CENTRAL AFRICA
DR CONGO: Tshisekedi II : la modernisation de la Fonction publique indispensable pour lutter contre la corruption

President Félix Tshisekedi, by accepting the resignation of Prime Minister Ilunga Ilunkamba and his government, will undoubtedly have to proceed quickly with the appointment of a new government to implement its program of reforms, political, economic, social and security, during the the next three years remaining, to meet the multiple challenges facing the country. By Isidore Kwandja Ngembo
Key priorities and challenges facing the next government include restoring peace, security and protecting citizens across the country; stimulation of socio-economic development and job creation; the fight against corruption; electoral reform, including reforms of the judiciary and public administration, to ensure the stability of the institutions which must guarantee and strengthen democracy and the rule of law in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The next government which, we hope this time around, will support President Tshisekedi in the implementation of his social project, should know that public administration is the third and most important component of executive power and an instrument essential for the implementation of public policies and government programs.
If President Tshisekedi really wants to give new impetus to the second half of his mandate, he will have to instruct the next government to completely change course, by initiating and implementing a comprehensive plan of action for reform and modernization of the government. Congolese public administration, for greater transparency, better management of the civil service and orthodoxy in public expenditure.
There is no need to recall here that public administration constitutes a fundamental element of the governance system of a modern state and, without a doubt, it plays a determining role of scouting in the making of political decisions, in the materialization of the exercise of public powers, in the implementation of government orientations and in the sound management of public services.
But according to the latest preliminary results of investigations by the Judicial Police of the Public Prosecutor’s Office on the pay of State agents and officials, the Congolese public administration harbors mafia networks of organized fraud and embezzlement of public funds which benefit a category of people. As proof, this report indicates that between 2011 and 2019, a sum of more than $ 259 million would have been embezzled with more than 133,000 fictitious agents and more than 43,000 duplicates who unduly benefited from the pay of civil servants and State employees. officially recognized.
Just recently, there is another alleged embezzlement scandal that plagues the Ministry of Primary, Secondary and Technical Education. The report of the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) which led to the arrest of the national director of the Teachers’ Pay and Control Service (SECOPE) and of the Inspector General of Primary, Secondary and Technical Education , indicates that a million and a half dollars would be diverted each month in this ministry.
To put an end to this scourge of the remuneration of fictitious civil servants which costs the Congolese public treasury enormously, reform in the Congolese public administration system must be among the key priorities of the government and receive full attention. particular.
This reform should not only ensure the establishment of a meticulous verification system of the actual workforce of the Civil Service, systematically conduct a rigorous census of civil servants, those reporting to the National Police and the Congolese Armed Forces, but it should also dismantle fictitious jobs paid for with public funds. The establishment of such a verification system would help improve the administrative capacity of ministries and other public institutions to carry out their missions.
Such a reform is possible, but must be a continuous effort that goes forward with the adoption of new rigorous and truly applicable legislative and regulatory frameworks, in order to improve the effectiveness of public action, to strengthen transparency, to guarantee respect for the principles of responsibility and accountability, to effectively combat corruption, mismanagement of public resources and ensure more rigorous management of public institutions.
Carrying out such major reforms, which will be phased in over time, could prove to be more difficult and complex if they are not piloted by expert hands. This is why it seems obvious to us that the choice of the next minister responsible for public administration should be based on a person who has excellent theoretical and practical knowledge of essential and crucial issues related to public administration. Such a judicious choice would make it possible to meet the major recurring challenges facing the Congolese public administration.
By Isidore Kwandja Ngembo, Political Scientist and Public Policy Analyst
CENTRAL AFRICA
DR CONGO – Elections: Candidate Moïse Katumbi’s Party Leader Dies on Eastern Trip

An official of the party of the opponent Moïse Katumbi was killed and several others wounded Tuesday, November 28, 2023 in Kindu, in eastern DRC, where the opponent arrived as part of his campaign for the presidential election of December 20. This is the first major incident since the beginning of this election campaign, which is taking place in a tense political climate.
The climate was already tense long before the landing of Moïse Katumbi’s plane, the authorities having forbidden the opponent to hold his meeting at the Central Tribune of the main artery of the city of Kindu.
Upon arrival, Moïse Katumbi and his allies, including former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo and Seth Kikuni were cheered and followed by the crowd in the streets before the rally relocated elsewhere. It was at the approach of the governor’s residence that the opponent and his supporters were attacked with stone throws by young supposed to belong to the presidential party.
“Stoned”, according to his party
In the exchanges and the crowd, at the head of the procession, Dido Kakisingi, youth leader of the Ensemble for the Republic party of Moïse Katumbi in Kindu, was hit by a projectile. On the ground, he was beaten violently to the point of dying, according to his party, claiming that he was simply “stoned”.
But for the mayor of Kindu, the latter fell from a vehicle of the procession before being stamped. The police intervened, firing live ammunition. In the process, several others were injured.
These incidents did not stop the campaign procession of Moïse Katumbi who held his rally to ask the people to vote.
CENTRAL AFRICA
GABON – Raymond Ndong Sima, opponent of Ali Bongo, appointed Transitional Prime Minister

The President of the transition in Gabon, General Brice Oligui Nguema, appointed Thursday, September 07, 2023 the Transitional Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima, an economist and opponent of the president, Ali Bongo, overthrown by the military a week ago, according to a decree read on state television.
Raymond Ndong Sima, 68, had been Prime Minister of Ali Bongo from 2012 to 2014, but he had moved away from power. He regularly accused the power of Ali Bongo of bad governance, until he stood against the head of state at the presidential elections of 2016 and 2023. This year, he joined the Alternance 2023 platform after running and had therefore withdrawn his candidacy to give way to a consensual candidate, Albert Ondo Ossa.
Finally on Wednesday, September 7, Raymond Ndong Sima slammed the door of the coalition, declaring that the situation was «confused for several days» within the group. So he was free from any party because he is an independent candidate. It is not surprising that the junta chose him.
Raymond Ndong Sima is an economist from the north of the country. He completed part of his studies in France before joining the Gabonese Ministry of Economy. Member of the presidential party, the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), he finally won a portfolio in 2009, becoming Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.
Break with the CEO in 2015
Two years later, he also won a seat as an MP. Raymond Ndong Sima is known for his lively temperament. He did not hesitate to criticize the CEO, which led to a break in 2015, when he moved to the opposition. Since then, he has been a virulent critic of Ali Bongo’s regime.
In Gabon, General Brice Oligui Nguema, who led the coup of August 30 against a barely proclaimed re-elected Ali Bongo, was sworn in Monday, September 4 as President of a transition period, the duration of which he did not set, and at the end of which he promised “free elections”. On Monday, he also announced the formation of a transitional government including personalities from all political stripes.
CENTRAL AFRICA
GABON – A general takes the reins of Libreville City Hall

Following the coup of 30 August 2023, the military junta led by General Brice Clotaire Oligui announced the dissolution of the country’s government institutions. As part of this transition, a new provisional government will soon be appointed based on information received on September 7, 2023.
It is in this perspective that Brigadier General Judes Ibrahim Rapontchombo was appointed as the new head of the Gabonese capital, replacing the former mayor Christine Mba Ndutume, appointed by presidential decree in July 2021.
General Rapontchombo, previously military governor in 2020, has the mission to restore order within an institution shaken in recent years by many financial scandals.
It should be noted that Brigadier General Judes Ibrahim Rapontchombo will be supported in this mission by the former chief of the military prytanee, Commissioner-Colonel Gaude Stive Okoumba, who will assume the role of financial director. This team of soldiers has already begun a new chapter in the management of the Libreville City Hall, by carrying out a first control within the financial management of the City Hall.
As a reminder, 64 years old and in power for 14 years, Ali Bongo Odimba was deposed during a putsch conducted without bloodshed, less than an hour after his camp had proclaimed his re-election to the presidency in a vote described as fraudulent by the putschists. The coup was led by General Oligui, who gathered behind him all the army and police corps, and rallied almost all the parties of the former opposition and part of the formerThe majority as well as a massive surge of a population thanking him for having “liberated” 55 years of “Bongo dynasty” in power.
The military authorities promised to “hand over power to civilians” at the end of a transition whose duration has not been fixed, after having adopted “by referendum”, a new Constitution that will have to be drawn up with the participation of “all the living forces of the Nation” and which will lead to “free and transparent elections”.
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