EQUATEUR'S MLC-LED GOVERNMENT A TEST FOR OPPOSITION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000407

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM CG
SUBJECT: EQUATEUR'S MLC-LED GOVERNMENT A TEST FOR OPPOSITION



1. (SBU) Summary: Equateur Governor Jose Makila has formed a
government of ten ministers, all members or allies of
Jean-Pierre Bemba's Movement for the Liberation of Congo
(MLC). It gives relatively equal representation to all five
of Equateur's administrative districts. It does not include,
however, anyone aligned with the Alliance for the
Presidential Majority (AMP),the pro-Kabila electoral
coalition, which has a significant number of elected
officials representing Equateur at the national and
provincial levels. The arrangement will be an important test
of the governing capability of the DRC's political
opposition. End summary.


2. (U) Jose Makila, the governor of DRC's northwestern
Equateur province, presented his 10-member cabinet March 26
to the provincial assembly, which unanimously approved the
appointments. Makila, the sole MLC governor among the DRC's
eleven provinces, selected relatively unknown provincial
figures, many of whom have never held elected or governmental
positions. The selections provide generally equal
representation of Equateur's five administrative districts
and include one woman.


3. (SBU) All of Makila's cabinet members are members of
Bemba's MLC or allied with his Union for the Nation (UfN)
political coalition. A review of their resumes reveals that
few have significant management experience. Several ministers
held low-level positions within the MLC or in ministries
"controlled" by the party during the Transitional government.
Many others ran as MLC or UfN-aligned candidates for the
National and Provincial Assemblies from Equateur, including
Minister of Territorial Administration Henri Emenye, Minister
of Women and Family Issues Marie-Josee Molebo, and Minister
of Plan and Budget Philippe Bolombo, who won his race for a
provincial assembly seat from Basankusu. Louis Mbonga, the
new Minister of Economy, ran against Makila in the
gubernatorial contest.


4. (U) The pro-Kabila AMP coalition is not represented among
Makila's ministerial choices. While the MLC and UfN hold the
governor's office and a majority in the provincial assembly,
there are a sizable number of AMP-aligned officials
representing Equateur at the national and provincial levels.
Nearly one-third of Equateur's National Assembly delegation
is from the AMP, as is the majority of the province's
national senators. At least one-third of Equateur's assembly
are members of the pro-Kabila PPRD, the Christian Democratic
Party of Kabila ally Jose Endundu, or Minister of Agriculture
Nzanga Mobutu's UDEMO.


5. (U) Makila did not address the issue of opposition
representation in his cabinet when presenting his ministers
to the provincial assembly, focusing instead on his
legislative priorities. His program, he said, will center on
four main themes: repairing roads; maximizing revenue from
forest exploitation; promoting technical training; and
electrifying the province. The assembly unanimously adopted
Makila's program, but assembly President Edmond Mondombo
warned little could be achieved without sufficient financial
support from Kinshasa and adequate control over the
provincial budget.


6. (SBU) Comment: Equateur, the only province fully
controlled by the MLC, is an important test case for the
DRC's political opposition because it represents an
opportunity for the party to prove it can govern better than
its AMP counterparts. End comment.


7. (SBU) Biographical information:

Henri Emenye Lomboto Ilankankoy, Minister of Territory
Administration and Traditional Affairs

Emenye, 43, was born in Bokote on June 20, 1963. He holds a
degree in physics from the National Teachers Training
University in Kinshasa and worked as a researcher for the
DRC's national nuclear research institute. He is a signatory
of the Sun City Accords as a member of the MLC and worked in
the Transitional Ministry of Environment. A former adviser to
Vice President Bemba, he ran unsuccessfully for a National
Assembly seat in Befale (Equateur).


Joachim Agbokuma Bita, Minister of Public Works,
Infrastructure, Transport, Property, Urbanism, and Habitat


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Agbokuma, 59, was born on December 29, 1947. He holds a
degree in economics and rural development from the University
of Kinshasa.


Roland Ngbonza Giba, Minister of Public Works,
Infrastructure, Transport, Land, Urbanism and Habitat

Ngbonza, 40 was born in Boyawe on September 15, 1966. He
studied as an electrical engineer at the National Technical
Institute in Kinshasa. An officer with the MLC's provincial
branch in Equateur, he founded the local NGO Association for
the Training of Orphans (ASSENOD).


Philippe Bolombo Is'alokembya, Minister of Plan and Budget

Bolombo, 50, holds a doctorate in economics. He is the
president of the UfN-aligned Union for a Republican Majority
(UMR),and won a provincial assembly seat in October 2006 in
Basankusu (Equateur).


Louis Mbonga Magalu Engwanda, Minister of Economy, Finance
and Commerce

Mbonga, 53, was born on July 7, 1953 in Gemena. He holds a
degree in economics and worked in several positions in the
Transitional Ministries of Plan, Mines, Energy, and Finance.
He ran unsuccessfully for governor of Equateur as a member of
the UfN-allied Renaissance-Electoral Platform (RPE) coalition.


Marie-Josee Molebo Mobulu, Minister of Women and Family,
Mines, Hydrocarbons and Energy

Molebo, 42, is the only woman in Makila's cabinet. A graduate
of Mbandaka's Medical Institute, she is a former nurse and
represented the MLC in the Transitional National Assembly.
She is a signatory of the Sun City Accords and ran
unsuccessfully for an MLC candidate for a National Assembly
seat in Equateur.


Dominique Mbongi Moolon, Minister of Justice, Human Rights,
and Assembly Relations

Mbongi, 42, was born on August 4, 1964. He holds a degree in
sociology and anthropology from the University of Lubumbashi
in Katanga province. A former assistant university professor,
he was the administrative chief of Bonwase sector in Gemena
territory (Equateur).


Bruno Bidamba Senge, Minister of Health, Education, Work and
Business

Bidamba, 39, was born in October 1967. He holds a medical
degree from the University of Kinshasa and worked as a doctor
in various Protestant medical clinics in Equateur.


Norbert Endoto Mokwele, Minister of Environment,
Conservation, Culture and Arts

Endoto, 39, was born in Lisala on December 22, 1967. He holds
a degree in economics and financial management. He served as
honorary federal secretary for communications with the MLC in
Kinshasa.


Tagart Iseloko Leka, Minister of Information, Youth, Sports
and Leisure

Iseloko, 50, holds a teaching degree from the National
Protestant University in Kinshasa. He worked in several
positions in the Transitional Ministers of Budget, Plan and
Finance. He served as executive secretary of one of the MLC's
local branches in Kinshasa and in other party positions.
MEECE