Politics

Kagame advises new cabinet on collaboration

Published

4 weeks ago

August 22, 2024

Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, wants his new cabinet to work together, as he considers his latest five-year tenure a public endorsement and an opportunity to improve his record.

After taking office this week, most of them reappointed, President Paul Kagame informed the ministers they must not work alone, a trend he had seen earlier.

The 21 cabinet ministers and 9 state ministers will serve with Kagame for the upcoming five-year term unless removed or reshuffled. Last Monday, the president took the oath of office for another term after a huge July election victory.

“The country’s development cannot be achieved by the works of one individual, however excellent or sacrificial the person is.

“People and organs have to work together, that’s how a country develops there’s no other way around it, but the habit of working in isolation keeps coming back.”

He will likely want unity from his government, along with integrity and commitment. Rwanda, like most countries in the region, is facing economic uncertainty after geopolitical concerns and the COVID-19 outbreak.

On Tuesday, he advised ministers to prioritise Rwanda. Rwanda’s rise from 1994’s slaughter to stability is an inspiration. Kagame’s practicality and micromanagement contributed to his success.

“There are times I am looking for someone and I call, only to be told the person is in a meeting, on calling another one I am told the same thing.

“When I wait and try again in the evening and I am still told the person is in a meeting, when do you work, when do you implement the things you meet about?

“Only go for a meeting if it is indispensable, even then first identify the key points to meet about and come up with clear expected outcomes. It shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes, a maximum of an hour,” said Kagame.

“You find someone cordoning off other people from using the elevator, because ‘the boss’ is going to use it. Why do you still do these things? The elevator is for all people to use”

“Others have been branded VVIPs, and some leaders have their briefcases and bags carried for them. What is all that for? Where are these tendencies coming from?” questioned Kagame.

President Kagame has acknowledged that ministries have returned the country to growth from Covid-19 and reached 8% GDP growth. H advises the new team to improve.

“I am not asking you to do the impossible. The things I challenge you to do are things that are possible to achieve.”

Rwanda trades with surrounding nations, but tensions have arisen. His new team must repair relations.

Related Topics:Featured President Paul Kagame Rwanda

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Politics

Tunisian court mandates electoral commission to reinstate presidential contenders

Published

5 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The highest court in Tunisia has issued an order requiring the electoral commission to re-enter two candidates for an October presidential election, cautioning that not doing so might compromise the election’s credibility.

The Administrative Court’s decision was made in rising political unrest in the nation of North Africa, where opposition parties and civil society organisations are concerned that a rigged election could give President Kais Saied a second term.

In the largest demonstration against constraints on liberties and the undemocratic electoral environment in Tunisia in two years, thousands of Tunisians came to the streets on Friday. Among the shouts screamed by the demonstrators was “Out with dictator Saied.”

Tensions increased after the electoral commission, citing purported flaws in their candidacy forms, rejected the court’s decision earlier this month to restore the candidatures of Abdellaif Mekki, Mondher Znaidi, and Imed Daimi ahead of the contest on October 6.

The president himself appointed the committee’s members, and major parties and civil society organisations claimed that this meant the president was using the inquiry as a weapon against his opponents.

Regarding the charges, commission president Farouk Bouasker has stated that “the commission is the only constitutional body entrusted with the integrity of the election” and refuted them. However, the commission must carry out its mandate and, if needed, revise the election schedule, the court ruled on Saturday. It’s unclear if this entails delaying the election or prolonging the campaign.

“Otherwise it would lead to an illegal situation that conflicts with the electoral law and the transparency of the electoral process”, it said.

Following their filing of a new complaint against the commission’s ruling, the court requested that Znaidi and Mekki be allowed to participate in the race. Daimi, the third contender, hasn’t yet submitted a second appeal.

After winning a democratic election in 2019, Saied strengthened his hold on power and started governing by decree in 2021—a move that the opposition has called a coup.

Politics

Under their new coalition, Mali, Burkina, Niger to launch biometric passports

Published

6 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

As part of their departure from the West African bloc in favour of a new Sahel alliance, military authorities in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger will implement new biometric passports, the countries’ leaders announced on Sunday.

Together, the three Sahelian neighbours run by juntas declared in January that they would be exiting the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), despite efforts by the organisation to convince them otherwise.

In July, the three West African nations signed a confederation treaty demonstrating their will to forge on together outside of the regional political and economic bloc that has been pressuring them to revert to democratic governance.

Earlier this month, Burkina Faso declared that it will no longer be issuing passports with the ECOWAS emblem.

“In the coming days, a new biometric passport of the AES (Alliance of Sahel States) will be put into circulation with the aim of harmonising travel documents in our common area and facilitating the mobility of our citizens throughout the world”, Malian junta leader Assimi Goita announced on Sunday evening.

On the eve of the decision to form their alliance, the foreign ministers of the three nations will meet on Monday. He made this statement beforehand.

In addition, Goita announced that they intended to open a common information channel “to foster a peaceful exchange of information among our three states.”

Meanwhile, ECOWAS had warned that the 400 million residents of the 49-year-old bloc would lose their freedom of movement and access to the common market if the three countries were to exit,

Their withdrawal coincides with their troops fighting militants associated with the Islamic State and al Qaeda, whose insurgencies have caused instability in the area for the previous ten years and pose a threat to those bordering West Africa.