Business
Congo: Provincial governor to step down, businesses worried
Map of the Democratic Republic of Congo
(Reuters) – Few in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Katanga copper belt are happy with local provincial governor Moise Katumbi’s (pictured below), decision to return to business after five years in politics.
Governor Moïse Katumbi
Known for his trademark cowboy hats and ownership of one of Africa’s top soccer clubs, Katumbi is seen as a guardian of mining firms’ interests and the relative stability which sets this southeastern province apart from much of the DRC.
While Katanga is far from an investors’ paradise and Katumbi is not short of critics, his pledge to leave office next year has got many in the industry worried about what and who comes next.
“His stepping down will leave a void,” said Simon Tuma-Waku, Vice president of the Congolese business confederation (FEC) in charge of the mining sector.
“As a governor and a businessman, he understood things. We don’t know who is coming next. There is always a fear when you leave the comfort zone.”
At a mining conference there this month, executives fretted that reassurances Katumbi had given them over contract security might count for nothing once he has gone and a successor voted in by the provincial assembly next July.
The uncertainty is all the keener as Congo approaches a November 28 presidential poll pitting President Joseph Kabila against 10 rivals in the country’s second post-war election.
