Author(s) :

Marcel Batshiaka Barkoni.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

The 2006 Constitution established an ambitious decentralization process in the Democratic Republic of Congo, granting provinces the responsibility to plan and implement public policies adapted to their local realities. The period 2007-2011 corresponds to the first experience of provincial governance resulting from this new institutional framework. This study aims to analyze the relevance, internal coherence, and feasibility of the program of the Provincial Government of Bandundu led by Governor Richard Ndambu Wolang (2007-2011), examining it as an emblematic case of the challenges of Congolese decentralization. The article adopts a qualitative approach based on documentary analysis. The corpus examines legal texts (2006 Constitution, Law No. 08/012 of July 31, 2008), administrative archives of the provincial government, institutional reports, and scientific literature on decentralization and public policies in sub-Saharan Africa. Thematic content analysis was conducted to identify the program's strategic axes and assess their coherence. The analysis reveals an ambitious and multisectoral program structured around four pillars (infrastructure development, social sectors, agricultural revival, and governance). Its internal coherence appears globally satisfactory. However, its relevance is compromised by a significant gap between stated objectives and the actual institutional, human, and financial capacities of the province. The program suffers from a lack of costing of actions, explicit monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and a clear resource mobilization strategy. The study concludes that the Bandundu provincial program, while reflecting a structured political vision, illustrates the limits of public planning in a context of nascent decentralization. It highlights the gap between the ambitions of new provincial executives and the structural constraints inherited from decades of centralization and conflict.

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