Kinshasa, October 15th, 2025 (CPA). – For some time now in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, merchants and other service providers, including those with permanent establishments and street vendors, have been using megaphones in their transactions. These rechargeable or battery-powered electronic megaphones serve as voice amplifiers, enabling them to convey advertising messages about their products and services to target customers. While some have set up shop in various trading areas of the capital and public places, others roam the streets of the minicipalities, competing with each other to tout the quality of their goods, the efficiency or, better still, the speciality of the services they offer.
This sales technique is characterised by a recorded voice repeating the same message: ‘Mbongo epasuka mbongo ekatana tozo changer’ (we exchange defective banknotes for good ones). The non-stop advertising follows the same pattern for memory cards, phone unlocking and top-ups. ‘Ya lelo, ya sika kota pona’ (there are new items here today, come and take your pick), is heard constantly throughout the day at stalls running from Avenue du Commerce (Gombe Minicipality) to Rwakadingi (Kinshasa Minicipality).
Collateral consequences
All in all, these commercial communications are proliferating in the capital’s informal sector, with megaphones contributing to noise pollution in these hotspots.
« In the trading areas that run along Luambo Makiadi ex-Bokassa Road, separating the minicipalities of Kinshasa and Barumbu, noise pollution under the parasols is accentuated by the decibels of music emanating from loudspeakers displayed in shop windows. Answering a phone call in such a place without a hearing aid is simply magical, » has lamented Paul Malanka, a salesman on Plateau Avenue. At the Huileries, Ngaba, Kintambo and Victoire roundabouts… the shouts from megaphones are joined by those of public transport ‘loaders’ attracting passengers to various destinations by shouting: ‘Huileries roundabout – Kimbuta district 1, Super Lemba, Limete 16th, Matete Banunu Kingasani Pascal, Petro Congo, Ngaba roundabout, etc.’. A few decades ago in Kinshasa, buying a megaphone that ran on non-rechargeable batteries was not within everyone’s budget. Nowadays, with the advent of the new technology, a vendor can easily buy a 10-watt megaphone. These electronic devices have contributed to the preservation of the health of their users, who in the past relied on their natural voices to make themselves heard and sell their wares. However, the excessive use of megaphones has led to noise pollution in Kinshasa and adverse effects on human health, in particular the stress, the sleep disorders, negative effects on the cardiovascular system and cognitive disorders affecting children.