The island nation of Sao Tome and Principe off the coast of central Africa has announced plans to conduct a unique experiment in grassroots democracy. A struggling democracy and historically impoverished nation, the recent discovery of off-shore petroleum promises to enrich and transform Sao Tome. In light of the failure of oil to improve the life of ordinary citizens in so many other countries, Sao Tome and Principe has decided to carefully plan on how to use its anticipated wealth.

In its efforts to attempt to avoid the pitfalls of instant riches the government of Sao Tome and Principe has decided to conduct a nationwide consultation of its people to determine how they want the new revenues to be spent. The attached release describes the launching of this novel initiative in democratic consultation.