15 years ago, economic operators called for the creation of commercial courts in the DRC. The objective was to manage the conflicts between companies and to protect their investments. If, 15 years after the installation of the commercial court of Lubumbashi, the economic operators deplore the little progress as regards the cleaning up of the business climate, the persons in charge of the court, them, complain of the struggles of influence which complicate their mission.
From our correspondent in Lubumbashi,
Although they are often decried, the commercial courts in the DRC have nevertheless made it possible to lighten the procedures for setting up a business. National and foreign economic operators more easily obtain their national identification number or their entry in the commercial register.
Albert Kalonji, president of the Cooperative of small and medium-sized enterprises Copemeco, explains that “po have a trade register, we didn’t even know the price. You can show up today, we tell you, it’s 200 dollars. To someone else, it’s 800 dollars… So, it was total cacophony. But with the advent of the commercial court, in fact, the business climate is improving, although there are still some difficulties.. »
Bad practices decried
Because all is not rosy in the commercial court. The difficulties mentioned by Albert Kalonji are particularly bad practices. Thus, Lydia Wabiwa, head of ANAPI Lubumbashi, the National Agency for the Promotion of Investments, calls on the Commercial Court of Lubumbashi to be more vigilant.
« ANAPI asks the commercial court to respect deadlines in the pronouncement of court decisions to avoid lethargy, the effective execution of court decisions, to fight against influence peddling and other factors likely to hinder the promotion of a good business climate in the provinces », emphasizes Lydia Wabiwa.
Frédéric Kenye Kitembo, the president of the commercial court of Lubumbashi does not deny the reality of the pressures that his court undergoes daily. ” It is a fight that must be waged to put an end to this influence peddling. I don’t think it’s a secret, you learn on both sides that there is such a person who intervenes in a file… But the Supreme Magistrate himself (the President of the Republic) has already had to remind the people around him not to exploit justice. »
In 15 years of existence, the Commercial Court of Lubumbashi has only tried around fifty cases, an average of three cases per year. It now undertakes to fight against the coinage of court decisions, to sanction magistrates and agents who engage in these illegal actions.