Politics

Despite planned transition, Burkina Faso’s head of junta appoints Prime Minister

Published

3 years ago

March 5, 2022

Despite announcing plans for transition into civil government on Tuesday, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba of Burkina Faso has appointed 53-year-old Albert Ouédraogo as prime minister.

Slamreportafrica reported on Wednesday that Burkina Faso’s ruling junta, the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR), had signed a charter setting a three-year transition period before the country holds elections.

The Burkina Faso strongman, was also ceremonially sworn in as president on Wednesday at a brief occasion to officialize his position in the presence of representatives of the army, political parties, trade unions and the diplomatic corps.

By declaring himself President, the 41-year-old lieutenant-colonel has followed a pattern of some notable African military dictators like General Ibrahim Babangida of Nigeria who also wore the toga of being addressed president.

Lieutenant Colonel Damiba signed the degree which installed Mr. Albert Ouédraogo as Prime Minister stressing that “the new Prime Minister has solid experience in the management of public administrations, development projects and private companies,” according to the presidency. “He has conducted several study missions on the development of the private sector and organisational audits and the drafting of procedure manuals,”

Ouédraogo is an economist by training, an academic, and was up till his appointment as Prime Minister the head of a consulting and auditing firm since 2007.

Having been sworn in as President and with the latest appointment of a Prime Minister, Burkina Faso’s national government structure now resembles a parliamentary system of government where a ceremonial head of state is different from the head of government. It is however short of the ideal parliamentary majority because it did not come into power through a popular election, nor is the said Prime Minister from a legislative parliament.

The coup that brought the current junta into power in Burkina Faso was launched on 23 January 2022 when gunfire erupted in front of the presidential residence in the Burkinabé capital Ouagadougou and several military barracks around the city.

Related Topics:burkina Featured Sandaogo Damiba

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Politics

Mali: 7 Russian mercenaries killed

Published

6 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

An al Qaeda offshoot in North Africa has claimed responsibility for the attack in central Mali, killing at least seven mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military contractor company.

Wagner earlier lost a battle in July with mostly Tuareg rebels and Islamists close to Mali’s Algerian border, exposing the perils faced by mercenaries used by military juntas in the Sahel area of West Africa.

The separatists and strong branches of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which have taken over large areas of the Sahel over the past 12 years, are difficult for Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to control.

The al Qaeda offshoot JNIM claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group, which keeps an eye on extremist activity in the area. According to SITE, JNIM captured several weapons and killed seven Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Following an attack, the bodies of at least five white males wearing army fatigues were seen laying near a military truck in a video obtained by Reuters. The validity of the footage could not be confirmed by Reuters.

SITE Intelligence posted images allegedly from JNIM that showed many crates of weapons and ammo together with the dead and bloodied bodies of troops.

Although two local officials acknowledged the incident, a Malian army source claimed to have seen seven dead bodies, including Russian fighters. Five Wagner warriors were slain, according to one of them.

At least six Russians have been murdered in the attack, which was carried out by Katiba Macina, a division of JNIM, according to a consultant working on security in the area.

The expert referred to the Russians as Africa Corps warriors, a paramilitary group under Kremlin leadership that has taken Wagner’s position in Africa throughout the previous 12 months.

Mali has previously said that Russian servicemen trainers are assisting local troops with Russian-purchased weaponry rather than mercenaries.

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.