After two extraordinary National Assembly sessions, principally to put in place the legislative chamber, and to approve the government’s progamme as well as its subsequent installation, the opening of the Assembly’s first session conformed to article 115 of the DRC constitution.
He then spoke on the challenges that lie ahead.
These are continuation of the electoral process, with the holding of the urban, municipal and local elections, the putting in place of certain republican institutions in which the structures, organisation and functions will be fixed by the law, and the adoption of the laws that will permit the government to best execute their programme of action.
In order to achieve these imperatives, the President stressed the need for the definition and adoption of the decentralization and budget laws, as well as the adoption of the law that will define the statute of the political opposition in the DRC.
“The five main programmes of action of President Kabila are well known, and we must concentrate the money where it is most needed with the aim of rehabilitating the people, which is rightly considered as the motor for all development,” he said.
The President also stressed the importance of good governance.
Within this framework he welcomed the visit of European Union and World Bank representatives who stressed the importance of the installation of good governance, ‘which is a prerequisite for good justice’.
“We need to all fight for the coming of a state of rights where good governance will be the key word for the improvement of the lives of our compatriots,” he underlined.
In addition he spoke on the fight against impunity, which is an important aspect of good governance.
He also hailed the work accomplished by MONUC, and invited the international actors to continue to help the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to remove all pockets of insecurity in the country.
Furthermore, the opening of the first session of the DRC National Assembly was also attended by delegations from the National Assemblies of Gabon and Angola, who in their speeches applauded the DRC for all the progress achieved over the last year, and expressed great hope for the future.