Katanga. Political tension is growing in the province of Katanga, South Eastern DRC over the presumed intention by President Joseph Kabila to seek a third term in office come 2016.
Secondly, the division of the province of Katanga according to the dispositions of the current Constitution multiplying the number of provinces from 11 to 26 in accordance with the decentralisation policy.
The two issues are dividing Katanga politicians between those who approve the project affirming that only a decentralisation policy should lead to the development of the country and those who do not, arguing that such a dismemberment of the province is not a priority at the moment because it may exacerbate social sensibilities.
In fact, the province of Katanga used to be an entity a part from the rest of the country mostly because of its huge minerals resources and its important contribution to the national income.
According to some local sources, the province is about to implode mainly because of the division of various political leaders for personal political positioning.
Mr Gabriel Kyungu wa Kumwanza, the president of the Katanga Provincial Assembly, said some local communities do not accept to be separated from the others and to belong to another province.
“We are fearing some heartbreaks and frustrations in the case some communities who used to live together will be obliged to live separated. In my close conviction, the people of the province of Katanga are not ready for such a decentralization policy as long as this means a dismemberment of the population,” Mr Kumwanza said.
According to the constitution, the province of Katanga is to be transformed in to small provinces namely the provinces of Haut-Lomami, Haut-Katanga, Lualaba and Tanganyika.
President Kabila had no other way than to calm the situation locally. He met the political leaders along with the Katangan Civil Society Organisations in his farm in the surroundings of the city of Lubumbashi, the capital city of the province.
About katanga
The province seceded from the rest of the country on July 11, 1960, only a dozen days after the then Republic of Congo got its independence from Belgium at the instigation of the Belgian mineral company, Union Miniere du Haut-Katanga, (UMHK).
Since then, some political leaders are dreaming of another possible secession from the country. Such a dream explains the armed activities of a group called Bakata Katanga, very active in the province. -Monitor
Comments
About Author
