MONUC Press Review - 14 February 2006

The Brussels ministerial conference on the DR Congo is the main topic of Kinshasa's press commentary this Tuesday. Attention is also given to the new Constitution of the DRC promulgation ceremony set for next Saturday.

As announced, the Brussels ministerial Conference on the Democratic Republic of the Congo went ahead in the Belgian capital on Monday. During the conference, "United Nations and European Union representatives presented an ambitious action plan for the DRC which will require massive financing from the international community (...) Its cost is estimated to be US$681 million," L'Observateur reports. This financing will help alleviate suffering in the DRC, where "more than 1,200 people die each day from the after-effects of civil war, malnutrition, diseases, displacement of population," says L'Observateur, citing Jan Egeland, the UN's top humanitarian official. This action aims to help "smooth the [DRC's] democratic transition by reducing dramatically the number of human losses," writes Le Phare, also citing Jan Egeland. The DRC Action Plan will include some "330 projects addressing needs like bringing security in violence-ridden areas, setting up public health programmes, and programmes for access to potable water, agriculture, education, the anti-HIV/AIDS struggle and the protection of women and children...," Le Phare specifies.

The Brussels ministerial conference on the DR Congo can be regarded as a "welcomed [initiative, although] humanitarian assistance is often likened to charity," Le Potentiel says. But what would be more "realistic [is] to combine the useful with the pleasant, that is], take additional action, which, though pursuing the same objective, would focus on reconstruction of the DRC as a first step," Le Potentiel suggests. In other words, putting in place "a Marshall Plan for the DRC would constitute a positive approach as this would enable financial donors to recoup their investments. They [donors] would be more eager to help, knowing their money would not be going into a cistern with holes into the bottom." In any event, Le Potentiel considers it "abnormal to provide humanitarian assistance while leaving unpunished those responsible for this mess and for millions of deaths in Congo."

On the political front, after having failed to take place last Saturday as initially announced, the Constitution promulgation ceremony will certainly be held on Saturday 18 February 2006. L'Observateur describes the coming ceremony as "a much-awaited event in the DRC's political circles. The reason is that the electoral now law under consideration in Parliament cannot be adopted before the Constitution is promulgated. The promulgation of the Constitution is required for the electoral law to be adopted," notes L'Observateur, adding that "several heads of state are invited" to attend the promulgation ceremony.

These will include Denis Sassou-Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville who now "handles the DRC dossier in his capacity as current Chairman of the African Union," according to Le Phare. And even if the DRC "equation looks complicated ...Sassou-Nguesso has the advantage of knowing the DRC, its history, geography, social make-up and especially the leaders shaping the country's destiny (...)," Le Phare comments.

Meanwhile, voter identification and registration operations in the DRC have ended with "25.6 million registered voters" nationwide, Le Palmarès reports. However, "parliamentarians from Kasaï province call for registration operations to continue in their territories," L'Observateur notes. L'Observateur quotes the head of the Kasaï parliamentary groups as explaining that "in terms of the number of parliamentary seats per electoral district, Kasaï is today at a disadvantage in comparison with other provinces because a considerable number of Congolese and inhabitants of Kasaï in particular have heeded a UDPS [Etienne Tshisekedi's party] call to boycott voter registration operations." The fact remains however that "keen observers see in [the Kasaï parliamentarian's request] an attempt at digression or a manoeuvre in support of those trying to delay the [electoral] process beyond the 30 June 2006 deadline so as to be able to force a modification of the transition," L'Avenir writes.