Kinshasa, June 10th, 2026 (CPA).- A senator has called for the establishment of a Senate parliamentary commission of inquiry to examine land-related irregularities across the Democratic Republic of the Congo, during a plenary session held Wednesday at the People’s Palace in Kinshasa. “I recommend the creation of a Senate parliamentary commission of inquiry tasked with examining land irregularities across the entire national territory,” said Senator Cédric Ngindu. He explained that the commission would be responsible for identifying beneficiaries of legally issued land titles affected by demolitions or disputes, listing victims acting in good faith, identifying administrative agents involved in irregularities, assessing the economic, social and financial impact of such practices, and proposing mechanisms for compensation and prevention.
He further recommended that the Senate’s Economic, Financial and Good Governance Committee (ECOFIN), in collaboration with the Ministry of Land Affairs, assess losses suffered by the national treasury in the land sector. The senator stressed that land conflicts often conceal illegal practices and major dysfunctions, including fraud, corruption, diversion of public revenues, double allocation of land titles, document falsification and other anti-values that deprive the State of significant resources. “We must know precisely the extent of the revenue losses suffered by the Republic,” he urged Land Affairs Minister O’Néige N’Sele. He insisted that sanctions must be exemplary and responsibilities clearly established throughout the administrative chain. “The perpetrators, co-perpetrators, accomplices and beneficiaries of these irregularities must be held accountable. It is unacceptable for victims to continue suffering while those responsible remain unpunished,” he said.
He also called for increased budgetary allocations to the land sector, describing it as strategic for social peace, legal security and economic attractiveness. In response, the Minister of Land Affairs stressed that sustainable prosperity cannot be achieved in a context of land insecurity. “There can be no strong investment where legal security is weak. Nor can there be lasting social peace when land issues remain a permanent source of conflict,” she concluded.