THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MINEMBWE AS A COMMUNE IN SOUTH KIVU

In a declaration, the Lay Coordination Committee, reacting to the establishment of the Municipality of Minembwe, in South Kivu, calls on the Congolese people to remain vigilant in the face of what ‘he calls a new challenge and a new provocation. Therefore, the CLC asks the Government, the suspension, all cases ceasing, of the provision for the establishment of Minembwe, like all the other rural communes of the Republic, in accordance with its own decision before the last elections. in 2015. It must also ensure the flawless application of this provision for all rural municipalities. Below is the full position of the CLC in relation to the Minembwe issue.

Minembwe is located in the Province of South Kivu, to the west of the Territory of Uvira, to the north of the Territory of Fizi, it is the customary land of the Bembe People. The Rwandan refugees mainly Tutsi pastoralists, fleeing the Rwanda famine of 1936, settled in Minembwe.

On September 28, 2020, the national opinion was surprised by the news of the installation of the animators of the local administration of Minembwe, erected as a rural commune in South Kivu.

The presence of the highest authorities of the country, the provocative triumphalism in the media coverage of the event, the uncontrolled enthusiasm of the nationals of a single community in the region, the sponsorship of the representative of the greatest Western power already having a imposing Consulate in Goma, all this provides proof that it is by no means an act of local significance.

In the country and in the diaspora, this treacherous action is experienced as a challenge and a real provocation. For many Congolese men and women of all tendencies, these are new dark clouds that have come to join those already piled up on their heads, by the unexplained persistence of violence in Ituri and in the great Kivu, the malicious and insulting statements of the Rwandan ambassador to Congo, the culpable negligence for ten years of the conclusions of the mapping report as well as those, multiple, of the United Nations Group of Experts on the plundering of natural and other resources of the DRC.
This policy of challenge and of fait accompli, applied in Minembwe, in defiance of the limits of the existing chiefdoms and territories, far from consolidating the peace efforts undertaken in the region, is likely to plunge the population into a cycle of uncontrollable violence by the generalisation of the climate of insecurity and reciprocal hostility.

Already, the Bishop of the diocese of Uvira, who covers the area of Minembwe, wondered: “How are we going to live from now on, eye to eye, in this space where the conditions of peace and of usability were not guaranteed? “

The Government of the Republic, for its part, cannot exempt itself from its primary responsibility to guarantee the peace of hearts and minds, and to ensure the protection and defense of the integrity of the national territory, for the sole reason that ‘he would only have carried out previous decisions, without even considering the causes and reasons which would have caused the non-application of these decisions in their time.

Would not such an attitude border on a tacit complicity with the gravediggers of the interests of the people?

This is why, given the gravity of the facts, and to preserve social peace throughout the national territory:

The CLC invites all of our population to resolutely continue to live in harmony and to favor dialogue in the event of internal conflict; It recommends that it redouble its vigilance to thwart all initiatives aimed at establishing local governance subservient to multinational companies or to foreign countries, be they African;
To the Government of the Republic, the CLC urges, to confirm, all cases ceasing, the suspension of the provision for the establishment of Minembwe, like all the other rural communes of the Republic, in accordance with its own decision before the last elections in 2015. It must also ensure the flawless application of this provision for all rural municipalities.
As part of the reduction in the standard of living of state institutions, the abolition of the Ministry of Decentralisation should be considered, as it is a source of confusion since it dangerously encroaches on the remit of the Ministry of the Interior. The resignation of its incumbent is already self-evident to reassure national opinion of his good faith. Otherwise, the person concerned would confirm, through his controversial initiative, the existence of a hidden agenda which he would be responsible for ensuring.

The CLC, along with its partners, will not hesitate to assume all of its responsibilities, should the need arise.

The LAIC COORDINATION COMMITTEE