Today's inauguration of the newly elected Bureau of the National Assembly is the main topic in Kinshasa newspapers this Tuesday.

It is this Tuesday, 9 January 2006 that the newly elected National Assembly Bureau will be officially inaugurated. L'Observateur notes that President Joseph Kabila will preside over the inauguration ceremony the inauguration ceremony which was "preceded yesterday by a hand-over meeting between the outgoing Bureau headed by Thomas Luhaka during the transition period and the incoming Bureau headed by Vital Kamerhe." On that occasion, Mr Kamerhe stated that "his team ... will build on the gains of the Transitional Parliament with the aim to put an end to disorder."

In other words, the new Bureau "will implement some pending projects inherited from the Transitional Parliament," according to Le Palmarès.

Vital Kamerhe and his team "will be responsible for the success or failure of the National Assembly," according to La Tempête des Tropiques. "The Congolese people expect [those representing them in the legislative body to pass] laws that would significantly improve their daily lives," recalls this paper, warning that "After their five-year term, they [people's representatives] will have to present their performance records to the people before seeking a new mandate from them." "In all conscience, they must make a choice between satisfying the leader's instincts or responding to the will of the people," it says.

In other political news, Le Phare, citing sources close to the Prime Minister's Office, reports that "the Gizenga government is expected to be announced this Wednesday".

Referring to ongoing negotiations over the formation of that government, Le Phare reports that "the Prime Minister has been facing difficulties ...in reconciling the various demands of the many parties" in his coalition. "The [coalition] political parties and groupings have been vying to occupy key and strategic [ministerial] positions – [the most coveted] ministries [being those] of Finance, Mines, Defence, Transport, Communication, Planning and Budget...," this paper says. It also mentions the "controversy over the size of the [soon-to-come] government", which will reportedly have 60 Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Ministers of State.

Le Phare adds that the government's reported size has "meant sleepless nights for proponents of public spending cuts ...in a cash-strapped country with its economy in shambles." But Le Potentiel quotes some Congolese political analysts who are saying that a government with "60 Ministers is no calamity for a subcontinent-sized country" like the DRC and that "the size of this government responds to the needs of the moment"