Swearing-in of Guinea-Bissau New Cabinet PostponedThe swearing-in ceremony of Guinea- Bissau's new cabinet has been postponed to an undetermined date for "technical reasons", the Portuguese news agency Lusa Thursday quoted a government official as saying.Isidoro Afonso Rodrigues, spokesman for President Kumba Iala, Wednesday did not provide details of the reason for delaying the ceremony, which was scheduled for Tuesday. Meanwhile, Rodrigues denied reports that the swearing-in had been pushed back due to Iala's state of health, saying "The president is not sick." The new Prime Minister Faustino Imbali took office last week after being appointed by President Iala. His cabinet line-up was announced on Monday, a day after its approval by the president. The new ministers were to have taken office on Monday. However, the ceremony was first pushed back to Tuesday and then indefinitely postponed. The new cabinet, which includes various independents, is backed by the Social Renovation Party, which has the most seats in the national parliament but is short of a majority. Two cabinet members are from each of the two major opposition parties, the Guinea-Bissau Resistance and the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau. |
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