Kinshasa – November 26, 2024 – The Garamba room, located at the Ministry of the Interior in Kinshasa, hosted the first day of the Workshop on Access to Public Information in the DRC, an event organized by the Congolese Center for the Right to Sustainable Development (CODED) and the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for Monitoring Reforms and Public Action (CORAP). The main objective of this workshop is to strengthen transparency in the management of major infrastructure projects, particularly the Grand Inga project, by addressing the crucial issue of access to public information.
The workshop began by emphasizing the fundamental importance of the right to public information, a principle enshrined in the Constitution of the DRC (Article 24), but which is often poorly implemented in the country, especially in relation to large public projects. Civil society organizations (CSOs) regularly denounce the opacity surrounding large-scale projects like Grand Inga, where essential documents such as environmental impact assessments, concession contracts, and memoranda of understanding are often inaccessible.
Me Éric Kassongo, Executive Director of CODED, opened the day by stressing: “Access to public information is a pillar of democracy and good governance. Yet, this right remains out of reach for a large portion of the Congolese population, especially for projects as critical as Grand Inga.”
The first presentation of the day was delivered by lawyer Jackie Loteteka, representing Jacques Djoli Esseng Kieli, Professor and National Deputy. He outlined the key aspects of the proposed law on access to information recently submitted to the National Assembly. According to Mr. Djoli, this law could mark a significant step towards transparency, but it requires improvements to be truly effective and enforceable. He emphasized that the law must clarify procedures for accessing information and establish effective appeal mechanisms for citizens and organizations.
In an increasingly connected world, Bob Bobutaka, a professor of Information and Communication Sciences, highlighted the importance of access to information in the digital age. He argued that modern digital tools provide a unique opportunity to make public information more easily accessible to all. He pointed out that governments, including that of the DRC, now have the technological means to make such information available to the public but are still lagging in their implementation. He added, “In the digital era, governments have the tools to make public data easily accessible. This lack of transparency is unacceptable.”
The afternoon session focused on legal remedies that citizens can use to obtain the information they are entitled to. Me Éric Kassongo explained the legal avenues available to civil society to request access to information, including resorting to administrative courts in cases of denial. However, he cautioned that there is a lack of clear mechanisms for implementation, and institutions often fail to support the defense of this right.
Next, Emmanuel Musuyu, Executive Secretary of CORAP, addressed the institutional consequences of the non-publication of documents related to projects, particularly the Grand Inga project. He argued that the opacity surrounding these projects severely undermines citizen participation and fuels suspicions of mismanagement and corruption. He stressed that without full and transparent access to documents, Congolese society cannot effectively oversee public projects. “The lack of transparency in projects like Grand Inga creates areas of uncertainty, increasing suspicions of mismanagement and hindering citizen participation,” he said.
Following these presentations, a question-and-answer session allowed participants to react and ask questions to the speakers. The debates were particularly lively, with rich contributions on the challenges of transparency in large-scale projects like Grand Inga and ways to advance legislation on access to information. Participants also made suggestions for improving the draft law under discussion in the National Assembly, calling for the introduction of more binding mechanisms to ensure effective enforcement of the right to information.
Three panel discussions provided participants with the opportunity to engage in cross-sector debates. The day concluded with the collection of recommendations from participants, who were encouraged to propose concrete actions to enhance transparency and good governance in the management of infrastructure projects in the DRC, especially the Grand Inga project. These recommendations will be compiled and presented during the second day of the workshop, scheduled for November 27, 2024.
The first day of the workshop shed important light on the challenges faced by the DRC in terms of access to public information. While progress has been made, particularly with the draft law under discussion in Parliament, much remains to be done to ensure genuine transparency in the management of public projects. Civil society, the media, and institutions must continue to work together to overcome barriers to access to information and ensure that strategic projects like Grand Inga are managed transparently and responsibly.
By Franck Zongwe Lukama
