Matata Ponyo Mapon, a politician who held top positions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including Prime Minister, said, “There has never been a time when this country was as badly governed as it is now.” He also said that poor governance is the main reason for security problems in the eastern part of the country.
Matata Ponyo Mapon, who served as DRC’s Prime Minister between 2012 and 2016, made these remarks in an interview with TV5, discussing his recently published book, “Economic Politics in a Developing Country.”
The politician, who fled DRC last year, also spoke about the country’s justice system, which had investigated him for embezzlement. He said the system is sick and cannot act properly.
He added that the current government under President Félix Tshisekedi violates the Constitution and represses anyone who criticizes it. Matata Ponyo said that personally, he refused to work with Tshisekedi’s government because of its many flaws and corruption.
“Because of my honor and integrity, I cannot work with a government involved in looting public funds and corruption,” he said.
He also claimed that President Tshisekedi himself was behind the charges brought against him and that the government continues to try to eliminate opponents.
Congo’s Security Problems Linked to Poor Governance
Commenting on security problems in eastern DRC, Matata Ponyo said that the fact the AFC/M23 alliance captured Goma after defeating the Congolese army shows that winning conflicts requires a disciplined army and strong governance.
He explained that when people examine security issues in eastern DRC, they often focus only on armed groups like AFC/M23, ignoring the root causes.
“People only look at the armed group, but what are the issues that caused this group to exist? It’s bad governance. DRC has never been as poorly governed as it is now,” he said.
In his book, he highlights that poor governance is the root of Congo’s problems.
He explained: “You can’t have a country with a $5 billion budget, like when I was Prime Minister, where salaries were paid on time, roads were built, new businesses were emerging, airline companies were operating, and public transport worked, but now, with a budget of over $16 billion, roads are destroyed, companies are failing, people are unpaid, and money is stolen…”
He added that agreements and talks to solve these problems should be based on their root causes.
He also said that he and former President Joseph Kabila tried to contribute to solving DRC’s problems by identifying the real issues.
“We showed that DRC’s problem is not the creation of armed groups. You should ask, ‘What is the root cause of these armed groups?’ It’s decades of bad governance, governance based on favoritism, ethnicity, and personal ties…”
Matata Ponyo concluded that sustainable economic development in Congo and other African countries depends on good governance, but the problem is that the continent lacks it.
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