Author: Congo Times

Brazzaville Ceremony Marks 107th Armistice Anniversary Under the high sun of the Congolese capital, the rhythm of a military band accompanied a solemn procession toward the discreet marble stele that stands near the banks of the Congo River. There, on 11 November, Minister of National Defence Charles Richard Mondjo and France’s ambassador to the Republic of the Congo, Claire Bodonyi, laid wreaths of red and white blossoms, joined by Brazzaville prefect Gilbert Mouanda-Mouanda, Belgian Consul General Laurent Frederickx and David Wissika, Secretary-General of the National Office for Veterans. Their gestures, simple yet resonant, launched a morning of remembrance dedicated to…

Shared Vision of Modernization When Ambassador An Qing returned last week to Oyo, the hometown of President Denis Sassou Nguesso, she spoke of a “tangible dynamism” that mirrors the optimism felt in Beijing after the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The envoy’s remarks, delivered during a courtesy call on local authorities, distilled the essence of a common aspiration: translating macro-economic ambition into daily prosperity for ordinary citizens (Xinhua, 2023). The plenum in Beijing placed qualitative growth, technological upgrading and social equity at the core of China’s domestic agenda. Brazzaville’s 2022-2026 National…

A Record-Breaking Memorandum The corridors of Gaborone’s Ministry of Minerals and Energy seldom witness signatures of the magnitude affixed on 6 November. By committing 5.5 billion US dollars over seven years, the Government of Botswana and Turkey’s Ulsan Holding endorsed what officials describe as the largest single private-public energy partnership in the country’s history (Botswana Ministry of Minerals and Energy, 7 November). Sitting beside Minister Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, Ulsan president Fatih Gülsün declared that the accord “cements Botswana’s rise as a reliable power hub in Southern Africa”. The memorandum, co-signed by executives from Mercuria Energy Trading, IGI and Tfgl, spans…

Ministerial visit signals policy continuity The bustle that animated the compound of Louis Ngambio Primary School on 10 November carried a resonance far beyond the neighbourhood of Mfilou. By walking through freshly painted corridors, Minister of Pre-school, Primary, Secondary Education and Literacy Jean Luc Mouthou reminded onlookers that infrastructure remains the concrete expression of the instructions issued by President Denis Sassou Nguesso. The minister’s inspection of the newly minted public General Education College bore a dual message: the facility is officially operational, and its vocation is to anchor lower-secondary learning within the community that needs it most. Bringing classrooms closer…

A Working Visit Rooted in Political Solidarity The gentle heat of the early November morning in Brazzaville greeted Sergei Malinkovitch, head of the parliamentary group of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, as he stepped onto Congolese soil with a compact yet symbolically charged delegation. The visit, scheduled to extend over a full week, carries a clear mandate: to place an additional stone in the edifice of friendship that has long connected the Republic of the Congo and the Russian Federation. “Our mission”, Malinkovitch declared shortly after landing, “is to reinforce the ties of cooperation and solidarity that already…

Strategic Capacity Building for the Judiciary From 4 to 11 November, the commercial heart of Brazzaville hosted an intensive seminar that placed intellectual property (IP) at the core of judicial practice. Jointly convened by the Ministry of Industrial Development and Private-Sector Promotion and the Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Promotion of Indigenous Peoples, with technical support from the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI), the initiative aimed to accelerate the Republic of Congo’s alignment with continental IP standards. Fifty-five magistrates, drawn from courts of first instance and courts of appeal across the country, accepted the challenge. “A sound culture of…

Belém inaugurates a decisive multilateral moment When the thirtieth United Nations Climate Conference opened in Belém, the Amazonian city became the epicentre of a multilateral season loaded with expectations. Yet, within hours, a second tropical colossus had stolen part of the spotlight: the Basin of the Congo. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) seized the opening plenary to issue what its delegates described as an “historic reminder” that the African rainforest constitutes a climatic buttress as vital as its South-American counterpart. The Congo Basin: carbon powerhouse and social lifeline Covering close to three million square kilometres and harbouring the…

Brazzaville welcomes faith envoys The late-afternoon sun had barely settled over the runway at Maya-Maya International Airport when two of contemporary Christianity’s most recognisable figures appeared at the cabin door. Pastor Paula White, spiritual adviser to former United States President Donald Trump, and Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, pioneer of Africa’s charismatic renewal, were welcomed with full protocol honours by Commissioner Colonel-Major Michel Innocent Peya representing Head of State Denis Sassou Nguesso. Applause echoed through the VIP lounge as traditional dancers offered rhythmic salutations, setting an atmosphere that blended national pride with the solemnity of a liturgical procession. According to airport authorities,…

A commemorative festival bridging generations From 28 to 31 October 2025 the shaded courtyards of the Institut français du Congo in Brazzaville resonated with poetry, stage lights and the discreet crackle of archive film. Thirty years after the passing of novelist, journalist and cultural agitator Sylvain Ntari Bemba, the festival theme – “What has become of the Congolese phratrie?” – set the tone for a gathering focused less on nostalgia than on transmission. In Congolese usage the term “phratrie” evokes the fraternal circles that have historically sustained the nation’s writers when formal structures proved fragile. By reviving the concept, organisers…

Central Committee gathers in Brazzaville Beneath the high ceilings of the party headquarters on Avenue de la Paix, the Congolese Labour Party’s Central Committee convened its second extraordinary session on 9 November. The atmosphere blended ritual precision with a palpable sense of urgency as Secretary-General Pierre Moussa declared the meeting open and immediately set the tone. According to him, the work accomplished by the preparatory commission over recent months represents the “strategic base” upon which the Sixth Ordinary Congress will rest, and therefore deserves a debate that is both rigorous and lucid. A multidimensional agenda for the Sixth Congress The…