DRC's Felix Tshisekedi scores approvals on his new Cabinet
Democratic Republic of Congo's President, Felix Tshisekedi, gestures as he gives a speech at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on April 27, 2021.
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- Germany, Belgium, Canada, South Korea, Spain, United States, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, and the European Union welcomed the fact that “the government will now respond quickly to the aspirations of the Congolese people.”
DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has received endorsements for his new Cabinet in what signals further harmony in his administration, four months after a coalition with his predecessor collapsed.
This week, after new ministers took oath of office at the National Assembly premises, the European Union, the African Union and the US all vowed to support the administration.
Germany, Belgium, Canada, South Korea, Spain, United States, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, and the European Union welcomed the fact that “the government will now respond quickly to the aspirations of the Congolese people".
President Tshisekedi has always received support in the past, especially as he bickered with his coalition partner and predecessor Joseph Kabila.
This week though, Tshisekedi flew to France where he held talks with President Emmanuel Macron who congratulated him for “the successes obtained in terms of internal politics in the DRC with the inauguration of the new government".
The DRC, despite being Africa’s most natural resource-rich country has faced conflict for decades, making even the provision of basic needs difficult.
Now the country is still facing a spiraling conflict in the eastern regions in North and South Kivu. It has had the Covid-19 pandemic and an outbreak of measles and Ebola. With poor roads, the government’s response to these challenges has been lukewarm.
Free education
Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, pledged European Union support for free basic education in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a flagship programme for President Tshisekedi.
In 2019 and 2020, the World Bank approved projects to strengthen and access basic education for 10 provinces of the DRC in order to financially support Mr Tshisekedi's program.
Some $800 million will be disbursed over a period of 4 years under the Project for "Equity and the Strengthening of the Education System (PERSE)". In 2020, USAid also provided support for educational programs.
“Within the framework of the United Nations, several European States are members of the Security Council, there are regular evaluations, discussions on the various mandates in connection with the missions and certainly this is the case for MONUSCO (mission of United Nations for the stabilisation of the Congo),” Michel said.
“The European Union - the member States - are ready to be engaged with international partners, of course with the authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo on this subject.”
Michel declared that the European Union favours the dialogue initiated with the DR Congo, but also the training of Congolese security forces within the framework of bilateral cooperation.
"I will never tire of raising the awareness of the international community in relation to areas of violence in Africa, particularly in the east of my country, the DRC,” Mr Tshisekedi declared after a meeting with Macron. “I am determined to eradicate it. I count on the support of France.”
"No country in the world can fight Islamist terrorism alone and in a vacuum," said Nicaise Kibel Bel, expert on security and military issues, based in Beni, a Congolese city, the scene of regular abuses since 2014.called ADF ", added Kibel.
Deals with Kenya
DR Congo and Kenya have signed a partnership agreement on defence "to strengthen the Congolese army".
For some analysts, this partnership could be beneficial in the fight against terrorism in Kivu, given that the Kenyan army has experience in the fight against terrorism. This is the opinion of Nicaise Kibel.
"Kenyan troops have experience in the fight against terrorism, having fought the Al-Shabaab in Somalia ", he said.
In his fight against corruption, President Tshisekedi has made a strong ally - the United States of America, via Mike Hammer, American ambassador in the DRC, well known in popular and political circles in Kinshasa.
In February 2021, the diplomat, who arrived in Kinshasa in December 2018, just days before the election of Mr Tshisekedi, was received by the chief of staff of the Congolese president.
Hammer said after his meeting with the chief of staff, that they focused, among other things, on the fight against corruption in the DRC.
In February 2020, following an internal decision in the army suspending a Congolese general, American diplomats, including Peter Pham, Tibor Nagy and Hammer applauded the Tshisekedi regime's “fight against corruption and impunity”.
As they didn't get along with the regime of Joseph Kabila, several Western countries, including the United States of America, France and Belgium have openly supported President Tshisekedi in his fight against corruption.
