While even after going months without receiving their emoluments, Provincial Deputies (Members of Parliament) committed themselves to offering their support to President Fèlix Tshisekedi for his presidential candidacy but their leader has not reciprocated this act but instead neglected and abandoned his own people.
The Provincial Deputies have since issued a 48 hours ultimatum to Tshisekedi and his government to address the demand to have their salary arrears settled.
Having recently intensified protests calling on government to settle their dues, on Monday 9th October, the Provincial Deputies marched to the Office of The Head of State to seek audience with the Tshisekedi.
However, their efforts to meet Tshisekedi were in vain as the President was nowhere to be seen even after 10 PM.
Now fed up with lack of respect shown by Tshisekedi and his government by not reacting to their requests, the Provincial Deputies announced that they will take their position in the face of the electoral process in 48 hours following the “mistreatment” handed to them by government.
“The provincial deputies no longer have any consideration, which is why, today, we are granting 48 hours, if we exceed this deadline, the provincial deputies will make a declaration. Soon the campaign of the Head of State, we are mobilizing. We went to enlist without means, we went to submit our applications without means. And the Head of State was informed, we put the image of the Head of State on all our posters, because we fought for him to take charge in our country,” declared Kasai provincial deputy Kelvin Minga.
Minga regretted the lack of inclusiveness in Tshisekedi and his government’s leadership that was seemingly unconcerned about the plight of the provincial deputies.
“We are in a country where there are privileged and unprivileged people, national deputies have already been paid even the exit allowances. The 780 provincial deputies, opinion leaders, each has behind them no less than 10 thousand voters , do you see the consequence? Within 48 hours the collective will decide, all colleagues in the provinces are waiting for the slogan” Minga said.
The provincial deputies who are demanding payment of several months of their emoluments, including four in 2023, had first attempted to seek the audience of Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde at his office over their pending salaries but were not provided with any favorable response.
