The Task Before President Tshisekedi Of DR Congo

In the early hours of Thursday 10th January, 2019, Corneille Nangaa, head of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s electoral management body, CENI, announced the opposition party candidate, Mr Felix Tshilombo Tshisekedi, winner of the December, 30th 2018 Presidential election. Tshisekedi of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress Party (UDPS) defeated his two other major rivals; Martin Fayulu and Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary. The announcement of the election results came after a long wait orchestrated by delays in the collation of results from different parts of the country. Tshisekedi received over 7 million, representing 38.57 percent of the 18 million vote cast while Fayulu and Shadary got 6.4 and 4.4 million votes cast respectively.

The jubilation that accompanied the announcement was a clear demonstration of how Congolese had yearned for free and fair election. With over 5 billion dollars expended in the conduct of this election, the Congolese and indeed the international community have genuine reasons to celebrate. However, the new president, Mr Felix Tshisekedi, his party men, supporters and fellow citizens must know that it is not yet Uhuru as there are daunting tasks ahead, which must urgently be addressed if the people are to represent the dividends of democracy. But what exactly are these tasks and how can the new president overcome the tasks ahead? How can the international community and development partners help in the promotion of development and democratic consolidation in a post-Joseph Kabila Congo? How and what exactly will Congolese citizens at home and in diaspora contribute towards the task of nation building under President Felix Tshisekedi?

President Felix Tshisekedi must understand that the task of development and democratic consolidation in DRC requires a collective effort of all and sundry irrespective of party or ethnic affiliations. Consequently, he should endeavour to extend a hand of fellowship to all those who lost in the just concluded election. The two major political rivals; Martin Fayulu and Emmmanuel Ramazani Shadary must be persuaded and made to see the need for unity and political stability in Congo beyond party affairs.

Over the years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has witnessed outbreaks of devastating conflicts in different parts of the country. The conflicts take the forms of communal, ethnic, political and economic dimensions. Protracted conflicts continue to undermine and even reserve the paltry democratic and development gains recorded in regions like Kasai, Lumumbashi and Northern Kivu. Current reports show that over 2.3 million persons are internally displaced in the DRC while the United Nations has 21,000 men on peacekeeping mission in the country. These internally displaced persons are facing enormous challenges such as insecurity, psychological pain, sexual assaults, hunger. Many children in IDP camps lack access to education and suffer from malnutrition.

President Tshisekedi must endeavour to restore lost hopes in the minds of many Congolese who have suffered from the debilitating consequences of conflicts. In this regard, the new president should take the bull by the horns and initiate rapid pragmatic and sustainable conflict management strategies that will address urgently, the root causes of the protracted conflicts in DRC.

More importantly, the new government of Tshisekedi must intensify efforts to urgently address the rising cases of hunger and poverty. The current situation whereby over seventy per cent of Congolese lack access to quality, accessible and affordable food is unacceptable. The new president and his cabinet should strive towards the modernization of agriculture through the use of new technologies and trained extension workers. Rural farmers should be empowered and trained on contemporary farming techniques that will result in high agricultural productivity.

As a corollary to agricultural transformation, the provision of basic infrastructure such as electricity, pipe-borne water, good road networks, clinics and schools must be prioritized if liberal democracy is to make sense to the common man in a post-Kabila DRC.

Combating the challenge of human Poverty in contemporary DRC is equally a herculean task before the new government of Felix Tshisekedi. The 2016 United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) ranked DRC as the 176th Least Developed Country out of 186 countries. The figure further shows that about eighty per cent of Congolese are living on less than one United States dollar per day. This dismal performance is lamentable considering the fact that DRC is one of the most natural resource endowed countries in the world, with mineral resources valued at over 24 trillion United States dollars.

Corruption is unarguably one of the major threats to the development of DRC and by extension other African countries. Corruption manifests in almost the same form across Africa. It involves the abuse of public trust for personal or group interest. The new president of DRC must come out bold and champion the anti-corruption crusade. Public and private office holders who engage in corrupt practices must be vehemently prosecuted. The president should leverage on global legislative and institutional coalitions in the fight against corruption. Former and present, living or dead Congolese who stole public funds should be made to return such funds to the public purse. President Tshisekedi can tap from the strategy of President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria who has signed many partnership agreements with different western countries, leading to the repatriation of looted funds to the Federal Government.

The scourge of HIV/AIDS pandemic and other preventable diseases such as Ebola, Cholera and malaria are still claiming many lives in DR Congo. The new government of Tshisekedi must intensify efforts through local and international supports towards health care financing in the country. This is necessary in order to boast the healthcare delivery system in the country.

Overcoming these herculean tasks require visionary leadership intermeshed with enlightened followership that will provide the recipe for democratic consolidation. The president, his cabinet members and party officials must demonstrate exemplary leadership through the promotion of democratic accountability, transparency and respect for the rule of law. The president must live by example. He must demonstrate to his fellow citizens and party officials that he is committed towards fighting injustice, poverty and exploitation that have ravaged DRC since independence. Unnecessary flamboyant display of wealth by government officials must not be tolerated by the President.

In addition, President Felix Tshisekedi must explore and deepen his engagements with local and international development partners to urgently mobilize resources necessary for national development. Through pragmatic negotiations with international financial institutions and multilateral agencies, the president must strive to seek urgent support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), World Bank, African Union (AU), United Nations and others to help mobilize the needed financial and technical support for the development of the Congo.

Civil society organizations (CSOs) must be seen as indispensable actors and partners in the development process. CSOs are necessary for women and youth empowerment; post-conflict peace building; promotion of democratic accountability and transparency; human rights protection and promotion; advocacy, among others. Laws that tend to inhibit the viable functioning of civil society in contemporary DRC should be repealed. This new government could start on afresh by advancing strategies that promote cordial relationship with civil society actors. The president should extend a hand of fellowship to other world leaders and international organizations. President Tshisekedi must show sincere commitments towards democratic consolidation in DRC. He should embark on strategic international diplomatic tour to woo foreign leaders and investors to Congo.

Abah, Danladi