Today's Kinshasa press is mainly devoted to the current process of forming the new Government in the DRC.

Le Palmarès reports that DRC President Joseph Kabila has given Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga instructions regarding the formation of the new "Government team [which] will be composed of 60 members including 7 Ministers of State, 33 Ministers and 20 Deputy Ministers." According to this paper, "Antoine Gizenga will discuss with the President the first proposed composition of the Government next week."

"Antoine Gizenga proposes a large Government team with nearly 60 Ministers to implement [President Joseph] Kabila's five priorities," notes La Référence Plus, commenting that "the Government [team] is widened to accommodate political cronies". For this paper, "The prime Minister will need to cut the umbilical cord linking him to the transition – [a transition ] which, though not a complete failure, was not a model of good management either."

Stressing that the new Government expected in the very near future and that its size is already known, Le Potentiel notes: "What remain to be known are the names of the different ministers, but the desire to do better could jam the government machinery", which would mean "problems looming on the horizon". "The Prime Minister could find himself with a mammoth Government team which could be a heavy burden for the 2007 State budget," the paper fears.

In other news, Le Palmarès, citing www.radiookapi.net, announces "the postponement of the election of senators, provincial governors and vice governors, [saying this is due to the fact that] the process of co-opting traditional chiefs has yet to be completed in some provinces, notably Bandundu, Equateur and Province Orientale." The election of senators was initially set for 7 January 2007 and that of provincial governors and vice governors for 16 January. Quoting the spokesman for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), this paper reports that "after assessing the situation, the IEC will inform the public of any modification of that calendar."

In other news, Le Potentiel reports that "On Wednesday, 3 January, Joseph Kabila declared his [personal] property to the Supreme Court."