The company DCHTCC Sarlu, created in May 2019, is in the process of signing, with the Presidency of the Republic, the contract for the construction and rehabilitation of the buildings housing the residence and the offices of the Head of State and its employees located respectively in the city of the African Union and the Palais de la Nation in Kinshasa. The key is 205 million US dollars. Congolese cry scandal, the Presidency of the Republic denounces the authenticity of the mail.

According to a letter circulating on social networks, the request for special authorization and no objection had been sent to the General Directorate of Public Procurement Control by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Head of State.

« Democratic Republic of Congo High Tech Sarlu Company Construction (DCHTCC) has been contacted for the realization of these construction and rehabilitation works whose total cost is evaluated, according to its specifications and quantitative annex, to 180 000 000 euros « , Informed Désiré Kolongele Eberande to the Director General of the DGCMP hoping to get him the go for signing the contract in emergency procedure.

Mystery partially unveiled

However, the company so much praised by Dircaba Eberande in its letter turns out to be a company registered on May 31, 2019 at the Single Window of Business Creation of the DRC.

#RDC: La société bénéficiaire du marché de réhabilitation du Palais présidentiel, DCHTC, a été créée le 31 mai 2019. Dans la correspondance de la présidence du 13 juin, on parle d’expérience avérée. pic.twitter.com/gpTyGJTbcz

— stevewembi (@wembi_steve) June 25, 2019

This situation raises questions within Congolese opinion. And on the web, the debates go in all directions:

What lies behind this pressing demand for a market to be given to a company that has legal existence in the DRC only three weeks? What were the achievements of this company in the Congo attesting to the reliability of its expertise? If it is a foreign company that has been forced to open a branch in the DRC, why use it when there is proven expertise Congolese? Does not this go against the political vision of the head of state’s leader advocating « the people first »?

What about the urgency?

If security imperatives require the Presidency to resort to a direct agreement procedure to undertake this work (which is normal), the « urgent » nature of spending more than 200 million dollars to rehabilitate and build the infrastructure of the Presidency also raises debate.

For some, there is no urgency to invest 200 million US dollars to equip the Presidency while there are growth projects to achieve and economic reforms to undertake. Even more, add others, it would be risky for the national executive to persevere in the violation of the budget law 2019 without investing himself to consider a collective budget.

Another story comes from those who believe that such a project should be planned, the financing of which could be aligned with the state budget of the year 2020 with the consent of Parliament.

180 millions d'Euros en "Urgence" en dehors de toute planification budgétaire en cours. La réhabilitation des bureaux de la présidence ne s'improvise pas comme ça tout de même.
Quand il s'agit de l'argent au niveau de la @Presidence_RDC tout semble urgent… 180 millions https://t.co/6fvhqzkHSJ

— Christian-Géraud Neema (@christiangeraud) June 25, 2019

It whispers the political sphere Kinshasa that the project would be concocted by one of the « very influential » advisers of the head of state with a group of Turkish builders to undertake this work. The problem, for some, would be the exorbitant over-invoicing of the works. What to suspect the obvious intention to divert public funds behind this project.

Les deux correspondances attribuées à la Présidence de la République sur les réseaux sociaux sont des lettres falsifiées.

— Kasongo Mwema Yamba Y'amba (@mwema_y) June 25, 2019

It was at mid-day that the Presidency of the Republic gave its official reaction. Authorized voices questioned the authenticity of these correspondences. In addition to the spokesman of the head of state, the director Eberande Kolongele confirmed it to a fellow journalist.

At this stage, analysts advise, the head of state’s office should strengthen the security mechanism in the circulation of official correspondence both internally and with other institutions in the country. This would have the advantage of avoiding that everything is displayed in the public square.

However, voices are raised to call on the President of the Republic, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo to instruct, on the assumption that the facts would have proven, the overshoot of this approach that shocks good conscience and undermines its determination restore good governance by fighting corruption and misappropriation of public funds.

Also, should he instruct his spokesman to enlighten the opinion on this file whose paternity is attributed to him.

Emilie MBOYO