Congo’s new cabinet marks shallow break from the past

Significance

The delay was a result of long and very complicated negotiations, firstly between Tshisekedi and former President Joseph Kabila, who had agreed to form a coalition government, but also within the two camps, which both suffer from serious problems of internal cohesion.

Impacts

• Congo has a history of parallel structures subverting weak governments; a cabinet with so many junior members may struggle to impose itself.
• Tshisekedi promised free education in 2019; with the school year about to start, breaking this promise could quickly cost him much goodwill.
• The exclusion of so many ambitious figures may sow resentments in those with real capacity to undercut policy or sour the political climate.