Author: Congo Times

A coastal seminar that echoed beyond belle-lettres The sea breeze that drifts through Pointe-Noire’s storied Cercle Africain carried, on 19 July, an unmistakable whiff of diplomacy. Beneath the art-deco arches of the former colonial club, Café Prud’homme convened a seminar that was ostensibly literary but palpably political in its subtext. The protagonist of the afternoon, Bernard Moussoki, presented three recent works—“Dieu nous parle” volumes I and II, and “Le devoir de s’asseoir : construire l’unité du couple”. The event attracted theologians, diplomats stationed on the coast and an attentive local public, all of whom probed the author’s scriptural hermeneutics and…

Social Etiquette and the Grammar of Respect Among the most enduring features of everyday life in the Republic of Congo is the almost ritualised acknowledgment of social hierarchy. In urban Brazzaville as in the riverine districts of Likouala, conversation typically begins with a gesture of deference toward an elder or an interlocutor of higher status. Congolese linguist Jean-Luc Loubassou calls this practice “the grammar of respect that oils the public sphere”. Agreement, or at least the appearance of it, is prized above blunt directness, a preference that seasoned diplomats quickly learn to emulate. This attention to status neither signals servility…

Contextualising Rabat’s Gesture The 30 July directive issued by King Mohammed VI, in his capacity as Chairman of the Al-Qods Committee, constitutes more than an emergency relief order; it is the latest articulation of Morocco’s consistent alignment with Palestinian aspirations. Since the 1975 creation of the Committee within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, successive Moroccan monarchs have sought to frame the Jerusalem dossier as both a moral imperative and a diplomatic lever. Against a backdrop of recurrent escalations in and around Gaza, the decision to mobilise an estimated 180 tonnes of life-saving goods demonstrates the Palace’s willingness to convert political…

Strategic Urban Sanitation Challenges in Brazzaville A decade of steady demographic growth has stretched Brazzaville’s underground arteries to their limits. According to the World Bank, the Congolese capital has been gaining almost 3 % in population annually, while nearly 40 % of households still rely on informal connections to water and wastewater grids. The Ministry of Urban Sanitation, now led by Juste Désiré Mondélé, has therefore placed the mapping and rehabilitation of buried pipes at the heart of the government’s 2022–2026 National Development Plan. Congolese officials argue that improving subterranean infrastructure is not merely a technical endeavour but a public-health…

Women at the Core of a Science-Led Development Vision When Minister of Scientific Research and Technological Innovation Rigobert Maboundou took the podium in Brazzaville on 30 July, his message was concise yet strategically resonant: supporting women in research and entrepreneurial arenas is no longer a social courtesy, it is an economic imperative. By pledging structured assistance to female and youth-driven initiatives, the minister echoed Article 15 of the 2022 national development plan, which identifies inclusive innovation as a pillar of long-term competitiveness (Government of Congo 2022). That declaration coincided with the fifth “Mbongui de la Femme Africaine”, a platform whose…

Youth Demographics and National Stakes In the Republic of Congo, seventy-six percent of citizens are under thirty-five, a statistic the World Bank has repeatedly called both a demographic dividend and a looming challenge (World Bank 2023). With hydrocarbons still accounting for more than half of export revenues, economic diversification has become a strategic imperative; yet youth unemployment hovers officially around twenty percent and is widely believed to exceed that figure in urban centres such as Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire. Against this backdrop, a policy instrument capable of translating population pressure into productive capital carries considerable geopolitical significance. Diplomats in the region…

Grass-Roots Diplomacy Through Communal Meals In the sultry port city of Pointe-Noire, the Association des Jeunes Mères du Congo (AJMC) chose the last Sunday of July to launch a deceptively simple concept: sharing a plate of food. The programme, eloquently entitled “Un repas pour tous,” offers a free hot meal every Wednesday in Mpaka, the vibrant heart of the Tié-Tié district. At first glance the gesture appears philanthropic; yet for AJMC president Michaelle Moutouari Tchicamboud the initiative is nothing less than an exercise in what she calls “micro-diplomacy” – strengthening social bonds in a district that mirrors the ethnic and…

Setting the diplomatic stage for child welfare When the Ministry of Social Affairs convened policy-makers and foreign partners in Brazzaville on 31 July, the atmosphere bore the formal gravitas of a board of review rather than the celebratory tone often attached to development milestones. Eight years after the Republic of Congo and UNICEF jointly launched the Integrated Child Protection System, or Sipe, the pilot phase in Sibiti and Brazzaville’s Moungali district finally underwent a comprehensive assessment. The event, conducted under the discreet gaze of ambassadors and technical counsellors, placed Congo’s child-protection credentials squarely under the analytical lens of international standards…

A Stage for Intellectual Empowerment The marble-walled conference hall of Marien-Ngouabi University rarely resounds with such contagious enthusiasm. Yet on 31 July it became the epicentre of linguistic celebration as four undergraduates—Christ Nourra Ntsoumou-Ntounou, Bénie Riche Aimervia Elenga, Théodorat Hilary Makambala-Ndeke and Nicie Michelle Amora Mviri—garnered the laurel of Miss Mayele 2025. Conceived in 2022 by literature professor Sylvia Djouob, the competition aspires to reconnect students with the foundational pillars of French grammar, orthography and conjugation. The choice of the word mayele, which in Lingala evokes both wit and inventiveness, signals the organisers’ ambition: to turn linguistic rigour into a…

A Regional First in Currency Authentication In a move widely read as a technological turning point for Central African finance, the Bank of Central African States has unveiled BEAC NG2020, a free mobile application allowing immediate verification of the latest-generation CFA franc banknotes. The tool, compatible with Android and iOS platforms, invites users to scan or manually compare a note’s tactile imprints, colour-shifting inks and micro-lettering against the official security matrix introduced with the 2020 series. It is the first time in the almost half-century history of the regional bank that digital means are placed directly in the hands of…