By Alain NZADI-a-NZADI, sj
This year’s social days brought participants to reflect, for three days, around the theme of consolidating democracy and promoting the rule of law in DR Congo. The two panelists of the first day analyzed in turn the fundamental reasons for the chronic political instability in DR Congo, the means to end it and, finally, the disintegration of the former ruling coalition in DR Congo, FCC- CACH, to see if the current Sacred Union (new ruling coalition) is a panacea and a guarantee of stability for the coming years.
Beyond the fact that the instability in our country has many faces, recalled one of the panelists, it is important that the Congolese regain control of the speech on the Congo and stop outsourcing their problems to others. It is only by claiming their national sovereignty as a state, as a nation, that it will be possible to resolve the recurrent and multifaceted crises that have beset the country for several decades.
Moreover, analyzing the implosion of the former ruling FCC-CACH coalition and the advent of the Sacred Union, a critical look shows that this new majority already carries the seeds of future instability, given that it suffers from the lack, within it, of a homogeneous and numerically consistent core which would lead the boat and facilitate the search for consensus with the other parties.
The second day was devoted to the legal aspect. In addition to the analysis of the Congolese judicial system and its link with the rule of law and political stability, the two panelists of the day also discussed the challenges of the application of the constitution in DR Congo.
What would be the best judicial system for the DR Congo?, asked one of the panelists. Is it not the one that guarantees the rule of law and political stability, based on the criteria of competence, independence of judges, effectiveness, equity, efficiency, respect for deadlines? and transparency of procedures?
However, given the flaws in our legal system, civil society is called upon to play the role of guardian of the temple. It must be at the center of the essential stages in the development of laws and their implementation, in order to be able to denounce any slippages and possible shortcomings.
In addition, the panelists stressed that interpretations of the constitution must be free from political manipulation and constitutional judges must depart from partisan interests to speak of the law in the best interests of the nation.
The third and final day returned to the last two aspects of the theme of the days, namely economic and security. The first panelist deciphered the security crises and their relationship to governance in DR Congo. He stressed the importance for political governance to tackle latent conflicts and avoid “trivializing” security crises, even when they appear to be in an embryonic phase. Whenever we mess with the political situation, that we settle into uncertainty and that social and political life gets bogged down, violence, conflicts, war are never far away, has t he concluded.
The second panelist discussed the best economic approach to take to finance democracy, ensure prosperity and consolidate security and stability. Democracy is expensive, of course, but the return on investment is worth the cost, especially through the establishment of a culture of accountability of elected officials to their constituents.
Finally, concerning the high cost of the elections, some possible solutions are possible, in particular, to prune from the electoral budget items that should not depend on the CENI and create a special allocation account intended to finance the elections.
Finally, it should be noted that the social days were closed by the representative of the Minister of State in charge of Justice (prevented at the last minute).
Director of CEPAS and Editor-in-Chief of Congo-Africa
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