Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, October 04, 2003
Guinea-Bissau transitional government takes office
Guinea-Bissau transitional government took office on Friday in the West African country's capital of Bissau, a step more toward the return to civilian rule after the September military coup that ousted president Kumba Yala.
Guinea-Bissau transitional government took office on Friday in the West African country's capital of Bissau, a step more toward the return to civilian rule after the September military coup that ousted president Kumba Yala.
According to reports reaching here, only one of the 11 ministers and five state secretaries in the interim cabinet is an army officer, Brig. Manuel Nandinga, at the home affairs ministry.
On Sunday, the military-led National Transition Council swore in civilians as interim president and interim prime minister, Henrique Rosa and Artur Sanha.
At the ceremony on Friday, Sanha said his government's prime responsibilities were to ready legislative elections within six months and pay civil servants and public sector workers nearly oneyear of salary arrears.
The reports said that members of the deposed government were asked to appear at their ministries later Friday to turn affairs over to their replacements.
Sanha pledged that the transitional cabinet, would seek to "reconquer internal and external credibility" for the nation and noted that the military had "returned to barracks" less than threeweeks after ousting Yala and his government.
The interim president, Rosa, also addressed the swearing in ceremony, challenging the broad-based government to "rapidly mobilize and use"financial resources for the preparation of elections and for "social justices".
"Only free, just and transparent elections" could assure socialpeace in the country," Rosa said.
Under the so-called Transition Charter, signed by the junta, political parties and civic group, presidential elections are to be held within 18 months, one year after the legislative vote.