DRC: Félix Tshisekedi wants a report on the sale of the land at the Grand Hotel in Kinshasa

A view of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (illustration image). John WESSELS / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

After the RFI investigation, the president of the DRC, Félix Tshisekedi, asked the Minister of the Portfolio for a detailed report on the sale of the land of the Grand Hotel in Kinshasa. A sale of a state asset in conditions that are not very transparent, said the Congolese head of state in the Council of Ministers on Friday, June 5. This report is required for the next Council. Why ?

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According to the information gathered by RFI, this land is more than 22,000 m2 and it was sold, after agreement of the Ministry of the Portfolio responsible for supervising the management of state assets, for 18 million dollars, it is 4 million less than the market price. When the land in this Gombe district, one of the most expensive in Kinshasa, sells for more than $ 1,000 per square meter.

No cheap buyer

The justification given to RFI by one of the administrators of the Grands Hôtels du Congo is that this land could not find a buyer at a good price, even divided into smaller plots. The administrator also assured that the World Bank and UNICEF had made proposals at lower prices. What these organizations deny, ensuring that they never made an offer.

The Congolese head of state speaks to him of a sale of assets under conditions that are not very transparent. It must be said that there was no tender. The land was granted by mutual agreement to the Indian businessman Harish Jagtani, close to the Kabila family and to his company Modern Construction. On this site today, there is a prefabricated reception center for patients with Covid-19. The Indian businessman promised that treatment would be completely free.

Joint Commission

The Minister of the Portfolio, from the coalition of the former president, had agreed to this sale in December 2019, but he had also mentioned in a letter the need to set up a joint commission between his ministry and the Grands Hôtels to study the profitability of the previous investments of this company which is half owned by the Congolese state. The results of this commission's work have never been made public.

Read also: DRC: has the land of the Grand Hotel in Kinshasa been sold at a good price?

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  • Ground floor
  • Félix Tshisekedi

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