PRIME MINISTER OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Mr. MATATA PONYO Mapon was born in Kindu in Maniema June 5, 1964, and is a member of the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Development (PPRD). He served as Minister of Finance of the functions of the Democratic Republic of Congo from 19 February 2010 to 18 April 2012, when he was appointed Prime Minister. As Finance Minister, he took the business as the country had entered into a program with the IMF in the framework of the Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC).
In a global context marked by the negative effects of the international financial crisis, the Minister was able to stabilize the Congolese economy, the main balances were broken for more than five years. Indeed, for the first time in several years, the exchange rate of the Congolese Franc remained stable. It could lead successfully completed the first review of the program. This allowed the DRC to reach the completion point in June 2010, after reaching the decision point in 2003. This has resulted in the cancellation of roughly $ 10 billion of foreign debt .
Since his appointment, he successfully led several important reforms, some of which have resulted in laws, including a new Customs Code, the Law on Public Finance, the new procurement code, the added tax value … After achievement of the Completion Point, it conducted negotiations with the countries of the Paris Club and commercial creditors for relief to be granted under the HIPC Initiative.
He launched since 2010 an innovative program of modernization and rejuvenation of the Administration of Finance through a program of recruitment and placement of young academics Congolese recruited highly competitive basis.
As Finance Minister, he was Chairman of the African Caucus (organization bringing together all the finance ministers of Sub-Saharan International Monetary Fund and the World Bank), and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the ACA (Agency for Trade Insurance in Africa) based in Nairobi, Kenya.
As Minister of Finance, Mr. Matata Ponyo Mapon was set up in 2011, a strategic team responsible for Doing Business, in order to support the improvement of business climate which is one of the key axes of its policy. reformer deemed rigorous, disciplined, hardworking and discreet, Mr. Matata Ponyo Mapon has, during his term as Minister of Finance, conducted within the framework of good governance – its motto – a fierce fight against corruption and fraud in the management public finance. Which nearly doubled the revenue in two years. This policy allows today the Democratic Republic of Congo to finance from internal resources, projects in the social sectors and infrastructure.
Invested by the National Assembly dated May 9, 2012, Prime Minister Matata Ponyo Mapon has set in the context of a socio-economic program of the Government three major objectives: the continuation of economic reforms initiated most since 2010; economic recovery; and the restoration of State authority. The Government then engaged courageous actions in the field of public finance and fiscal management. The results are a significant improvement in the macroeconomic framework indicators, especially with an inflation rate of 2.72%, far below the forecast of IMF program agreed to 9%. In this regard, it should be noted that Congo has, for the last time, made a similar inflation rate in 1970, when the rate was 1.7%. He also promoted the banking payroll of civil servants, helping to improve the banking system of the country, but especially to stem the massive fraud that was poisoning the sector.
In order to ensure the resumption of economic activities, the Prime Minister Matata Ponyo Mapon got down from the government system, improving the business climate. This program resulted in the accession of the DRC to OHADA, in addition to several other incentives including the removal of illegal and multiple taxes. The Prime Minister also conducted policies, supported on government resources for agricultural recovery, rehabilitation of road infrastructure of national and regional interest, reviving the activities of domestic financial institutions at half mast development for two decades; in the case of the Development Finance Corporation (SOFIDE). Anxious to a State meet its obligations, the reform of public administration is among the priorities of the Prime Minister.
With these policies, the DRC has achieved a growth rate of 8.2% in 2012, against an African average of 5%. It should be stressed that the country will know, a row, a growth rate of almost 7% on average since 2010. This after almost two decades of negative growth.
Note that all these efforts have had a major disruption, the war in the east of the Republic, which generated huge unexpected expenses, causing a considerable effect of development financing eviction.
Before the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Matata Ponyo Mapon served in several administrations.
From 2003 to 2010 as Managing Director of the Central Coordination Office (BCECO), the main government agency set up in 2001 after the resumption of structural cooperation between the DRC and the development community. BCECO, under the Ministry of Finance, allowed to carry out projects in various sectors (education, health, community development, road infrastructure, social protection, electric power) in all provinces of the country, on financing from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Union, the EIB and the Congolese Government.
From 2001 to 2003, he was Economic Adviser to the Ministry of Finance. In this capacity, he participated in the development and monitoring of the Government Economic Program which helped stop the hyperinflation experienced by the Congo during the 1990s economic stabilization that had followed had also allowed the country access to the decision point of the HIPC Initiative. From 1988 to 2000 he worked for the Central Bank of Congo (BCC) as Economist. It is particularly busy national accounts, services to the real economy, currency and credit and studies. At the Central Bank, he was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee which was mandated reform of the Congolese national currency.
During the period spent at the BCC, he has conducted several training courses, including the Bank of France, the Central Bank of Peru, the International Monetary Fund in the United States and several other countries and institutions. Moreover, he has traveled extensively in the context of international meetings where he represented his country several times in Europe, Asia, America and Africa.
The Prime Minister holds a monetary and international economics degree from the University of Kinshasa in 1988. He successfully completed course of extensive studies (DEA) in development economics from the University of Kinshasa in 2009.
The Prime Minister is particularly interested in issues of economic development, good governance, the business climate and public resource mobilization.
He is married and is father of 4 children.
