Zimpapers Logo

The people of the Democratic Republic of Congo have spoken and the world must listen to their resounding, collective voice.

At least 17,7 million of the 46 million registered Congolese voters spoke when they voted on December 30, 2018.

About 7 051 013 or 38,6 percent of the registered voters voted for Mr Félix Tshisekedi.

His main opponent, Mr Martin Fayulu, got 6 366 732 votes, or 34,8 percent of the vote while 4 357 359 voted for Mr Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary who counted on the support of the incumbent, President Joseph Kabila. After the people spoke, their constitutional court validated their choices on Sunday when it endorsed the election results.

Mr Fayulu, a western favourite, has rejected the outcome of the poll, threatening to overturn it through “non-violent protests.”

His backers, among them the European Union, have expressed doubts over the election result.

However, they are on a losing cause as Mr Tshisekedi has received the endorsement of many African countries. In African politics that is the backing he needs the most.

Sadc and individual Sadc members among them South Africa and Zimbabwe as well as Kenya and Uganda have all thrown their weight behind Mr Tshisekedi.

President Mnangagwa, also the Deputy Chair of the Sadc Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation said in his congratulatory message issued by his spokesman, Mr George Charamba:

“Following the confirmation by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Constitutional Court of President-elect Felix Tshisekedi Tshilombo’s victory, the President of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, called on all parties and stakeholders in the DRC to respect the decision of the Constitutional Court. He further called on all parties and stakeholders to continue working for peace, stability and unity, which are critical for sustainable development and a better life for all Congolese citizens.”

President Mnangagwa, the statement added, “stressed the need by the international community to uphold and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC in conformity with the Sadc Treaty, the Constitutive Act of the African Union, and the Charter of the United Nations. He reiterated his commitment to working closely with the President-elect and his incoming administration.”

This followed a Sadc Double Troika Summit held on Thursday last week that resolved to urge the international community to respect the DRC’s sovereignty.

Sunday’s court ruling puts the DRC on the threshold of its first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since it attained independence from Belgium in 1960.

Mr Tshisekedi, son of the late, charismatic opposition leader Etienne, is to be inaugurated today.

This should be a momentous occasion for our sister republic that has not seen durable peace over the past 59 years. DRC, a huge country of indescribable mineral wealth and agricultural potential in addition to a range of other resources has, since it attained independence, been blighted by civil wars and general strife, particularly in its lawless east.

Successive governments in Kinshasa have failed to exercise effective control of all the country’s territory as militias reign, or reigned, supreme in parts of the country.

There, the militias – owned and run by local lords – are the “governments.”

Many of the lords work in close association with some Western countries and forces for one agenda – to pillage that country’s mineral resources for their personal benefit, not the common good of all the Congolese.

Because of the massive geographical size of the country and other weaknesses, the lords and their foreign allies simply dig up the minerals and ship them out undetected, earning millions upon millions for themselves.

We, however, recognise that there has been much progress over the past few years as President Kabila and his father Laurent-Désiré, whom he succeeded in 2001, have worked hard to stabilise the whole country and exercise formal government authority across the territory of the DRC.

This has helped stabilise the east of the country.

We hope that President-elect Tshisekedi will continue from where his two immediate predecessors have left.

We urge him to continue stabilising this important Sadc member for the good of all Congolese and the regional grouping as a whole.

We have always indicated our sadness at the failure of the Congolese to effectively benefit from the immense natural resources that their country has.

Their country had by 2009, an estimated US$24 trillion in untapped mineral deposits, including the world’s largest reserves of coltan – used in many electronic devices – and significant quantities of the world’s cobalt, which is used in the manufacture of some components of airplanes.

Opportunities in the vast nation’s agriculture sector are limitless. Despite the existence of these and more resources, the people of the DRC are some of the poorest in the world.

We blame this sad state of affairs to instability that is fomented by greedy foreigners, principally westerners who sponsor wars to enable them to pillage that country’s wealth amid the fighting.

We look forward to the big event in Kinshasa today when President-elect Tshisekedi is inaugurated.

In our view, his biggest and most immediate task is to ensure that the DRC remains stable. If this is achieved, it would be easier for the country to judiciously exploit its tremendous resources for the benefit of its people.