CONGO – DR NEEDS GOOD LEADERSHIP
Since the assassination of Patrice Lumumba the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has not had a leadership with a real vision for the DRC’s future, the competence and ability to execute the vision, and the character needed to ensure the realisation of the vision with sound judgment, integrity, and equity.
There’s urgent need to break from the DRC’s past patterns of poor leadership and governance. A clear and practical vision for the country’s future must be articulated and implemented. But this requires concerted effort from a new and energised leadership. This type of leadership should come from the Congolese people – both those living in the country and those who are part of its far-flung diaspora.
Sixty three (63) years after gaining its independence from Belgium, the DRC remains plagued by continuing governance challenges, corruption, insecurity, and widespread poverty.
State institutions are generally weak, and efforts to bring lasting peace and security have so far produced mixed results. While the western part of the country enjoys relative calm, violent conflict persists in much of the eastern DRC, perpetrated by armed militias, both domestic and foreign sponsored. Much of the instability and insecurity in the DRC is related to the mismanagement and plunder of the country’s natural resources.
That is why the coming DRC parliamentary and presidential elections in December will amount to nothing if they don’t help improve the quality of the country’s leadership.
And it will take concerted commitment from the Congolese, both inside and outside the DRC to implement and help the country choose the best possible leadership among those contesting the elections. The DRC needs a visionary, competent, and virtuous cadre of individuals who can lift up the rest
of the Congolese population through sound economic development policies and practices, adequate social services, and strong state institutions, leading to the establishment of a peaceful, just, secure, lawful, and orderly society.
We hold a very strong belief that among the contestants for DRC presidency, Mr Moise Chapwe Katumbi stands out. With the very limited possibilities that were there Mr Katumbi was able to bring in many areas of human endeavour, order, sanity, growth and development in Katanga when he served as governor.
We believe that armed with this extraordinary record, if Mr Katumbi wins the elections, he will help stabilise the DRC and give its people an opportunity to build a more just, fair, humane and peaceful country. But he will need the support of all DRC citizens of goodwill and our solidarity as neighbours.
We wish Mr Katumbi and Ensemble pour la Republique (Together for the Republic) victory in the December 20, 2023 polls!
Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party