The Democratic Republic of Congo’s president, who is seeking re-election, entered office promising to help people living in deep poverty, but little has changed in remote areas.
Felix Tshisekedi, 60, is running for a second term in the December 20 election. Since coming to power in 2019, he has waived primary school tuition fees and rolled out free maternity care in the capital Kinshasa, two of his flagship social policies.
More Congolese children are attending classrooms than ever before. However, most people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remain trapped in dire poverty and little change has occurred.
In the small village of Camp Pei in Kwilu province in the western Democratic Republic of the Congo, farmer Victor Mukalla said he was disappointed.
“Heads of state owe us money. They haven’t kept their promises,” he said.
Despite its vast mineral wealth, the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the world’s poorest countries, plagued by corruption, mismanagement and conflict in the east.
According to the World Bank, about two-thirds of the world’s 100 million people live on less than $2.15 a day.
Tshisekedi’s government is emphasizing pro-poor social policies to voters ahead of next month’s polls.
Augustin Kabuya, secretary-general of the president’s UDPS party, said free primary education was a “great achievement.”
“Poor parents were keeping their children out of school,” he said, explaining that the policy resulted in an additional 2 million children attending school nationwide.
– Full classroom –
Although the idea of making elementary school tuition free has been widely praised, its implementation has also been criticized.
Valerie Madianga, from the Kinshasa-based Center for Fiscal and Rural Development Research, told AFP that the quality of schooling was declining.
Currently, classes are packed with 80 to 100 children, putting a huge strain on teachers, he said.
Teachers are also feeling the effects of soaring inflation, which rose to 22% year-on-year in October, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Madianga said life is tough for many people, but at the same time many see an elite few enriching themselves.
Madeline Matondo, a 33-year-old mother from the village of Kakoi in Kwilu, 520 kilometers (325 miles) east of the capital Kinshasa, said she also wanted middle school tuition fees waived.
Secondary education costs about $50 a year, a huge amount for people without a salary.
“Either make it free or create conditions for parents to work,” said Matondo, who was preparing corn meals over a wood fire.
That same morning, dozens of young people wearing school uniforms were wandering around Kakoi. They were excluded from school for non-payment of tuition fees.
– ‘not enough’ –
Solange Tambwe, a mother of four who lives in Kakoi, said her daily problems go beyond school fees.
“We don’t have enough drinking water or food here,” she says.
Nearby, Agnes Kutameka was sifting rice in a small, casual restaurant.
“Look at the quality of the washing water,” Kutameka said, showing a basin filled with milky liquid.
“Even the drinking water is dirty, and children are suffering from amoeba infections, some of them even die,” said the 60-year-old woman.
“Ask the authorities why they don’t care about our fate,” she said.
In the region, local efforts are trying to fill the gap left by the state.
In a field in the village of Kata Luwala, men and women are working together to replant seedlings uprooted by recent storms.
They were all members of a local association founded by Vivian Rangelo, a 63-year-old widow who owns about 20 hectares (about 50 acres) of forest, a pig farm and a fish pond.
While feeding the pigs, Rangelo explained that the proceeds would be used to empower women because “poverty is about women.”
But she said she was concerned about the aging of the rural workforce: “Young people aren’t interested in farming anymore.”
She also cited petty corruption by bureaucrats and police, and lack of the most basic services – roads, education and health care – as serious problems facing the poor.
Source: guardian.ng