In a letter addressed to the President of the Republic, local government leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have strongly condemned what they called a “critical” situation — going 32 months without salaries, unpaid expenses, and lack of bonuses.
According to a report by Cassilda Kibondo Kininde, Secretary of the Council of Local Leaders and Head of Basoko Commune (Kwilu Province), no mayor or commune official has been paid since they were officially appointed by presidential decree.
She stated:
“We are deeply hurt by the total abandonment of local governance structures by the central government, which seems to have no strategy to support or guide them. It’s been almost 32 months. We are parents with families, working for the state, and we are in serious distress.”
As reported by Radio Okapi, despite the relevant ministry assigning identification numbers to commune leaders, they continue to face severe livelihood challenges that undermine the functionality of local government.
They issued an urgent appeal for the intervention of the Head of State, emphasizing that the matter is both urgent and essential for the proper functioning of commune administrations across the country.
