Democratic Republic of Congo’s DRC prime minister, Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde has resigned, triggering the dissolution of his government, the DRC presidency said in a statement.
The prime minister tendered his resignation to President Felix Tshisekedi eight days after the validation of his mandate as a national deputy.
He will now join parliament as a member of the assembly.
“The resignation has been accepted. However, the president has asked Lukonde’s government to continue handling current affairs” until a new government is formed, the presidency said in another statement later on Tuesday.
DRC Prime Minister Resignation Amidst Raging Conflict
Drc Prime Minister Lukonde’s resignation comes amidst a resurgence of the age-old conflict in the Eastern parts of the democratic republic of Congo. The Eastern town of Goma has come under increasing pressure in the recent past with reports indicating that M23 rebels were on the verge of capturing it, having already cut off food supply to the town.
DRC prime minister resignation couldn’t have come at a worse time even as Tshisekedi’s government struggles to get going having won a controversial re-election late last year.
During a national address last year, President Félix Tshisekedi said ‘Congolese need to learn to trust us, Goma will never fall.’ It is a message of reassurance to Goma residents that he repeated throughout his re-election campaign. Having successfully been re-elected, it remains to be seen the level of response to the threat posed by the rebels.
Besides being within an agriculturally rich locale, Goma has become a vital economic hub for the DRC in that it is within reach of major mining towns supplying metals and minerals in high demand such as gold, tin, and coltan. Its road and air transport links and the huge UN peacekeeping base, have attracted a host of businesses, international organizations, and diplomatic consulates.
In the aftermath of M23’s withdrawal in 2012, it suffered a series of heavy defeats at the hands of the Congolese army backed by a multinational force that saw it expelled from the country. M23 fighters then agreed to be re-integrated into the army in return for promises that Tutsis would be protected. But in 2021, the group took up arms again, saying the promises had been broken.
