The meeting of the Board of Directors of the National Office of Agricultural Products of Congo (ONAPAC) in 2023 was held in the Maiko room of the Memling Hotel, under the leadership of Me. Muke Mukengeshayi, President of the Board of Directors. administration of ONAPAC.
This event brought together the General Director, the Administrators as well as the Secretary General of the Board of Directors of this public establishment, as well as the representative of the Minister of Agriculture.
During his speech to the media, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Muke Mukengeshayi, underlined the particular context of this meeting as well as the missions of ONAPAC.
He recalled that ONAPAC is dedicated to around twenty agricultural products intended for export, such as coffee, cocoa, rubber, cinchona, papaya, vanilla, pyrethrum and medicinal plants. He also specified that ONAPAC plays a role in supervising planters, processing, storage and transit, thus covering the entire production chain up to export.
However, Mr. Muke Mukengeshayi highlighted the financial difficulties that ONAPAC is facing. In fact, out of an annual budget of 15 million dollars, only 3 million are actually mobilized, which limits ONAPAC’s capacity to cover its expenses and pay its employees.
In addition, the Chairman of the Board of Directors alerted to the maneuvers aimed at reducing the advantages granted to ONAPAC, in particular with regard to service costs which are considered too high by certain economic operators members of the Business Federation of the Congo. According to Me. Muke Mukengeshayi, such actions jeopardize the future of ONAPAC which is already fighting for its financial survival.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors therefore appealed for the support of the Minister of Agriculture in order to counter these projects detrimental to ONAPAC and to guarantee its sustainability.
This meeting of the ONAPAC Board of Directors highlights the challenges facing the organization and underlines the importance of supporting this public entity in its mission of supervising agricultural products intended for export in the Democratic Republic of Congo.