However, free and transparent elections were organized in November 1999 and the country has enjoyed political stability ever since. The democratization process continued, with the emergence of civil society organizations more or less involved in decision-making, conflict resolution and, to a lesser extent, economic management. At the same time, a free and independent press saw the light of day. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONTEXT Niger‟s economy is characterized by the predominance of agriculture and stockbreeding. These two mainstays of the economy often suffer setbacks due to climatic uncertainties (drought, locust invasions). The year 2003/2004 is a case in point. . The main export commodities are agro-pastoral resources and uranium. The growth rate of GDP was 4.8% in 2006, while the average growth rate over the 2002-2006 period was 3.9% yearly. Many social projects were carried out and uranium fetched higher prices on the world market which contributed to economic revival. During the last two decades, the collapse of the price of uranium and the low level of mobilization of internal resources drove Niger to adopt the structural adjustment programme which resulted in the liberalization of the economic and cuts in investments in the social sectors. These unpopular measures deepened poverty and aggravated the country‟s debt. The signing of the 2000-2003 economic and financial programme backed by the IMF‟s Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and supported by other multilateral and bilateral partners ushered in a vast programme of economic and structural reforms for Niger. The satisfactory implementation of this programme, especially in the area of public finance management was instrumental not only to the progress achieved in the implementation of the country‟s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), but also to the attainment of the completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in April 2004, the benefit of external debt cancellations and the successful negotiation with the IMF of a new programme for the 2005-2007 period. The different programme reviews concluded that macro-economic performances had improved, in relation to the previous decade. Despite these reforms, Niger‟s economy remains characterized by the following facts:     the primary sector‟s share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose from 39.1% over the period 1995-2001 to 42.8% between 2002-2006 ; the share of the secondary sector declined steadily despite the revival of activities in the mining sector ; it fell from 13.7% to 13.2% over the period 2002-2006 ; the tertiary sector still accounted for a predominant, albeit dwindling, share of GDP. It stood at around 44% over the period, against 47.2% in the 1995-2001 period; the informal sector‟s share in GDP remained very high (over 70%). The trend shows a reticence of informal sector activities to, in the short term, join the modern framework. Socially, the overall situation is characterized by the poverty of the population. In fact, 63% of the population is poor, with 34% living in extreme poverty. High population growth 7