24627: Zekora (news) "Unique skills" land Aristide top cabinet job in South Africa

[sak-pase@bimini.ws]

BRIGHT SOUL <zekora@hotmail.com>

Friday, 01 April 2005
`Unique skills' land Aristide top cabinet job
Avril Poisson


SA GOVERNMENT intends making a dramatic new cabinet appointment by 
naming former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide as Minister of the 
African Diaspora to help boost the repatriation of Africans — and 
particularly American Africans — to the continent.

The move follows intensive research showing that the repatriation of
even a small portion of the roughly 20-million comparatively rich
black people in the US and Europe could result in a 3,5 percentage
point boost to SA's economic growth rate.

"We want African Americans to come home and become real `American
Africans' instead.

"Aristide is the perfect candidate to take charge of this important
symbolic and economic mission," said senior home affairs official
Flair Loops.

The move follows talks between government officials and Israel's
Minister for the Diaspora Natan Sharansky, a former Soviet dissident,
who visited SA recently.

Aristide's appointment will take place in terms of a little-known
section of the constitution which allows President Thabo Mbeki to
name foreign nationals as cabinet ministers provided they
have "unique skills".

Aristide is also likely to be the first person to benefit from new,
legislation to provide fast-tracked citizenship for newly repatriated
people of African descent.

Aristide has relentlessly fought for recognition of Haiti's
distinction as the first black nation to successfully cast off
colonial rule. The island won independence 200 years ago with the
only successful slave rebellion in history.

In his cabinet post, Aristide will attempt to keep this "flame of
hope" alive — but this time by encouraging the repatriation not of
cash but of Africans themselves from all continents.

Opposition parties were outraged by the plan yesterday, which they
said would increase unemployment. "It sounds like a bad April Fool's
joke," said Democratic Alliance diplomatic affairs spokesman Noddy
Boisy.


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