Kinshasa, November 5th, 2025 (CPA).– The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo promised on Wednesday to use the extreme powers granted to the Head of State to suspend a provincial assembly and dismiss a governor in the event of a persistent institutional crisis, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Interior announced in a statement. « I would like to assure you that the Government of the Republic will no longer allow the provinces to sink into a cycle of endless ungovernability. To this end, all strong measures will be considered to ensure the stability of the provinces, including the use of the extreme prerogatives provided for in the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Articles 197, paragraphs 7 and 8, and 198, paragraph 10, » said Jacquemain Shabani, Deputy Prime Minister of the Interior and Security. Speaking before the provincial authorities, he recalled that the President of the Republic’s commitment to the stability of provincial institutions and cohesion between them was reaffirmed at the 44th ordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers on May 23rd, 2025, during which the Head of State had condemned the recurring tensions between provincial assemblies and provincial executives, conflicts that often materialized in motions of no confidence leading to the dismissal of several provincial governors. During the same meeting, Mr. Shabani explained, the Head of State noted that “these instabilities have weighed heavily on the proper functioning of provincial institutions, causing significant delays in the implementation of public policies and slowing down the expected momentum of administrative and socio-economic development.” “Where institutional stability should have served as a foundation for national cohesion and progress, it has been compromised to the detriment of the living conditions of our fellow citizens,” he said. « In accordance with the instructions of the country’s highest authority, my ministry convened a workshop on September 2nd -3rd, 2025, on the functioning and stabilization mechanisms of provincial institutions, which saw the active participation of members of provincial assembly offices, provincial governors and deputy governors (…).These meetings, which were greatly appreciated by the participants, led to the signing of a commitment to stabilize provincial institutions and the formulation of recommendations to the Government of the Republic with a view to ensuring the proper functioning and stabilization of provincial institutions, » recalled the Deputy Prime Minister of the Interior.
Commitment not upheld by provincial authorities
Furthermore, the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the Homeland lamented the lack of commitment on the part of the provincial authorities to the harmonious functioning of provincial institutions, which is a guarantee of stability in their respective provinces. « We are witnessing a series of petitions targeting members of the bureau or motions targeting provincial governors, in some cases in violation of the principle of the right of reply of the person accused, which is enshrined in the Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assemblies. Consequently, the high authority has instructed us to communicate to you its will and determination to stabilize provincial institutions at this time when our country is facing a war of aggression imposed on us by Rwanda and its M23/AFC auxiliaries, with the ultimate goal of ensuring national cohesion and integral development, » he insisted. To this end, Mr. Jacquemain Shabani called on everyone to act responsibly in order to commit to national cohesion and the stability of provincial institutions. “Provincial governors must commit to orthodox and transparent management of resources and ensure ongoing consultation with provincial assembly offices on major issues of significant interest (…) Members of the offices must lead their respective assemblies to adopt a resolution suspending petitions and motions during this period of war,” he recommended. The purpose of this meeting was to communicate the latest instructions from the President of the Republic regarding the stability of provincial institutions. It is also in line with the guidelines of the country’s highest authority and those of the Prime Minister, the decisions of the Government of the Republic, and the commitments made by all parties through the initiatives of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Interior and Security. In March 2013, the then Head of State dismissed the governor of the former province of Equateur, Jean-Claude Baende, in a presidential decree in order to put an end to the “serious and persistent crisis” that was threatening the province’s institutions. ACP/