BANGUI, Central African Republic, Feb 10, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The Central
African Republic's Economy Minister Felix Moloua became premier on Wednesday
after the president fired the post's predecessor.

   Moloua is to retain his ministry position while also becoming the new head
of government in the former French colony, according to a presidential decree
read on public radio.

   The rest of the cabinet line-up remains the same.

   The 64-year-old replaces Henri-Marie Dondra, who was sacked on Monday as
tensions have escalated between pro-Russian and pro-French political elite.

   Russia's influence in the mineral-rich country has steadily increased in
recent years.

   In late 2020, at Bangui's request, Russian military contractors helped
quell a rebellion against President Faustin-Archange Touadera.

   Dondra was appointed prime minister in June 2021, after France suspended
budgetary aid, accusing Bangui of going along with a Russia-led
disinformation campaign.

   Dondra was perceived to be more pro-French than his predecessor, who was
seen as sympathetic to Russia.

   But analyst Roland Marchal told AFP that Dondra had little influence over
the defence and foreign ministers and pro-Russian parliament speaker.

   Moloua, the new prime minister, is considered a Touadera loyalist and a
technocrat "with no political profile", according to a diplomat who requested
anonymity.

   Trained as a demographer, he was the chief of staff at the economy
ministry for eight years before being assigned the portfolio by Touadera in
2016.

   The Central African Republic is rated the world's second-poorest country
by the UN's Human Development Index, and has been wracked by political
instability since independence 60 years ago.

   A civil war erupted in 2013, killing thousands and displacing more than a
quarter of the country's 4.9 million people from their homes.

   While the violence had decreased in recent years, it resumed abruptly when
rebels launched their failed offensive to overthrow Touadera.