Kinshasa, July 3rd, 2021 (CPA).– The Minister of Finance, Nicolas Kazadi and the resident representative of the African Development Bank (ADB) Solomane Kone, who is at the same time Deputy Director General of this financial institution for Central Africa, agreed, Thursday, July 1 in Kinshasa, to invest financially in agriculture, in order to bring the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) towards development, the CPA learned on Friday from the Ministry of Finance.
According to the source, this meeting focused on a few specific sectors, in order to accelerate economic growth in the DRC, in this case, agriculture, infrastructure, good governance. The other projects among the 34 (thirty-four), are an integral part of a comprehensive approach that experts from two parties will present at the end of the ongoing discussions, in anticipation of their effective implementation.
Regarding agriculture in particular, indicates the same source, the AfDB is eager to invest in the agricultural value chain, through urgent measures that will be taken to streamline operations on the ground. Concretely, this will be the agrifood value chain which aims to increase its competitive advantage on the basis of a project bringing together producers, processors, specialists, food service companies, research groups and suppliers, mainly in the goal of stimulating development for the improvement of the social conditions of the communities.
“For the resident representative of the ADB, significant investments in agricultural value chains and the mechanization of agriculture will undoubtedly create inclusive growth. As such, a restoration of trust in all directions is envisaged between the various actors involved, including the population, and by extension that of external investors”, specified the resident representative of the ADB.
The infrastructure sector also targeted
The infrastructure sector was also targeted during the exchange of views between the two personalities. The source indicates that the Minister of Finance and his host have agreed on the issue of infrastructure, as it is a perpendicular apprehension as it affects several sectors.
In a context of globalization underpinned by the pooling of energies, Nicolas Kazadi and Solomane Kone considered it essential to also look into this problem of infrastructure which will facilitate regional integration and therefore, exchanges both at the cultural and commercial level. than financial.
The Deputy Director General of the AfDB for Central Africa expressed a feeling of satisfaction, due to the capacity of the government to effectively manage its resources and to implement relevant policies, while respecting the commitments made with the citizens. , and that of democratic principles, he concluded. Certain depositaries and economic operators in the sector contacted for this purpose attribute this price increase to the significant decrease in this commodity in the various warehouses in the city. They also claim to have reserves that can still help supply the city.
On the other hand, the merchant population speaks of a pure and simple speculation created by the depositaries and the economic operators of the place who are keen to increase the price of this commodity, on the grounds that the corn flour produced locally as part of the voluntary program agriculture (PVA) of « Nkuadi », under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture, would cost a lot of money, ie 27,000 (twenty-seven thousand) FC per 25 kg bag.
As a reminder, when the marketing of the maize flour produced by the PVA was launched, various reactions were recorded among the population and certain actors in civil society, who demanded that the price be lowered to allow to the population to obtain them at an affordable price for all. ACP/NIG