USA Africa Dialogue Series - Ivory Coast: Ouattarra's Cabinet List

Alassan Daramane Ouattara publishes a list of his Government! Power belongs to the people!

COTE D'IVOIRE: Guillaume Soro Kigbafory the Prime Minister of the newly elected President of Cote D'Ivoire
 
Alassan Daramane Ouattara publishes a list of his Government! Power belongs to the people!
 
Source: By Bitimrew.net | Bitimrew | Sunday 05th of December, 2010 20:20
Seneweb NewsLetterLe spokesman for the Prime Minister, Sindou Méité released the first government of President Alassane Ouattara,during a press briefing on two communications.

 
Article translated and analyzed

by Essa Bokarr Sey 

The Gambia

 

1st Communication: The list of the new government is composed as follows.

1- President of the Republic:
 Alassane Ouattara.

2- Prime Minister Head of Government, Defense Minister
 Guillaume Soro Kigbafory

3- Minister of State, Minister of Justice and the Rights of Man:
Mr. Jeannot Kouadio Ahoussou.

4- Minister of State, Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic:
Amadou Gon Coulibaly

5- Minister of Planning and Development:
 Albert Mabri Toikesse

6- Minister of Economy and Finance:
 Charles Diby Koffi

7- Minister of Foreign Affairs:
 Jean-Baptiste Gervais Kouakou

8- Minister of Interior:
Hamed Bakayoko

9- Minister of Livestock and Fishery Resources:
  Remi Allah Kouadio

10- Minister of Economic Infrastructure, government spokesman
  Patrick Achi

11- Minister of Mines and Energy:
 Adama Toungara

12- Minister `s National Education: Ms.
  Kandia Camara

13- Minister of Youth and Sports and urban health:
  Dagobert Banzio

14- Minister of Public Service:
  Konan Gnamien

2nd Communication: Nomination for the Presidency of the Republic

15-Director of Office of the President of the Republic:
Marcel Amon Tanoh

16-Diplomatic Advisor:
AllyCoulibaly

 
Analysis.
The list of President Ouattara's government shows determination and readiness to face the challenging present and future of his country at all cost. Winston Churchill's "Pessimists see a challenge in every opportunity whereas optimists see an opportunity in every challenge" has revived by Alassan Ouattara in Abidjan!  Such characters worth their salt and they can indeed galvanize support from within and without.  His number  two man is another true patriot. His legacy speaks for itself. First he abandoned the bush then joined someone like Gbagbo for the sake of peace and harmony. Of course Gbagbo knows that Soro is not a chicken he could have easily  beheaded! He had to accept working with Soro under compelling circumstances based on a national interest he (Gbagbo) could not go against.

Soro decided to side with that very national interest again then resigned from Gbagbo's government of  "electoral-patches". Do you think if it were Yahya Jammeh  of The Gambia he would not have attempted the life of Soro? Of course he would have!  At least Gbagbo is better Yahya in this case. Although Gbagbo knows that Soro has strong backing politically and militarily he still did not attempt a foolhardy mission.  Soro is DEFINITELY A REBEL with  A GENUINE CAUSE! Ouattara would have never associated himself with a former rebel leader if the said person was not fighting a genuine cause. Are all rebel fighters "political-dirt"? Of course not! Dictators are the very ones who cause all these rebellions in West Africa to be more specific. That is the very reason why they must be pushed before doing so!

Considering Cote D'Ivoire's size and the backbone of its economy within West Africa or the world, one must commend Ouattara for maintaining the size of his cabinet portfolios to 14. This excludes the Director of office of the President what is an equivalent of the position of a Secretary General  in The Gambia and that of the diplomatic adviser.  The newest list all in all is not more than 16! Wonderful Alassan. Quality is much better than quantity!

The size of his government shows the whole world that this man is a serious intellectual who has come to rebuild a nation that has been shattered by political vultures all these years. Although Ouattara has a minister of foreign affairs he also has given room for the creation of a diplomatic adviser. The latter is a position he definitely needs at this time.  People may say he already has built a good image outside therefore why does he need a diplomatic adviser? However, there is another side of the coin here. He needs to maintain that image during these trying times. He needs someone to complement the efforts of the minister of foreign affairs and himself as the head of state.  If I were the diplomatic adviser at this point I would have sat with both men and brainstorm on a global tour for the president.

As soon as the newly elected president flies to destinations like Paris, Washington, Beijing, Moscow, Pretoria and the like, with the powerful international media behind him, that would a perfect image-magnifier. Which he needs soonest! Such a move will further belittle Gbagbo and his so-called government in Abidjan.  It will also be a good litmus test for those foreign governments especially those in the ECOWAS sub region. There and then we will see those sitting on the fence and or those who have sided with democracy. If any president refuses to allow Ouattara a state visit means he or she is Gbagbo. If any president says he or she is neutral means that leader has chosen hypocrisy over democratic values. We have heard France and other parts of the world open say where they stand. What is stopping our West African neighbours at this point then?

Of course Senegal's position can be understood because Gbagbo accused President Wade during the elections so the Senegalese leader's position is well understood. The rest cannot stay indifferent. Also we heard that Lebanon and Angola attended his inauguration and that was it! Indeed Gbagbo should be taught international relations because he is missing its essence at this point. He should leave now before he becomes another Charles Taylor because there are quarters getting ready to table his case before the ICC and Hague with reference to the death squads which were operating in Cote D'Ivoire. Have we forgotten when his small war plane mistakenly hit French targets during former President Chirac's time? Well France did not care they bombarded his garrison to ashes in retaliation. Who is guarding some of those installations today? The French army. Who advises Gbagbo? I am curious to know! Because his tactics do not add up at all.

I heard the Ambassador who was defending Gbagbo on Aljazeera today, that person is definitely what some people call diplomatic "ice cream". He had nothing to say on TV other than trying to compare the Ouattara-Gbagbo elections to George Bush and Al Gore's in 2000?! Can you imagine such a disgrace! Luckily there were Africans like him on the show. They went on shattering his position into pieces. One of the panelists worked in Cote D'Ivoire and knows what obtains in there. Another panelist refreshed the mind of Gbagbo's messenger on Aljazeera  how his own candidate accessed the presidency in the first place. Today's show on Aljazeera was a big plus for Ouattara and his team to start with.

This very thread is what opposition parties in other parts of West Africa like The Gambia should look at as we speak. Let them also fully understand that we will never sit and watch them lose face before the international world in the event that one of them wins and Yahya Jammeh decides to force himself on the people. People have already been booked on shows like Aljazeera and other news outlets waiting for the day to come. In fact our public declaration and sensitization programs have already taken off.  Of course we have our own Ouattaras and Soro's in The Gambia.

Posted on Monday, December 06, 2010 (Archive on Monday, February 28, 2011)

Posted by PNMBAI  Contributed by PNMBAI

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Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
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