{UAH} A new era for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the whole region?

 For many all over the world what is happening now in Congo DRC is an opening of a new chapter  that will inaugurate peace and prosperity for the much troubled Congo and the entire neighbouring region which has always been a corner stone of insitability and political uncertainty! This time, with the coming of a serious-minded politician at the helm of the nation, things already look set for a new take-off in spîte of the many problems still largely lingering  on throughout the territory. In any case they haven't had true peace since 1960 when the country attained its independence.

To may all over the world Thursday January 24 th 2019 appeared to be a great starter that had been in waiting for 60 years! And many hope things have now come to mean a real change for Congo DRC and the entire Great Lakes Region. Who could havbe dreamed of a peaceful handvoer to an opposition candidate in a place like Congo DRC? But it happened and the world has saluted the move with solid promises of helping the vast African nation to now move on stably without being so much hindred in its good efforts for governance by anything to do with childishness! 

Joseph Kabila did what the whole country together with the international community have always advised him to do : to quit power and give room to a new leadership. He did it and helped to let in President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, son of a very great legendary opposition guru, the late Etienne Tshisekedi, now still lying buried in Brussels.

 Kabila marked a number of good points for his obedience and many in Congo are now chanting him as a hero, a man of peace, and a lover of the nation. Others are almost adoring him as a person who has set  a good example for Africa.....

Now Tshisekedi, popularized by his dad's legend which last August 2018 drew an estimated two-million  strong crowds to cheer him from Kinshasa International Airport to his residence on his return from exile, and the countless scores of thousands who throngeg the swearing-in ceremony, will definitely prove to be a popularly loved and respected leader! He's a mature mind who knows how to handle matters and has interest in developing his country. He can be a good asset not only to Congo DRC but also to the entire eastern African region where maturity in leadership lacks!

There are apparent fears expressed by some observers as especially how Tshisekedi can cope with a Kabila who now controls the coffers of the nation and the army. But to an extent Kabila may be in a tightly difficult corner to react as he would wish. Because the general consensus now in the country is for reconciliation and appeasement and this is what the masses are now very strongly yearning for, they are tired of any infantile politics that will continue to plung their nation into trenches of uncertainty! This era is definitely gone!

Tshisekedi had on his advantage the constitution which gives him full powers to appoint, nominate, suspend and dismiss! And in addition he has many other prerogatives that encourage him to initiate democratic measures to push the country forward. As long as Kabila lost the presidency many observers feel now he's at the mercy of Tshisekedi who now enlists support from all leading world capitals including Washington where Trump is promising to work very closely with him. 

There is an observation to the effect that Kabila's party now controls two-thirds of the country's parliamentary majority and of the senate and thus they can use the occasion to amend the constitution as they like. But they will have to be very careful on this because Congo's very powerful Catholic Episcopal Conference which did a great job in shaping events to reach where they are now is very vastly spread all over the country and it will be a strong voice to oppose any such moves that tend to recall past dictatorship. And there is the powerful diaspora which is a popular voice in the country, and the many ex-political prisoners who are soon coming out of jail will power influence to countenance any naive constitutional proposal. If Tshisekedi feels threatened he will use the many prerogatives the constitution now offers to the presidency to offer safeguards to  the presidency itself and to the country. And this may turn him into a very popular patriotic figure.

The defeated candidate who now claims he was the true winner of the presidential poll, one Monsieur Fuyulu, can, with the push from the Catholic Church, end by being in good political coalition with Tshisekedi. He will be another eminet national figure to count on.

 Assurances for founding ways and means for  permanent peace in Eastern DRC have been warmly welcome by the population. A determined Tshisekedi is resolved on protecting the country's territory from any foreign intrusion. 

If all goes well for Tshisekedi, as it's now the general wish of any peace-loving person, Congo DRC will finally prosper and be a lovely place to live in and to work in. Many are now the companies readily willing to share in the potential riches of the country. But they have to watch out because new rules are on the way to avert any dealings that don't benefit the people of Congo DRC. If all goes well in a near future one may not be surprised to see a Congo touching high bracket income zones. With the mineral potential estimated at 24,000 billion dollars which is higher than Saudi Arabia's 18,000 billion dollars as represented by her petrol exploitation potential, Apart from minerals the country has forests, a rich agriculture to exploit, tourism, etc... And all this places it within that great eastern / southern African zone which with its rich soils, minerals, potential for tourism, and the energetic youth solidly present and ready to work, is indeed a region that's on the rise to become a world economic giant for which many powers covet the chance to work with and to invest in.

Thus the urge to have the region politically settled for the good of its own people and for chances to attract wide investment opportuinities for the good of the region.

G.H.K.

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