Re-elected DRC president sworn in after disputed results
● President Felix Tshisekedi was sworn in yesterday for his second five-year term as leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), pledging to tackle the country’s persistent problems of conflict and poverty.
President Cyril Ramaphosa was among those attending the inauguration after Tshisekedi’s victory in elections last month, which the opposition has condemned as having been rigged.
Tshisekedi told about 80,000 supporters in a packed Martyrs Stadium in Kinshasa that he will ensure the mistakes of the past are never repeated, will lift people out of poverty and create employment.
Other heads of state at the event included President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe and President Hakainde Hichilema from neighbouring Zambia.
Tshisekedi won more than 70% of the vote last month.
The election was marred by widespread allegations of fraud, logistical shortcomings and disruptions. The fallout threatens to further destabilise the DRC, the world’s thirdlargest copper producer and the top producer of cobalt, a key component in the manufacture of electric vehicle batteries.
But Tshisekedi said the poll result showed the electorate wanted him to continue what he started in his first term.
This included opening up the DRC for investment and ensuring that the country’s citizens gained the full benefit of its mineral resources.
“Drawing on the lessons of past experience and bearing in mind your expressed aspirations, I pledge to do everything in my power to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated and that the actions necessary for the advancement of our country are promptly taken,” he said.
In the new DRC, “our only real enemies” — insecurity and poverty — will be eliminated, the president pledged.
“Today, a new era is born. An era of maturity embodied in the republican values of peace and justice, an era of progress, rid of all that once plagued us, an era magnified by the hard work and conscientious action of the sons and daughters of our motherland,” Thsisekedi said.
He vowed to do everything in his power to deliver on his promises, which include creating jobs, stabilising inflation and having the country’s natural resources — agricultural and mineral — processed “on our own soil”.
He promised improved access to basic services such as healthcare and education and a revamp of the public service.
“Now vested with the supreme office of the republic, I stand here to seal this new contract with you, a contract marked by your sacrifices, your aspirations, your vitality and your farsightedness,” he said.
“Today, more than ever, you have demonstrated to the world, through the strength of your dignity, your courage, your resilience, your vigilance and the glow of the patriotic flame within you, that a transfigured Congo has been born.”
He said he was aware of concerns about unemployment, gender inequality, the weakness of the currency, heavy dependence on imports and other issues.
“These concerns, for which visible action was taken during the previous mandate, will continue to be the focus of government action under my leadership and through my vision,” he said.
This was “a vision, or rather a firm predisposition for action, set out in the six commitments contained in the blueprint for society that I presented to you when I sought your votes,” Tshisekedi said.
I pledge to do everything in my power to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated and that the actions necessary for the advancement of our country are promptly taken