Author: Congo Times

Brazzaville Ceremony Launches a Continental Ambition Late afternoon light bathed the conference hall in Brazzaville on 24 October as engineer Luc Missidimbanzi formally announced his candidacy for Secretary-General of the African Telecommunications Union (UAT) for the 2026 mandate. The gathering, conceived as a fund-raising moment for the forthcoming campaign, attracted an audience that blended senior government officials with innovators from the Republic of the Congo’s growing digital sector. Against this backdrop of national colours and discreet diplomatic protocol, the candidate drew applause while framing his run as an extension of a broader Congolese commitment to pan-African connectivity. A Career Forged…

AEK Larnaka’s Tactical Masterclass at Selhurst Park The headline shock of the evening unfolded in south London, where AEK Larnaka travelled to Crystal Palace and escaped with a priceless 1–0 victory. Occupying the right flank, Jérémie Gnali combined diligence and composure throughout the ninety minutes. His anticipation in transitional phases repeatedly blocked a Palace side accustomed to Premier League tempo, and his crisp distribution under pressure allowed the Cypriots to calm the match when possession was won. The solitary goal, struck midway through the second half, rewarded an approach that remained compact without ever descending into mere containment. By clinching…

Strategic milestone for Pointe-Noire’s blue economy When the 368-metre Maersk Halifax eased alongside the quays of Congo Terminal after its voyage from Cape Town, a discrete yet significant page of Central African maritime history was turned. Never before had the Autonomous Port of Pointe-Noire received a container vessel capable of carrying up to 15 690 twenty-foot equivalent units. For the management team, the manoeuvre was more than a feat of seamanship; it was a confirmation that years of targeted capital expenditure are aligning with the new geometry of global liner services. “The arrival of the Maersk Halifax is a collective…

A concerted sweep across the capital At dawn on 21 October, the usually congested Avenue de la Paix resonated not with the roar of minibuses but with the steady cadence of bulldozers and Caterpillar trucks. The logistics group of Congo-Brazzaville’s internal security forces, drawing on both police and gendarmerie personnel, initiated a sweeping operation that has already altered the visual and olfactory landscape of the capital. Piles of refuse that had become quasi-permanent features of neighbourhoods from the school of Grand Fleuve to the populous district of Talangaï were loaded onto lorries, gutters were unclogged, and stagnant water released. Security…

A Symbolic Relay at the Helm of the GECF For the second time in a row, an African technocrat has been entrusted with the stewardship of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum. Philip Mshelbila, Managing Director of Nigeria LNG Limited, was unanimously elected Secretary-General during the organisation’s Council of Ministers, succeeding the Algerian diplomat Mohamed Hamel (GECF communiqué, 2024). The relay is more than a ceremonial gesture; it crystallises a continental ambition to convert abundant gas resources into geopolitical leverage while meeting domestic development targets. “With African leadership at the helm of the GECF, we have the opportunity to shape global…

Brazzaville workshop signals national mobilisation In a conference room overlooking the banks of the Congo River, some thirty specialists from the Presidency, the Prime Minister’s office, sectoral ministries and overseas technical partners opened on 22 October a three-day workshop devoted to the plague of small ruminants, better known by its French acronym PPR. The meeting, chaired by Director-General of Livestock Kaya-Tobi, constitutes the final step before governmental endorsement of a revised National Strategic Plan for the Control and Eradication of PPR. The atmosphere was studious rather than ceremonial, as participants sifted through epidemiological graphs, budget tables and legal frameworks with…

Brazzaville strengthens its fintech credentials In the final days of October 2025 the Congolese capital will become an intellectual crossroads for finance, hosting a conference-debate followed by an intensive seminar devoted to crypto-assets and the broader reconfiguration of the global monetary order. The initiative emanates from BT Integral Consulting, headed by banker-entrepreneur Aurélien Damase Bouithy, whose stated ambition is to provide decision-makers in Central Africa with a forum equal to the scale of the continent’s digital financial revolution (BT Integral Consulting). Close to three hundred participants—bank executives, insurers, micro-finance leaders, representatives of the Central Bank and line ministries, scholars and…

Strategic Leap for Pointe-Noire Hub A deep ocean swell and a cobalt horizon framed the entrance of the Maersk Halifax when the 368-metre vessel eased alongside the quays of Congo Terminal after a swift transit from Cape Town. Beyond the symbolism of a first call by a ship exceeding 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, the event provides tangible evidence that Pointe-Noire is consolidating its status as a pivotal relay between the Atlantic and the fast-growing markets of Central Africa. Port authorities report that average turnaround times have been divided by two over the past decade, a trend confirmed by regional shipping…

Sharp retreat in verified SIM cards raises red flags A discreet yet pivotal indicator of confidence in Congo-Brazzaville’s digital ecosystem has deteriorated markedly this year. Fresh data unveiled in Brazzaville by the Agence de régulation des postes et des communications électroniques (ARPCE) reveal that only 9.13 percent of subscriber identity module cards activated between January and August were supported by complete and accurate identification, compared with 13.20 percent in 2024. The contraction, though it may appear arithmetically modest, translates into hundreds of thousands of untraceable mobile lines circulating across national territory. For a country where nearly three quarters of the…

Brazzaville prepares for a high-level regional conclave Brazzaville’s diplomatic district is steadily transforming into a multilateral hub as final arrangements are made for the 44th ordinary session of the Union of Central African States (UEAC) Council of Ministers, scheduled from 27 to 31 October. According to the official communiqué, delegates drawn from the six member states of the CEMAC will first meet within the Inter-State Committee before handing over technical dossiers to ministers for political arbitration. The Congolese authorities, keen to showcase the country’s organisational capacity, have placed the gathering under the theme “Towards the implementation of the budget-programme to…