Tshisekedi at the time of the balance sheet
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Eight months before the elections, a poll has looked at the opinion that the Congolese have of the action of the president and his government.
Nearly 60% of respondents believe that “the country is going in the Expectations were high… disappointment too.
The arrival at the head of the country of the opponent Félix Tshisekedi, under disputed conditions, had raised many hopes.
It must be said that after 17 years of undivided power by Joseph Kabila, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had still not taken off economically, and the daily life of the Congolese had never improved.
Felix Tshisekedi had promised to tackle unemployment, poverty, corruption, lack of infrastructure and endemic insecurity in the east of the country.
A little over four years later, the balance sheet is very thin, and disappointment is in sight.
Too many promises
The survey carried out by the Congo Study Group (GEC), Ebuteli and the Berci research office (1) indicates that 57.16% of Congolese questioned consider that "things are going in the wrong direction".
According to Jacques Mukena, researcher for Ebuteli, "The five-year term of the Head of State began with ambitious projects promising to change the daily lives of the population in record time: 100-day projects, sanitation programs, new planes for Congo Airways, etc
Today, corruption, mismanagement, lack of planning or political will hinder the fulfillment of these promises”.
Tshisekedi still strong in the Kasai
In a tense pre-election context, where the presidential election is theoretically scheduled for December 20 if the security situation improves in the east, confidence in President Tshisekedi remains strong in his Kasai stronghold.
The satisfaction rate is very high in Kasaï (95.24%), Kasaï-Oriental (86.34%), and Lomami (70.16%), which is not the case in the provinces of Haut-Katanga (26.61%), Haut-Lomami (13.10%), Maniema (8.54%), Bas-Uele (6.90%) and Kwilu (0.86%).
Promises that "did not change anything".
The opinion poll also notes that the Congolese can only count on themselves to improve the situation in the country, at nearly 58%.
“For the same question, 19.55% of the opinion consulted believe that divine intervention is necessary” notes the survey.
Despite the multiple development programs (100 days program, Tshilejelu project, 145 territories program, etc.), 54.35% of the Congolese interviewed say that these promises "have not changed anything", and 27.45%, that the situation "has gotten worse".
The IGF saves honor
"No public service gives satisfaction" also believe the respondents.
Only 39.23% of respondents believe that the education sector “works well”.
“The lowest satisfaction rates are recorded for sanitation (2.75%), public transport (5.31%) and security (9.53%)”.
One institution still finds favor in the eyes of the population, it is the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF).
55.50% of Congolese believe that the IGF "is the only institution that invests in the fight against corruption".
But there is a major downside, since 55.75% of respondents find that the level of corruption "has not changed in the last 6 months".
And 21.39% of Congolese believe that the situation has deteriorated.
Falling popularity
The government concentrates most of the disappointment of the respondents, since 65.12% of the opinion say they are "dissatisfied with the results of the Sama Lukonde government".
In turn, President Félix Tshisekedi's popularity rating has continued to fall since he came to power in early 2019.
The Head of State went from 63% favorable opinion in March 2019 to 35.66% in January 2023… his lowest score since his enthronement.
Inflation, endemic corruption, the war in the east which was reactivated with the return of the M23, and a daily life which is not improving, explain this low rate of satisfaction.
It remains to be seen what impact this discontent will have on the next elections?
But the Congolese are above all pragmatic and realistic.
A majority of respondents believe, in fact, that by December 2023, "the Head of State will not fulfill his 2018 electoral promises"... and that there will therefore be no miracle.
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