
the grand mariage or public wedding which is celebrated by an entire
local community (at great cost for the host).
The island state is among Africa's most
densely populated areas. The largest populations are on Grande
Comore and Anjouan, with the densest concentrations on Anjouan.
Population growth is well above 3% per annum, a trend that imposes
immense strains on the fragile, natural environment. About a quarter
of all Comorians live abroad. The shortage of agricultural land has
led to increased urbanization, especially on Anjouan and along the
west coast of Grande Comore, where Moroni has grown to a town with
some 50 000 residents. Educational and health services are
reasonable and social indicators better than the average for
sub-Saharan Africa.
Government
The present Constitution, endorsed by
referendum in October 1996, abolished a federal institution, such as
the Senate, and curtailed the autonomy of the individual islands,
while providing for increasing centralization. In addition, the new
Constitution stresses the state's adherence to Islam. Although the
Constitution still allows opposition to the government, it reflects
a trend towards authoritarianism.
The President, elected by the voters
for 6-year terms, has executive powers and appoints the Council of
Ministers. (It is customary that, if the President hails from Grande
Comore, the Prime Minister should be from Anjouan or vice versa; the
Speaker of the Federal Assembly is usually from Mohéli.) The most
recent presidential election was held in March 1996.
The unicameral Federal Assembly has 43 members, directly elected for
4-year terms. After the 1993 elections the majority group was an
alliance of parties, Rassemblement pour la démocratie et la
renouveau (RDR), controlling 22 seats, and supporting Pres Djohar.
The 1996 elections were won by a new grouping, the Rassemblement
national pour le développement (RND), supporting Djohar's successor,
Pres Taki. The RND took 39 of the 43 seats, with two seats going to
Islamic fundamentalists ?now the main opposition group ?and one
seat to an independent candidate. (The result in one constituency
was annulled.) Parties not represented in the Federal Assembly are
illegal.
Each island has a Governor, appointed
by the President, and an elected Council, with limited authority,
serving 4-year terms. The Council of Ministers was dismissed and the
governors and councils on Anjouan and Moheli resigned during the
recent crisis on the islands
Infrastructure
The poor infrastructure within and
between the islands is now being rectified. A substantial programme
is underway to upgrade roads, ports, air links, electricity and
water supply, housing and public health and training facilities.
Although improvements have been made at the ports of Moroni,
Mutsamudu (on Anjouan) and Fomboni (on Mohéli), really large vessels
cannot make use of them. There is an international airport at Hahaya,
about halfway between Moroni and La Galawa Beach at the northern tip
of Grande Comore ?the only one of the islands with a tourist
infrastructure. Telecommunication links are being improved by the
establishment of a satellite earth station, paid for by the
Japanese. There are small hydroelectric power stations on the
smaller islands and oil-fired thermal stations on Grande Comore, but
many people still do not have access to electricity supply. On
Grande Comore, where there is no running water, rainwater is
collected in reservoirs across the island and led to cisterns and
tanks in the populated areas.
Economic activities
 A
subsistence economy developed over the comparatively long period
that the islands were settled by Arabs. With the introduction of the
plantation economy and colonial takeover in the course of the 19th
century, the economic fortunes of the Comoros closely resembled
those of Cape Verde, São Tom?and other island states. After the
maritime traffic that boosted these economies in colonial times had
ceased, their meagre natural resources and domestic markets made it
difficult to sustain economic growth. Although the island economies
remained geared to that of the colonial powers, which also protected
them, their leaders opted for independence. Since then the
consequences of population growth, deteriorating ecological
conditions and dependency on a few agricultural export commodities,
have made the economic prospects of the island states, including the
Comoros, rather bleak.
Agriculture: The principal cash crops
are vanilla followed at some distance by ylang-ylang oil (a perfume
base) and cloves. Much of these are produced on plantations owned by
expatriates. The greater part of the working population is engaged
in this sector which is underdeveloped due to exhausted soil,
adverse weather conditions, rudimentary practices and inadequate
marketing facilities. Major food crops are cassava, sweet potatoes,
rice and bananas; yams and coconuts are also produced. More than
half of food requirements have to be imported. There are only
limited possibilities for livestock (goats, cattle and sheep).
Fishing, especially of tuna, offers a greater potential than is
currently being utilized.
The manufacturing sector is mainly concerned with the distillation
of essences (particularly from ylang-ylang), vanilla processing,
extrusion of plant oils, soap, soft drinks, plastics and woodwork.
The saw mills face an uncertain future because of dwindling forest
reserves.
The tourist industry is still small but
developing. The number of annual tourists from abroad, mainly Europe
and South Africa, is approaching 20 000. Tourist facilities are
rudimentary, except on Grande Comore. Moroni has tourist hotels and
there are upmarket international resorts at Itsandra and La Galawa
Beach.
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