DRC: Jean-Claude Tshilumbayi details seven years of Tshisekedi’s achievements

Responding to accusations that President Félix Tshisekedi seeks constitutional changes to conceal governance failures, National Assembly First Vice-President Jean-Claude Tshilumbayi offered a detailed rebuttal during a Friday evening appearance on Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala’s Live Space X. He outlined what he termed the tangible results of the administration since 2019.

On social affairs, Tshilumbayi emphasized the success of free primary education, which he said has brought six million children back into classrooms, and a free childbirth program that has supported 2.5 million Congolese women.

Regarding the civil service, he revealed that the UDPS inherited in 2018 a million employees hired without official registration or salary as part of Shadary’s election campaign, along with 400,000 additional “new units” who had not received pay for years.

“We paid all of them,” he stated.

The health sector also showed marked improvement, according to Tshilumbayi. The country previously had 1,700 doctors earning $300 each; now there are 7,800 doctors paid $2,400. Magistrates, who earned $400, and police officers, who received only $80 per month, have both seen salary increases.

In infrastructure, he cited the construction of world-class universities, seven major hospitals including the Mama Yemo Hospital—abandoned since 1917—1,500 schools, and several airports. The road network, he added, expanded from 3,000 kilometers to 9,000 kilometers over seven years.

The national budget rose from $3 billion to $18 billion in the same period, with foreign exchange reserves “simply exploding,” Tshilumbayi noted.

“Calling for constitutional change to mask poor governance is a ridiculous debate,” he concluded, posing what he considers the real question: “Through which path must our people express themselves?”