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Felix Tshisekedi faces his first test as president of the Democratic Republic of Congo – not from his rivals on the political scene, as many expected, but striking workers.
Since the December 30 elections, social conflicts in the public sector have exploded. The unions, under the control of a new regime headed by a former opposition leader, demanded the return of wages and crackdown on cronyism.
The stops affected transport, a key port, television, insurance and firefighters. They were continuing Wednesday as Tshisekedi was in Kenya for his first tour abroad.
Although the public sector represents only a small part of the national economy – most Congolese work in small or medium sized private companies – strikes have allowed to quickly put in place. test the political skills of Tshisekedi.
"Baptism of fire," said the daily Le Potential, wondering if Tshisekedi had the power to match his electoral rhetoric with deeds.
Head of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the country's oldest and largest party, Tshisekedi is committed to the campaign against poverty and hard struggle.
After a vote marked by repeated delays and a hard-fought result, he succeeded President Laurent Kabila, whose 18-year term was marked by an authoritarian regime, favoritism and repressive measures.
It was the first peaceful transition in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – a state that dates back to the independence of Belgium in 1960.
Tshisekedi had to take part in a conflict on January 28, just three days after taking office.
He ordered the "urgent" payment of backdated wages to the workers of Congo's transport company (Transco), which runs bus services for the sprawling capital, Kinshasa.
The government also suspended Transco's boss for "mismanagement".
But on Monday, firefighters in Kinshasa went on strike, claiming they had to pay 38 months salary and urging Tshisekedi's new government to put pressure on the city's governor, Andre Kimbuta.
On the same day, dozens of temporary contract workers at RTNC protested in front of Tshisekedi's temporary residence, demanding job security and dismissal of their boss, Ernest Kabila, for presumption of cronyism.
In the Atlantic port of Matadi, workers went on strike on 1 February demanding the repayment of four months' salary and the ousting of their boss, "suspected of siphoning $ 30 million", said Mazime Nzinga, head of the DRC Customs Officers' Office. The boss, Mukoko Samba, denied the accusations.
In Boma, in the same region, workers in the shipping sector are also on strike and are demanding 20 months late payment. In addition, public enterprises in the telecommunications and insurance sectors have been affected by unrest.
Tshisekedi faces familiar problems with budget constraints when he seeks to defuse these problems, as well as a dreaded political act on the tightrope.
Returning appointees to the Kabila era could jeopardize the delicate sharing of power that he had to forge with the supporters of his predecessor, who holds a huge majority in parliament.
But it must also ensure the credibility of the presidency in light of the disputed results of the elections.
Another opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu, claims that the result is wrong between Kabila and Tshisekedi, denying him a victory after declaring he won 61% of the vote.
"I know that there were imperfections, irregularities in these elections, but overall, it went well because this change of direction took place peacefully," he said. Tuesday Tshisekedi.
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