These revenues are considered scandalous in a country where the average salary of a civil servant barely exceeds 50 dollars.
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It is a figure of the opposition and former unsuccessful presidential candidate, Martin Fayulu who launched the debate. In a press release published at the end of August and relayed on social networks, he assures that Congolese deputies are among the best paid in the world. According to him, the remuneration of elected officials has risen since January 2022 to 21,000 dollars per month. The opponent denounces “a flagrant violation” of the budget law and demands an investigation into the matter.
The deputies of the #RDC are better paid than those in rich countries like France and the USA. It is established that since January 2022, a national deputy receives $21,000 per month. It is corruption on a grand scale. I demand the resignation of the office of the National Assembly. pic.twitter.com/bCkTjAFvar
— Martin Fayulu (@MartinFayulu) August 30, 2022
This controversial question does not surprise the analyst Treasure Kibangula of the Congo Studies Group (GEC). “Everyone has known for years that Congolese parliamentarians are well paid”, he says in a podcast devoted to this case. Beyond the figures, what shocks the researcher is the opacity in the management of public funds and the dysfunction of the system.
The system is made in such a way that politicians literally take over public funds. The State budget seems to be the instrument that consecrates this system of predation of social wealth for their benefit.
Trésor Kibangula, analyst of the Congo Studies Group (GEC)
The office of the Congolese Assembly rejected the assertions of the opponent Martin Fayulu on the salaries of parliamentarians. “No national deputy can say and prove that he earns 21,000 dollars”, notably reacted to AFP the deputy Samuel Mbemba, chief of staff of the president of the lower house of Parliament. On the other hand, he refuses to reveal the exact income of the deputies by evoking parliamentary ethics, as RFI specifies. The government has not reacted to the controversy which comes two weeks before the start of parliament.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country very rich in natural resources but more than 77% of the population lives on less than a dollar a day. A civil servant earns, on average, around 50 dollars per month. It is also a country riddled with corruption.