Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – The National Bishops' Conference of Congo (CENCO) and the Minister of Decentralization and Regional Planning signed a memorandum yesterday, July 14, 2009, in agreement on a national awareness and formation campaign for non-government parties participating in the process of decentralization of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The signing ceremony took place at Nganda Catholic Center. The Catholic Church was represented by Bishop Nicholas Djomo Lola of Tshumbe, President of the CENCO, and the government by Antipas Mbusa Nyamwisi, Minister for Decentralization and Planning.
Bishop Djomo highlighted that the signing is a continuation of the vast campaign of civil and electoral education that the Catholic Church has been leading since 2004. “As in the part, the CENCO is working in collaboration with all faiths so that the people of Congo may respond to this important moment in history,” Bishop Djomo said.
Following the 2006 elections, the Congolese Bishops' Conference continued its work of civil education, placing emphasis on the participation of the citizens in local government and in the war on corruption.
Thus, the Bishops' Commission for Justice and Peace (CEJP) developed an education program for the managing of the local government. The program has contributed to the creation of 2,518 local committees of government participation (CLGP), which are non-political groups in which the people can exercise their right and duty to participate in the development of the nation. The Commission has produced educational materials focused on political, administrative, and financial decentralization, based on the Constitution and the laws of decentralization, and has formed, in the country's 47 dioceses, people in charge of instructing the people on this matter. In the near future, they hope to see at least 4,419 youth CLGP leaders, three for each of the nation's 1,473 parishes.
The process of decentralization is among the means called for by the Church's Social Doctrine, which is based on principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, as well as in the participation of all people in working towards the common good. In a document from the Congolese Bishops' Conference in July 2008, it says that “decentralization can lead to local progress and can make authorities more responsible in their acting, in relation to the people, the res publica, in the area of respective Constitutional powers. The local and communal elections play a crucial role in local management. Thus, democracy becomes a reality.”
The Congolese program for decentralization, which will last 10 years (from 2009-2019), broken down into two phases, hopes to improve political, juridical, and financial conditions in the province and other decentralized territories, in order to allow them to assume their task of promoting development of the respective territories and local democracy. Through the decentralization, they hope to effectively respond to the expectations of the people of this vast nation, especially in regards to basic public services: health, education, water, and electricity. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 15/7/2009)
