Olympio Denies Power Sharing Is Still-Born

Gilchrist Olympio

Veteran Togolese opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio has debunked criticisms that the political pact his UFC party signed in may this year with the ruling Togo Peoples Rally, led by President Faure Gnassingbe, for the formation of a power-sharing government has become “a still born political child”.

Mr Olympio gave the people of Togo six months within which the power-sharing government would bear fruits and help influence the much needed institutional and constitutional reforms in Togo.

But after four months, some Togolese have become skeptical.

“Yes we have achieved something. For instance, we are going to have local elections for the first time in Togo since 50 years ago in 1961, certainly by next year,” Mr Olympio said in an exclusive interview at the end of a press conference his party held in Lome on Tuesday to assess the achievements made so far by the new power-sharing government.

“We have decided to have a general population census. It is something we have not had in 30 years. Now it has started,” Mr Olympio added.

Mr Olympio stressed that the decision to hold a national population census was important because it would help in the preparation of National Economic Development Programme and the demarcation of equitable electoral constituencies in Togo.

Mr Olympio leads Togo's largest opposition Union of Forces for Change (UFC) party which is now threatened with divisions by a faction led by former Secretary General Jean-Pierre Fabre.

The faction disagrees with the decision of Olympio to enter into a national government with the ruling RPT, against which it has struggled for political power for the past 40 years.

“We also want change but we want pacific change of government where there will be a culture of respect and tolerance for divergent opposing views not insults and violence,” the veteran politician said.

When asked whether it was difficult to work with President Faure Gnassingbe and his ruling RPT party, Olympio replied “well it is difficult in the sense that in any political organisations, human beings are more difficult to manage than machines.

So we are trying to do our best but everybody must be tolerant. Tolerance is the main thing we are trying to inculcate into our people, and into the government party, but it is not undoable but it is difficult”.

Mr Olympio said that as the President of the Joint-Oversight Commission monitoring and supervising the implementation of the terms of the power-sharing political agreement, he has been encouraged by the promises of the ruling party “to carry out vital institutional and constitutional reforms to be completed within six months”.

Mr Olympio said the Joint Commission has also tackled the delicate issue of the number of times the President can hold office.

“We are also going into other matters. For instance, can the President of the Republic of Togo continue his mandate eternally or you can be there for two terms only,” Mr Olympio revealed.

“They have not said yes or no. But they said 'give us time to think it over'. Now it is up to me the President of the commission to call another meeting in the next few days after my return from a short trip to tackle this question,” he stated.

As regards the political agreement's failure to satisfy the terms which required members of the UFC party to be nominated to posts in the central administration in the parastatals, public commercial banks, ambassadorial posts, district chief executives and mayors of cities, Olympio said, “We are  on course.

We have got a series of names. You cannot just take anybody and say because he is a member of your party, so he is going to become the chief executive of a bank or an insurance company. We have got names and we are going to discuss this with the government.

And I think that a lot of our people are going to have the positions but they have to be competent and well trained in state enterprises and other administrative jobs like district commissioners”.

The opposition leader emphasised the need for comforting change in Togo for “the supreme interest of the people of Togo who have suffered deprivations during the last forty years”.

But he was categorical that “ I do not support the weekly street demonstrations organised by my party's former Secretary General Jean Pierre Fabre in protest against the results of the last presidential elections held in Togo in March this year, won by President Faure Gnassingbe”, adding “excuse me that is puerile”.

From Ebow Godwin, Lome