Author: Congo Times

Brazzaville’s Strategic Messaging A few minutes past noon in the business lounge of the Hilton Brazzaville, Minister of Communication and Media Thierry Moungalla rose before a packed hall of local and foreign reporters and reaffirmed, with deliberative calm, the Republic of Congo’s “unshakable support” for Firmin Édouard Matoko in the forthcoming election of the UNESCO director-general. The statement, delivered on 5 September 2025, came amid a faint hum of cameras and laptops, attesting to the regional resonance of the contest. Flanked by Claudia Ikia Sassou-Nguesso, Special Adviser to the Head of State, the government spokesman framed the press encounter as…

Opposition voices renewed demands in Brazzaville A measured yet firm declaration delivered in Brazzaville on 5 September 2025 has reopened the public conversation on the mechanics of Congo-Brazzaville’s forthcoming presidential election. Before cameras and smartphone lenses, Marcel Guitoukoulou, president of the Congrès du peuple, read a joint statement on behalf of the Rassemblement des forces du changement, an opposition platform uniting six party leaders in a common front. Their central plea is unambiguous: a complete overhaul of the electoral register, compiled this time with biometric technology, accompanied by a broad civic dialogue capable of easing partisan mistrust. The rationale for…

Government sets its sights on universal access to power Meeting diplomats and development financiers in Brazzaville on 5 September, Minister of Energy and Hydraulics Emile Ouosso reiterated the executive’s determination to narrow the rural–urban electricity divide that still characterises the Republic of Congo. According to the ministry’s latest survey, barely one inhabitant in ten living outside major cities enjoys a legal electricity connection, whereas the urban coverage rate stands at roughly sixty-four per cent once informal hook-ups are taken into account. The minister framed these figures as an impediment to industrial expansion, agricultural processing and even cultural tourism, stressing that…

Strategic Scholarships Strengthen Bilateral Education The departure this month of seventy Congolese scholarship-holders for Moroccan universities is the most visible sign in years of an educational partnership that has quietly matured since Brazzaville and Rabat upgraded their cooperation agreements in the late 2010s. Announced in the capital on 5 September in the presence of Higher Education Minister Delphine Edith Emmanuel and Ambassador Ahmmed Agargi, the package covers tuition, accommodation and a modest living allowance, enabling recipients to enrol in engineering, medicine, climate science and information technology programmes across the kingdom (Ministry of Higher Education). For Morocco, the initiative aligns with…

Brazzaville statement reignites a simmering dispute The first week of September opened with a rare but determined intervention from the National Collective of Abandoned Day Labourers of Energie Électrique du Congo, E2C’s sprawling public-utility subsidiary. In a carefully worded communiqué issued in Brazzaville on 5 September, the group expresses what it calls a “deep frustration” at the absence of concrete follow-up to the tripartite talks of 11 March 2025 between workers’ delegates, E2C executives and officials from the Ministry of Energy and Hydraulics. The statement, seen by this newspaper, accuses the company of allowing the agreed roadmap to “remain a…

Congo-Brazzaville at centre stage of continental commerce For one week, from 4 to 10 September 2025, the Parc des expositions des Pins Maritimes in Algiers has become a vast agora for Africa’s economic ambitions. More than 2,000 exhibitors from over 75 nations, backed by delegations hailing from 140 countries and an expected footfall of 35,000 visitors, converged on the Algerian capital for the fourth Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025). In this forum Minister of State Alphonse Claude N’Silou, in charge of Commerce, Supplies and Consumption, carried the mandate of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso. His presence reaffirmed Brazzaville’s resolve to tie national…

A Landmark Night in Rabat The renovated Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex offered a spectacular setting for Morocco’s decisive 7th-round fixture against Niger. More than a mere qualifier, the encounter evolved into a celebration of national sporting ambition, culminating in a 5-0 scoreline that assured the Atlas Lions of a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The victory—secured on 5 September—marks Morocco’s third consecutive appearance at the tournament and the seventh overall, adding 2026 to the illustrious list of 1970, 1986, 1994 and 1998. Regragui’s Tactical Mastery and Player Brilliance Although Walid Regragui’s men needed only a draw, the head…

A Home-Grown Victory in the Capital In the luminous halls of central Brazzaville, the air was pierced by applause as Roger Mankindou, Miveck Rhignanga, Lutther Mabiala, Davy Madassou and Amadou Samanke lifted the inaugural trophy of the Lissolo Challenge. The five teammates, competing under the banner “Winner Premier”, each walked away with 50,000 FCFA, a modest sum in accounting terms yet a powerful symbol of the country’s nascent creative economy. Their success was not achieved on a football pitch but around a board that maps the Republic of Congo in all its linguistic, ethnographic and economic contours: Lissolo 2.0. “If…

Educational Bridge Strengthens South–South Cooperation An atmosphere of restrained celebration filled the halls of the Ministry of Higher Education in Brazzaville as Ambassador Ahmmed Agargi formally handed over travel documents and scholarship certificates to seventy Congolese students bound for Moroccan universities. The gesture, firmly anchored in the doctrine of South–South cooperation championed by both capitals, signals Rabat’s intention to position knowledge transfer at the heart of its African diplomacy while offering the Republic of Congo a timely boost to its human-capital ambitions, articulated by President Denis Sassou Nguesso in the National Development Plan. Speaking on behalf of King Mohamed VI,…

Presidential Guard Club Celebrates a Landmark Season Ceremonial fanfare resounded through the Brazzaville barracks of the Direction générale de la sécurité présidentielle when, on 4 September, towering trophy cups and glinting medals were formally presented to General Serge Oboa, president of the Guard’s expansive multisport club. The occasion marked the culmination of the 2024-2025 competitive calendar in which the volleyball and karate sections together amassed a collection of collective and individual distinctions. Observers present—including federation heads, senior officers, coaches and a number of diplomatic guests—interpreted the display as tangible evidence of the Guard’s disciplined ethos translated into athletic mastery. Leadership…