Highlights

• Congo’s RVF launches buoyage campaign on three rivers covering over 500 km (310 miles)
• The effort aims to improve navigation safety and boost transport reliability
• Officials stress the need for more resources to sustain operations

DR Congo’s river authority, Régie des voies fluviales (RVF), has begun a buoyage operation across more than 500 km (310 miles) of waterways, aiming to improve navigation and reduce accident risks.

The campaign, launched Sept. 1, covers 13 km (8 miles) on the Kwango, 329 km (204 miles) on the Kwilu up to Kikwit, and 187 km (116 miles) on the Kasaï between Kwamouth and Kandolo, RVF said. It also includes hydrographic and hydrological surveys to enhance traffic flow and support trade along these strategic corridors.

Transport ministry official Abolia Taba Mopolo, who inaugurated the operation, said river infrastructure is vital for mobility, multimodal transport, and economic development.

By February this year, RVF had already secured 1,734 km (1,077 miles) of the Congo River between Kinshasa and Kisangani, after earlier works on 605 km (376 miles) of the Kasaï. But the agency still faces financial and technical limits. At the launch, Kwilu provincial authorities urged greater resources to ensure permanent beaconing of the waterways.

Ronsard Luabeya

Highlights

• Congo’s General Strategic Reserve (RSG) sells corn flour at 35,000 CF per 25kg bag, below market price
• Operation covers four Kinshasa markets, with rollout planned for Kongo Central
• RSG says stock is “large” and could influence market prices

The General Strategic Reserve (RSG), a department of the Congolese presidency, has begun selling corn flour in Kinshasa at 35,000 Congolese francs ($13.20) per 25 kg bag, undercutting current market prices of 40,000 to 63,000 francs.

The operation is taking place at the Gambela, Matete, Bayaka, and Kapela markets, the RSG said in a statement. It will soon extend to Kongo Central province at the same price.

The RSG, which also supports local producers, rolls out such interventions on a seasonal basis to counter price spikes or disruptions caused by crises and natural disasters.

Created by presidential decree, the RSG manages stocks of essential goods to prevent shortages, stabilize prices, and support food security. It said its flour reserves are “large, even unlimited”, and could influence market dynamics in the capital.

Timothée Manoke, intern

La Réserve stratégique générale (RSG), service spécialisé de la Présidence de la République, a annoncé la mise en vente à Kinshasa d’un stock de farine de maïs au prix de 35 000 francs congolais (FC) le sac de 25 kg. Ce tarif est inférieur à celui actuellement pratiqué sur le marché de la capitale, où le même produit se négocie entre 40 000 et 63 000 francs, selon la qualité.

La commercialisation de cette farine s’effectue notamment au marché Gambela (croisement Kasa-Vubu Force), au marché Matete, au marché Bayaka et à Kapela (en diagonale de Kin Marché), précise la RSG dans sa communication.

Cette opération s’inscrit dans le cadre des actions saisonnières menées par la RSG. L’institution a également annoncé l’arrivée prochaine de son stock dans la province du Kongo Central, où elle compte mettre sur le marché de la farine de maïs au même tarif.

La RSG affirme disposer d’un stock important, voire « illimité », ce qui pourrait influencer les prix pratiqués sur le marché de Kinshasa.

Créée par ordonnance présidentielle, la RSG a pour mission d’assurer la prévention et la gestion des crises par la constitution de stocks stratégiques de produits de première nécessité. Elle intervient pour soutenir la sécurité alimentaire, stabiliser les prix et appuyer les producteurs locaux, en constituant et renouvelant des réserves destinées à répondre aux situations de crise, de pénurie ou de calamités naturelles.

Timothée Manoke, stagiaire

La Régie des voies fluviales (RVF) a lancé, le 1er septembre 2025, une campagne de balisage sur les rivières Kwilu, Kwango et une partie du Kasaï. L’opération couvre 13 km sur le Kwango, 329 km sur le Kwilu jusqu’à Kikwit, et 187 km sur le Kasaï, entre Kwamouth et la passe rocheuse de Kandolo. Le coup d’envoi a été donné par Abolia Taba Mopolo, secrétaire général au ministère des Transports, voies de communication et désenclavement.

Selon le directeur général de la RVF, Daniel Lwaboshi, l’objectif est de sécuriser la navigation fluviale et de réduire les risques d’accidents. Les travaux incluent également des activités d’hydrographie, d’hydrologie et de barométrie, afin de fluidifier le trafic et de renforcer la fiabilité des échanges sur ces axes stratégiques.

Pour le secrétaire général du ministère des Transports, le développement des infrastructures fluviales contribue à la mobilité des personnes et des marchandises, au développement du transport multimodal et à un meilleur accès aux voies de communication, considérés comme des leviers du développement économique et social.

En juillet 2024, la RVF avait déjà sécurisé 605 km sur la rivière Kasaï, et en février 2025, 1 734 km sur le fleuve Congo entre Kinshasa et Kisangani. Malgré ces avancées, l’établissement fait face à des contraintes structurelles qui limitent ses capacités d’intervention. Lors de la cérémonie de lancement, les autorités locales de la province du Kwilu ont plaidé pour un renforcement des moyens techniques et financiers afin d’assurer un balisage permanent.

Ronsard Luabeya

Lire aussi :

Secteur maritime : lancement de la BMRD en 2026, une opportunité pour la RDC

Transport fluvial : vers la fermeture de 240 ports en RDC Transport fluvial : vers la fermeture de 240 ports en RDC 

• DR Congo restructures Afridex, adding two deputy general manager roles.
• Marcel Mbuyu returns as DGA for technical operations; Serge Bokana named DGA for administration.
• Changes come as Likasi arms complex nears completion with Chinese and Turkish partners.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has restructured Afridex, the state-owned explosives company, creating two deputy general manager posts to oversee technical and administrative functions, according to presidential orders read on national television on Wednesday, September 3.

Marcel Mbuyu Kyungu was appointed Deputy General Manager (DGA) in charge of technical and operational matters, marking his return to Afridex eight months after leaving the company. Serge Bokana, previously the sole deputy, will now serve as DGA for administration and finance. Sikabwe Asinda remains Managing Director.

Afridex, which operates under the Ministry of National Defense, holds a monopoly on the production, import, storage, and distribution of explosives and ammunition across the DRC. Its mandate is to regulate flows and ensure traceability of these products from manufacturing to end use.

Strategic timing

Mbuyu’s comeback coincides with the scheduled completion of the Likasi industrial complex, a facility under construction since May 2024 with Chinese partner Norinco and Turkish arms manufacturer MKE. The project, set to come on stream in September 2025, is designed to strengthen Congo’s arms autonomy and reduce dependence on imports.

A mechanical engineer trained in Dortmund with further qualifications in engineering management from Pretoria and defense strategy in Kinshasa, Mbuyu previously served as Afridex’s deputy from 2018 to January 2025. Before that, he spent over eight years at Rheinmetall Denel Munition in South Africa, a subsidiary of Germany’s Rheinmetall AG, where he managed supply chains and plant operations.

Timothée Manoke, intern

• New central bank governor André Wameso pledges to rehabilitate the Congolese franc.

• Strategy rests on stabilizing inflation, boosting demand for CF, and expanding its use in payments.

• Risks include weak reserves, fiscal slippage, and persistence of parallel markets.

The new governor of the Central Bank of Congo (BCC), André Wameso, has vowed to restore confidence in the Congolese franc (CF) and reduce the country’s heavy reliance on the U.S. dollar, a challenge that has frustrated policymakers for more than a decade.

“We have to make sure the population trusts its currency again, because I don’t think we can build a new Congo with a currency other than the national currency,” Wameso told Bloomberg in an interview.

Despite a program launched in 2012 to promote use of the CF, dollarization remains pervasive. This initiative "has had only a marginal impact, and dollarization remains very high", notes the World Bank in a report published last July. The IMF estimates that more than 90% of loans and deposits are still denominated in foreign currencies, mainly dollars, leaving the BCC with limited room to conduct monetary policy.

Three-pillar plan

Wameso’s roadmap is anchored on three priorities: stabilizing the currency by tightening policy and intervening occasionally on the forex market until inflation holds near 7%; creating structural demand for CF through higher-yielding domestic bonds and expanded credit, particularly for housing; and facilitating its use in everyday transactions by making digital and retail payments in local currency the norm.

First moves

Since taking office, Wameso has injected $50 million into the interbank market at CF2,776 per dollar, echoing a strategy adopted earlier this year with IMF support. The BCC has kept its key interest rate at 25% since August 2023 to rein in inflation, which stood at 8.5% in July, year-on-year.

He also inherits pending reforms, including a June 2024 directive obliging all electronic payment terminals to accept only CF. The rule, effective since July 2024, has yet to be widely enforced.

To achieve his objective, President Tshisekedi's former economic advisor must also ensure that the measures decided before his arrival are implemented. In June 2024, for example, the BCC ordered the reconfiguration of all electronic payment terminals to accept only Congolese francs. However, this obligation, which came into force at the end of July 2024, has still not been complied with.

Generally speaking, the success of this gamble depends on a number of conditions. Anti-inflation credibility must be maintained so that positive real interest rates encourage households and businesses to save in domestic currency. The local financial market will also need to expand, with liquid instruments and an active secondary market to underpin confidence. Strict budgetary discipline is also essential: if the Treasury were to force the BCC to finance the deficit, the monetary peg would immediately be called into question. Finally, the transparent operation of the foreign exchange market will be essential to avoid adjustments being channelled through the parallel market.

Conditions and risks

Analysts say success hinges on credibility. The central bank must sustain positive real interest rates, deepen local debt markets, and maintain strict fiscal discipline to avoid pressure from the Treasury to finance deficits. Transparency on the forex market is also key to preventing capital flight to the parallel market.

Risks remain high. A hasty transition could fuel informal currency trade, dollar sales without matching inflows could sap reserves—currently covering barely three months of imports—and rapid portfolio shifts could trigger defaults.

Observers point to three indicators that will signal progress: the spread between official and parallel exchange rates, appetite for CF-denominated assets, and uptake of the currency in digital payments.

By putting de-dollarization at the heart of his mandate and stressing it in early international outreach, Wameso has set an ambitious tone. The mission is fraught with obstacles, but his message is clear: stabilize, add value to, and expand use of the Congolese franc as a step toward monetary sovereignty.

Georges Auréole Bamba

Deux ordonnances présidentielles, lues le 3 septembre 2025 à la Radiotélévision nationale congolaise (RTNC), ont modifié l’organisation de l’Africaine d’explosifs (Afridex), entreprise publique rattachée au ministère de la Défense nationale. Elles créent deux postes de directeurs généraux adjoints (DGA) : l’un consacré aux aspects techniques et opérationnels, l’autre aux questions administratives et financières.

À la faveur de ces réformes, Marcel Mbuyu Kyungu a été nommé DGA chargé des questions techniques et opérationnelles, huit mois après avoir quitté l’entreprise. Le second poste de DGA a été attribué à Serge Bokana, qui occupait jusque-là la fonction unique d’adjoint. Sikabwe Asinda reste directeur général.

Afridex détient le monopole de la production, de l’importation, du stockage et de la distribution des explosifs et munitions sur tout le territoire. Elle a pour mission de réguler les flux de ces produits et d’assurer leur traçabilité, de la fabrication à l’utilisation finale.

La nomination de Marcel Mbuyu intervient au moment où le complexe industriel de Likasi, dont la construction a été lancée en mai 2024, doit entrer en service. Les travaux, prévue sur 18 mois, arrive à terme en septembre 2025. Ce projet est développé avec des partenaires chinois, dont Norinco, et turcs, via MKE, dans une stratégie visant à renforcer l’autonomie de la RDC en matière d’armement et à réduire la dépendance aux importations.

Marcel Mbuyu avait déjà exercé comme directeur général adjoint de l’Afridex de février 2018 à janvier 2025. Ingénieur mécanique formé à l’Université des sciences appliquées de Dortmund, avec une spécialisation en technologies de production métalliques, il est également titulaire d’un master en management de l’ingénierie de l’Université de Pretoria, ainsi que d’un diplôme du Collège des Hautes Études de Stratégie et Défense de Kinshasa.

Avant son entrée à Afridex, il a travaillé plus de huit ans chez Rheinmetall Denel Munition en Afrique du Sud, filiale du groupe allemand Rheinmetall AG (19e producteur mondial d’armement en 2023), où il a dirigé la chaîne d’approvisionnement et supervisé les opérations de quatre usines de production.

Timothée Manoke, stagiaire