Faustin-Archange Touadéra, the President of the Central African Republic, says the country now has a “new lease of life” following the positive referendum vote.
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra
On July 30, the people of the Central African Republic voted overwhelmingly in favour of a referendum to change the constitution to remove term limits in office.
The Constitutional Court has now validated the result of the referendum with 95.03 percent voting yes from a turnout of 57.23 percent.
President Touadéra, 66, insists the vote is a historic moment for the country, which is on the cusp of an economic and social revolution.
In a statement, he said: "The government called the referendum on the constitutional reform in order to listen to the will of the people, the holders of national sovereignty. The referendum was transparent, free and democratic. It was a good test that allowed us to accustom our people to free choice. Why did we want to change the current Constitution? Quite simply to give the Central African Republic a new lease of life, a new independence. Because not only does the current Constitution contain many provisions dating from the colonial era, last modified during the Transition, but the new one aims to modernize our laws and the functioning of our institutions and open the country to international investment.
“For us, this historic vote in favour of constitutional reform marks a new beginning for the whole population, for young people, for the whole country, for men and women at all levels; social, economic and political. We finally get out of the tunnel. From north to south, from east to west, all Central Africans want peace. The constitutional reform will allow the daughters and sons of this country to appropriate their country and to enjoy the immense riches that God has given us. With this new Constitution, we will finally have a tool that will allow us to transform and develop our country and to achieve our common vision of a definitively united, secure, peaceful and reconciled country.
“The medium-term future of the Central African Republic will surprise the world … We have everything, including confidence in our youth.”
President Touadéra and CAR Geoscience recently announced the launch of the National Geological Survey of the Central African Republic.
CAR Geoscience is a public-private partnership between the government and a consortium of international partners, and the National Geological Survey will facilitate transformational economic change by providing the data needed to identify and develop the country's rich mineral resources.
The first results were recently announced by Central African Iron Limited, another public-private partnership with the government and a consortium of international partners which is developing significant iron ore assets in the Bandas and Dekoa area.
Central African Iron believes that early results indicate that this region has the potential to become one of Africa's leading iron ore producers. Initial work has indicated that the Bandas and Dekoa Greenstone Belts contain significant quantities of high-grade iron ore.
President Touadéra says the country’s so-far untapped natural resources will provide the economic impetus to transform CAR, improving the lives of all its citizens.
Touadéra – who is the current chairman of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) which is made up of six countries ; Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo – said: “Our country has great natural resources that can be used for the benefit of all its inhabitants. The world is changing and many minerals necessary for the transition to clean energy and essential for new technologies are found in the Central African region and in particular in our country.
“Given the huge opportunity that the global need for minerals represents for the transition to clean energy and essential new technologies, it is our responsibility to ensure that this opportunity is maximized for the benefit of our population.
The National Geological Service will provide an inventory of the country's mineral resources and provide the various partners and potential developers with the data they need to license and develop our mineral resources."