CAPE TOWN (AFP)--Former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan said Wednesday the successor to Gabon's late president Omar Bongo Ondimba must respect human rights and fight corruption.
"I hope that they select someone who is a model, who accepts human rights, that the rights of man and the state are very important for the population," Annan told journalists.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum on Africa meeting in Cape Town, Annan added that Gabon's next president must "fight corruption, which is a big problem in that country and in the region."
"I hope that they select someone who is a model, who accepts human rights, that the rights of man and the state are very important for the population," Annan told journalists.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum on Africa meeting in Cape Town, Annan added that Gabon's next president must "fight corruption, which is a big problem in that country and in the region."
Bongo died Monday in Spain at age 73 after 41 years in power, making him the longest-serving non-royal leader in the world.
South African President Jacob Zuma, addressing the opening of the WEF conference attended by over 800 delegates including five heads of state, also expressed his sorrow at Bongo's death.
"His contribution to peace in the continent is well known. We extend our deepest condolences to the family and the Gabonese people," Zuma said.
A transitional president was sworn in Wednesday, making Senate speaker Rose Francine Rogombe the country's first female president.
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2 comments:
Thank you Annan for reminding the Gabon leaders the need to respect human rights and fight corruption. Omar Bongo's government represented a government that did not value human rights and was notoriously corrupt. He is going to meet his maker to account for what he did while on earth.
For decades France has regarded french-speaking Africa as her own with policies that keep corrupt dictators in power. Such attitude on the part of France must change now. France could be better off allowing democracy to flourish in french-speaking Africa than supporting dictators who suppress their peoples and steal from them.
On the elections of another Bongo as president who will continue the dictatorship, corruption, nepotism, and human rights abuses I say no. The people of Gabon deserve better than being under kleptocratic government. They must avoid the repeat of what happened in Togo. The presidential race must be opened to all and as Kofi Annan said the next government must do more to tackle corruption, improve human rights and reduce poverty in the country.
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