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Congo-Brazzaville |
POLITICS
On 14 August 2002, Sassou Nguesso took the long-overdue Oath of Office before the Supreme Court, as Congo-Brazzaville’s President. He’d been declared winner of the 10 March presidential elections, taking nearly 90% of the vote
Several African Heads of State were present at the swearing-in ceremony, namely Omar Bongo of Gabon, Idriss Deby from Chad, Obiang Nguema from Equatorial Guinea, Joseph Kabila from Congo RDC, Felix Patassé from the Central African Republic, Amani Toumani Touré from Mali, Joachim Chissano from Mozambique, and several European and African personalities.
In his inauguration speech, the Congolese President admitted that Congo had gone through a difficult decade, marked by «political, institutional and social instability, an economy in regression, a disintegration of social values, increasing poverty, social insecurity intensified by the near collapse of public finances». For many Congolese, already beaten down by misery, it was just another speech. Nothing practical will result from it. «This is nothing new», complained a student from Marien Ngonabi University in Brazzaville. «We young people need jobs». And a retired gentleman adds: «It’s all-important that I receive my pension regularly. But for the last ten years it’s been wishful thinking».
By the time the 1993-1997 civil war had ended, Sassou Nguesso had driven out President Lissouba, and declared himself President. This was second time round for Sassou Nguesso who had already been named Head of State in 1979. He was to remain in power until 1992 when the army took power. At that time, several political party leaders went into exile, convinced that the period of fundamental periods had finally come to an end. How wrong they were! The new regime gave every sign of being more democratic than the previous one. Professor Côme Mankassa was an opposition leader who had stayed behind in Congo-Brazzaville. A few months ago, he said: «The transition period which was set up in October 1997 and which ended on 9 August 2001, made no attempt to set up a one-party system of government in Congo-Brazzaville. It left the door open to diverse options, maintaining a multi-party system of government and safeguarding freedom».
There were, however, some hiccups along the way from time to time. A report published in Brazzaville on 16 August by the Congolese League for the Electoral System (LICOSE), stated: «Only political parties and associations allied to the governing United Democratic Forces (FDU), had complete freedom to carry out their political activity. Opposition party meetings needed official approval and so it was not easy for the Opposition to keep in touch with the general public».
Enormous challenges
Sassou Nguesso has managed to change his military victory into a political victory. He’s done this through the ballot box. But he’s bound to meet enormous challenges in rebuilding a country devastated by ten years of civil war. Apart from the petroleum industry, other sectors of industry were grossly under-developed even before the civil wars broke out, and at that time represented scarcely 7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). During the wars, these were partly destroyed, especially in Brazzaville, Dolisie, Loutété and Nkayi (in the south).
The incoming President has made it clear he wants the State to be completely impartial and that the public services must be taken out of the hands of the politicians. Ministers and civil servants must, from now onwards, have a better professional approach to their jobs. Everyone knows that since the 1980s, the State has employed a great number of people in government departments and the civil service. Recruitment, however, was conducted taking little heed of the needs of the public services, neither evaluating the required qualifications of candidates for the positions. It’s well known that in Congo, political patronage dictates who’s going to get the job — moral integrity and competency are completely ignored.
Sassou Nguesso is going to have a special difficulty when the question of ensuring that goods and people can circulate freely, mainly because so much of the country’s infrastructure has been destroyed during the civil wars. The LICOSE report explains: «On the highway leading to the north, there’s more than twenty roadblocks manned by armed men. At every roadblock, travellers are thoroughly searched —and it’s not a mere identity control. On the road going south, as you approach Dolisie, the police take what they can from travellers and business people».
But what about those Congolese who’ve preferred to go into exile, especially such personalities as Pascal Lissouba, Bernard Kolelas (former mayor of Brazzaville), Yombi Opango — who are all afraid to return to the country? Well, the new President’s not very clear on this point! Congo’s citizens are tired and fed-up with never-ending wars, and consider that a dialogue between the President and his opponents could end the conflicts which have been tearing Congo-Brazzaville apart for more than a decade.
Sassou Nguesso, on the other hand, has nothing to fear from the new National Assembly, since his Congolese Workers Party (PCT) has an absolute majority in the Chamber. According to the new Constitution voted in on 20 January, the National Assembly cannot overthrow the President, and vice versa. He is however, looking for a constructive opposition.
Sensitive problems remain. There are insecure areas in the Pool region, where the Rev. Ntoumi and his heavily armed Ninja militiamen, are scoffing at the government forces. Congo’s human rights NGO‘s have issued a Memorandum, stating that «because of this situation, Congo-Brazzaville has thousands of its citizens living in exile in many parts of the world».
All this indicates that for the new President, his seven-year term in Office will be no sinecure.
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