The destruction of anarchic constructions continues – Congo Indépendant

Gaston Mutamba Permission

The governor of the city of Kinshasa, Gentiny Ngobila, launched, on January 9, 2023, an operation called “Coup de punch”. This action with a somewhat warlike name aimed to clean up the environment, maintain cleanliness, clear the main arteries and facilitate circulation. This was in view of the stay of Pope Francis from January 31 to February 3. We had to clear everything that obstructs the main arteries. A requiem for the nauseating heaps of rubbish, the improvised garages, the wrecks of vehicles, the pirate markets, the kiosks, the makeshift terraces that littered the streets. As it should be in this kind of operation, the police, trucks and bulldozers were involved. Hell and damnation!

Now that the Pope has come, seen and left, the governor has said to himself that it is not good for citizens to live in dirt. This explaining that, the operation “Punch” was renewed. Don’t we say that appetite comes with eating? The bulldozers resumed service as well as the police. Stupor and tremors!

Anarchic constructions are destroyed on main arteries. There are private houses, shops, gas stations in the lot… Clever people had managed to build on sewer collectors, on storm basins. Buildings have been erected on the main water evacuation routes, on the drains, on the gutters and public rights-of-way. With these demolitions, entire sections of the informal sector are being undermined by ricochet! In order not to starve, the unemployed have created garages, mechanical and clothing workshops, telephone booths, shops, dispensaries, brick kilns. They are also money changers and small itinerant traders. We must survive according to article 15 of the imaginary Constitution which advocates resourcefulness!

According to my know-it-all friend, to fill the void left by firms, the informal sector has taken over since the end of the 1970s. Most industrial and commercial enterprises had gone out of business following Zairianization, looting, wars, the absence of the state and the business climate. Today, more than 90% of companies in our country, coveted by China and by all neighboring countries, operate in the informal economy. Anyway next!

Cunning as foxes, some owners of destroyed buildings have official titles. Holy shit! We must also punish the people who illegally issued these titles! It sometimes happens that we warn of the passage of Horsemen of the Apocalypse. For those who don’t know, the four horsemen are: Death, Famine, War and Conquest. Saperlipopette!

Those who are aware that they built their building illegally, sleep with one eye open like a crocodile or a boa. This is called unihemispheric sleep. In this case, one half of the brain switches off while the other remains vigilant in order to detect physical changes in the immediate environment. Saperlipopette!

According to my friend who knows what is happening in all the nooks and crannies of dilapidated Kinshasa, the Minister of Land Affairs had drawn up, in July 2007, a list of anarchic constructions to be destroyed. The Governor of the City of Kinshasa, in his capacity as Chairman of the Demolition Commission was charged with the execution of this decision. Nothing, absolutely nothing was done! Stupor and tremors! Voices are already being raised against the demolitions. It seems according to the law, that when an anarchic construction is covered by a title, the administrative authority can only demolish it after having obtained its eviction by the competent judge. Stupor and tremors! We know how our courts operate in the face of hard cash. The end sometimes justifies the means. As my friend who went crazy used to say, “the caravan barks, the dog passes”.

We say at home that “in an argument with a fool, it is the wise man who leaves”.

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Gaston Mutamba Permission