========================================================================================

AAM NEW YEAR'S EVE GALA - DINNER & VARIETY DJ's
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31st, 2014
SHERATON HOTEL, 706 JOHN NOLEN DR. MADISON, WI 53713
7:00 P.M. PROMPT

 ========================================================================================

8 December 2014 Last updated at 06:00 ET
BBC News Africa Online

[image: Joseph Kabila at the UN]Joseph Kabila came to power in 2001
following the assassination of his father President Laurent Kabila

The president of Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, has announced
the formation of a new government which includes several opposition members.

A senior member of opposition party the Movement for the Liberation of
Congo has been named a vice prime minister.

Several other former opponents have also been given posts.

The unity government comes amid speculation that Mr Kabila, in power since
2001, may try to change the constitution to run for a third term.
[image: A protester holds the constitution of the Democratic Republic of
Congo locked with a padlock in front of the UNC opposition party's
headquarters in Barumbu, near Kinshasa, on 13 September 2014]There have
been some protests against changing the constitution

Analysts say the inclusion of opposition members and former opponents in
his latest administration may be an attempt to broaden his support and
divide an already weakened opposition.

They say this may be in preparation for constitutional changes or a delay
to elections due in 2016.

Evariste Boshab, leader of the governing People's Party for Reconstruction
and Democracy and an outspoken advocate of constitutional change, has also
been named a vice prime minister.
'Assassination plot'

The new government is made up of 47 ministers and vice ministers, replacing
the previous 36-strong administration.

Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo, who has headed the outgoing
government since April 2012, retains his post.
[image: Burial of victims of attacks near Beni, blamed on Ugandan rebels]More
than 250 people have been killed in attacks near Beni since October

Mr Kabila promised to form a unity government last year after a national
dialogue with opposition and civil society groups.

Donors and investors say the delay has fostered uncertainty and stalled
reform in the vast country which is rich in minerals, Reuters news agency
reports.

Last month, 15 men accused of plotting to assassinate Mr Kabila were
acquitted by a South African court.

Prosecutors dropped the case because of a lack of evidence against the men,
all Congolese nationals.

Five more suspects are still facing trial.

They include the plot's alleged ringleader, Etienne Kabila, who says he is
the son of former President Laurent Kabila, who was killed in 2001, and
that Joseph Kabila is not the former leader's real son.

Meanwhile insecurity continues in the east of the country where more than
30 people were killed in attacks on Saturday.

The raids took place in villages near the town of Beni, where more than 250
people have died since October.

A journalist in the region told the BBC the dead included women and
children who had been dragged from their houses and killed with machetes.

She said it was not clear who carried out the attacks. The Congolese
authorities have blamed a Ugandan rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces
(ADF).



-- 
Ann Marie

"The art of living consists of knowing what to pay attention to,
and what to ignore.  -- Mardy Grothe

#################################################################################################

Join the African Association of Madison, Inc. for $25 per year.

Mail check to: AAM, PO Box 1016, Madison, WI 53701  Phone: 608-258-0261

Email: [log in to unmask]   Web: www.AfricanAssociationofMadison.org

#################################################################################################
*** Send email to the list: [log in to unmask] ***
*** Access AAM list archives: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/AAM.html ***