Time to test Félix Tshisekedi’s vision for the DRC

First published by ISS Today

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) new government was finally sworn in last week. This was after eight months of drawn-out deliberations between former president Joseph Kabila’s Front Commun pour le Congo (FCC) platform and new President Félix Tshisekedi’s Coalition pour le changement (CACH). In line with the FCC’s overwhelming majority in parliament, it got 42 ministries against CACH’s 23.

Neither the time it has taken to form a government, nor the heavy degree of control that Kabila unsurprisingly plans to assert, bode well for the new government’s ability to become functional or effective.

The DRC weathered a bout of political paralysis during the extended electoral delay between 2015 and 2018. That, together with the lack of urgency in forming the new government indicate that the DRC’s new hybrid elite is preoccupied not with the population and its many urgent needs, but with itself.

Since Tshisekedi became president in January, the key question has been: Is this really a change? The liberation of some political prisoners, the return of exiled politicians like Moïse Katumbi, and a slightly more tolerant attitude towards critics and civil society activists have tided many over until now. Many have been waiting for the government’s formation as the next big clue as to Tshisekedi’s capacities and intentions.

In the end, aside from the repartition of who gets how many ministries, the composition of the new government doesn’t tell us much. And now that the waiting game is over, it’s time to set new benchmarks for the Tshisekedi government.

The priorities for the 2023 period should be both short and long term. First, ensuring that the 2023 elections are free and fair is essential. For that to happen, there must be reform of the Constitutional Court and the Independent National Electoral Commission. Both institutions are heavily politicised and were pillars of the 2018 electoral fraud.

Introducing such reforms – which must be passed by parliament – will be seen as a challenge by Kabila and, because of his party’s overwhelming majority, success of such initiatives on the first try is doubtful. But the attempt will not go unnoticed by the population, which has made its desire for change clear.

If Tshisekedi wants to take this issue on, he can create longer-term pressure and channel the popular support for fundamental change that helped lead Kabila to back away from a third term. DRC civil society groups, including the Catholic Church, would be essential allies in such a push. International actors could help by supporting the DRC’s vibrant civil society to become effective watchdogs and advocates for reform.

Restoring political freedoms, including the right to criticise the government, is another priority issue. It goes hand in hand with the reform of key institutions, and is an area where Tshisekedi has relatively free rein as it doesn’t require legislative changes or approval from the prime minister or government.

In 2012 the IMF suspended a three-year $522-million loan over the government’s lack of transparency in a 2011 mining deal. Earlier this year, for the first time since then, it conducted an Article IV mission to evaluate the economy.

The DRC has always had more than its share of spoilers, and the recent change in leadership hasn’t altered that. Tshisekedi’s chance is that his controversial ascendance to the presidency was accepted as a change that was better than the status quo.