About Félix Tshisekedi
On June 13, 2026, President Félix Tshisekedi launched the RDC Pass, a national digital identification system, at a ceremony in Kinshasa. He described the initiative as a major step toward a more modern and efficient state, stating that it is a digital identifier, not a replacement for the national identity card. Tshisekedi said the system is designed to simplify administrative procedures and improve access to public services, and he emphasized that it should be free for citizens. He also called for Congolese youth to be creators, not just consumers, of digital solutions, and framed the launch as part of a broader ambition to make the DRC a "digital nation" by 2030.
At a press conference on May 1, 2026, Tshisekedi addressed economic and security issues. He stated that inflation had been reduced to 3.3%, that income tax had been lowered from 15% to 3%, and that salaries for civil servants, military, and police had been increased. He said that the country's mineral resources should be processed domestically rather than simply extracted, and that he would not "sell off national wealth." On security, he called for national mobilization to defend sovereignty and noted that the DRC could still return to war. He also defended press freedom as a democratic requirement, not a favor from the government, and urged journalists to act as patriots.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Félix Tshisekedi's recent appearances.
Browse all interviews →
✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
F
Félix Tshisekedi0:26
I wouldn't say a curse, but I would say it's at the root of our misfortunes, because unfortunately we haven't had an anticipatory policy. We were content with extraction, and we thought that with the money that came out of it, it was enough to develop the country. Today we realize that without added value, these minerals are worth nothing, at least nothing compared to the development we envision for our country. We have a population estimated at around 100 million souls. Soon we will know for sure, because we are about to start—now that voter registration is complete—we will begin the population identification component alongside the electoral process. So 100 million inhabitants is a lot. It's not China, it's the tenth largest, but one day, of course, it's the largest Francophone country. And having that many individuals requires preparation and planning. That's why I have an ambitious program to transform our own natural resources. It's very important to do this. It applies both to mining and to agriculture. Everything we've done so far has been just extraction, not local processing. With local processing, we will create wealth, we will export value-added products, and there will be much more significant benefits than those we have today. So for us, it's really important to develop this policy. I am committed to it, and I thank China because it has understood this message very well and is positioning itself alongside us. We will have a very interesting experience in the manufacturing of electric batteries in Manono, where we will have, on one side, the Congolese state, Chinese companies, and American and European companies as end users. So it's truly, I would say, a chain as I want it—that is, win-win. Everyone is happy, starting with us, who will no longer serve as a land of extraction, but will transform our minerals at home thanks to these Chinese companies that will invest in processing infrastructure, and the end users who might also be building these vehicles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But in any case, we are the ones who will benefit economically, and that's all the better for our respective countries.
