In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Observatory for Public Expenditure (ODEP), a Congolese non-governmental organization, is concerned about the lack of improvement in governance since the change of state. Félix Tshisekedi, succeeded Joseph Kabila, but the poor management of public finances “remains and deteriorates” in violation of the eradication of poverty and social development, says NGO. Yesterday, Friday, it published its report on the implementation of the finance laws in Kinshasa between 2017 and 2019.
with our correspondent in Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa
The level of expenditure in the social sectors is very low, Odep points out. This is the case for health with just under $ 1.1 billion, or 6.7% of the general budget for these three years.
During the same period, the NGO report states that the texts or the chaotic award of public contracts were not complied with, as 124 requests for special authorizations to award contracts by “mutual agreement” to the value of 1294731823 USD. Granted in 2019 by some 215 requested. Between 2017 and 2019, Odep says that 19 cases of “major corruption that is not controlled by state control bodies and even by the judiciary” have been traced. This represents, according to this NGO, a deficit of about $ 12.1 billion.
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The shortcomings of the Kabila years have not been rectified during the presidency of Félix Tshisekedi, according to the report of NGOs whose Florimond Muteba is chairman of the board. “The same neglect has accompanied both regimes: more resources for institutions and less resources for poor sectors and miserable execution, because when you give 3% to agriculture, it is just under 0.8% of ‘execution’,” says Florimond Muteba.
In terms of revenue, the state has been dependent on the outside, only 3 billion is mobilized per year and expenditure overruns from institutions and ministries are legion.
For ODEP, the presidency of the republic and the prime minister have remained “at the top of the budget-consuming institutions”. Florimond Muteba insists: “We must change course, but there is no sign that there is a political will to change course, the problem is that the bad example comes from above”.
What irritates the relatives of President Tshisekedi, highly mobilized ahead of the presidential election to be held in 2023, is in particular this recommendation from the NGO to the population to “draw the consequences of not effectively taking into account social needs when implementing state budgets for 2017-2019 and to keep them current leaders responsible for any renewal of mandates “and to” in the coming elections put a vote that can lead the country towards a strong change. wanted everywhere “.
In response, a close adviser to the president notes that the situation has improved since the end of the Kabila-Tshisekedi coalition. And that it would be fair to judge the president from 2021, the third of his five-year term.
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