April 5, 2001
Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila says he will organize elections in his country as soon as all foreign powers involved in the war there have withdrawn. But he told the BBC that Congo would only be able to hold elections with help from the international community. Mr Kabila was speaking on a visit to Germany the day after he dismissed his entire cabinet.
Senior representatives of the warring parties will meet in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, on Friday to discuss their progress in implementing the peace accord signed there in 1999.
Cautiously optimistic
The process has gained new momentum since Mr Kabila succeeded his assassinated father in January.
Zimbabwean troops, who intervened in the conflict on the side of the Congolese government, began to withdraw this week. "As soon as [foreign] forces leave, the Congolese people, myself included, are ready to go to elections. Of course, there is the Inter-Congolese dialogue, where all those matters will be discussed, and a date for elections will be set up," Mr Kabila told the BBC.
He was also cautiously optimistic about the prospects for peace in the Congo. "I believe the prospects for peace are there. We have got the peace process on track. But I should always insist that peace will always come to the Congo when the territorial integrity of the Congo is restored," Mr Kabila said. No reason was given for the ministerial sackings but the news has not come as a surprise to people in DR Congo.
Ever since Mr Kabila took office in January there has been an expectation that he would stamp his own mark on the cabinet. Outgoing ministers would remain in their posts, "charged with carrying out current business" until the nomination of a new cabinet, according to a statement read out on state television.
The sacked ministers will be subject to a government audit and will be required to prove their innocence of any administrative wrongdoing. President Kabila said he would not include opposition members in the new cabinet, saying it would be "impossible" or "chaotic".
First changes
These are the first significant cabinet changes that President Kabila has made. The sackings coincide with the first tangible moves towards an end to DR Congo's two-and-a-half year war. The United Nations is preparing to monitor a 15 km withdrawal from the frontline by government and rebel troops.
The cabinet reshuffle was made public only hours before Mr Kabila flew to Germany for a two-day official visit that started on Thursday. An official German Government statement welcomed Mr Kabila's "initiative for a revival of the peace process". The visit to Germany is the latest trip in Mr Kabila's diplomatic offensive which has seen him meet many of the world's top leaders.
Mr Kabila took power on 26 January after the assassination of his father Laurent Kabila, who was killed by a presidential guard on 16 January. Joseph Kabila replaced some of his father's key officials in March, appointing a new cabinet director and security advisor, and nominating several new leaders for the country's security forces and army.
