Félix Tshisekedi has accomplished little in Congo

THERE WASIMF supposed to be a big party on January 24th. It was going to cost $6m and celebrate the first anniversary of Félix Tshisekedi’s inauguration as president of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The government presents this as Congo’s first ever peaceful handover of power. But the idea of the party enraged many Congolese, most of whom live on less than $2 a day. Their situation has hardly improved under Mr Tshisekedi, who took over after a rigged election, and whose powerful predecessor, Joseph Kabila, still looms in the background. In the end the party was cancelled.Mr Tshisekedi (pictured) made three big campaign promises, and is struggling to keep any of them. He vowed to spend $2.6bn, or 40% of last year’s budget, on free primary education for all Congolese. The government hired over 40,000 new teachers in 2019. None, however, was paid. Some have already gone on strike. This year the government should have more to spend thanks to the and World Bank, which have agreed to big loans (contingent on more transparency). But Mr Tshisekedi’s budget of $10.2bn (63% higher than last year’s) is also unrealistic. It assumes that domestic revenue will rise by 56%, mainly as a result of less fraud and tax evasion. Good luck with that.