The implementation of the law liberalizing the electric power sector in the DRC and the opening of the market to private investors in a spirit of free competition, such are the recommendations formulated by the participants in the first Electricity Forum in the DRC . Forum held from 20 to 22 August in Matadi, Central Kongo Province.
« The first recommendation is for the government’s diligent adoption of the remaining enforcement measures and the extension of all enforcement actions to the central and provincial governments, » said Michel Eboma, Mamma from the Mines and Energy College to the Presidency of the Republic.
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In this same chapter, participants recommended the appointment of Directors General, Deputy Directors General and members of the Board of Directors of the Electricity Regulatory Authority and the Electrification and Service Agency. in rural and peri-urban areas, as stipulated by law. The aim is to make operational the two public institutions mentioned above.
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Regarding the second recommendation, economic operators and investors as well as local communities were invited to get involved to build the capacity of different actors to comply with the law and better implement it.
According to the organizers of the National Forum on Electricity in the DRC, an investor guide will soon be developed. In this document, one will find the essential provisions of the law on the electricity and its measures of application.
During the three days of the work, twenty-seven interventions were recorded, spread over four major themes thus leading to three fundamental recommendations.
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These recommendations respond to the vision of President Félix Tshisekedi, that of breaking the paradox of a country with impressive electricity potential but whose population does not have access to electricity.
As a reminder, with its two hydroelectric dams Inga I and II, inaugurated respectively in 1971 and in 1982, the electric power supply in the DRC only affects 15% of the population, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Planning. date from 2018.
The organization of the National Forum on Electricity held in Matadi was held with the aim of laying the foundations for the transformation of « the huge hydropower capacity of the country into an engine of socio-economic development for the Congolese people. First, the subregion and Africa. »
Olivier KAMO
