Scientific investment in the DRC: Félix Tshisekedi promotes an ambitious research budget

In a bold move, President Félix Tshisekedi issued a key recommendation on Tuesday 29 August, calling on Parliament and the Government to allocate at least 3 % of the national budget for the 2024 financial year to scientific research in all its facets.

This energetic appeal was made by the Head of State at the close of the Conclave of Congolese Scientific Engineering held in Kinshasa.

This recommendation would lead to a substantial increase in the current budget, from 0.5 % to at least 3 %, as explained by Gilbert Kabanda, the Minister for Scientific Research and Technological Innovation. He welcomed Félix Tshisekedi's proposal, emphasising:

"I'm pleased with the result, because there can be no research without funding. With the political will of the President of the Republic and the Government to increase the budget from 0.5 % to 3 %, we will gradually move towards a more dignified rate for a country such as the DRC".

He stressed that the aim of this conclave was to re-establish a body to succeed the Belgian intelligentsia who had run the Congolese economy before independence.

"We wanted to make this conclave an opportunity for the nation, through its inventors, researchers and others, to become aware of its potential in order to engage in its own development. After the conclave, we will organise forums and congresses for the Congolese intelligentsia under the aegis of the Ministry of Scientific Research", continued Gilbert Kabanda.

The Minister for Scientific Research also promised to present the tangible results of Congolese scientific research on a regular basis:

"I will make sure that every year there is a presentation to the public on these new advances in research and science.

Scientific Engineering recommendations

After two weeks of deliberations, the three hundred inventors and innovators gathered at the conclave agreed that it was imperative to promote scientific expertise and to set up an interministerial commission to integrate products of scientific invention into industry.

They also called for the development of a research programme focused on the government's priority areas, and for increased funding for research projects.

In their view, the country should encourage a culture of valorisation of research results, in particular by setting up a national intellectual property agency and an order of merit for science, innovation and technology.

These scientists also called for the promotion of proactive scientific diplomacy through diplomatic missions.

Congolese inventors have expressed their need for support throughout the certification process for their products or services.

Finally, the participants in the Congolese Scientific Engineering Conclave recommended the creation of a multidisciplinary task force made up of economists and lawyers responsible for training, equipping and supporting inventors and production units in the design of their commercial activities in order to optimise their profitability.