UNDP, government launch development project

UNDP and the DRC government have launched an initiative “to strengthen management of new development activities” as progress towards peace continues, the agency said in a statement. “The US $4 million project marks a shift from dependence on humanitarian assistance towards working for longer-term development in a country torn by two wars during the past decade, the second still simmering,” UNDP said. It described the toll of the war on the country as “staggering”. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) estimated in a recent report that some 2.5 million people had died in less than three years due to conflict in areas of eastern DRC largely cut off from assistance. “The country’s institutions, infrastructure and economy are in a shambles,” UNDP noted.

It said that since January, the new authorities in Kinshasa had indicated a readiness to end the devastating conflict. It added that the effectiveness of the ceasefire agreement and preparations for political negotiations had also demonstrated a commitment to peace, setting the stage for new development efforts. “UNDP’s project aims at supporting three essential functions of management and good governance, namely steering the economy, management of public finances and administrative and judiciary management,” UNDP’s Resident Representative Bouri Sanhouidi said. The project would also help strengthen the ability of the civil society organisations to contribute to the reconstruction process, UNDP added. Sanhouidi indicated that the agency would assist the government in mobilising the financial resources needed to support the implementation of the national emergency programme for capacity building which was initiated by the DRC government.