SA will help with DRC polls
2006-05-17 22:41
Cape Town - South Africa has approved a request from the Democratic Republic of Congo for help in its upcoming general elections.
The elections will be the first in more than 40 years.
Government communications head Joel Netshitenzhe said: "(Cabinet) approved a request from the government of the DRC for SA to assist in the electoral process, including provision of resources to the DRC's independent electoral commission."
He told a media briefing after the cabinet's fortnightly meeting at Tuynhuys, that the assistance would likely be "in kind, and in some instances, money".
An inter-ministerial committee - comprising the ministers of foreign affairs, defence, provincial and local government, public service and administration, safety and security, and national intelligence - had been set up to co-ordinate the assistance.
Netshitenzhe said South Africa had a duty and responsibility to help the DRC make a success of its first general elections in over four decades.
The cabinet had also noted the termination of the SANDF's deployment in Burundi as part of the African Union protection force, he said.
The time frames, said Netshitenzhe, for the withdrawal would be handled in accordance with the AU protection's force's operational decisions.
Netshitenzhe said: "As requested by the leadership of Burundi and the East African region, SA will continue to assist in facilitating participation by all concerned parties in the peace process."
- SAPA