The Kinshasa government has significantly cut down funds allocated to maintain former President Joseph Kabila.
In 2020 the chairperson of Congolese Association for Access to Justice (ACAJ) appealed to the national assembly to reduce the pension costs paid to life senator Joseph Kabila.
Last week, the Minister of Finance announced the reduction of the pension costs paid to the former Head of Joseph Kabila State, since the filing of the 2019 accounting bill.
According to Georges Kapiamba, the ACAJ chairperson; Joseph Kabila, now a Senator for life, is paid U$680,000 every month, he also has 2,500 security agents facilitated by the state.
Kapiamba argues that such expenditure on Joseph Kabila is excessive in a country where 90% of Congolese live on less than one American dollar a day.
Finance Minister Nicolas Kazadi said that under the new restructuring, Joseph Kabila will now receive 75% of what the President in office receives, i.e. U$17,000.
“Today the former President of the Republic will receive 75% of what the President in office receives, but overall it has nothing to do with the 680,000 dollars monthly that the old law granted to the former head of the State. In addition to benefits in kind and security,”said Finance Minister Nicolas Kazadi.
The ACAJ said that it was satisfied with the downward review of the financial package allocated to the former head of state.
Kazadi noted that the Budget for the 2023 fiscal year is significantly pro-investment and pro-social, focusing on the programming of investment expenditures in the basic social sectors, in particular health, education and rural development, as well as in the national integration infrastructure sector.
He said that the budget favors support for local entrepreneurship by providing substantial resources to support the investment activities of young entrepreneurs in order to contribute to the creation of jobs and national wealth, sources of improvement of collective well-being.
