Restoring public finances: ‘rigorous control of the macro-economic framework must be imposed’ (President Tshisekedi)

Kinshasa, May 3^rd, 2025 (CPA) – Rigorous control of the macro-economic framework must be imposed in order to prepare for the acceleration of development through the implementation of urgent measures for the recovery and reorganization of public finances, according to the minutes of the Council of Ministers read out on national television on Friday. ‘The President of the Republic has called for the implementation of additional urgent measures to restore public finances in the context of the war that has been imposed on us in the east of the DRC. This conflict has led to a significant increase in security spending against a backdrop of limited resources.  This particular situation calls for rigorous control of the macro-economic framework’, said Patrick Muyaya, government spokesman. ‘This will have a significant impact on the monetary situation, making it easier to maintain a restrictive monetary policy, thereby helping to keep inflation under control and the exchange rate stable‘, added the Minister in charge of Communication and the Media, quoting President Félix Tshisekedi during the reading of the 42nd meeting of the Council of Ministers’ minutes on national television. He also pointed out that ‘our country has made major commitments to the Brentwood institutions, in particular the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as part of a support program based on the Extended Credit Facility for Resilience and Sustainability’. ‘In concrete terms, the exceptional measures will focus on rationalizing expenditure on certain institutions whose relevance is proven, but which continue to mobilize significant resources’, explained Minister Muyaya, before emphasizing that the Government has been instructed to launch a process to identify the structures created in recent years, particularly within the ministries, and to analyze their added value in terms of the resources allocated to them, both in terms of direct expenditure from the public purse and in terms of indirect resources mobilized. With this in mind, the Congolese Head of State has urged the Prime Minister, with the support of his cabinet, to propose a clear, swift and rigorous working methodology as soon as possible. ‘Following this identification, measures ranging from outright abolition to optimized reconfiguration of certain structures will be considered. We must be aware that an innovative and responsible economic offer to release the resources needed for structuring projects that will improve the lives of our populations cannot be dissociated from a recovery’, he concluded.