One hundred days for the Lukonde government in the DRC: successes and major challenges
Gathering of militiamen in Ituri, northeastern DRC, September 19, 2020. AFP
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In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the government of Prime Minister Sama Lukonde celebrates its 100 days on Wednesday.
It was formed after the breakdown of the alliance that Félix Tshisekedi had forged with his predecessor Joseph Kabila.
What is the progress report?
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With our correspondent in Kinshasa,
Patient Ligodi
and our special
correspondent ,
Sonia Rolley
This is the first government of the Sacred Union, the new majority desired by President Félix Tshisekedi.
The Congolese head of state complained about the agreement signed with his predecessor.
He accused Joseph Kabila and his coalition, the FCC, of blocking his reforms, especially in the area of human rights.
The Sama Lukonde government is nicknamed "government of warriors", of warriors. A few days after its designation, a state of siege was declared in two of the country's provinces, which focused the attention of the main ministries. Less than a month after his inauguration, it was
the eruption of Nyiragongo
that disrupted the government's program. To the point of delaying its training seminar for several weeks, the moment when some of its members discover the management of state affairs.
One of the successes is the signing in record time of an
agreement with the International Monetary Fund
which should pave the way for reforms and the payment of a billion and a half dollars over three years. President Tshisekedi had wanted it since coming to power. Foreign exchange reserves and revenue collection have improved, but with regard to the reorientation of expenditure, no modification of the budget has been adopted for the moment, which makes the action of this new government less clear. This could happen by September.
In any case, the expectations vis-à-vis this team remain enormous, in particular on the social level, as evidenced by the first strikes it faces.
The whole while, because of the
process of designation of the members of the Ceni
, the Sacred Union knows its first dissensions.
Armed groups difficult to contain
On the security front this time, among the priorities displayed during his general policy speech, the Prime Minister underlined the urgency of the pacification of the country, in particular in Beni, Butembo, in Ituri, and in North Katanga.
He had promised that his government would mobilize all the means required to eradicate armed groups and put an end to this security crisis.
After a few months of improvement following his arrival in power in January 2019, the situation has deteriorated again.
The day after the new government took office, violence resumed with a vengeance: three attacks in one day that Tuesday.
Soldiers and civilians were targeted around Kanaima and near Halungupa, in Beni territory.
The state of siege decreed on May 6
allowed the army to retake some localities and to provoke surrenders in the ranks of combatants, but without an effective DDR program, their management remains a challenge.
The authorities also have to deal with new forms of violence.
Beni-ville, for example, is now experiencing attacks with homemade explosives.
In addition, according to the UN, ADF combatants continued to extend their area of action beyond the Ruwenzori sector in North Kivu, to reach the territories of Mambasa and Irumu in Ituri.
The situation is just as worrying in the territories of Lubero and Masisi, where many Mayi-Mayi groups control areas where they impose, among other things, illegal taxes on the populations.
Human rights in trouble
The FARDC must also deal with
cases of embezzlement of funds
intended for military operations.
More than twenty officers have been made available to military justice in the past two weeks.
Faced with this table, deputies from North Kivu and Ituri demand an uncompromising assessment of the state of siege, before proceeding with a further extension of this measure.
But today, despite renewed promises, according to Human Rights Watch, there are still more words than deeds.
We continue to note the arbitrary detentions of activists or political actors and, more broadly, dissenting voices.
The agents of the ANR services are used for arrests and interrogations, their dungeons also [...] The ex-combatants of armed groups wanting to surrender are not taken care of in the absence of a disarmament [...] Reflections on reforms have been initiated, a desire to remedy prison conditions for example, but overall, the concrete is long overdue
Thomas Fessy, researcher for Human Rights Watch in DRC
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