S Leone Pres names cabinet
2007-10-14 15:54
Freetown - Sierra Leone's new President Ernest Bai Koroma has appointed 10 more ministers to complete a 20-post cabinet mixing technocrats with little-known members of his All People's Congress (APC) party.
Koroma, a 54-year-old former insurance executive who was
sworn in last month after winning a tense presidential run-off
in the West African state, named 10 cabinet posts on
Monday, appointing technocrats to key positions, including the
finance and foreign ministries.
Koroma's announcement on state radio made good
on his promise to appoint newcomers to politics, amid lingering
political tensions following a 1991-2002 civil war in which 50 000 were killed.
Combat corruption
"It is a good sign because a lot of fresh faces have come in,' said Kelvin Lewis, editor of the national daily Awoko newspaper, noting that only two of the 10 had previously held ministerial posts.
Koroma won elections on a ticket to combat corruption and
deliver development to the former British colony ranked by the United Nations as the second least developed in the world.
More than 70% of people live below the poverty line
and unemployment is widespread.
Koroma, who defeated Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP)
candidate vice-president Solomon Berewa to win the presidency,
did not appoint any SLPP members to the cabinet despite promises
of a government of inclusion.
The cabinet, however, includes four people from southern
Sierra Leone, a heartland of the Mende people who traditionally
support the SLPP.
- Reuters