Africa Briefs

Lesotho PM's coalition collapsesThe government of Lesotho's embattled prime minister Thomas Thabane collapsed yesterday after his coalition partners pulled out and the formation of a new administration could take two weeks, the speaker of parliament said.Pressure has escalated on the kingdom's 80-year-old prime minister to resign early over allegations he had a hand in the 2017 murder of his estranged wife.Thabane's own All Basotho Convention (ABC) and two coalition parties yesterday ended their support for Thabane's four-party coalition.As per the country's constitution, the speaker will inform King Letsie III of parliament's intention to form a new government and name a new premier. That is likely to happen on May 22, according to the ABC party."Thabane is now a caretaker prime minister until May 22 when a new prime minister is sworn in," ABC deputy chairman Sam Rapapa said."A decision has been made that ... [finance minister] Moeketsi Majoro is the new prime minister," he said. – Nampa/AFPTop aide to DRC pres on trialThe powerful top aide to DR Congo's president Felix Tshisekedi yesterday went on trial for corruption in a case without precedent in the vast African country.Tshisekedi's chief of staff Vital Kamerhe, who has been at the very heart of political life in DR Congo for two decades, is accused of embezzling more than US$50 million.Kamerhe, 61, has been in custody since April 8 and goes on trial with two other defendants, a Lebanese businessman and another presidential official."Never in Congo's political history over the past two decades has such an important player on the political scene been put behind bars," New York University's Congo Study Group (CSG) said in an analysis.The case against Kamerhe is part of a broad investigation that is supposed to mark the "renewal" of the Congolese justice system in the fight against corruption among the elite since the country's independence in 1960. – Nampa/AFPAlgeria to lift ban on car importsAlgeria will resume car imports, the government said on Sunday, after a ban failed to reduce the import bill, as the North African member of OPEC tries to rein in spending to cope with a decline in energy earnings.The plan to allow car dealers to resume imports was approved at a cabinet meeting chaired by president Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the government said in a statement.The ban was endorsed in 2014 under president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who resigned in April last year after pressure from the army and mass protests demanding the removal of the ruling elite and the prosecution of people suspected of involvement in corruption.The decision to stop purchases from abroad followed a surge in the bill for imports that coincided with a drop in energy revenue caused by a fall in global crude oil prices.The ban was replaced with partnerships between Algerian business officials and foreign carmakers to set up local assembly operations. But that measure failed to reduce the bill as most car parts were imported and domestic prices for cars surged. – Nampa/Reuters

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