MORE BURUNDIAN CABINET SHUFFLING

UNCLAS BUJUMBURA 000094 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/C E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO PGOV PINR PREL SUBJECT: MORE BURUNDIAN CABINET SHUFFLING REF: BUJUMBURA 27 ¶1. (U) Burundian President Nkurunziza on February 12 appointed new ministers of Planning, Development, and Reconstruction and of Information, Communications, and Parliamentary Relations. Mr. Tabu Abdallah Manirakiza will replace Jean Bigirimana as the Minister of Planning. Mrs. Hafsa Mossi succeeds Ramdahan Karenga as Minister of Communications and government spokesperson. ¶2. (U) These dismissals are part of a continued reorganization of the Burundian cabinet following the recent replacement of Hussein Radjabu as president of the ruling Council for the Defense of Democracy ) Front for Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD). Both Bigirimana and Karenga were staunch Radjabu supporters. Bigirimana himself was only recently appointed to his position following the dismissal of former Minister of Planning Dieudonne Ngowembona, who was implicated in the irregular sale of the President,s jet in summer 2006 while serving as Minister of Finance. ¶3. (U) Hafsa Mossi is a Hutu and a Muslim. She received her diploma in journalism and began her career in 1993 with the Channel for Africa in South Africa. In 1998 she moved to London to work in the Swahili section of the BBC. She returned to Burundi following the CNDD-FDD victory in the September 2005 elections and was appointed spokesperson for the President. ¶4. (U) Tabu Abdallah Manirakiza is also a Hutu and a Muslim. A prior refugee in Rwanda and resident of Switzerland, Mr. Manirakiza has spent most of his career outside of Burundi. He maintained the CNDD-FDD Abarundi.org website while abroad. He returned to Burundi in 2006 as the Director of Budget and State Control before assuming his present duties as Minister of Planning. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: Former Communications Minister Karenga was also a member of the senior government committee appointed to review the results of an audit of procedures concerning the tender for the sale of the plane. It is as yet unclear whether Ms. Mossi will take his place on the committee. Karenga was outspoken in his defense of the government,s handling of the sale, telling diplomats that the government could choose to give the plane away if it so chose. Many observers have suggested that Radjabu played a major role in the decision making process leading up to the sale. These two most recent appointments suggest not only that the President is continuing to consolidate his power base within the government, but also that he is seeking to deflect persistent charges of public sector corruption. At the same time, his selection of Manirakiza and Mossi may suggest that he is cognizant of the concerns of Burundi,s Islamic community, of which Radjabu and Karenga are prominent members. MOLLER