15 02 13 PM's OFFICE PRESS RELEASE – The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Augustin Matata Ponyo Mapon, welcomes the outcome of his visit to New York and Washington from 3 to 9 February

 On return from
his official visit to New York and Washington, from 3 to 9 February, the Prime
Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Augustin Matata Ponyo Mapon, held
a press conference in Kinshasa, on 14 February.

 

He talked
notably about his meeting with Ban Ki Moon, Secretary-General of the United
Nations, on 4 February. Concerning the situation in the Nord-Kivu region, both
leaders expressed their agreement on the signature, planned before the end of
this month, of the regional framework agreement making provision for the
deployment of an intervention force in this province. They additionally
discussed a restructuring of the mandate of the United Nations Organisation
Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).

 

This framework
agreement is due to be signed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda,
Uganda, Burundi, Angola, the Republic of Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia,
Southern Sudan, the Central African Republic and the United Nations. “The
intervention force will be deployed under the MONUSCO banner and several SADC
countries are prepared to provide the necessary troops”, further indicated the
Prime Minster.

 

Concerning the
amendment of the MONUSCO mandate, the Prime Minister – who received guarantees
regarding the arrival of drones in the region between June and July – expressed
his hope that this would allow the UN troops “to intervene in order to ensure
peace which is under threat by armed groups”.

 

Augustin Matata
Ponyo Mapon also held meetings with several other US leaders: Chris Smith and
Karen Bass (Chair and Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Africa in Congress),
Wendy Sherman (Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs), Robert Hormats
(Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment),
Johnnie Carson (Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs), Neal Wolin
(Acting Secretary of the Treasury), William Joseph Burns (Deputy Secretary of
State) and Grant Harris (Special Assistant to the President, Barack Obama, and
Senior Director for African Affairs). “The US authorities reiterated their call
to those people who support the armed groups to stop”, stated the Prime
Minister.

 

Concerning the
economy, on 7 February, Augustin Matata Ponyo Mapon met with Christine Lagarde,
Director General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Jim Yong Kim,
President of the World Bank. After outlining the economic performance of the
Democratic Republic of Congo, the leaders of these two international
organisations expressed their desire to continue to work alongside the Congolese
government. “This is a definitive commitment”, indicated the Prime Minister.

 

On the issue of
the suspension of the programme by the IMF, on 30 November 2012, due to a lack
of transparency in the mining sector, Christine Lagarde and Augustin Matata
Ponyo Mapon both called for “a fresh start”. The Prime Minister stated: “The
issue of transparency in the mining sector will be dealt with within the
framework of bilateral discussions”, having already signed two decrees in
January outlining the terms and conditions for the transfer of mining assets.

 

The Prime
Minister then concluded that “under the leadership of the Head of State, Joseph
Kabila, we are determined to implement new governance”.

 

Reminder of the
main economic figures for 2012.

 

Between 2009 and
2012, the annual growth rate in the Democratic Republic of Congo rose from 2.8%
to 7.2%, with inflation falling from 46% to 2.7% (a performance not achieved by
the country since 1976). The Congolese Franc remained stable, and both public
and private investments significantly increased. Tax collections were optimised
and public funds more than doubled, whilst national wealth also doubled. Growth
forecasts for 2013 stand at 8.2%. It is the first time since 1973 that growth in
the Democratic Republic of Congo will rise above 8%.

 

The government
has also launched a series of self-funded programmes which amount to circa 200
million dollars (agriculture, transportation, energy, roads, education, etc.).
Civil servant salaries have been “banked”. Mining production figures have
exceeded the historic levels between 1970-1980, with over 600,000 tonnes of
copper being produced in 2012.

 

Distributed by
the African Press Organization on behalf of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo.