UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
6 Mar
2009
Press Review
Insecurity in North Kivu, the UN Security Council's tour to the Great Lakes region and the reported embezzlement within the public firms are the major subjects dealt with in today's local papers.
Defence Minister Jean-Pierre Ondekane and his colleague of Home Affairs, Théophile Mbemba Fundu were invited Wednesday by the Senate to bring the truth about insecurity in Goma to light. Unfortunately, both cabinet members did not show up, LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES says, indicating that Théophile Mbemba allegedly accompanied President Joseph Kabila to Lubumbashi whilst Jean-Pierre Ondekane was represented by his Deputy Minister Mohammed Bule who was ''not allowed to speak for the Minister'', the paper says. Due to lack of an official version, the paper echoes a local Non-government Human Rights (Renadhoc) statement that ''insecurity in Goma is caused by several armed groups'', namely ''the People's self-defence Group, Laurent Nkunda's dissident troops, the former body guards of RCD-Goma dignitaries, the Rwandan army troops posted in the 8th military region and the military police''. The armed groups seen by Renadhoc as ''the enemies of peace'', are allegedly the ones ''committing acts of banditry and wide scale kidnappings against defenceless civilians''.
Senate's members did not appreciate the absence of both ministers, L'AVENIR says, noting that it is a ''injurious to the Senate''. LE PHARE confirms that ''yesterday's Senate plenary voiced its discontent''. Senators describe both ministers' attitude as a ''deliberate attempt to dodge the senates' questions'' or just ''care-free attitude and laisser-aller''.
FORUM DES AS reports that General Obedi Ruibasira, commander of the 8th military region has been summoned by the military hierarchy to Kinshasa, to ''explain the dramatic situation prevailing in his jurisdiction''.
In another development, LE PHARE announces that DRC is on a war path, following an attack by the FDLR Hutu rebels against a Rwandan village. Quoting the army chief of staff of the Rwandan army, the paper reports that ''Hutu extremists in Eastern DRC reportedly attacked a Rwandan village with rockets; a village situated in Rwerere district, a Gisenyi province''. The paper also says ''the Office of the United Nations Mission in the DRC (Monuc) in Kigali dispatched an observer to the controversial sector for verifications''. Unfortunately, the paper says, Rwandans are apparently ''seeking an excuse to re-deploy its troops to Eastern DRC'''.
With respect to Rwandan armed groups, LA REFERENCE PLUS dwells on MONUC position for ''continued voluntary disarmament of FDLR combatants''. For the UN Mission ''there is no other alternative for the ex-combatants but to adhere to the DDRRR process which will help avoid a civil war'', the paper says.
LE PHARE believes that ''the UN Security Council is coming to Kinshasa to break the destabilisation cycle plaguing the Great Lakes region''.
LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES quotes MONUC Spokesman, Mamadou Bah, as specifying that the mission led by French ambassador to UN, Jean-Marc de la sablière, is comprised of the representatives of 15 permanent member countries and non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The Security Council ''is coming to the DRC to make an assessment of the transition'', the paper says, hoping that the mission ''will take concrete steps to advance the transition process which is not making any progress''.
FORUM DES AS, for its part, says the Security Council delegation could ask the Congolese officials to devote priority attention to the reform of the security actor and the adoption of the legislation needed for the electoral process and the disarmament of the rebels. It further highlights that the 15 member-delegation of the United Nations Security Council to Central Africa is a demonstration of its ''firm commitment to the peace keeping process and stability in a war-torn region''.
LE PALMARES goes back over the dossier about public firms, providing ''the proofs of an organised criminalisation of the Congolese economy''. Under the heading: This is how CEOs led the public firms to bankruptcy, the paper echoes the report on the mismanagement of public firms, citing ''criminal acts'' of mismanagement such as the exaggerated salary earned by the CEEC (Centre of Evaluation, Expertise and Certification)'s CEO ''26,000 dollars a month, more or less six times higher than the Minister of Mines whose monthly salary is between 4 and 5 thousand dollars''. It also singles out the loyalty bonus paid to CEOs, say, 35,000 to 36,000 dollars.
It is against this background that the Transports and Communication Minister, Joseph Olenghankoy, issued a few days ago, a decree suspending the managing director and deputy financial director of Régie des Voies Aériennes/Air Traffic regulatory office (RVA). Unfortunately, LA REFERENCE PLUS reports, Vice-President Abdoulaye Yerodia ''dismissed'' Joseph Olenghankoy's decree, describing it as ''null and void''. According to Yerodia, ''the government-initiated audit to the public firms should be discussed by the government before any disciplinary measure could be taken against the public firms CEOs''. FORUM DES AS refers to a ''dramatic turn of event within the government''. The paper estimates that by disowning Minister Olenghankoy, Vice-president Yerodia risks ''further deteriorating relations between President Kabila's political circle and that of the Minister of Transports and Communications, known as FONUS''.
Senate's members did not appreciate the absence of both ministers, L'AVENIR says, noting that it is a ''injurious to the Senate''. LE PHARE confirms that ''yesterday's Senate plenary voiced its discontent''. Senators describe both ministers' attitude as a ''deliberate attempt to dodge the senates' questions'' or just ''care-free attitude and laisser-aller''.
FORUM DES AS reports that General Obedi Ruibasira, commander of the 8th military region has been summoned by the military hierarchy to Kinshasa, to ''explain the dramatic situation prevailing in his jurisdiction''.
In another development, LE PHARE announces that DRC is on a war path, following an attack by the FDLR Hutu rebels against a Rwandan village. Quoting the army chief of staff of the Rwandan army, the paper reports that ''Hutu extremists in Eastern DRC reportedly attacked a Rwandan village with rockets; a village situated in Rwerere district, a Gisenyi province''. The paper also says ''the Office of the United Nations Mission in the DRC (Monuc) in Kigali dispatched an observer to the controversial sector for verifications''. Unfortunately, the paper says, Rwandans are apparently ''seeking an excuse to re-deploy its troops to Eastern DRC'''.
With respect to Rwandan armed groups, LA REFERENCE PLUS dwells on MONUC position for ''continued voluntary disarmament of FDLR combatants''. For the UN Mission ''there is no other alternative for the ex-combatants but to adhere to the DDRRR process which will help avoid a civil war'', the paper says.
LE PHARE believes that ''the UN Security Council is coming to Kinshasa to break the destabilisation cycle plaguing the Great Lakes region''.
LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES quotes MONUC Spokesman, Mamadou Bah, as specifying that the mission led by French ambassador to UN, Jean-Marc de la sablière, is comprised of the representatives of 15 permanent member countries and non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The Security Council ''is coming to the DRC to make an assessment of the transition'', the paper says, hoping that the mission ''will take concrete steps to advance the transition process which is not making any progress''.
FORUM DES AS, for its part, says the Security Council delegation could ask the Congolese officials to devote priority attention to the reform of the security actor and the adoption of the legislation needed for the electoral process and the disarmament of the rebels. It further highlights that the 15 member-delegation of the United Nations Security Council to Central Africa is a demonstration of its ''firm commitment to the peace keeping process and stability in a war-torn region''.
LE PALMARES goes back over the dossier about public firms, providing ''the proofs of an organised criminalisation of the Congolese economy''. Under the heading: This is how CEOs led the public firms to bankruptcy, the paper echoes the report on the mismanagement of public firms, citing ''criminal acts'' of mismanagement such as the exaggerated salary earned by the CEEC (Centre of Evaluation, Expertise and Certification)'s CEO ''26,000 dollars a month, more or less six times higher than the Minister of Mines whose monthly salary is between 4 and 5 thousand dollars''. It also singles out the loyalty bonus paid to CEOs, say, 35,000 to 36,000 dollars.
It is against this background that the Transports and Communication Minister, Joseph Olenghankoy, issued a few days ago, a decree suspending the managing director and deputy financial director of Régie des Voies Aériennes/Air Traffic regulatory office (RVA). Unfortunately, LA REFERENCE PLUS reports, Vice-President Abdoulaye Yerodia ''dismissed'' Joseph Olenghankoy's decree, describing it as ''null and void''. According to Yerodia, ''the government-initiated audit to the public firms should be discussed by the government before any disciplinary measure could be taken against the public firms CEOs''. FORUM DES AS refers to a ''dramatic turn of event within the government''. The paper estimates that by disowning Minister Olenghankoy, Vice-president Yerodia risks ''further deteriorating relations between President Kabila's political circle and that of the Minister of Transports and Communications, known as FONUS''.
