To date, only a few infrastructure works have been carried out in some DRC cities such as Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. NGO Afrewatch, which has just published a report on mega-contratchin, believes that the performance has not yet fulfilled its promises.
From our correspondent in Lubumbashi,
Georges Nkulu, a road transporter, sits on a bench not far from Kenya’s market in Lubumbashi, monitoring the loading of his 20-tonne truck. It must supply sugar, salt, cement, soap and sugary drinks to the cities in the center of the Katanga region.
The Luambo – Mitwaba – Manono road, almost 600 km long, is being rehabilitated. Started 6 years ago, the works have only allowed to renovate 171 km of land. Nevertheless, it is one of the projects funded by the Sino-Congolese program. “The Chinese are rehabilitating the road, but the work can still take four years. We are currently driving without too much hassle to the city of Kyolo. But from there to Manono there is a 100 kilometer safe road. We unload the goods at Kyolo. Some traders take the waterway to Manono, others continue the road on motorcycles, the driver explains.
Results far from the targeted goals
Next to him, Lwembo adds Wa Nsenga, another carrier. “From Lubumbashi to Kyolo it is 566 kilometers. We’re two days away. But drive Kyolo, the road is in poor condition. If you go into it with your truck, all the shocks will break. “
The construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure started in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2014 thanks to the Sino-Congolese program raised much hope for the country’s development.
But 11 years later, Eric Lubangu, an assistant at the University of Lubumbashi, believes we are far from the goal. “Here in Lubumbashi is Kasa Vubu Avenue which had been rehabilitated, but it has just been retouched, which shows that it was not well built. The work on the Mokambo road was not completed as promised. Which leads us to say that the roads have not benefited from the expected funding. “
The fear of over-indebtedness
However, the infrastructure component of the Sino-Congolese program has already earned the DRC a loan of more than $ 2.8 billion. according to the report from NGO Afrewatch, recently published.
Me Emmanuel Umpula fears that Congo is over-indebted, as the country has only been able to repay about a quarter of the loan. “Until the end of 2017, Congo alone through the mining company Sicomines reimbursed a little more than $ 83.7 million. The reason is that Sicomines did not generate enough revenue for Congo to repay its debt. In three years, it produced only 95,000 tons of copper, while the forecast was 800,000 tons, he says.
For his part, the deputy head of the Sino-Congolese program has a more optimistic view of the contract. According to him, until last year, $ 982 million was allocated to infrastructure distributed in 43 contracts concluded throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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