Kinshasa, October 22nd, 2026 (CPA).- The resumption of rail services on the Kinshasa–Matadi route was welcomed on Thursday in Gombe, a commune in the north of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), by the First Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council, during a workshop on the revitalization of public transport companies in the DRC. “The revival of ONATRA necessarily depends on the recovery of its main maritime gateway: the port of Matadi.
We welcome the ongoing modernization efforts, notably the strategic partnership on the container terminal, the recent acquisition of new high-capacity cargo handling cranes and the dynamic resumption of rail traffic on the Kinshasa–Matadi route,” said Léon Kyaboba, First Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council. “These investments send a strong signal, but they are not enough to cope with competition from neighboring corridors.
We must therefore speed up the renovation of port infrastructure and raise our operational standards to the highest international levels,” he added. “The Economic and Social Council remains deeply concerned about the situation of workers.
The accumulated social debt – whether in the form of wage arrears or pension liabilities – weighs heavily on the lives of staff and their families. Social stability is a prerequisite for productivity.
Modernizing the company without stabilizing the social climate would be like building on sand,” explained Mr Kyaboba. In his view, this workshop must mark a turning point.
The proposed solutions must be pragmatic and bold. He invited the participants to address some fundamental questions.“How can we sustainably modernize the Kinshasa–Matadi railway line? How can we optimize our ports to turn them into competitive hubs in Central Africa? What clear mechanisms must we establish to sustainably fund the company’s social fund, by capitalizing on royalties from concessions and certified government receivables, in order to definitively clear the social liabilities? And what model of public funding or public–private partnership should we adopt to safeguard our national heritage whilst injecting the necessary capital?”, he continued.“In this regard, the proposed pilot listing of Onatra on the Kinshasa Stock Exchange offers historic opportunities which our institution encourages you to analyze with the utmost rigor.
The Economic and Social Council expects bold and realistic proposals to emerge from your work. Your conclusions will guide the recommendations we will submit for the attention of His Excellency the President of the Republic, Parliament and the Government,” concluded the First Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council. ACP/