Congolese Delegation Pitches Anti-Poverty Efforts

New Haven and the Democratic Republic of the Congo strengthened their relationship this week through an exchange of ideas on a common challenge: poverty.

A delegation of government officials from the DRC arrived Saturday in New Haven, their first stop in a tour across the United States that will include D.C., Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, and Oklahoma.

The delegation also pitched investment in the nation’s anti-poverty efforts during a gathering at Stetson Branch Library with members of the Congolese diaspora.

The delegation was led by Judée Badibanga Kabongo, the special advisor on the fight against poverty to DRC President Felix Tshisekedi. Kabongo and his delegation were welcomed to New Haven by Avon resident Mulenga Perry Diyoka, who helped organize his visit in order to learn from local leaders about their poverty solutions and connect with the Congolese diaspora in New Haven. More than 1,000 Congolese live in Connecticut, with the majority concentrated in New Haven and Bridgeport, Diyoka said. 

On Monday, the Congolese delegation met with representatives of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce to compare notes on programs addressing poverty.

The DRC is one of the five poorest nations in the world with about 73 percent of the population living on less than $1.90 per day.

The main response developed by President Tshisekedi and Advisor Kabongo is called the ​“Program of Local Development of 145 Territories.” The Congolese government has committed over $1.5 billion over three years to the program in order to invest in schools, health facilities, entrepreneurship, and other infrastructure and services.

A similar program was attempted in 2019 following President Tshisekedi’s election, but was shut down when the pandemic struck in 2020. It took until July 2021 for the 145 Territories program to launch. 

While the contexts are vastly different, there were still general principles that were transferable between the DRC and New Haven. 

“What they told us is that you cannot design a program without starting by including the beneficiary in the design of the program,” Kabongo said in soft-spoken French, translated by David Mudilo Muhima, coordinator of the Diaspora Forum. ​“We cannot solve the issue of the person without himself being involved in the solution we are proposing for him.”

Another takeaway was the importance of public-private partnerships. From the Chamber of Commerce, the visitors heard about the role New Haven businesses and private citizens have played a role in alleviating poverty in the city.

“We want to talk to the diaspora and tell the diaspora that they have a role to play in the development of the country,” David Mudilo Muhima said. 

On Tuesday, they did just that, with approximately 20 members of the Congolese diaspora gathered at the Stetson Branch library. 

The delegation emphasized the need for the participation of the diaspora in the DRC’s efforts, whether that be as ​“passive” or ​“active” actors. 

Passive actors would be members of the diaspora who invest in the program financially but do not play a role on the ground. Active members would be those with the ideas and an entrepreneurial spirit who may be interested in implementing a program in a local community.

Getting buy-in from the diaspora is key to the success of the 145 Territories program, because, as Muhima put it, ​“the Congolese middle class lives abroad.” 

The Congolese diaspora sends back an estimated $2 billion to their local communities every year, Muhima said. And that is just what is reported: the actual figure is likely much higher. All of that money is going directly into the hands of communities to be spent, rather than into governmental programs aimed at structural change to increase jobs and develop the private sector within the DRC. 

The delegation hopes that by raising awareness of their government’s plans for structural change and creating policies so that members of the Congolese diaspora can be treated more similarly to nationals, they can convince Congolese living in the diaspora to send a portion of that money to the 145 Territories program. 

Their pitch was met with mixed reactions from the crowd at Stetson.

Ambroise Katundu agreed with the importance of entrepreneurship but asked how they planned to limit the overwhelming bureaucracy that comes with a program of such magnitude.

He also raised concerns about the low levels of education and the lack of accountability structures in place to assure educational quality. 

Gilbert Kalemba asked about how the people could trust that the money will be spent in the way the government claimed it would. Kabongo responded that the money would be managed through public-private partnerships, not just by the government. 

Toto Kisaku, an artist, activist, and Congolese refugee granted political asylum from the U.S., said afterwards that he too questions whether he can trust whether money would be spent on promised purposes.

“It’s really important to have the discussion about how to fight poverty, but how do they define poverty? The poverty is not just lack of money,” Kisaku said. ​“You can’t just bring money ⸺ you have to first change the human being.” 

Kisaku believes the development of people’s minds through raising of a political consciousness via art and education is also crucial for ending poverty, something that through his own experience having to flee the DRC for his activism and art he feels the government would not support. 

Still, there were some who were excited to see the initiative.

“The middle class is what is missing not just in the Congo, but in Africa on the whole,” said Florent Firmin, a consultant who works on development projects in Africa. ​“Enriching the poor and creating a middle class is what will drive these countries to grow.”