DR Congo: President Felix Tshisekedi Calls For Unity

The eighth Governors Conference has opened in the DR Congo’s capital Kinshasa with President Tshisekedi prescribing unity in the fight against criminality and terrorism as the gate way to a durable solution for peace in the country. Speaking on the heels of several dismissals that saw fourteen of the twenty-six Governors, President Tshesekedi called on the Governors to reflect on and suggest possible solutions on the way in which the relations between Provincial Assemblies and Executives can be harmonized in order to guarantee an optimal implementation of the local development programme of our 145 territories.

According to the President, though the dismissal of Governors has slowed down the successful completion of the reconstruction programme in some areas, there is hope that this can be achieved next year if all hands are put on deck. “I hope that this session will serve as a framework for you to mark out the legal ways and means that can contribute to the stability of our Provincial institutions...I therefore urge the participants to propose recommendations that would enhance capacity building, planning and management of territorial development.”

The session which is the third since the accession of Felix Tshisekedi to the supreme magistracy, takes place in a context characterized by a cycle of governance conflicts, difficult cohabitation and the forfeitur...