Bishops welcome new DRC government

Japhet Toko, Kinshasa, DRC

“The Bishops of CENCO have already committed themselves to accompanying the nation’s institutions of governance. The government is one of those main institutions. If the government works towards improving the living conditions of the Congolese, CENCO will do all it can to accompany the government. This is a promise that we have made,” he said.

Citizens want new direction in governance

Fr. N’ shole says Congolese people want change in the way the country is governed.  He expressed the hope that the long wait for a new government will not result in disappointment.

“A country such as ours cannot function well without a government in place. Better late than never. We hope that the long wait will be compensated by the quality performance of the members of the government, “added Fr N’ shole.

A new coalition government

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday announced a new coalition government, seven months after the inauguration of President Felix Tshisekedi. The power-sharing coalition has 23 members of the executive from Tshisekedi’s Direction for Change party, while 42 come from former president Joseph Kabila’s Common Front for Congo (FCC) coalition. Last June, the DRC’s Catholic Bishops, in their message at the end of their fifty-sixth plenary assembly expressed “concern” at the delay in appointing a government.

Commenting on the new government, Fr. Nshole said, “I have looked at the list, there are many new faces, which may suggest that we are going in a new direction,” he said and added, “On 30 December, the Congolese people made it clear that they want to see a change in the way the country is governed,” he said.

Church-state relations have improved

At the height of the DRC elections, the Bishops’ Conference, CENCO was very critical of the final electoral results announced. Since then, relations between Bishops and the new government of Felix Tshisekedi have improved.