UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
4 Mar
2009
DRC Press Review
President Joseph Kabila should explain to the public the reasons for the delay recorded in the nomination of new provincial governors, which he has announced for the end of February, some of today's Kinshasa's newspapers suggest. The papers also mention Thursday's meeting between the President and his four Vice Presidents over the incidents that marred the celebrations of International Women's Day, and the nomination of a new Commander of the 10th military region in Bukavu.
"Announced for this week, the nomination of provincial governors is being repeatedly postponed, although the Head of State, responding to Radio Okapi on March 3, promised that the DRC would be endowed with new provincial authorities within four to five days," FORUM DES AS recalls.
The paper notes that "the tension created by the incidents in Bukavu did not allow the appointment of new provincial officials, especially in this part of the country where even the military authority is flouted by militias working for some political parties. The verbal escalation on the part of the leaders of RCD sparked another fire, with disrespectful words hurled at the Head of State. Even now that the storm has subsided, the nominations are still delayed – at a point where divisions emerge within the component Political Opposition, of which some members – both republicans and democrats – denounce Vice President Arthur Z'ahidi Ngoma's unilateral handling of the dossier of nominations. They demand their share of the appointments, and they have written to the Head of State."
The paper wonders if "the Head of State had considered all this bargaining and slowness prior to announcing these nominations as imminent – nominations of which no one knows whether they are to be made on the basis of the transitional format of one governor and two vice governors, or rather the 1+4 formula as a way to satisfy all components and entities."
"Joseph Kabila needs to enlighten the public as to the nomination of provincial authorities," the paper concludes.
On the controversy surrounding the incidents that occurred during the celebrations of International Women's Day in Kinshasa on March 8, 2004, LE POTENTIEL carries a statement issued after Thursday's meeting between the President Kabila and his four Vice Presidents. The paper quotes the statement as "condemning the grave events that constitute an attack on the person of Azarias Ruberwa, the Vice President in charge of the Commission on Political, Defence and Security Issues." "They (the four leaders in the statement) also urge from the concerned services that all light be shed on this demonstration, in order to determine responsibility," the paper adds.
LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES wishes "that the outcomes of the investigation demanded by President Joseph Kabila and the four Vice Presidents will be impartial, knowing that several women of the pro-Kabila PPRD (in English, People's Party for Reconstruction and Development) are implicated in this undermining action against Vice President Ruberwa."
In the same regard, LE PHARE warns that "the spectre of August 1998 reappears," and that "Kinshasa [is sitting] on a bomb of incitation to hate." "For some time", the paper writes, "the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) has been complaining about a polluted political atmosphere in Kinshasa, where, according to Vice President Azarias Ruberwa's party, the hardliners of M17 [Movement of May 17, 1997], PPRD, BMPS and REFECO have become notorious for their campaign to incite racial violence. As denounced by RCD, this campaign is targeting persons with a Rwandan morphology who came to power following the Global and Inclusive Agreement. To be specific, the personalities in question are those characterised as Tutsis, Rwandans, who have taken the place of Congolese and who should return to Rwanda."
LE POTENTIEL announces the nomination of a new commander for the 10th military region, to replace General Prosper Nabyolwa in Bukavu. "Mbuza Mabe appointed as head of the 10th military region", headlines the paper, quoting the Land Force chief of staff, General Sylvain Buki, during a press briefing in Bukavu. "The military command will as from now be assumed, provisionally, by General Mbuza Mabe. The new commander arrived in Bukavu yesterday, in order to take up his functions ...His second in command is said to have been named with prior consultations," says the paper, fearing a new conflict in Bukavu.
The paper notes that "the tension created by the incidents in Bukavu did not allow the appointment of new provincial officials, especially in this part of the country where even the military authority is flouted by militias working for some political parties. The verbal escalation on the part of the leaders of RCD sparked another fire, with disrespectful words hurled at the Head of State. Even now that the storm has subsided, the nominations are still delayed – at a point where divisions emerge within the component Political Opposition, of which some members – both republicans and democrats – denounce Vice President Arthur Z'ahidi Ngoma's unilateral handling of the dossier of nominations. They demand their share of the appointments, and they have written to the Head of State."
The paper wonders if "the Head of State had considered all this bargaining and slowness prior to announcing these nominations as imminent – nominations of which no one knows whether they are to be made on the basis of the transitional format of one governor and two vice governors, or rather the 1+4 formula as a way to satisfy all components and entities."
"Joseph Kabila needs to enlighten the public as to the nomination of provincial authorities," the paper concludes.
On the controversy surrounding the incidents that occurred during the celebrations of International Women's Day in Kinshasa on March 8, 2004, LE POTENTIEL carries a statement issued after Thursday's meeting between the President Kabila and his four Vice Presidents. The paper quotes the statement as "condemning the grave events that constitute an attack on the person of Azarias Ruberwa, the Vice President in charge of the Commission on Political, Defence and Security Issues." "They (the four leaders in the statement) also urge from the concerned services that all light be shed on this demonstration, in order to determine responsibility," the paper adds.
LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES wishes "that the outcomes of the investigation demanded by President Joseph Kabila and the four Vice Presidents will be impartial, knowing that several women of the pro-Kabila PPRD (in English, People's Party for Reconstruction and Development) are implicated in this undermining action against Vice President Ruberwa."
In the same regard, LE PHARE warns that "the spectre of August 1998 reappears," and that "Kinshasa [is sitting] on a bomb of incitation to hate." "For some time", the paper writes, "the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) has been complaining about a polluted political atmosphere in Kinshasa, where, according to Vice President Azarias Ruberwa's party, the hardliners of M17 [Movement of May 17, 1997], PPRD, BMPS and REFECO have become notorious for their campaign to incite racial violence. As denounced by RCD, this campaign is targeting persons with a Rwandan morphology who came to power following the Global and Inclusive Agreement. To be specific, the personalities in question are those characterised as Tutsis, Rwandans, who have taken the place of Congolese and who should return to Rwanda."
LE POTENTIEL announces the nomination of a new commander for the 10th military region, to replace General Prosper Nabyolwa in Bukavu. "Mbuza Mabe appointed as head of the 10th military region", headlines the paper, quoting the Land Force chief of staff, General Sylvain Buki, during a press briefing in Bukavu. "The military command will as from now be assumed, provisionally, by General Mbuza Mabe. The new commander arrived in Bukavu yesterday, in order to take up his functions ...His second in command is said to have been named with prior consultations," says the paper, fearing a new conflict in Bukavu.
