Central African Republic: André Nzapayéké, New Prime Minister of the Central African Republic - 'We Must Roll Up Our Sleeves'

VIDEO: CAR Interim PM Approves of UN Troop Increase
26 January 2014
Radio France Internationale

André Nzapayéké has been named as the new Prime Minister of the Central African Republic. The Central African Republic's interim president, Catherine Samba Panza made the announcement on Saturday.

A day after taking office interim president Samba Panza named Nzapayéké as Prime Minister.

In an interview with RFI after the announcement, Nzapayéké said the following:

"The time has come for all the people of our country to sit down, roll up our sleeves and try to get the Central African Republic out of this rut. Right from my very first day, I'm going to be in touch with the army, with armed groups and with other groups that are still skeptical. We need to speak very soon in order to make a change.The next step is enabling all the refugees and internally displaced people to return. They need to get back to their homes."

A Christian, Nzapayéké is a former secretary general of the African Development Bank and is currently vice-president of the Development Bank of Central African States. He is now tasked with forming a new government to bring peace to the strife-torn country.

Clashes between Christian and Muslim groups resurfaced after the killing of a prominent politician linked to former president Michel Djotodia's government on Friday.

President Panza devoted some of her time during talks on Saturday to address the security situation. Gunfire exchanges between the African Standby Force (MISCA) and Seleka militia were heard in various part of the capital.

Read or Listen to this story on the RFI website.

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