Author: Congo Times

A Solemn Oath in Bouansa Echoes Through the Nation Under the ochre skies of Bouansa, the administrative seat of the Bouenza department, thirty-four pastoral trainees of the 2022-2025 cohort advanced one by one to raise a right hand and bind themselves, before God and their congregation, to a covenant of service. The ceremony, guided by the Synodal Bureau of the Evangelical Church of Congo, drew a cross-section of local society, including commissioners of police from Kinkala and Madingou, whose discreet presence lent an additional aura of civic gravitas. While oaths of office are commonplace in political life, the rite experienced…

A Carefully Timetabled Political Milestone In the measured rhythm of Congo-Brazzaville’s political calendar, the announcement by the Union panafricaine pour la démocratie sociale (Upads) that it will convene its second ordinary congress from 12 to 14 November 2025 has attracted considerable diplomatic attention. Communicated at the close of the party’s fifth National Council session, the timetable signals a deliberate effort to synchronise internal restructuring with the broader electoral horizon. National Council rapporteur Romaric Sidoine Moukoukou underlined that the gathering will take place in Brazzaville, allowing the movement to remain visibly anchored in the republic’s institutional capital. The congress, last organised…

Football and Nzango: Dual Engines of Social Cohesion The sporting menu blends global and distinctly Congolese disciplines. Football, the lingua franca of young athletes from Pointe-Noire to Impfondo, provides the universal grammar of teamwork, fair play and tactical discipline. Nzango, by contrast, is unmistakably local: a choreographed contest of rhythmic footwork performed exclusively by women, combining dance, song and gymnastic agility. Together they create complementary spaces for gender-inclusive participation. Observers from the Niari Youth Directorate underline that Nzango’s prominence affirms the government’s objective of widening female access to sport, echoing recommendations issued by UNESCO on gender equity in physical education.…

Strategic Value of Mayoko Iron Reserves When President Denis Sassou Nguesso lands in Mayoko in the Niari department, he will be stepping onto terrain that hosts one of Central Africa’s largest untapped iron deposits. Government data released in Brazzaville last August attributes to the Mayoko-Moussondji permit an estimated 917 million tonnes of reserves, of which 38.5 million tonnes can be extracted immediately. Projections submitted by Ulsan Mining Congo S.A.U. envisage an initial annual output of 300 000 tonnes, scaling to 16.5 million tonnes once hard-rock seams are exploited. By any regional measure the 30-year licence marks a cornerstone in Congo-Brazzaville’s…

Electoral Calendar Sets the Tempo With a little more than six months separating the Republic of Congo from its next presidential contest, the government opened the statutory revision of electoral rolls on 1 September. The banners that blossomed across Brazzaville are more than decorative; they constitute a formal reminder that the presidential election, slated for March 2026, already exerts its institutional gravity on the public space. Under national law, the two-month operation is designed to reconcile demographic change with the integrity of the voter register, thereby ensuring that the sovereign expression of the electorate is neither diluted by omissions nor…

Historic pillars of a 61-year friendship The arrival of President Denis Sassou Nguesso in Beijing on 31 August, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, offered a vivid reminder that Sino-Congolese relations have long transcended episodic diplomacy. Established in 1964 and elevated in 2016 to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the relationship is today framed by regular high-level visits, a shared chairmanship of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation and a constellation of bilateral commissions. In both Brazzaville and Beijing, officials stress an enduring trust capital that has resisted shifts in the international landscape, symbolised by Congo’s role as co-president of FOCAC…

Owando Session Signals Renewed Momentum In the humid late-August air of Owando, the Congolese Labour Party (PCT) convened the fourth ordinary session of its Cuvette federal council. The gathering provided a deliberately high-profile backdrop for Secretary-General Pierre Moussa to present and formally install Rigobert Maboundou as political commissary for the department. In a hall filled with cadres, militants and local dignitaries, Moussa framed the ceremony as part of “the dynamic of revitalisation” endorsed by the party’s Central Committee and Political Bureau. The venue was not chosen at random: Cuvette has long served as a bastion of electoral support for the…

A living mosaic in the heart of Mayombe Few regions of Central Africa illustrate linguistic multiplicity quite as vividly as the Mayombe massif in the south-west of the Republic of Congo. From the forest village of Makaba to the rail junction of Pounga, one encounters tonalities that blur clear-cut ethnic borders, weaving a palette of Kuni, Vili, Yombe and Beembe sounds into a single audible landscape. Former Télé Congo director Michel Mboungou-Kiongo, whose clan memories anchor this reflection, notes that the Bahungana branch settled in Les Saras adopted the local phonetic shift from Kiongo to Tchiongo, an example of how…

A start-up ascent that captured Brazzaville’s imagination When Jonathan Yanghat launched Noki-Noki with two motorbikes and a minimalist mobile interface, the venture epitomised the promise of Central African tech. Within a brief span, the company declared capital raises approaching two million United States dollars, positioning itself as a regional pioneer in on-demand logistics across Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Local business forums praised the founder’s boldness, and investment decks circulated in regional accelerators as case studies of home-grown ingenuity. Such narratives resonated with policymakers in Brazzaville, who routinely underscore the importance of small- and medium-sized…

Beijing marks the 80th anniversary of victory The People’s Republic of China will commemorate, on 3 September, the eightieth anniversary of its victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the broader anti-fascist struggle of the Second World War. Preparations in the capital have been meticulous, and Chinese state media such as Xinhua have confirmed that a large-scale military parade on Tiananmen Square will constitute the focal point of the remembrance. Beijing has underlined that only operational hardware will be displayed—a message designed to balance historical reverence with contemporary deterrence. Diplomatic weight of Sassou Nguesso’s attendance President Denis…