Regulatory Shift Announced in Brazzaville
In a communiqué issued from Brazzaville on 1 October, the Ministry of Transport, Civil Aviation and Merchant Marine, led by Minister Ingrid Olga Ghislaine Ebouka-Babbackas, unveiled a decisive adjustment to the national road-transport framework. The validity of professional licences—known locally as agréments—granted to road hauliers and to their related service industries will henceforth be limited to a uniform five-year term. The ministry presented the measure as a calibrated response to the sector’s need for predictability, improved safety standards and clearer administrative tracking across the Republic of the Congo’s vast road network.
A Decree Rooted in Legal Continuity
The new duration draws its authority from Decree n°2025-399 of 19 September 2025, which amends Article 22 of Decree n°2011-491 of 29 July 2011 governing access to, and the practice of, the road-haulage profession. By reframing the article rather than replacing the entire 2011 text, lawmakers signal continuity with the regulatory ambitions set more than a decade ago while sharpening the operational timeline for licence holders. The five-year horizon is intended to harmonise renewal cycles, reduce administrative bottlenecks and provide regulators with a clearer audit trail of operators active at any given moment.
Broad Coverage: Hauliers, Driving Schools and Beyond
The revalidated agrément now embraces a wide constellation of actors whose activities sustain the road-transport value chain. Large and medium-sized logistics companies, small enterprises and public carriers of goods and passengers all fall squarely under the decree’s umbrella. Equally concerned are driving-school establishments, vehicle-rental firms, roadworthiness testing centres, medical practices authorised to issue physical-fitness certificates, manufacturers of licence plates and road signs, and firms specialising in handling, warehousing or transport organisation. The ministry’s communiqué underscores that uniformity of duration across such varied activities will facilitate integrated oversight and encourage professionalisation throughout the ecosystem.
Administrative Countdown to 30 October 2025
The directive stipulates that any corporate entity already in possession of an agrément—or aspiring to obtain one—must approach the relevant department-level office of the Directorate-General for Land Transport no later than 30 October 2025. The objective is twofold: to align existing dossiers with the new legal template and to secure prompt inscription in the official registry of operators. The ministry warns, in measured but unmistakable terms, that failure to comply within the allotted timeframe may jeopardise an operator’s legal standing. By fixing a clear deadline, the administration aims to avoid the protracted transitional periods that have historically complicated enforcement efforts.
Anticipated Gains in Sector Efficiency
Although the communiqué refrains from quantitative forecasts, officials stress that a single five-year window should strengthen the sector’s competitiveness by reducing disparate renewal dates and clarifying compliance milestones. Legal analysts note that the decree may also reinforce accountability, as regulators will possess an up-to-date registry when conducting safety checks or adjudicating disputes. Moreover, by tethering auxiliary services—such as medical certification and technical inspection centres—to the same temporal rhythm, the ministry crafts a holistic architecture geared toward safer roads and more transparent market practices. In the words of one senior administrator, echoed in the release, the reform constitutes “a pragmatic step toward a modern, orderly and inclusive national transport system.”