DRC president names new PM

2008-10-11 10:08

Kinshasa - Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila on Friday named a new prime minister to replace Antoine Gizenga, who resigned last month, national television reported.

"Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito is named," according to an order signed by Kabila and read on television.

Muzito, 51, served as budget minister under Gizenga and is a member of the DR Congo's third-largest party, the Unified Lumumbist Party (PALU), like his predecessor.

Palu reached a deal with Kabila in 2006 in which it pledged its support for him in the second round of the presidential election, leading to Gizenga's appointment as prime minister.

Gizenga, 83, resigned on September 25, saying he was no longer strong enough for the job.

Muzito, an economist from Bandundu in the country's southwest, will face immense challenges in his new post.

The country's east has seen renewed clashes between rebels and the army since late August, and 75% of the DR Congo's 60 million population lives on less than a dollar a day.

The economic struggles have continued despite the country's vast natural resources, including 34% of the world's known cobalt reserves and 10% of all copper.

- AFP