Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye reshuffled his Cabinet on Sunday to incorporate the country’s largest rebel faction, the Conseil National pour la Defense de la Democratie-Forces Nationales pour la Defense de la Democratie (CNDD-FDD) led by Pierre Nkurunziza.
In a decree, Ndayizeye named Nkurunziza as Minister of State for Good Governance, making him the third senior-most state figure after the president and vice-president. Both the president and the vice-president must consult the governance minister on matters concerning state security and government appointments.
The reshuffle follows a power-sharing agreement between the government and the CNDD-FDD that was signed on November 16 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Ndayizeye also appointed three other CNDD-FDD members into his Cabinet: Interior Minister Simon Nyandwi, Communications Minister and Government Spokesman Onesime Nduwimana and Public Works Minister Salvator Ntahomenyereye.
In accordance with the power-sharing agreement, the CNDD-FDD is also due to get 40% of posts in the army staff and 35% in the police. It will have two posts in the bureau of Parliament and be represented by 15 members of Parliament.
A date for the swearing-in of the new ministers has not been announced.
The three-year transitional government was established in Burundi following the signing of the Arusha Accord for Peace and Reconciliation on August 28 2000, allowing for two 18-month phases under which the country would be led by a Tutsi and a Hutu respectively.
The mandate of the transitional government, now in its second phase, ends in November 2004 and will be followed by parliamentary and presidential elections. However, all parties must agree on a new electoral law, which is yet to be enacted. — Irin