April 5, 2001
Four months into his tenure, Congo President Joseph Kabila dismissed his entire government, saying he wants to get control of what he called the ever-worsening situation in his war-stricken, plundered central African country. Kabila, 29, was expected Thursday in Germany to embark on what he called an ``explaining campaign'' to his people and the world ``in view of remedying the country's troubles.''
Government services were restricted by the presidential decree issued late Wednesday to solely basic day-to-day services, presidential spokesman Ngwej Katot said. Kabila until now had largely left intact the civilian leadership he inherited from his father, President Laurent Kabila, who was assassinated in mysterious circumstances in January.
Laurent Kabila, a lifetime rebel who seized power in 1997, perpetuated his predecessors' decades of corrupt, oppressive rule in Congo. His four-year regime saw the country plunged into a civil war that has drawn in the armies of five foreign nations - widely called Africa's first world war. His son, Joseph, ``is fully conscious of the economic and social situation that prevails in this country, and is concerned by it,'' the government said in a statement late Wednesday announcing the dismissals.
Congo rebels took up arms in 1998 to oust Laurent Kabila. They were backed by Rwanda and Uganda, who accused the late president of sheltering armed movements that threatened the security of their own countries. Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia entered the war on Congo's side, their loyalty secured by lucrative mining concessions from mineral-rich Congo. The war has killed thousands and forced 2 million Congolese from their homes, and left the 1-million-square-mile nation carved up by rebel movements and their foreign allies. Peace efforts revived with Laurent Kabila's assassination and his son's assumption of power.
The new president was sending auditors to all provinces and public companies across the country - Africa's third-largest - to check how they had been managed since January, the statement said. All heads of public treasuries and public companies were suspended, the statement said. Kabila didn't say when he would set up a new government. In the past, it's appeared he was waiting for a government-commissioned investigation to determine responsibility for his father's assassination before he picked who to include in a government of his own making.
Laurent Kabila was shot and killed by one of his own bodyguards at the presidential palace Jan. 16. The motive was unknown; the investigating commission is still at work.
Belgium, Congo's colonial ruler, applauded Joseph Kabila's purge of his father's government. Foreign Minister Louis Michael, speaking from Washington, called it a ``step in the right direction and a courageous act.''
