DRC government called on to make country’s electrification project urgent
The President of the Republic Félix Tshisekedi during the 51st meeting of the Council of Ministers reminded the members of the government that the constitution of the republic enshrines the right of access to drinking water and electricity for anyone on the Congolese soil. This right is therefore constitutive of an obligation of execution for the government in spite of the ultra-priority nature of the electrification of the country.
According to him, the situation in this sector is slowly changing.
“This situation weighs heavily on the social life of our fellow citizens and also delays the industrial development of the country, particularly in the newly created provinces. A good structuring of this sector will allow us to significantly reduce the development lag accumulated by our country over several decades and to meet the great expectations of our population”, challenged Félix Tshisekedi in the minutes of the meeting.
However, notes the Head of State, the investment offers in the energy fields are numerous, the President of the Republic cited for example: the Republic of India which proposed to finance the implementation of solar power plants in Karawa, Lusambo, Mbandaka, Mbuji-Mayi and Manono, this project is all in the newly created provinces.
For President Félix Tshisekedi, it is therefore imperative that the government reserve an urgent nature for the country’s electrification project and particularly for the treatment of the project relating to the above-mentioned offer.
“The same is true for the project to set up small and medium-sized solar and wind power plants presented by various investors to the competent authorities for analysis and decisions. To this end, the President of the Republic instructed the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity as well as the Minister of Finance to present at the next Council of Ministers in June the inventory of fixtures of the file relating to the offer of the Republic of India in the framework of bilateral cooperation and any other economically feasible proposal in the short term”, recommends the President of the Republic.
The situation in this sector is dramatic. The DRC is one of the countries with the lowest electrification rate in Africa. Less than 10% of the Congolese population has access to electricity. Inside the country where only 1% of the population has access to electrical energy. This situation, according to several experts, is not justified in view of the enormous energy potential that abounds in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
