Urban Planning and Housing: a procedure challenging to the legality of a proposed appointment in Kinshasa

Kinshasa, August 20^th, 2026 (CPA).- A procedure aiming to challenge the legality of the appointment of unit heads within the Provincial Ministry in charge of Urban Planning and Housing in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has been proposed on Thursday by the Inter-Union Committee of the Urban Public Administration, according to a letter. “Governor, the Urban Public Administration Trade Union Alliance has the honour of bringing to your attention its concerns regarding the appointment of unit heads within the Urban Planning and Housing Department. It intends to challenge the legality of the appointment of unit heads for Urban Planning and Housing,” has written David Luyeye, president of the Inter-Union Committee for Urban Public Administration, in this document addressed to Daniel Bumba, Governor of the city of Kinshasa. According to him, the provincial Minister in charge of Urban Planning and Housing has sent a letter regarding the appointment of the heads of the Urban Planning and Housing Units. “Given the existing collaboration between the central administration and the provincial executive, your authority cannot ratify an irregular appointment signed by an authority lacking competence in this matter,” he has said. He has explained that, following checks with the governor’s office, the Inter-Union Committee had identified elements that raise serious doubts as to the authenticity and administrative traceability attributed to the document. “The correspondence in question does not appear to have a proper record within the Governor’s Office that would allow us to establish with certainty that it was processed and signed by Your High Authority. Furthermore, reservations would have been expressed within your own Office as to whether this correspondence should be recognised as having actually been signed by you,” has continued Mr Luyeye. According to the same source, these matters are sufficiently serious to justify, in the interests of the administration and the authority of the State, that an official verification of the authenticity, origin and administrative route of this letter dated July 31^st, 2026 be carried out. “The Inter-Union Committee refrains, at this stage, from drawing any definitive conclusions regarding the origin of this correspondence and simply requests that the necessary checks be carried out to establish whether it was indeed signed by Your High Authority and duly registered within your Office’s departments,” has specified the president of the Inter-Union Committee of the Urban Public Administration. Furthermore, a request for a review of the measures concerning the newly designed number plates has been made to the Provincial Government in a statement by the Urban Public Administration Trade Union Alliance read out on Thursday in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “The trade union bloc demands that the Government review the measures concerning the newly designed number plates, as no staff member will agree to pay a sum of money for these plates,” has declared David Luyeye, president of this trade union body, who has read out the document.  He has also called on the provincial executive to make immediate payment of 14 months’ arrears owed to urban staff.