The recent announcement of a partnership between FC Barcelona and the Tshisekedi regime to promote the DRC’s tourism sector is yet another example of financial irresponsibility. With over $43 million kept for this initiative, Tshisekedi adds another costly item to his long list of misplaced priorities.
This move is a desperate public relations campaign meant to polish the image of an increasingly discredited and incompetent regime. Instead of addressing urgent national crises, Tshisekedi continues to allocate funds to fruitless vanity projects while the country suffers.
Tshisekedi has funneled over a billion dollars into the military in a failed attempt to crush the AFC/M23 movement, which now controls vast areas in eastern DRC. He has also paid millions to foreign mercenaries, Burundian troops, the genocidaires of FDLR, and the SADC forces, only to leave behind further instability.
Beyond the battlefield, Tshisekedi has spent tens of millions on lobbying firms, trying to trade the country’s rich mineral wealth for military support in his war against M23. Worse, he has used public funds to bribe European parliamentarians into adopting anti-Rwanda stances, weaponizing international institutions to deflect from his own failures.
The anti-Rwanda propaganda machine, also bankrolled by Tshisekedi, running both nationally and internationally, has turned into a full-blown campaign to scapegoat Rwanda for the DRC’s internal mess. This is done only to shift attention away from Kinshasa’s own incompetence and the president’s refusal to seek real political solutions.
Meanwhile, back home, over 7 million Congolese are internally displaced, and more than 25 million are going hungry because of his belligerence. Yet the regime continues to prioritize image-building and militarization over food, shelter, and peace.
Tshisekedi must focus on first things first. The Congolese people deserve leadership that puts their needs before prestige deals and political games.
ellenkampire