The DR Congo needs to define a coherent investment policy that can boost the volume of foreign and domestic direct investment. Its implementation will have the advantage of boosting the economic and industrial development of the country and consolidate the efforts undertaken for years to clean up the business climate and attract investment creating jobs, wealth and endogenous economic growth.

At the National Agency for the Promotion of Investments (ANAPI), the reflection is matured and possible solutions are recommended. These are, in fact, strategic orientations resulting from the expert analysis of this state technical structure and in line with the vision of the Head of State, Felix Tshisekedi, declined in his inaugural speech.

They consist inter alia of:
1. Placing the process of implementing business climate reforms at a high state level for stronger anchoring;

2. Establish at the state level, a real policy of implementation of systemic and in-depth reforms focused on competitiveness at regional and global level;

3. Standardize the legal regime of incentives in DR Congo in the Investment Code alone;

4. Review the Investment Code by opting for the declarative regime instead of the current approval regime, in order to significantly reduce the duration of the granting of incentives to investors;

5. Promote local preference for the creation of a middle class;

6. Reduce the strong interaction existing between the Administration and the applicants by the dematerialization of the various administrative and fiscal procedures;

7. Accelerate the process of creating Special Economic Zones and review the related legal framework;

8. Strengthen the power of ANAPI by placing it under the tutelage of the President of the Republic as is the case with most promotional agencies of other countries;

9. Extend the scope of ANAPI to the export promotion component like other agencies such as Ghana, Benin, etc.

10. Revisit the Agricultural Code especially with regard to Articles 16 and 73;

11. Set up agricultural and development banks to finance the investments of nationals;

12. Set up guarantee funds or investment funds to encourage investment by national SMEs and especially start-ups;

13. Establish a sovereign investment fund from the natural resource rent for the revival of the economy by building basic infrastructure and equity participation in companies to create a joint venture;

14. Realize a reform of the public administration, which is responsible for implementing and implementing the reforms initiated;

15. To erect all industrial and agricultural zones in all the Provinces of the Republic in order to facilitate access to land for new investors etc.

16. Implement and implement the recommendations of the Tax Forum and the Revenue Revenue Forum.

It should be recalled that, despite reforms initiated in the context of the improvement of the business climate and the country’s high potential index, the DRC’s investment rate remains very low: 3, 5% on average.

As such, the growth of the economy remains largely dependent on the extractive sector. Official figures indicate that the contribution in 2017 was 99% of the value of exports accounting for 34% of total state revenue and two points in GDP growth.

Hence, the need and urgency of a coherent investment policy to meet the challenges of inclusive and sustainable endogenous economic growth.

Eric TSHIKUMA