Kinshasa, December 17th, 2025 (CPA).- The mapping of territorial inequalities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was considered on Wednesday as a response to living conditions between rural and urban areas at the opening of a workshop organized in Kinshasa on the initiative of the National Observatory for Territorial Development (Onat). ‘The current mapping of territorial inequalities in the eight pilot provinces of the DRC responds to the need to implement components and rapidly converge incomes and living conditions between rural and urban areas,’ said Henry Limbaka, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Land Use Planning.
He said that the aim of the workshop was to collectively validate the relevance, methodological reliability and consistency of the results presented in the provisional document mapping socio-economic inequalities for the pilot phase, with a view to adopting this working document.
Mr. Limbaka added that the workshop also aimed to boost the spatial planning sector in its quest for spatial equity within national programs, in particular the Local Development Program dedicated to 145 territories (PDL-145T). ‘It should also make it possible to step up investment in basic social services and boost local economies in order to combat poverty and reduce spatial inequalities,’ he said.
According to Mr. Limbaka, this mapping will make it possible to better identify socio-economic differences in human capital with a view to taking initiatives to build the resilience of vulnerable communities in these eight pilot provinces. This provisional document was developed on the basis of a pilot phase covering eight (8) strategic provinces, namely: Kinshasa, Kongo Central, Kasaï, Kasaï Oriental, Tshuapa, Kwilu, Équateur and Haut-Katanga. These provinces reflect a diversity of realities (urban, mining, agricultural, forestry) and socio-economic challenges. ACP/