News (687)
Orange Money Group plans to roll out virtual Visa cards across Africa and the Middle East, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In a joint statement, Orange and Visa, a global leader in digital payments, said they had signed an agreement to support the expansion.
The virtual Visa card will be accessible via the Maxit application, which currently has 45 million active customers. Users will be able to instantly generate a rechargeable card from their Orange Money account, usable for online payments on local and international websites. A physical version of the card is also planned and will be made available later at authorized Orange Money points of sale.
In the DRC, Orange Money had already launched an Orange Money Visa card in June 2021 in partnership with UBA. Linked to the Orange Money account, it allowed funds to move between the card and the user’s mobile wallet. It remains unclear whether the initiative gained traction, but the current project builds on similar rollouts in Botswana, Madagascar, Jordan, and Ivory Coast. The goal is to “provide millions of users with a simple, secure, and internationally recognized payment solution.”
According to Thierry Millet, CEO of Orange Money Group, the launch of virtual cards for international payments marks the first phase of a broader agreement designed to expand Orange Money’s acceptance on e-commerce platforms and at local merchants.
The partnership comes as Visa strengthens its presence in the DRC through several collaborations with local banks and fintech companies. Last September, Visa signed an agreement with Onafriq, a pan-African digital payments network, to interconnect VisaPay with the country’s main mobile money wallets, including M-Pesa, Airtel Money, and Orange Money. The interoperability enables Visa accounts to be funded directly from mobile money wallets and facilitates electronic payments.
In the DRC, the value of digital transactions is expected to reach $3.85 billion in 2025, driven by an estimated average annual growth rate of 19%, according to the GSMA. Visa aims to capture part of this growth through the gradual rollout of its solutions, including the VisaPay application launched last September.
The Congolese mobile money market continues to grow strongly. According to data from the Regulatory Authority for Post and Telecommunications of Congo (ARPTC), Orange Money accounted for 6.611 million active accounts in the second quarter, out of a total of 31.16 million, representing a 19.3% increase from the previous quarter. The operator held a 21.22% market share, behind Vodacom’s M-Pesa (49.37%), Airtel Money (29.26%), and Africell (0.15%).
Ronsard Luabeya
With around two weeks remaining in 2025, the Democratic Republic of Congo is still piloting a new cobalt export procedure under its quota system. Many mining companies now say they will be unable to use their full annual allocations and are questioning what will happen to any unused quotas.
Under an Oct. 10, 2025 decision by the board of the Regulatory and Control Authority for Strategic Mineral Substances Markets (ARECOMS), which set the conditions for obtaining, allocating, and executing cobalt export quotas, base quotas per operator are neither transferable nor carried over into a future period. The decision states that any monthly export quota not used by the last day of the month in question is considered lost and automatically reallocated to ARECOMS’ annual strategic quota.
The decision includes an exception for this year. Monthly quotas per operator are exceptionally cumulative until Dec. 31, 2025, but no carryover from one year to the next is permitted. If applied strictly, companies unable to export their full 2025 quotas would forfeit them. Industry representatives say this would be unfair, arguing that the delays are not the operators’ fault.
Asked to comment, ARECOMS told Bloomberg that quotas from the last quarter would not be lost by mining companies and that it was examining all implementation options to limit the impact. The U.S. media also said DRC authorities had allowed producers to retain their 2025 quotas. However, as of the end of last week, several industry players said they had received no official notification to that effect.
Cobalt exports were due to resume on Oct. 16 but remained blocked for more than a month due to the lack of formal implementing rules required under ARECOMS directives. The interministerial Mines and Finance circular setting out the practical arrangements for cobalt exports was published only on Dec. 2. According to the Mining Chamber of the Federation of Enterprises of Congo (FEC), the document does not address concerns raised by cobalt exporters.
Authorities have since launched a testing phase, which began last week with a small shipment of cobalt belonging to Glencore, the owner of Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) and Mutanda Mining (MUMI) in Greater Katanga. “All means are being deployed to finalize the testing phase in the coming days, which will mark the resumption of cobalt exports from the DRC,” ARECOMS told Bloomberg.
Operators hope that once this phase is completed, the regulator will agree to talks to clarify ambiguities in the new system. According to industry sources, as of the end of last week, Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba had not responded to correspondence sent by the Mining Chamber on Dec. 4 requesting a working session under the consultation mechanism established in October.
For the fourth quarter of 2025, ARECOMS authorized the export of 18,125 tonnes of cobalt. CMOC and Glencore hold 58% of these volumes, with allocations of 6,500 tonnes and 3,925 tonnes respectively. Annual production is expected to reach nearly 200,000 tonnes.
Pierre Mukoko & Ronsard Luabeya
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Industrial Promotion Fund (FPI) said ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP) has asked it to take equity stakes in special economic zones developed by the firm in the country.
ARISE IIP is seeking to partner with the FPI on three SEZ projects. The first is the Kin-Malebo Special Economic Zone, where ARISE IIP holds a 60% stake and the Congolese state owns the remaining 40%. FPI Director General Hervé-Claude Ntumba Batukonke visited the site on Dec. 6, 2025. The project is currently 80% complete.
The second project is the Musompo Special Economic Zone in Kolwezi. When construction was launched on March 26, 2025, the Lualaba provincial government presented ARISE IIP as a partner for the zone, which is designed to produce battery precursors and batteries and could also include electric-vehicle assembly using locally sourced raw materials. No further details were disclosed.
The third project is the Banana Special Economic Zone, which aims to support the development of a deep-water port.
The FPI described the proposal as a “major strategic opportunity,” noting that it aligns with its Three-Year Action Plan for 2026-2028, adopted last September. The plan identifies the diversification of funding sources as one of the fund’s five priorities, including the use of innovative mechanisms such as equity participation and project co-financing. The objective is to expand the fund’s impact beyond traditional industrial project financing.
To date, the FPI has mainly focused on financing industrial projects, promoting local industry, supporting research and innovation, and developing economic infrastructure. Between April 2024 and May 2025, the institution allocated nearly $6.5 million in credit to six projects across several sectors, including pharmaceuticals, furniture, beverages, soaps and printing, according to data published on its website.
Timothée Manoke
The first phase of development at the Kin-Malebo Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is nearing completion, with 80% of construction work finished, the Industrial Promotion Fund (FPI) said.
The update came after a site visit on December 6, 2025, by FPI Director General Hervé-Claude Ntumba Batukonke. The project is located in Kinshasa’s N’Sele municipality, about 40 km from the city centre and 10 km from Ndjili International Airport.
ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP) announced a public-private partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo for the development of the SEZ in September 2022. At the time, the company said the project would involve an estimated $200 million investment, with a 60% stake held by ARISE and 40% by the state, and would generate around 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. The zone was also expected to attract about $850 million in private investment across multiple sectors.
Figures for the site’s size have varied since the project’s launch. ARISE initially put the area at 514 hectares at the time of the partnership agreement, while the Congolese Agency for Major Works (ACGT) refers to 497 hectares. ARISE’s official platform now lists 528 hectares for the first phase.
ARISE said the initial phase is expected to include wood processing, poultry production and beverage manufacturing for the local market, as well as companies operating in pharmaceuticals, plastic recycling, household appliances, electric vehicles and other processing industries.
In July 2025, the Ministry of Industry said the zone would be inaugurated before the end of the year, adding that several companies had already secured plots within the industrial area.
ARISE had initially planned to begin construction in October 2022, one month after signing the partnership, with operations starting in October 2023. However, the ACGT said site development work did not begin until April 2024. No explanation was given for the delay.
ARISE IIP describes itself as a pan-African developer and operator of industrial parks and currently manages 12 special economic zones in countries including Rwanda, Gabon, Togo and Benin.
Timothée Manoke
The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Dec. 8 approved $160 million in financing to improve transport and logistics links around the Ngandajika Agro-Industrial Park (PAIN) in Lomami province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The project’s total cost is estimated at $177.16 million, with the Congolese government covering the balance. Construction work was officially launched on Dec. 2 by Minister of State for Agriculture Muhindo Nzangi.
According to the AfDB, the project aims to reduce the isolation of the PAIN area and better integrate it into the central DRC’s main economic corridors. It includes the construction and rehabilitation of the Nkuadi-Ngandajika-PAIN and Lukalaba-Ngandajika road corridors, as well as upgrades to connecting roads between the RN1 and RN2 national highways. The plan also includes an extension of the runway at Mbuji-Mayi airport to support agri-business freight operations.
The investments are expected to benefit farmers, transport operators and agri-businesses in Kasaï-Oriental and Lomami by lowering logistics costs and improving access to markets. Women and young people, who play a key role in local agricultural value chains, are also expected to gain from the expanded economic opportunities.
Léandre Bassolé, the AfDB’s Director General for Central Africa, said the financing marks “a major step forward for Central Africa’s economic integration and for the industrialization of agriculture in the DRC.” He added that the project is not limited to road infrastructure but is designed to strengthen agricultural value chains and develop new trade corridors, boosting competitiveness and economic inclusion.
The project is part of the Agricultural Transformation Program (PTA) and complements the Support Program for the Development of the Ngandajika Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (PRODAN).
In October, the agriculture ministry launched a tender to recruit contractors for several design-and-build components of the PAIN. These include site development, construction of internal roads, connection to the high- and medium-voltage power grid, installation of drinking water systems, deployment of internal fibre-optic networks, and construction of a one-stop service centre and an agricultural aggregation and services hub.
Ronsard Luabeya
Rebels from the AFC/M23 group, backed by the Rwandan army, have taken control of Uvira, a city serving as the capital of South Kivu province since the fall of Bukavu in February, according to several local and international media reports. The Congolese government in Kinshasa has not yet officially confirmed the reports. It has, however, acknowledged “the deterioration of the security situation in Uvira.”
On Dec. 11, President Felix Tshisekedi chaired a restricted Council of Ministers to further assess the worsening security situation in the east of the country. He announced the convening of an inter-institutional meeting and an expanded Supreme Defence Council to further assess the situation.
The AFC/M23 advance in South Kivu will also be the focus of a United Nations Security Council meeting on Dec. 12. Several member states warn of a growing risk of the wider Great Lakes region igniting.
Logistical Hub
In addition to being a city bordering Burundi, Uvira is also a key logistics hub. Located on the RN5 highway, it sits astride a key road and lake transport corridor along Lake Tanganyika toward Fizi, then Kalemie, before reaching the provinces of Lualaba and Haut-Katanga, the heart of the Congolese copper and cobalt industry.
The port of Kalemie is described as an “economic lung” for Tanganyika, connecting the DRC to the ports of Bujumbura (Burundi), Mpulungu (Zambia) and Kigoma (Tanzania), which handle part of the flow of goods toward the mining south.
In this context, the AFC/M23’s progress along the RN5, already reported toward Kamanyola and Luvungi, lends weight to a scenario long discussed by military analysts, namely a gradual push southward that would transform the Uvira-Fizi-Kalemie axis into a viable route for infiltration toward the mining regions of Katanga.
The south of the DRC accounts for a large share of the global mining economy. Nearly 70% of the world’s cobalt production comes from the provinces of Lualaba and Haut-Katanga, where large copper-cobalt mines operated by Chinese and Western groups, or joint ventures with Gecamines, are located. These minerals are not only vital for the Congolese budget; they sit at the heart of global battery supply chains and the energy transition.
Prior Experience
The experience of North Kivu shows how an armed group can exploit mining revenue. U.N. expert reports detail a sophisticated system for capturing Rubaya’s coltan, with illegal exports estimated at 120-150 tons per month, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars for the AFC/M23.
If replicated in the south, such a modus operandi, involving controlling roads, taxing flows and contaminating supply chains, would pose a direct threat to a mining basin that accounts for nearly 70% of global cobalt supply and houses the country’s largest copper mines.
At this stage, no major industrial site in Katanga is directly threatened by the AFC/M23. But the consolidation of an arc of instability, stretching from North Kivu to Ituri and then to South Kivu and Tanganyika, would bring the front line closer to export corridors, a development closely watched by investors, insurers and importing states.
Mining companies are not yet officially communicating about a direct link between the AFC/M23’s advance and their operations in the south. But in consuming capitals, including Washington, Brussels and Beijing, the question of continuity of flows from Lualaba and Haut-Katanga is now inseparable from the evolving map of the conflict in eastern DRC.
The Congolese national airline Congo Airways remains grounded after the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) failed to provide a required bank guarantee, Transport Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba said on Nov. 26.
Bemba said the airline’s revival plan, approved by the government in July 2024, hinged on securing financing from local banks. “Unfortunately, the CNSS, which was supposed to provide the bank guarantee, did not do so. That is why Congo Airways has not yet been able to resume operations,” he told a panel at the Makutano transport forum.
The CNSS, which holds a 31% stake in Congo Airways, was required to guarantee the loan. Without that guarantee, the financing could not be secured.
Founded in 2014, Congo Airways has seen its fleet shrink from four aircraft to two operational planes. Recurrent technical problems forced the airline to suspend all operations in July 2024. After months of negotiations, the company said in a Nov. 3 statement that it would resume flights from Nov. 10. A new management team was appointed in January 2025.
Operations, however, never restarted. Local media report that the airline’s air operator’s certificate is due to expire in December. Such an expiry would severely undermine its viability, resulting in the loss of flying rights, the cancellation of insurance cover and the invalidation of contracts. The airline would then face a lengthy and costly recertification process.
Employees have repeatedly raised internal and public warnings about the company’s financial and social situation. According to several sources, nearly 450 jobs are now at risk.
In late 2024, the government partnered with Ethiopian Airlines to launch a new carrier, Air Congo. Bemba praised its performance, saying its load factor ranges between 80% and 100%. He added that the fleet will be expanded next year with three additional aircraft.
Boaz Kabeya
Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson has closed its office in Kinshasa, ending more than 25 years of operations in the DRC. The decision, dated Nov. 5, 2025, was signed by the company’s representative, lawyer Kevin Wamu, who said the closure follows the end of Ericsson’s activities in the country.
The law firm MBM-Conseil SCA has been appointed to manage the legal steps required for the withdrawal from the DRC. Several lawyers from the firm have been authorized to act on Ericsson’s behalf throughout the process.
Ericsson entered the telecommunications market of the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2000 with an initial contract valued at about 50 million dollars to deploy Celtel’s GSM 900 network, now operated by Airtel. In the years that followed, the company delivered multiple 2G, 3G and 4G network upgrades for Airtel and Vodacom in the DRC.
The shutdown of the Kinshasa office is part of Ericsson’s global restructuring. Since 2022, the company has scaled back its direct presence across several African markets, outsourcing some activities and focusing on higher-margin segments such as 5G, cloud services and critical infrastructure. Industry reports published between 2023 and 2025 noted several rounds of job cuts and the closure of units considered non-strategic.
The withdrawal from the DRC also reflects a shift in the country’s telecom equipment market, where Chinese suppliers Huawei and ZTE now dominate, while the government advances its unified licensing reform and Starlink continues to expand its services within the DRC.
Mobile operators in the Democratic Republic of Congo have historically relied on Ericsson for part of their 2G, 3G and 4G infrastructure. Although the company is closing its office in Kinshasa, it is expected to continue providing regional support for equipment already in place in the DRC.
Ronsard Luabeya
Rawbank has been named the 2025 Bank of the Year for the Democratic Republic of Congo by The Banker, a publication of the Financial Times. The annual award, presented to one institution per country, recognizes outstanding performance across key financial and strategic criteria. Rawbank succeeds Trust Merchant Bank (TMB), which won last year’s edition.
The Banker said its evaluation considers both quantitative and qualitative factors, including financial strength, strategic clarity, innovation, service quality and measurable contributions to the economy.
In explaining its choice, the publication highlighted several of Rawbank’s achievements in 2025. One of the most significant was the completion of a 400-million-dollar syndicated loan to support the third phase of the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in Lualaba. It is the first time a Congolese bank has led an international financing arrangement of this scale, in partnership with Africa Finance Corporation, Absa and FBN.
Rawbank also advanced its modernization agenda and broadened financing options for domestic companies. Early in 2025, it issued 10 million dollars in commercial paper to support a mining operator in Katanga. The transaction included a corporate guarantee, which is a first in the DRC and expands the financing tools available to local businesses.
In digital services, the bank launched Africa’s first UnionPay renminbi debit card to facilitate transactions between the DRC and China, achieving a 25 percent rise in sales in the first quarter. It also upgraded its Illicocash application by enabling payments through WeChat and Alipay, another first in the Congolese market, and strengthened its agent banking network with improved geolocation capabilities for distributors, merchants and financial advisors. These developments played a significant role in The Banker’s decision.
Rawbank said the recognition builds on other awards it received in 2025, including Best Bank in DRC from the Euromoney Awards. Chief Executive Mustafa Rawji said the distinction reflects the work of the bank’s teams and the confidence of its clients, and reinforces its ambition to help develop a more modern, inclusive and competitive financial sector in the DRC.
Although it lost its position in The Banker’s country awards this year, Trust Merchant Bank also received international recognition in 2025. Global Finance named TMB both Best Bank in DRC and Best SME Bank, citing its support for small and medium enterprises, the expansion of its PEPELE mobile service and the continued growth of its branch network. The bank focused its recent efforts on SME financing, digital services and commercial expansion, while large international deals were less of a priority.
Boaz Kabeya
A major upgrade of port facilities is underway at the Port of Matadi in Kongo Central province, where five quays are scheduled for renovation to improve maritime operations and strengthen the competitiveness of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s principal seaport.
Transport Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba outlined the plans on November 26 during the Makutano Forum in Kinshasa.
He said quays 5, 6 and 7 will be modernized under a concession arrangement negotiated with shipping giant MSC. Matadi Corridor Container Terminals (MCTC), which Bemba described as working directly with MSC on the project, previously announced that it had awarded a 100-million-euro contract to Eiffage Génie Civil Marine for the work.
Quay 9, operated under concession by Dubai-based DP World, will also undergo a full upgrade to improve its infrastructure and expand handling capacity. In addition, Abu Dhabi Ports Group plans to begin operating at Quay 0, where it will be responsible for rehabilitation and extension works, according to the minister.
Bemba also detailed an equipment-upgrade program for the National Office of Transport (ONATRA). Using proceeds from the Land Logistics Royalty (RLT), ONATRA is purchasing new equipment to improve operations. Four quays will receive new machinery, including 30-ton elevators, while two additional 80-ton units are expected early next month.
According to Bemba, these investments will help ONATRA regain its position as a major operator at the Port of Matadi and play a key role in revitalizing the country’s logistics sector.
Ronsard Luabeya
More...
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) said in a statement dated December 5, 2025, that it had issued a Letter of Intent to Mota-Engil, signaling its readiness to help finance the rehabilitation and operation of the Dilolo-Sakania railway line in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The move suggests that the Portuguese construction group is emerging as the frontrunner to secure the concession for the Congolese section of the Lobito Corridor, which links the DRC’s mining regions to the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola.
Mota-Engil, together with Trafigura and Vecturis, forms the Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) consortium. The consortium has held a 30-year concession since July 2022 to operate and modernize the Angolan stretch of the corridor. The DRC, however, has not yet publicly announced who will be awarded the concession on its territory.
“What we are trying to do now is get the work started,” said Deputy Prime Minister for Transport Jean-Pierre Bemba on November 26 during a panel at the Makutano Forum. He said discussions are advancing within the strategic steering committee that brings together the DRC, the United States and the European Union.
With backing from the United States, Mota-Engil appears well-positioned in the process. The DFC has said it is prepared to mobilize up to 1 billion dollars for the project. The Dilolo-Sakania rail line is expected to become the main route for Congolese exports to the United States. Under a strategic agreement signed on December 4 between Kinshasa and Washington, public enterprises are expected over the next five years to send 50 percent of their copper, 30 percent of their cobalt and 90 percent of their zinc through the Lobito Corridor.
Economic Stakes
Feasibility studies presented in September by a joint European Union-U.S. expert mission estimate the cost of rehabilitating the Dilolo-Sakania line and extending it toward the Zambian border at about 1.1 billion dollars.
Current financing commitments already surpass that amount. In addition to the 1 billion dollars being considered by the DFC, the European Investment Bank is ready to contribute 500 million euros, and the World Bank is prepared to provide 500 million dollars, according to Bemba.
If implemented, the corridor is expected to give the Port of Lobito a competitive advantage over major regional ports such as Durban (South Africa), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Beira (Mozambique) and Walvis Bay (Namibia). Transporting freight from Tenke or Kolwezi to Lobito would take between five and eight days, compared with nearly 25 days for Durban. According to the transport minister, this reduction in transit time could lower logistics costs by up to 30 percent. In the first year of operations, authorities expect export volumes of 1 million tons and import volumes of 500,000 tons.
Bemba added that the corridor could lift the DRC’s GDP by 2 to 3 percent through growth in mining, industrial, agricultural and logistics activities along the route. He also said roughly 10,000 direct jobs could be created during rehabilitation and modernization of the Congolese section.
Pierre Mukoko
Asia Minerals Limited’s planned manganese project in Luozi, in Kongo Central province, will require more than 300 MW of power. The energy needs were outlined at the Makutano Forum on Nov. 26 by Fely Samuna, managing director of Kerith Resources, the DRC-based partner of the Japanese multinational.
He said the project’s power demand is split between roughly 120 MW for mining operations and nearly 200 MW for local processing, in line with the government’s push to increase value addition and jobs in the region. Samuna said this demand would come onstream in more than three years, noting that exploration will take three years before mine development begins. He questioned whether the DRC can meet these requirements.
Aime Molendo Sakombi, Minister of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity, said the area has hydropower sites that could supply the project, including the Mpioka site on the Inkisi River. According to Jean-Pierre Mukadi Kalombo, coordinator of the Energy Ministry’s Project Coordination and Management Unit, the Mpioka site has a potential of about 6,000 MW. He said it could also help supply Kinshasa’s grid, including future expansion, and support growing mining demand. Studies of the site will begin next year to give the government the technical data it needs.
Samuna also raised concerns about the DRC’s energy costs. He noted that the Japanese partner already operates the Pertama Ferroalloys smelter in Malaysia, commissioned in 2016, where it relies on a PPA priced at about $0.04 per kWh. He asked whether a lower rate could be considered in the DRC to ensure the competitiveness of local operations and encourage Asia Minerals to process ore domestically.
In response, Bob Mabiala Mvumbi, director general of the Agency for the Development and Promotion of the Grand Inga Project (ADPI), said he was ready to discuss a future PPA. “You will set a price and we will talk,” he said, noting that ADPI is working on defining bankable demand for Inga 3, which is estimated at 3,000-11,000 MW.
The pricing issue remains challenging. The DRC’s state utility SNEL, which says its current average tariff of $0.17 per kWh is below cost, is seeking a price increase. Mini-grid operators charge between $0.25 and $0.70 per kWh.
Timothée Manoke
Democratic Republic of Congo’s leading bank, Rawbank, closed the sixth round of its RawTalents recruitment and training program for young graduates on Dec. 1. The program is open to candidates under 27 with a bachelor’s or master’s degree obtained within the past three years and an average grade of at least 70 percent.
RawTalents focuses on fields such as economics, law, management, communications, information technology and mathematics. For the 2025 cohort, 115 participants completed the program by presenting their final projects, a required step for final approval and potential hiring by the bank. The intake marks a sharp increase from the 2024 round, which selected 25 participants.
“RawTalents supports young people straight out of university. They are trained in the banking sector to equip them with the tools to build a solid career,” said Rawbank executive Zénas Momonzo.
Over several months, participants received intensive instruction on banking regulations and ethics, interest rate mechanisms, foreign exchange operations, financial product management and the accounting treatment of transactions and investments. They also followed modules on the operational management of banking activities.
Originally launched under the name “Jeunes Universitaires,” the program was renamed RawTalents in 2024 to better reflect its aim of identifying, training and supporting future professionals in the Congolese banking sector. It includes a six-month professional internship before final hiring decisions are made.
The program currently operates in two hubs, Kinshasa in the west and Haut-Katanga in the south, where selected candidates receive structured training and support.
Ronsard Luabeya
Power supplies in the city of Mbuji-Mayi could stabilise in the coming days after a blackout lasting more than three weeks. A new transformer is expected to arrive shortly to replace faulty equipment that caused major power outages.
The 300,000-dollar transformer has already been ordered and is due to arrive at the port of Matadi by Dec. 12, provincial governor Jean-Paul Mbwebwa Kapo said during a programme broadcast on Dec. 3 by state broadcaster RTNC. He said electricity would be restored as soon as possible.
Asked about the issue at the Makutano Forum on Nov. 26, SNEL director-general Teddy Lwamba reiterated that the new transformer would reach Mbuji-Mayi by Dec. 14.
Lwamba said the transformer failure cut the city off from the 3 MW supplied by the Tubi-Tubidi hydropower plant under a power purchase agreement between SNEL and mining company SACIM, which owns the facility. As a result, Mbuji-Mayi is currently running on an 800 kVA thermal plant, far below demand. He added that efforts are under way to raise capacity to 1,300 kVA.
The power shortage has severely disrupted drinking-water supply. To tackle these underlying problems, the head of the water utility REGIDESO, David Tshilumba Mutombo, announced plans to build a solar power plant.
“We have worked for the last three years with German cooperation to secure funding for a 15-megawatt solar plant,” Mutombo said. “The detailed design studies are complete. We hope to begin construction in January so Mbuji-Mayi can become energy independent and ensure continuous water service.”
Boaz Kabeya