2025 Finance Law: 13 contentious deputies removed from the payroll and the Congolese State saves 1.5 million USD
Following the citizen monitoring of the implementation of the Finance Act for the 2025 financial year, which came into force at the beginning of the year, the CREFDL (Centre for Research in Public Finance and Local Development) noted the elimination of the number of 13 disputed deputies, improperly included in the remuneration expenditure section of the National Assembly.
In a press release sent to the editorial staff of opinion-info.cd, this Friday, March 7, 2025, the CREFDL announced that for the moment, it is clear that 500 national deputies will be supported by the State, instead of 513 registered in the draft law examined at the September 2024 session.
"The first exercise consisted of verifying the consideration of the observations made during the vote on the said law in Parliament.
After analyzing the expenditure of the National Assembly carried out from March 3 to 5, 2025, the Lower House of Parliament came to its senses and complied with the laws of the DRC.
This return to normal is a victory for the action of citizen control, carried out by CREFDL during the 2024 budget year", we read.
And the press release continued: "The withdrawal of the remuneration expenses of the staff of 13 deputies arbitrarily included in the 2025 Finance Act will allow the Public Treasury to save $1.5 million per year, which would have escaped."
The CREFDL also regrets the maintenance, in the Finance Act, of the support for 2,756 members of the offices of the Bureau of the National Assembly, while its Internal Regulations only authorize a total of 207 (political staff assigned to the offices at 58, support staff at 70 and domestic staff at 80).
It also deplores the lack of transparency in the 2025 Finance Act, of the expenses financed by the "special intervention fund", which amount to $182 million, representing the average value of 2,276 schools to be built in the DRC.
The CREFDL reiterates its recommendations made in its letter addressed to the President of the Lower House of Parliament, Vital Kamerhe, on May 29, 2024, and insists on reducing the standard of living of the National Assembly.
mediacongo.