Experts and politicians met Felix Tshisekedi to assess DRC’s Covid-19 response
Experts and politicians met Felix Tshisekedi on Tuesday to assess the response against Covid-19.
Félix Tshisekedi is chairing a response assessment meeting against COVID-19 in Kinshasa on Tuesday. For this session, the Head of State brought together both politicians and experts.
Participants in these meetings included members of the Task Force set up to Chair and monitors developments and collaboration between the Government’s multi-sector commission and the Covid-19 Response Team. Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe and his team were also present, as was Dr. Eteni Longondo, Minister of Health.
This meeting came a day after Felix Tshisekedi’s announcement that he will refer the matter to the Speakers of two Houses of Parliament and submit the request for authorisation to extend the state of emergency for successive periods of fifteen days in accordance with Article 144, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, until the competent body declared the end of the epidemic.
Since March, Félix Tshisekedi has repeatedly reiterated the importance of better coordination of public policy action in the fight against COVID-19.
On 13 March, the Head of State urged members of the government to urgently establish a strategic monitoring mechanism to be led by the Prime Minister.
Since the outbreak began on 10 March 2020, there have been 705 confirmed cases. In total, there were 34 deaths and 90 people cured.
On Monday during the Council of Ministers, President Felix Tshisekedi called on the government to begin drafting the 2020 budget amending bill.
The President of the Republic has asked the government to begin drafting a draft law on the budget that is currently being implemented. Felix Tshisekedi said this during the 29th meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday.
On 27 April, Prime Minister Ilunga Ilunkamba met with Jeanine Mabunda Lioko Mudiayi and Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, president and president of the Senate respectively, to discuss the possibility of carrying out this budget amendment.
« The framework on which we have built the revenue and expenditure forecasts is totally disrupted by the pandemic. Exports and imports are difficult today because of the containment that is widespread around the world. We are an extrovert economy. Our imports and exports are more difficult than yesterday,” said the Prime Minister.
The budget for fiscal year 2020 is set at approximately US$11 billion, a 63.2% increase over the fiscal 2019 budget forecast.
