In a over two weeks, popular and leading Democratic Republic of Congo opposition Ensemble pour la Republic president Moise Katumbi transversed the interior of the southeast & western parts of the country commonly known as Grand Katanga, Bandundu & Equateur witnessing the deep-rooted challenges some of his over 80 million compatriots are enduring.
Katumbi started of with the northern parts of Grand Katanga and moved on to Equateur where he received a good reception from masses who turned up for his tour. Some looked into his eyes, others yelled his name with a moniker Wamu Bible (the Moses of the Bible) as if to suggest the man who is to lead them out of captivity has arrived.
They danced, ululated and made various declarations ahead of the elections on December 20, 2023. Katumbi was not in the area for campaigns but to check on his political party members and visit parts of Katanga he had not been to since he left as Governor of the mineral rich province.
In northern Katanga, Katumbi and his entourage visited Kongolo, Kabalo, Malemba Nkulu, Manono, Kabango and Bukama where multitudes welcomed him. In Equateur, the western part of DRC, the TP Mazembe chairman was in Mbandaka; Bamanya; Makanza; Ngombe and Lukolela.
That was not it. He went on to visit the Bandundu region and visited Kikwit, Lusanga and Bulungu. No one would be disappointed with the reception he got. He himself saw how the people embraced him.
And the first hand experience of the biting economic situation in rural Congo he encountered is, indeed, disturbing. Lack of electricity, poor roads, lack of infrastructure such as hospitals and decent schools have left the people in these areas hopeless.
It’s beyond surprising that President Felix Tshisekedi has been in power for five years without visible and tangible projects to help alleviate the suffering of the people. Yet this is the Tshisekedi who has gone to nearly all the continents in the world on Congolese taxpayers but without caring for the very people he chose to.
Not even when the eastern parts of Maniema, North and South Kivu have experienced disasters has Tshisekedi attempted to check on his people.
Whether it is Bulungu, Mbandaka or Malemba Nkulu, the situation is the same. Poverty is biting the people of Congo. It is as if the government does not exist. There are no systems and people are barely existing by happenstance.
Moise, as they love to call him, came to tears at the sight of the terrible living conditions.
It’s unfathomable that people who are citizens of one of the richest countries in the world where mineral wealth is concerned, are the poorest and live in total squalor.
In five years, Tshisekedi could have done something. In fact, he even launched the 145 Territories Programme which was said to cost $600 million. The funds were allocated but what is on the ground has demonstrated that the project was and is a huge scam used to launder money from the poor people of Congo.
It’s virtually a failed state. Such circumstances are a manifestation of the failures of Tshisekedi. He didn’t have a vision. The election was stolen for him and all he can do is enjoy the air condition in Kinshasa while sipping on some expensive champagne and wearing expensive watches. After all, even when he was in the opposition, Tshisekedi never visited these areas, not a single day. So why would he care?
A member of Katumbi’s delegation and a senior executive of Ensemble, Christian Mwando-Nsimba, said the situation is deplorable needing urgent attention. And Tshisekedi is surely not the answer the poor of Congo want.
