By Junior D. Kannah (AFP)

Kinshasa (AFP) - The Democratic Republic of Congo's president on Thursday named an opposition lawmaker as prime minister following a controversial deal struck between the government and fringe opposition groups that effectively extends the president's term in office. “The DRC cannot be taken hostage by the fringe of the political class,” he said as he called on the “Rassemblement” bloc to “come and sign the deal”. The October deal, which emerged following a so-called “national dialogue”, aimed to calm soaring political tensions but will extend Kabila’s term to at least late 2017. “The deal currently represents the only roadmap put in place by the Congolese themselves,” said Kabila during a defiant speech to parliamentarians in the capital Kinshasa on Tuesday. He added that he was ready to defend against any attempt to take over the country by force, pledging that elections would be organised in the coming months. Badibanga’s appointment was announced on state television three days after the resignation of former Prime Minister Augustin Matata to allow the implementation of the national dialogue framework agreement. Among his first tasks on taking office will be to organise elections in the vast country, a former Belgian colony which has one of Africa’s richest mineral reserves but has been wracked by unrest, misrule and corruption since independence.
President Joseph Kabila appoints Samy Badibanga as the new Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of a power-sharing deal agreed by the opposition and government.