Author: Congo Times

A Financial Jolt for Congo’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem The coastal city of Pointe-Noire, often portrayed as the commercial heartbeat of the Republic of the Congo, offered an unambiguous signal of policy continuity on 23 August. During the fifth Horizon Initiative and Creativity Forum, 500 emerging entrepreneurs received a cumulative 63.8 billion CFA franc commitment—roughly 103 million USD—from the national Fund for Impulse, Guarantee and Support, FIGA. The measure, publicly endorsed by Prime Minister Anatole Collinet Makosso and overseen by Minister Pierre Mabiala, advances President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s broader pledge to position youth employment at the centre of the national development agenda.…

Emergency architecture unveiled in Brazzaville In a carefully choreographed ceremony held on 26 August in the capital, the Congolese Red Cross, with the technical and financial backing of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, activated the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund, better known by its acronym DREF. The launch, attended by senior government officials, multilateral partners and civil-society representatives, signalled an acceleration of the Republic of Congo’s cholera response at a moment when the epidemiological curve remains a source of regional concern (official launch communiqué, 26 August 2025). The Director of Cabinet at the Ministry of Health,…

Strategic English Training Gains Momentum in Brazzaville In the northern quarters of Brazzaville, the sound of English verb drills now mingles with the hum of city traffic. From late August to the end of September, the Foreign Languages Training Center (FLTC) in Djiri is hosting twenty-five recent secondary-school graduates for an intensive, tuition-free programme in the world’s lingua franca. The initiative is spearheaded by Parfait Iloki, Permanent Secretary in charge of Communication and New Information Technologies within the Congolese Labour Party (PCT). According to local wire service Agence Congolaise d’Information (ACI) and corroborating reports from community media in the capital,…

A Global Commemoration Anchored in Brazzaville The Republic of Congo will join the international community on 8 September in observing International Literacy Day, an annual initiative instituted by UNESCO in 1966 to remind governments, practitioners and citizens of the transformative power of reading and writing. The 2023 theme, “Promoting Literacy in the Digital Age,” resonates strongly in Brazzaville, where policymakers view literacy not merely as a pedagogical objective but as a strategic component of national development and stability. By aligning itself with the global agenda, the Congolese government underscores its long-standing commitment to crafting an educated, just, peaceful and sustainable…

Strategic Signing in the Heart of Brazzaville In a ceremony held on 27 August inside the headquarters of La Nouvelle République, Paul Nestor Mouandzibi, president of the Congrès des chefs d’entreprise du Congo, and Anasth Wilfrid Mbossa, director-general of the national press group, affixed their signatures to what both men described as a “strategic accord” designed to enhance the visibility of private initiatives across the Republic of the Congo. The presence of Antoine Oviebo-Ethaï, director of cabinet to the Minister of Communication, lent governmental gravitas to the occasion and signalled official encouragement for stronger bridges between public information channels and…

Strategic Importance of the Pointe-Noire–Brazzaville Corridor For four decades the 500-kilometre, 220 kV line threading the Atlantic hub of Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville has formed the backbone of the Republic of Congo’s electricity architecture. Commissioned in 1982, the corridor once embodied the optimism of a young nation determined to bind its commercial capital to its political centre. Time, tropical humidity and rapid urbanisation, however, have exacted a tangible toll. Today more than one-hundred megawatts dissipate between generation at the Centrale électrique du Congo and final delivery to consumers, a shortfall that has constrained both household welfare and industrial output. Against this…

Record-breaking 100 % Pass Rate in Forestry Examination The 27 August proclamation of the June 2025 technical and professional examination results in Brazzaville introduced an unprecedented statistic into Congo-Brazzaville’s education annals: every one of the fifty-nine candidates who sat for the Brevet de technicien forestier (Btf) earned the coveted certificate. The absolute pass rate crowns a cohort that, according to the general president of the juries, Rufin Mviri, “embodied both scholarly discipline and vocational commitment”. The achievement resonates beyond academic circles, given the strategic relevance of forestry expertise for a country whose economy and environmental stewardship are closely intertwined with…

European Qualifiers Spotlight Congolese Excellence The closing act of UEFA’s August play-offs delivered a compelling tableau for observers of Congolese football. Rijeka’s heavy loss at the Toumba Stadium in Salonika, a five-goal reversal that erased the Croatian champion’s first-leg advantage, could not mask the season-long influence of Merveil Ndockyt. The Brazzaville-born midfielder was a late scratch through injury, and his absence robbed the visitors of their habitual vertical transition. Meanwhile, Lausanne-Sport scripted the evening’s most improbable narrative. Travelling to Istanbul with only a scoreless home draw in the pocket, the Swiss side capitalised on Besiktas’ numerical inferiority and sealed passage…

A strategic call for voter-roll vigilance In late August, Brazzaville’s Palais des Congrès served as the backdrop for a carefully choreographed gathering that organisers termed the inaugural Patriarche Delegates Conference. Convened by Digne Elvis Okombi Tsalissan, coordinator of both the Patriarche initiative and the NGO Generation Auto-Entrepreneur, the meeting placed a spotlight on an issue that consistently shapes the quality of democratic practice: the periodic revision of electoral lists. Okombi Tsalissan framed the exercise in explicitly civic terms, arguing that robust registers constitute “the entry visa to legitimate governance” in the Republic of the Congo. Citizen engagement as a safeguard…

A Symbolic Breakthrough for Congolese Soft Power When Ketsia Chelsea Yoka stepped onto a London runway on 9 August, she did more than debut a collection: she carried the colours of the Republic of Congo into one of the world’s most discerning fashion capitals. Her presence represents a milestone in cultural diplomacy, signalling the ability of Congolese creative industries to compete internationally while subtly projecting the nation’s image of dynamism and modernity. In a global environment where soft power often travels faster than official communiqués, the success of a single model becomes a persuasive narrative of national confidence and talent.…