DRC Presidency Denies Consuming U$17.6 Million In One Month

KINSHASA, DR Congo

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has denied newspaper reports that his office spent an extravagant U$17.6 million in the month of July alone. His office said he is a clean leader that even returns money unspent from missions abroad.

Jeune Afrique a pan-African magazine published in Paris reported in its August 18^th edition that the Congolese presidency had spent more money in July than it had budgeted for three months ahead.

The Presidency has been at the forefront of fighting corruption including throwing its chief of staff Vital Kamehre under the bus for syphoning billions meant for financing projects under the first 100-days of his boss.

However, with details in the Jeune Afrique article titled; “DRC: the quarterly budget of the presidency of the Republic consumed in one month”, Tshisekedi is being pressed tested by his own measures.

In an 11-point rebuttal, the Congolese presidency said that it categorically denies the erroneous allegations of Jeune Afrique.

“This magazine drew hasty and erroneous conclusions based on partial data from a single stage of the public expenditure process, thus exposing the country’s leading institution to public contempt,” reads in part a lengthy statement shared on the official twitter handle of the presidency.

The presidency describes Tshisekedi as a very accountable and non-corrupt leader who even returns money that is not spent while on trips abroad.

“Recall that the head of state at the dawn of his official trip to an African country had returned to the Treasury the remainder of the mission expenses. This strong gesture was made by His Excellency the President of the Republic to underline his attachment to the good management of public funds,” the statement said.

The Jeune Afrique article, said the Congolese Presidency consumed U$17.6 million for the month of July on budget forecasts of U$16 million for the combined months of July, August and September 2020.

The presidency argues that Jeune Afrique should have corroborated with the Cash Flow Plan established at the Ministry of Finance rather than in the Commitment Plan of the Ministry of Budget.

“In particular the main public expenditure accountant assigned to the presidency by the Ministry of Finance for has exact figures on what the Presidency actually consumed,” the rebuttal reads in part.

According to the Congolese Presidency the cash flow plan indicates that for the month of July, the presidency of the Republic only consumed the equivalent of approximately U$10 million, or 19,923,000,000 Congolese francs. There is therefore a difference of more than U$7.6 million compared to the amounts advanced by Jeune Afrique which never entered the books of the presidency, but which appears in the Commitment Plan.

This budget of U$10 million was used in particular for the remuneration of the staff of the Presidency of the Republic and for operating costs.

The President of the Republic institution to fulfil its high state offices has several services grouped together under the term Presidency of the Republic. These include:

1.   The office of the President of the Republic,

2.   The Personal Services of the Head of State,

3.   The National Security Center,

4.   The particular staff of the Head of State,

5.   The National Service,

6.   The Monitoring Mechanism,

7.   The Presidential Clinic of the AU,

8.   Good governance and fight against corruption,

9.   The official journal, The State Protocol,

11.  and the fight against sexual violence.