On Sunday, February 25, at the Béatrice hotel in the Gombe commune, Célestin Mbuyu, the President of the Coordination of the Katangese Community, took advantage of the vow exchange ceremony among members of this structure to "denounce any spirit of division that haunts politicians struggling for positioning who want to divide the Katangese at any cost."

From this, he noted, arises the need to draw inspiration from their elders on the pivotal role that Katanga has played and must play, to think about the future of Katanga, its former greatness, by taking care of the youth and investing in them as their predecessors once did. For Célestin Mbuyu, abandoning this youth is to condemn Katanga to its decline.

He invited the Katangese to prioritize unity and Katangese solidarity by setting aside their egos while emphasizing the intrinsic values that characterize the Katangese, namely unity, solidarity, and brotherhood.

This meeting, he considers, marks an omen of a new era that should highlight the unity and cohesion of Katanga for the preservation of the values bequeathed by their ancestors for the harmonious development of their space.

At the same time, he pointed out, it is an opportunity for us to launch a vibrant appeal to sister communities so that, in a nationalist movement, we can build a Congolese solidarity based on justice, equity, tolerance, patriotism, and a love for well-done work for the integral development of our country and the improvement of the solid well-being of the Congolese in general and the Katangese in particular.

He did not forget to extend his wishes to compatriots from the eastern part of the country, who are currently under the occupation of Rwandan aggressors and their terrorist M23 accomplices, sparing a thought for the displaced by noting: "We also think of all those displaced from their living environments because of the atrocities that rage night and day in this stricken region of our country."

These atrocities, which occur under the guilty silence of the international community and affect many Congolese families, cannot remain silent without the Katangese community denouncing them here publicly, he declared.

"Therefore, for them and for those of our Katangese brothers and sisters who could have been with us today but whom fate has decided to take away from our affection during the year 2023, I ask you to kindly stand up to observe a minute of silence in their memory."

With its vast minerals and significant contribution to the state budget, Katanga remains the economic lung of the DRC. This is well known both nationally and internationally, he said before lamenting: "Unfortunately, the population of Katanga is very poor while expatriates who exploit our minerals are getting rich. We must continue to fight so that these riches also improve the social conditions of the Katangese."

In addition, Katanga also has fertile land, rivers, lakes, forests and even the river that originates there and covers the entire space. This means that the Katangese must work by creating SMEs and even expanding crafts with the products of their soil, subsoil, fauna, and flora to improve their social ecosystem, continued this Katangese notable.

Furthermore, the expectations of the populations of the four provinces, namely Haut Lomami, Lualaba, Haut-Katanga, and Tanganyika, rest on the shoulders of all Katangese who should work hand in hand to prosper the lives of the populations of these four respective administrative entities, he estimated.

Thus, he invited his people to work for the development of their space and proposed: "To do this, I ask Katangese political authorities of all stripes not to stare each other down, but to work for the development of Katanga."

Several notabilities from the Katangese area including senators, national deputies, provincial deputies were present at this ceremony.

Boni Tsala