Presidential candidate Vital Kamerhe held a meeting at Independence Square in Bukavu, South Kivu Province, on Monday. The president of the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) told his many supporters in his hometown that if elected his priority will be “restoring state authority.”

During his speech, Mr. Kamerhe said that in order to have good governance you need a functioning state.

“When the state fails, governance follows. Today, the role of provincial governors, mayors and local administrators can be summarized to collecting taxes on everything. We have taxes on cassava leaves, charcoal, thrift clothes, juice and anything else you can think of. Are these the signs of a functioning state? We have a great country but with leaders who lack a great vision for the Congo.”

“Today, state employees live as if they were homeless children on the street, not knowing how to feed their families or educate their children,” Mr. Kamerhe said.

For presidential candidate number 5, to fight against insecurity, soldiers must remain in their barracks. He made a commitment to pay the salaries of those in the military and the police.

Mr. Kamerhe stressed DR Congo’s potential. He said he wants to make the Democratic Republic of Congo a regional power.

The former Speaker of the National Assembly told his supporters that the reason why he fell out with President Joseph Kabila in 2009 was his opposition to the deployment of Rwandan army troops in eastern Congo to fight against the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

On the web: Congo News Agency | Radio Okapi article