MONUSCO, which is set to withdraw from the province of South Kivu as of June 2024, will hold a transfer ceremony on Wednesday, February 28, to hand over its base in the town of Kamanyola to the Congolese National Police (PNC), according to Radio Okapi.net.

A delegation from MONUSCO, led by its head, Ms. Bintou Keita, arrived Monday, February 26, in Bukavu and discussed the matter of this disengagement from the Mission in the DRC with the governor, the same source reports. This also means the transfer of MONUSCO's responsibilities to the Congolese government, with the support of UN agencies that will continue to carry out development activities according to their mandate.

The delegation includes officials from MONUSCO, UN agencies, funds, and programs, as well as members of the Government, and will travel to Kamanyola for the ceremony on Wednesday, February 28.

Bintou Keita noted: "I think it's interesting to make it known to the public that for once, I am not in an exclusively UN delegation; I am with a delegation that came from the Government side from Kinshasa. And so this shows that the government and the United Nations, with MONUSCO included, are together for this visit to the South Kivu province for which we are jointly committed to both carry out the disengagement of the mission called MONUSCO, and ensure that the agencies, funds, and programs of the UN system that are already working in South Kivu can continue to support the authorities at the provincial level."

She also remarked that beyond the question of disengagement, there must be a transition and this transition involves the transfer of responsibilities in many areas where the Mission supports the government authority.

For Bintou Keita, this transfer should be made to the government authority; and the agencies, funds, and programs can support the government authority to ensure that the transition goes well and that, as the principle requires, it be done responsibly and definitively.

MONUSCO chief, Bintou Keita, reminded on Monday, February 26, in Bukavu (South Kivu) that beyond disengagement, there is a transition which implies the transfer of MONUSCO's responsibilities to the Government. Bintou Keita made this statement to the press, after a meeting between the delegation she led and the acting governor of South Kivu.

Boni Tsala