President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to attend the inauguration of Felix Tshisekedi who was re-elected president of the Democratic Republic of Congo last month.
Ramaphosa is scheduled to fly to the DRC on Saturday from Uganda, where he is attending the 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit, to witness one of his African allies being sworn in.
Tshisekedi won the presidential election with a landslide victory, garnering more than 70% of the vote.
The elections were highly contested, featuring almost 30 presidential hopefuls.
Former governor of Katanga province Moise Katumbi garnered 18.08% of the vote while Martin Fayulu received 4.92%.
Though the outcome of the election has been contested, the inauguration is going ahead after the DRC Constitutional Court last week confirmed Tshisekedi as the president-elect.
More than 18 heads of state, four former presidents and several foreign government delegations and representatives are expected to attend the inauguration at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa on Saturday.
According to the DRC government, more than 80,000 Congolese are expected to witness their president being sworn-in by a Constitutional Court judge.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed Ramaphosa will be among the heads of state in attendance.
Tshisekedi will now have the big task of delivering on the promises he made during his campaign and will likely use his inaugural speech to stamp his authority.
He will have to provide more details on how the war in the eastern parts of the country will be won.
Victory in the war is expected to unlock the country’s potential.
DRC has vast mineral wealth and is one of the biggest exporters of copper, cobalt, zinc, gold, manganese, uranium and platinum.
Yet its people are among the poorest in the world.
More than 60% of citizens live below the poverty line, have little access to electricity and have to contend with poor roads.
Corruption is also endemic in the country, which has widened the gap between the rich and poor.
During his campaign, Tshisekedi had strong words for the M23 rebels the country is warring with in the east, including likening Rwandan leader Paul Kagame to Hitler.
Kagame has been accused by Tshisekedi of funding the rebels.
He has vowed to end the war, which centres on control of the mineral-rich eastern region.
His government has also promised to start a process of beneficiation inside the country as part of job creation and a development drive.
Tshisekedi’s government has vowed to stop the export of mined raw minerals and instead wants to ensure mined products are processed in the country and only finished products exported.
His finance minister Nicolas Kazadi said the mining sector had so far failed to lift Congolese people out of poverty and vowed this would change.
“The only reason [mining is not creating jobs] is the value added to the minerals produced locally is very little and the value added goes outside [the country],” he said.
“That’s why it’s important for us to start processing our minerals locally to keep the value added to our product and that will be shared in salaries for people, in profits for local companies and in tax for the government.”
Plans for improving the healthcare system, roads and energy security will have to be implemented soon if Tshisekedi is to retain popularity.
TimesLIVE
Ramaphosa to travel to DRC for Tshisekedi's inauguration
Image: supplied
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to attend the inauguration of Felix Tshisekedi who was re-elected president of the Democratic Republic of Congo last month.
Ramaphosa is scheduled to fly to the DRC on Saturday from Uganda, where he is attending the 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit, to witness one of his African allies being sworn in.
Tshisekedi won the presidential election with a landslide victory, garnering more than 70% of the vote.
The elections were highly contested, featuring almost 30 presidential hopefuls.
Former governor of Katanga province Moise Katumbi garnered 18.08% of the vote while Martin Fayulu received 4.92%.
Though the outcome of the election has been contested, the inauguration is going ahead after the DRC Constitutional Court last week confirmed Tshisekedi as the president-elect.
More than 18 heads of state, four former presidents and several foreign government delegations and representatives are expected to attend the inauguration at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa on Saturday.
According to the DRC government, more than 80,000 Congolese are expected to witness their president being sworn-in by a Constitutional Court judge.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed Ramaphosa will be among the heads of state in attendance.
Tshisekedi will now have the big task of delivering on the promises he made during his campaign and will likely use his inaugural speech to stamp his authority.
He will have to provide more details on how the war in the eastern parts of the country will be won.
Victory in the war is expected to unlock the country’s potential.
DRC has vast mineral wealth and is one of the biggest exporters of copper, cobalt, zinc, gold, manganese, uranium and platinum.
Yet its people are among the poorest in the world.
More than 60% of citizens live below the poverty line, have little access to electricity and have to contend with poor roads.
Corruption is also endemic in the country, which has widened the gap between the rich and poor.
During his campaign, Tshisekedi had strong words for the M23 rebels the country is warring with in the east, including likening Rwandan leader Paul Kagame to Hitler.
Kagame has been accused by Tshisekedi of funding the rebels.
He has vowed to end the war, which centres on control of the mineral-rich eastern region.
His government has also promised to start a process of beneficiation inside the country as part of job creation and a development drive.
Tshisekedi’s government has vowed to stop the export of mined raw minerals and instead wants to ensure mined products are processed in the country and only finished products exported.
His finance minister Nicolas Kazadi said the mining sector had so far failed to lift Congolese people out of poverty and vowed this would change.
“The only reason [mining is not creating jobs] is the value added to the minerals produced locally is very little and the value added goes outside [the country],” he said.
“That’s why it’s important for us to start processing our minerals locally to keep the value added to our product and that will be shared in salaries for people, in profits for local companies and in tax for the government.”
Plans for improving the healthcare system, roads and energy security will have to be implemented soon if Tshisekedi is to retain popularity.
TimesLIVE
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