PH
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Prime Minister, Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, has resigned, along with his administration, two months after winning general elections, according to a video issued by the presidency on Wednesday.
In the film, he was shown offering his resignation to President Felix Tshisekedi on Tuesday, three years after taking office.
In the December 20 poll, Sama Lukonde earned a seat in parliament alongside 27 other members of his ministry, and the president was re-elected for a second five-year term with a huge majority.
Tshisekedi selected Augustin Kabuya, his party’s general secretary, at the beginning of the month to construct a party majority in order to form a new administration.
According to provisional results, which must be validated by the Constitutional Council, parties supporting the president won roughly 94% of the seats in the National Assembly.
Following the dissolution of his coalition with his predecessor Joseph Kabila, Tshisekedi appointed Sama Lukonde as Prime Minister in February 2021.
Sama Lukonde remarked that during his mandate, the administration implemented financial and social reforms, with progress being made “particularly on issues of security, education, and health.”
The departing government will handle affairs until a new administration is established on an unspecified date.
The security issues are huge. Following a respite in combat in the east during the elections, bloodshed has resumed between the army and M23 rebels, who are backed by neighbouring Rwanda.
The United Nations estimates that armed conflict had displaced seven million people internally by the end of last year.
The DRC is one of the world’s poorest countries, with two-thirds of its 100 million people living on less than $2.15 per day.
