Ensemble pour la République president Moise Katumbi has lashed out at the widespread theft of public funds under imposter President Felix Tshisekedi as recently revealed by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee in Kinshasa.
The millions of dollars embezzled under Tshisekedi come at a time when teachers and doctors are on go slow in the country due to non payment.
Katumbi says the situation of the Congolese public finances is a real national scandal.
He says the parliamentary accountability has exposed the embezzlement orchestrated by the outgoing Finance Minister and highlights the inability of the Budget Minister to ensure transparency and rigor.
“This blatant disregard for the laws of the country is unacceptable,” he says.
Katumbi says it is shocking that nearly half of the Budget 2023 spending was spent with no audit, no commitment & no settlement.
“Meanwhile, teachers, military and civil servants are surviving on undignified salaries while the Finance Minister shamelessly repays the domestic public debt to 504% of the allocated credits,” he says.
Katumbi has demanded an immediate review of all payments related to the debts cited as cleared but have no traceable record.
He has asked the finance minister to publish names of beneficiaries.
“Demanding transparency is not an attack on the minister but a fundamental right. The impunity of thieves must end,” said Katumbi.
The former Katanga governor says the government’s flagship program, the PDL145 T, was a hoax as all the provinces are totally abandoned.
“In terms of investments, nothing was allocated to them. Without roads, without water, without electricity, our populations are forgotten and condemned to begging, harassment and corruption.
“It is time to put a stop to this disastrous management and defend the rights of rural people suffering from this outrageous abandonment.
Katumbi has asked the IMF and World Bank to effectively interrogate the report which has revealed glaring abuse of public resources.
“Their financial support through budget aids is inconceivable while they seem to ignore the economic and social wreckage in which more than 100 million Congolese live.
“It’s time for these institutions to stop this unacceptable complacency and demand concrete reforms before they continue to inject funds into a system that disintegrates and is dysfunctional.
“The hour for accountability has come, and we must all hold the government accountable so that justice is served and our country can finally move forward,” said Katumbi.
Tshisekedi won a fraudulent election twice and has been on a mission to enrich himself, his family and part of his Kasai tribesmen and women.
