The new Cabinet appointment in the Democratic Republic of Congo has recently shown the country remains in the strong grip of former President Joseph Kabila, whose power continues to cast a shadow on the new DRC leader, Felix Tshisekedi.
The opposition previously foresaw that the new faces in the office would not change the political situation within the mineral-rich country, and the current trend of the events only confirms such suggestions.
The DR Congo coalition government, as well as both the National and Provincial assemblies, is heavily dominated by the members of Kabila’s Common Front for Congo (FCC), while Tshisekedi’s CACH alliance is in the representative minority. As a result, the first citizen has been placed in a difficult position where he is unable to make appointments in his favour, Stephanie Wolters, the Central Africa analyst with the Institute for Security Studies, claims.
“According to the Congolese constitution, the president [now] has restrictive powers. It is the party with the dominance at the National Assembly which is able to determine a wide variety of key appointments, including the prime minister,” the specialist commented on the matter.
Wolters also said Tshisekedi was currently struggling to carry out his own election campaign major reforms due to the heavy influence from his predecessor. Some of the promises — including the allowance of political protests and political prisoners’ liberation — however, have already seen the light.
“He could have done more to break away from the kind of politics his predecessor was known for, but given that he is severely constrained by Kabila’s majority, he will have to take it slowly,” she added.
Bearing all this in mind, the DR Congo residents express their optimism over the new Cabinet as almost three-quarters of the appointed ministers are completely new and have never held any ministerial posts. All of the officials have more or less clear portfolios without any implications in the scandals that drew the international community’s attention.
“Another remarkable thing is that the new government does not have any of the 15 high-ranking people on the EU sanctions list,” Benno Müchler, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s DRC office, noted.
Moreover, for the first time in its history, the country saw a woman at the top envoy position. Tumba Nzeza, a member of Tshisekedi’s Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), is now leading the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while 12 more women were also granted the authority chairs. Even though the initial target of 30% of women in the government has not been met, the female representatives still received several of the most important positions.
Most analysts further agree that 48-year-old Kabila, a veteran politician who had ruled the country for nearly two decades, would not give up on his aspirations and is expected to battle for the crown in the next