A new digital platform to modernize public payments in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was launched last week. Doudou Fwamba Likunde Li-Botayi, Minister of Finance, announced the launch on November 14. The new tool will allow citizens and businesses to track their payment files in real-time. It is the fruit of a new partnership between the DRC and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

"With this platform, all beneficiaries of payment files can now track their requests online, from home," the minister said at a press conference in Kinshasa. "As soon as a request is registered in the expenditure chain, the beneficiary receives a message containing a unique number. This enables the request to be located precisely: in the Minister's office, in the relevant technical departments, or elsewhere. In the event of missing documents, the platform immediately indicates the documents to be provided," he explained.

The official added that the initiative aims to tackle corruption. "There will be no more room for informal calls or suspicious interventions. Everything is now transparent and traceable," he asserted.

The service is available on the Ministry of Finance website. Users with a "tracking number" can check their file status online. At the moment, however, tracking is limited to requests that have reached the Ministry of Finance. To improve efficiency, the platform should be expanded to include other government entities involved in public spending, such as provincial governments and state-owned enterprises. There are also concerns about whether the platform can handle many user requests.

This reform is part of a broader effort to improve transparency and efficiency in public spending. The minister noted that digitization is progressing within the Ministry of Finance and its related agencies. Despite these advances, challenges remain in creating a fully digitized public service. Limited internet access and unreliable power supply are significant obstacles. A few years ago, the government adopted a digitization plan for 2025, but it is uncertain if this goal can be met on time.

Georges Auréoles Bamba