Author: Congo Times

Historic MoUs on Congolese Stadium Access A decade ago the Congolese Ministry of Sports and the Fédération congolaise de football (FECOFOOT) endorsed a twenty-year framework granting the federation operational rights over the Alphonse-Massamba-Débat, Pointe-Noire Municipal and Paul-Sayal-Moukila arenas. The arrangement, formalised by a ministerial note in 2014 and a complementary declaration in 2016, was conceived as a counterpart to FIFA-financed synthetic turf installations intended to professionalise the national game. Those documents, still cited verbatim in FECOFOOT communiqués, positioned the three stadiums as strategic hubs for elite competitions and for community outreach. At the time, international observers hailed the protocol as…

Renewed Momentum in 2025 Operations From the broad marble corridors of Brazzaville’s Ministry of Forest Economy to the remote forest posts abutting the Sangha River, the Republic of Congo has entered 2025 with a discernible acceleration in its fight against wildlife crime. Between January and July, joint teams of the National Gendarmerie and forestry rangers intercepted four trafficking rings operating in Niari, Cuvette and Likouala. Nine alleged offenders were arrested while transporting or offering for sale elephant ivory, leopard skins and giant pangolin scales—items whose trade is strictly prohibited under national law. The arrests mark a modest but significant rise…

Bordeaux Ballot Sends Ripples Across Continents When the delegates of the Grand Orient de France gathered on 21 August 2025 in Bordeaux, the media headlines focused on the learned profile of their new Grand Master: Pierre Bertinotti, a 72-year-old economist who once steered strategic planning at France’s Ministry of Finance. Yet within hours, diplomatic telegrams circulating in several African capitals drew a different conclusion. Beyond the formalities of a one-year mandate, Bertinotti’s elevation was interpreted as a calibrated gesture to revitalise a discreet but resilient channel of Franco-African dialogue that predates most post-colonial constitutions. Bertinotti’s maiden speech, outlining a “refoundation…

Youth Diplomacy Gains Momentum in Kinshasa On 12 August 2025, the International Youth Day, the Forum International de la Jeunesse pour le Développement de l’Afrique, better known by its French acronym FIJADA, convened more than five hundred delegates from twenty-five African states in the cavernous Salle du Peuple of Kinshasa’s Palais du Peuple. Working beneath the banner “Creating a Sustainable Future: Youth Engagement for the Planet”, participants mapped out pathways by which demographic vitality could be channelled toward continental resilience. The chair, Jonathan Lumbeya Masuta, argued that “Africa’s demographic dividend will remain a potential until it is transformed into policy…

A Congolese Forum for Strategic Eloquence The auditorium of the Autonomous Port of Pointe-Noire, better known for container traffic than for rhetorical flourishes, briefly transformed into a diplomatic salon when more than 1,500 spectators convened for the fourth edition of the “BE Genius” eloquence contest. The gathering brought together primary-school pupils, university students and professionals, illustrating the Republic of Congo’s commitment to inter-generational dialogue at a moment when regional institutions, from the Economic Community of Central African States to UNESCO’s Office in Yaoundé, increasingly frame youth participation as a pillar of peacebuilding. Parental Responsibility at the Core of Social Stability…

Yokohama hosts a pivotal Africa–Japan rendez-vous The ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development opened on 20 August 2025 beneath Yokohama’s humid summer sky, under the banner “Co-create Innovative Solutions”. Co-chaired by Angolan President João Lourenço, in his capacity as African Union chair, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the forum convened twenty-one heads of state, senior executives of the United Nations, the World Bank and the African Development Bank, and hundreds of private-sector actors. Since its launch in 1993, TICAD has carved out a reputation for sober, multilateral dialogue, contrasting with the transactional style often attached to other partnership…

Government strategy to modernise the grid When the Congolese Minister of Energy and Hydraulics, Emile Ouosso, addressed investors in Brazzaville in mid-August, his message was simultaneously candid and reassuring. Decades-old transmission infrastructure, he conceded, lies at the heart of the capital’s electricity deficit; nevertheless, the administration of President Denis Sassou Nguesso has now placed grid rehabilitation at the centre of its broader economic agenda. By framing the electricity question not as a temporary inconvenience but as an essential prerequisite for industrial diversification, the government signalled a diplomatic priority consistent with its commitments under the Central African Power Pool (CAPP 2022).…

A Civic Initiative Aligned with National Health Objectives When the Association Saint François de Sales for Action and Solidarity, better known by its French acronym ASSAB, opens the doors of its mobile clinics on 27 August, the gesture will echo far beyond the immediate gift of vision. registered in France in 2005 and formally recognised in Congo-Brazzaville in 2017, ASSAB has built a reputation for discreet yet effective interventions in education and health. Its latest venture—a week-long campaign of free ophthalmic consultations and the distribution of prescription glasses—speaks to a broader alignment with the government’s ambition to bring essential primary…

High-Stakes Group Stage Drama The final whistle in Abidjan on 19 August drew a discreet curtain on Congo’s ambitions for a quarter-final berth at the African Nations Championship, yet the storyline proved richer than the 0-2 scoreline against Nigeria might suggest. Entering the decisive encounter with two draws, the Diables Rouges required a victory by at least two goals to progress. Anas Yusuf’s angular finish just after half-time and Alimi’s stoppage-time counterattack denied that mathematical prospect, consigning Congo to the foot of Group D behind Sudan, Senegal and Nigeria. Local commentators on Télé Congo were quick to note that the…

A Strategic Convergence of Soft Power When ten-year-old Davina Nkenko Sita and her compatriot Céleste Malanda Mayinga stepped onto the parquet floor of the Grâce Céleste Academy in Sochi this August, they did far more than perfect ribbon routines. Their presence exemplified the deliberate recourse to sports diplomacy by the Republic of the Congo and the Russian Federation, two states that have sustained cordial ties since the 1960s. Moscow’s decision to open its elite facilities to Congolese athletes and Brazzaville’s readiness to seize that offer converge upon a common calculus: cultivating goodwill, projecting national narratives and grooming future champions in…