Fatshimetrie recently revealed an alarming situation in the remote region of Sandoa, located in the Lualaba province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Indeed, part of this territory is isolated from the rest of the world in terms of telecommunications. This worrying information was first reported by a member of local civil society and has since been confirmed by various sources in Kolwezi.
Mardochée Mbula, president of the National Youth Forum in Sandoa, testifies to the magnitude of the situation by explaining that it has now been more than two weeks since the inhabitants of the region have been deprived of any telecommunications network. A cut that affects all the operators present on site such as Orange, Vodacom and Airtel, causing a real disaster for the local population. Essential services such as Orange money, Mpesa, Airtel money as well as agencies and mobile payments via Pepelé mobile are all inoperative. Residents are forced to travel about thirty kilometers to Tshimbalanga just to make a call, illustrating the precarious situation they find themselves in.
Faced with this critical situation, Mardochée Mbula calls on government authorities, particularly the Ministry of PTNTIC, as well as telecommunications operators operating in the region, to find a rapid solution and restore essential services. He stresses the urgency of taking action to alleviate the misery of the local population and allow the resumption of normal activities.
This telecommunications outage in Sandoa highlights the challenges faced by populations in remote areas in terms of accessibility to essential services. It is essential that measures be taken quickly to correct this situation and guarantee adequate connectivity for all citizens, regardless of their location. Communication is a fundamental right and access to it should not be compromised under any circumstances.