UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
5 Mar
2009
Press Review
Although a presidential decree appointing governors and vice-governors was published last week, the dossier regarding the Territorial Administration is far from being closed, according to today's comments by local papers in Kinshasa. The papers further mention the visit of the head of the UN Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno to Ituri.
''The swearing-in of governors and vice-governors scheduled for this Tuesday'' is postponed, ''following the many changes having occurred since their appointment last 16 May'', reports L'AVENIR. The paper cites the case of the RCD-N, which officially announced that it had recovered Kasaï Oriental as indicated in the quota. As a result, Dominique Kanku of the MLC who was appointed governor for this province can no longer be sworn in. Furthermore, the paper says, '' a confusing situation is prevailing within the political opposition where Z'Ahidi Ngoma showed greedy to the extent of irritating his peers who openly voiced their discontent''. Informed of all these protests, the Head of State ''acted accordingly by postponing the swearing-in at a latter date'', the paper indicates.
Explaining how RCD-N got back Kasaï Oriental, L'OBSERVATEUR indicates that it was the outcome of the talks between Minister Roger Lumbala and Vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba during which the latter assured the head of RCD-N that he ''was bound to comply with principles and legality''. Therefore, in his capacity as MLC leader, he ''discussed with the head of state in order to bring him to authorize RCD-N to submit its candidates for the territorial administration''.
LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES, apparently unaware of the postponement of governors' swearing-in ceremony, confirms that the ceremony is to take place this Tuesday, ''amidst crisis'' recalling, like most of today's papers that ''components and entities continue protesting against the appointment of some governors and vice-governors and go on to accuse the presidential circle of being the crossroads of the shady scheme used in selecting the candidates''. The paper goes back over the case of Vice-president Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma, the top leader of the political opposition within the government, ''accused by his own component of cheating in the choosing of candidates for the territorial administration for his component''. The paper echoes a Member of Parliament's reaction, Mr Christophe Lutundula who denounces the fact that ''the Vice-president for social and cultural affairs appointed his personal childhood friend who is also member of his own tribe and party as governor of South Kivu''.
LE POTENTIEL further announces an imminent cabinet reshuffle that will sack ten ministers, most of whom charged with corruption and embezzlement, the paper says, indicating that on president Kabila's list are the following names ''Diomi Ndongala, minister of Mining Department (Opposition); José Endundo Bononge, minister of Public Work and Infrastructures (M LC); Jean-Pierre Ondekane, minister of Defence (RCD); Gustave Tabezi, minister of Civil service (Civil Society); Joseph Mudumbi Mulunda, minister of Public Firms (RCD) etc'''.
LE PALMARES, for its part, talks about the nominations of the heads of Public firms that are allegedly in a deadlock like in diplomacy. According to the paper, the extended Government Commission for power sharing in the two areas is apparently ''in a bad way''. Unable to meet, it has left pending the critical issue relating to the nominations in Public Firms and Diplomacy, the paper indicates, blaming the lethargy on '' the incident caused last Friday by the vice-minister of Transports and Communications, Elias Mulungula of the Maï-Maï entity who made discourteous statement against PPRD, RCD and MLC members whom he called all the names under the sun''. On top of this, ''a document submitted by RCD to CIAT, signed by vice president Ruberwa, without any copy to president Kabila nor the other members of the presidential circle''. According to the paper, RCD's strategy through this document ''consists in requesting beyond the reasonable with a view to discouraging the partners, and thereby block the whole process''.
Based on ''some thorough analyses'', LE PHARE announces that elections will not take place in June 2005 alluding to the recent visit by American experts to the Democratic Republic of Congo wondering whether the elections will be organised by June 2005. '' Upon arriving, there was a unanimous approach that elections could not be held by June 2005'', the paper indicates, underscoring that the interlocutors of the American experts considered the technical aspect of the issue. In the line of their arguments, they raised the absence of major reform in the political and military areas, the electoral law ''blocked at the Senate'', ''endless argument on the demographic census'', the organisation of the Referendum etc.
Mr. Guéhenno expressed hope that the Congolese government would reinforce its presence in Ituri, LA REFERENCE PLUS reports, echoing the UN Under Secretary-General, for Peacekeeping Operations' visit to Ituri. Asked about the calendar on the deployment in Ituri by a Brigade of the reunified Congolese army, ''Mr. Guéhenno declared that Congolese government should in future secure the Ituri district'', the paper says, further indicating that a shooting incident took place during the night of Sunday to Monday between peacekeepers and unidentified gunmen, a few kilometres from Bunia which left two people injured (a child soldier and a civilian woman), who were taken to Bunia for treatment, the paper adds.
Explaining how RCD-N got back Kasaï Oriental, L'OBSERVATEUR indicates that it was the outcome of the talks between Minister Roger Lumbala and Vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba during which the latter assured the head of RCD-N that he ''was bound to comply with principles and legality''. Therefore, in his capacity as MLC leader, he ''discussed with the head of state in order to bring him to authorize RCD-N to submit its candidates for the territorial administration''.
LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES, apparently unaware of the postponement of governors' swearing-in ceremony, confirms that the ceremony is to take place this Tuesday, ''amidst crisis'' recalling, like most of today's papers that ''components and entities continue protesting against the appointment of some governors and vice-governors and go on to accuse the presidential circle of being the crossroads of the shady scheme used in selecting the candidates''. The paper goes back over the case of Vice-president Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma, the top leader of the political opposition within the government, ''accused by his own component of cheating in the choosing of candidates for the territorial administration for his component''. The paper echoes a Member of Parliament's reaction, Mr Christophe Lutundula who denounces the fact that ''the Vice-president for social and cultural affairs appointed his personal childhood friend who is also member of his own tribe and party as governor of South Kivu''.
LE POTENTIEL further announces an imminent cabinet reshuffle that will sack ten ministers, most of whom charged with corruption and embezzlement, the paper says, indicating that on president Kabila's list are the following names ''Diomi Ndongala, minister of Mining Department (Opposition); José Endundo Bononge, minister of Public Work and Infrastructures (M LC); Jean-Pierre Ondekane, minister of Defence (RCD); Gustave Tabezi, minister of Civil service (Civil Society); Joseph Mudumbi Mulunda, minister of Public Firms (RCD) etc'''.
LE PALMARES, for its part, talks about the nominations of the heads of Public firms that are allegedly in a deadlock like in diplomacy. According to the paper, the extended Government Commission for power sharing in the two areas is apparently ''in a bad way''. Unable to meet, it has left pending the critical issue relating to the nominations in Public Firms and Diplomacy, the paper indicates, blaming the lethargy on '' the incident caused last Friday by the vice-minister of Transports and Communications, Elias Mulungula of the Maï-Maï entity who made discourteous statement against PPRD, RCD and MLC members whom he called all the names under the sun''. On top of this, ''a document submitted by RCD to CIAT, signed by vice president Ruberwa, without any copy to president Kabila nor the other members of the presidential circle''. According to the paper, RCD's strategy through this document ''consists in requesting beyond the reasonable with a view to discouraging the partners, and thereby block the whole process''.
Based on ''some thorough analyses'', LE PHARE announces that elections will not take place in June 2005 alluding to the recent visit by American experts to the Democratic Republic of Congo wondering whether the elections will be organised by June 2005. '' Upon arriving, there was a unanimous approach that elections could not be held by June 2005'', the paper indicates, underscoring that the interlocutors of the American experts considered the technical aspect of the issue. In the line of their arguments, they raised the absence of major reform in the political and military areas, the electoral law ''blocked at the Senate'', ''endless argument on the demographic census'', the organisation of the Referendum etc.
Mr. Guéhenno expressed hope that the Congolese government would reinforce its presence in Ituri, LA REFERENCE PLUS reports, echoing the UN Under Secretary-General, for Peacekeeping Operations' visit to Ituri. Asked about the calendar on the deployment in Ituri by a Brigade of the reunified Congolese army, ''Mr. Guéhenno declared that Congolese government should in future secure the Ituri district'', the paper says, further indicating that a shooting incident took place during the night of Sunday to Monday between peacekeepers and unidentified gunmen, a few kilometres from Bunia which left two people injured (a child soldier and a civilian woman), who were taken to Bunia for treatment, the paper adds.
