Public enterprises in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) face major challenges in terms of performance and contribution to wealth creation. Despite their bloated workforce, these companies fail to generate significant revenue for the public treasury.
Faced with this worrying situation, the Public Expenditure Observatory (ODEP) and COGEP organized a workshop on the mechanisms for enriching the law governing the organization and management of the State Portfolio. This workshop, which took place over two days, brought together representatives of financial control institutions as well as civil society organizations.
During his intervention, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ODEP, Florimond Muteba, gave an alarming assessment of the situation. According to him, public enterprises, supposed to contribute to the creation of wealth, have become a burden on public finances. They are subsidized instead of generating additional income. In addition, agents who were once passive are now active and receive a monthly salary.
The objective of this workshop was to propose improvements to the 2008 law in order to increase the contribution of public enterprises to wealth creation. To do this, ODEP and COGEP presented a draft bill to participants and collected their comments and suggestions. The final objective being to enrich the law on the management of state public enterprises.
It is important to emphasize that public companies in the DRC have become entities that hinder the economic development of the country. They are both sources of revenue diversion, loss of opportunities and problems with the governance of natural resources.
This workshop was also an opportunity for participants to discuss the transparency and fight against corruption project in the management of State Portfolio companies. Delegates from the Ministry of the Portfolio, the High Portfolio Council, the Court of Auditors, the General Inspectorate of Finance, CENAREF, the EITI and civil society were present to discuss these subjects.
In conclusion, this workshop on the management of public enterprises in the DRC made it possible to highlight the problems they face and to identify avenues for improvement. It is essential to rethink the legislation in force in order to allow these companies to truly contribute to the creation of wealth and the economic development of the country.