Kabila pledges to improve living conditions

President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said at the weekend that his next year in office would be aimed at improving living conditions after a first year dedicated to bringing peace.

"From this moment on, I seize this opportunity to reassert to the Congolese people, and to each one of you... prosperity, health and longevity for the year that is beginning," Reuters quoted Kabila as saying in an address to the nation broadcast on 26 January. "The government will not continue to tolerate the poor living conditions of our population," he added.

Kabila also vowed that foreign armies supporting rebels opposed to his government would be forced to withdraw from Congo "whether they like it or not".

"Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi say they are occupying the Democratic Republic of Congo to defend themselves against armed groups they call 'negative forces'," Kabila said. "But their troops are not positive forces in the eyes of the Congolese people."

The Associated Press (AP) quoted Kabila as saying his government did not support Rwandan Interahamwe Hutu extremists operating in the east of the country. "Congo does not support armed groups, but malicious suspicions still remain," he said. He called on the United Nations to send an international commission to the DRC to check the status of the various armed groups.

Kabila was sworn in as president on 26 January 2001, nine days after being chosen as the successor of his father, Laurent-Desire Kabila, assassinated on 16 January 2001.

His embrace of a seemingly "reconciliatory approach and ability to change tactics", and his departure from his father's "obstinate and combative stance" has endeared him internationally as someone committed to restoring peace in his country, an analyst on DRC issues, Hannelie De Beers, told IRIN recently.

"He has managed to have a positive influence on the international community and also on the development of the DRC. There is so far nothing blatantly wrong in his government," De Beers noted.

However, she said, Kabila has not yet built a political base for himself, and has relied on the Zimbabwean army to gain support in the rural areas. "He should have created a political party to gain support," De Beers noted. "The way things are at the moment makes him be seen as though he is being used by others."

At his inauguration speech last year, Kabila pledged to respect the "constitutionality" of the country, guarantee its independence, unite its people and defend its borders. He then called for the "immediate and unconditional retreat" of troops from Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda, and said his government would seek dialogue and reconciliation with its enemies.

Kabila also confirmed that he would cooperate directly with the UN Mission in the DRC (known by its French acronym, MONUC), allow the free movement of humanitarian agencies, and allow the facilitator of the Inter-Congolese dialogue, Ketumile Masire, to organise the dialogue. He also lifted a ban on political parties, and pledged to hold "free and transparent elections" once peace and the country's territorial integrity were secured.

"But it is hard to tell whether he would be ready to relinquish power when such a time comes," De Beers pointed out.

He has travelled extensively to western and African countries, with the aim of enhancing his credibility and gaining support for his efforts to restore peace in the Great Lakes region. According to De Beers, Kabila has succeeded to some extent in resuscitating investor confidence. "But the international community should keep pressure on him so that the peace process comes to a completion," she stressed.