Today President Joseph Kabila finally addressed the nation and a joint session of parliament in Kinshasa. It was his response to the conclusions of the concertations nationales, which had brought together the government, opposition, and civil society to debate the challenges facing the country. The concertations were a strange forum. Proposed by the opposition to deal with the legitimacy crisis following the flawed 2011 elections, then transformed to debate a wide array of challenges facing the country--except the 2011 elections--that would usually be addressed through traditional, constitutional means: parliament, or the court system.
Nonetheless, the concertationsproduced a substantial list of recommendations, and Kabila seized on several. Most importantly, he said that in the interest of national cohesion he would create a "government of national cohesion." This probably differs from a government of national union in that the opposition and civil society members will be drafted in as unequal partners. But that is not surprising, as since the beginning it has appeared that the presidency wants to us the concertations as a means to further fragment (an already fragmented) opposition. We can therefore imagine that some MLC (close to Thomas Luhaka) and UFC (close to Kengo wa Dondo) members may join government. This is not a good thing, as it will undermine the opposition and also make the government--which had just begun to become a bit more structured under Prime Minister Matata Ponyo--less manageable.
Matata's own fate was still in the balance as of this evening. Kabila had not made clear--nor did he mention in his speech--who would lead this new government, and a battle seems to be underway between the technocratic government of Matata and members of Kabila's inner circle who have felt marginalized since Matata took over 18 months ago. Kabila's choice seems to be between backing Matata, who is liked by some donors and is key for obtaining grants and credits in the ...
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