The National Agency for the Promotion of Investments organized, on Thursday 07 March 2019, at the Hotel Sultani, the awareness workshop on the reforms implemented on the “Transfer of property” indicator for Congolese contributors intervening in the evaluation of the indicator concerned in the Doing Business and Land Administration Reports.

As a reminder, it should be emphasized that the Transfer of ownership is one of the rare indicators that have seen the reforms implemented and communicated to the World Bank for inclusion in the last Doing Business 2019 Report be validated on behalf of the DR. Congo, which ranked 156th out of 190 economies evaluated in the world on the indicator concerned.

The following took part in this workshop: the Secretary General for Land Affairs Mr. Gérard MUGANGU, the Provincial Minister of Planning of the City of Kinshasa Mr. Robert LUZOLANU, Mr. KIMONA BONONGE Managing Director of the FEC, the Directors General of Congo Check and Tele-Counselor Messieurs Jimmy TSHOVU and Dominique MIGISHA, Curators of Real Estate Securities and Contributors to Doing Business.

From the outset, the Director General of ANAPI welcomed the contributors and delegates of the Land Administration present at the said ceremony. He then stated in particular the objective of this activity, namely: (i) raise awareness among Doing Business contributors on the reforms implemented by the DRC on the Transfer of property, (ii) explain the methodology as applied by the Doing Business to the contributors, (iii) obtain the appropriation of the contributors on the reforms initiated in order to hope to see the position of R&D. Congo to be improved in the next Doing Business 2020 Report on the indicator concerned, etc. He did not fail to show his gratitude to His Excellency LUMEYA -DHU-MALEGHI, Minister of Land Affairs, who knew how to bring new dynamism to the Ministry of Land Affairs through the effectiveness of several important reforms which have been able to improve the said indicator and others are still in progress.

The Representative of the Minister of Land Affairs, in his speech, recognized that the transfer of property that depends on the land, the mother of man, plays a key role in improving the business climate. Spanning a legal definition of Transfer of ownership, he spoke of the old situation which made the transfer process very expensive, which did not allow the poorest to access land. It was then that the National Commission for Land Reform was born to drive the reforms to be implemented on the aforementioned indicator. He then reported on the various reforms initiated to improve the said indicator, in particular the note relating to the regulation of land and real estate disputes and the obligation to communicate statistics on property transfers, the reduction of procedures and deadlines for real estate change, reducing the cost of securing land and real estate titles.

Subsequently, the Director General of ANAPI made a presentation on the inventory of the reforms implemented on the Transfer of ownership and at the same time, explained to the contributors and delegates of the Land Administration, the methodology of the Doing Business team.

In his speech, Mr. Gérard MUGANGU, Secretary General for Land Affairs, for his part, drew up a diagnosis of the various reforms implemented on the Transfer of property and at the same time, announced the next measures to be implemented on the Transfer of property, in particular the establishment of a land policy, the establishment of a website for the Ministry of Land Affairs, etc.

The Managing Directors of Congo Check and Télé Conseil, partners who are supporting the Government in the Land Administration Digitization Project, made a presentation on the Land Cadastre Digitization Project and the securing of property titles in progress.

The Managing Director of the FEC, for his part, spoke of the need to put in place a real DR land policy. Congo, review the Land Code and genuinely involve the Land Administration in the process of implementing the reforms, in the hope that the reforms implemented will be appropriate and applied.

The Provincial Minister in charge of the Plan of the City of Kinshasa insisted on the need to have a desire for change and to continue with the reform process initiated by the Government and to regularly make changes and changes in errors which may result.

Some custodians of real estate titles also did not fail to mention the various constraints which the conservation of real estate titles are faced with in the implementation of the reforms.

Communication department
ANAPI