A parliamentary session in Kinshasa was dramatically stirred by revelations surrounding the Democratic Republic of Congo’s vast water resources. A prominent deputy, Eve Bazaïba, pressed the then-Minister of Environment to immediately disclose a contentious agreement, a request that remains unfulfilled. Ms. Bazaïba, who served as Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Environment from April 2021 to August 2025 and is currently the Minister of State for Social Affairs, recalled that the uproar over the initial Kabila-Bozize agreement prompted the late Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno to declare, « If the Congo does not want to give us water, we will be forced to take it one way or another! » This statement raised concerns about potential Chadian actions, reminiscent of the Central African Republic invasion under the guise of Seleka rebels. Idriss Deby Itno was officially reported killed in combat against a rebellion on April 20, 2021. His son, Mahamat Déby Itno, succeeded him and has since maintained power, partly due to mediation led by Félix Tshisekedi, an effort recognized by the renaming of a major N’Djamena artery in his honor.

In the DRC, a dedicated parliamentary oversight unit for the country’s water management was established on April 16, 2014, seemingly to monitor Chad’s intentions. Comprising about ten deputies at the time, including Eve Bazaïba, the unit frequently warned of « an international conspiracy against the country, with internal complicities! » Despite Ms. Bazaïba later becoming Minister of Environment with VPM rank, the unit never produced a single report. Twelve years and three months later, to the day, Mahamat Idriss Déby extended an invitation to Félix Tshisekedi for the inaugural day of the « African Water Forum » in N’Djamena, according to Congolese presidential press. During his address, the Congolese head of state proposed five strategic directions to tackle the challenges of water resource management. Firstly, he advocated for an integrated approach, moving beyond separate considerations of water, agriculture, energy, health, urban planning, environment, and infrastructure. Secondly, he emphasized strengthening governance through effective institutions, improved accountability, and transparent management of water infrastructure. Thirdly, he called for the development of technically mature and financially structured projects to attract greater investment. Fourthly, he highlighted the need for financing water infrastructure through public, private, and international partner resources. Finally, he urged for water to become a driver of industrialization, advocating for the continent’s increased production of pipes, pumps, meters, treatment equipment, irrigation systems, and digital solutions.

Stressing that « no single state can guarantee its water security alone, » the Congolese President appealed for continental mobilization to « build cooperative water governance. » He issued a call for « a coalition among states to elevate water to a top-tier political priority. » Experts interpret this as a potential openness from Tshisekedi’s government to consider water transfer from the Congo River, albeit without using provocative terminology. Is this an over-interpretation? Time will reveal. So far, there has been no official confirmation of such a move. Nonetheless, highlighting the DRC’s immense hydric potential, the Congolese president outlined his nation’s ambitions.

« By 2035, we aim to increase access to potable water to 60%, access to sanitation and hygiene services to 50%, and ensure adequate access to water, hygiene, and sanitation infrastructure in 80% of our schools and health facilities. » For Mahamat Idriss Déby, the N’Djamena forum represented a pivotal moment for Africa to reclaim mastery of its water destiny, striving for « shared prosperity. » Chad’s intentions are clear and straightforward, devoid of diplomatic ambiguity. However, notably absent from the N’Djamena gathering were other member states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. Neither Cameroon, Niger, nor Nigeria attended, despite the fact that the lake has experienced cyclical desiccation since 1964, shrinking from 25,000-20,000 km² to just 2,000 km² by 2024, though its surface area can rebound to nearly 4,500 km² during rare flood periods.

Only Mahamat Idriss Déby and Félix Tshisekedi were present alongside Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema of Gabon, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani of Mauritania, and a representative from Benin. What explains the boycott by the Lake Chad Basin Commission? In 2019, former Foreign Minister Patrick Mayombe had warned the government that certain influential interest groups, determined to transfer water from the Ubangi River to Lake Chad, were bypassing Congolese authorities. Mayombe revealed that a certain Kalele, head of an NGO residing in Kisantu, had taken the liberty of signing documents pertaining to Congo water transfers on behalf of the DRC. Amidst the chaotic ambitions of the CACH-FCC coalition, the DRC found itself manipulated globally. Even in Bologna, Italy, a series of meetings on Congo’s water resources were held under the auspices of the Catholic movement Sant’Egidio, without official Kinshasa involvement.

Professor Jean Ziegler, a Swiss politician, alter-globalist, and sociologist, served as a UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food during the peak of the second aggression war against the DRC. It was then that he encountered a disturbing new concept circulating in World Bank corridors concerning Congo: « unprofitable people. »

Ziegler explained that a population unable to adapt to new global dynamics would consequently be dispossessed of all resources deemed necessary by the new world order for the Earth’s flourishing.

It appears that in the DRC, water is allowed to flow unheeded, from the foothills of Mitwaba to the mouth of Banana. « If water is life and life is priceless, then those who govern us have not yet grasped the collective suicide that awaits us, » cautioned former Senator and Minister of Social Affairs, journalist Modeste Mutinga Mutuishayi, in his scathing book, « The Republic of the Unconscious. »