Kinshasa Orders Faster Disbursement Of External Project Finance

Kinshasa, August 17, 2026 - President Felix Tshisekedi ordered the government to accelerate disbursement of external project finance after an audit found only 24.3 percent of a 10.7 billion U.S. dollar partner-funded portfolio had been spent.

The finding was presented at the August 14 Council of Ministers meeting based on work by the Inspectorate General of Finances. More than 8.3 billion dollars in committed external resources remained undisbursed, limiting the impact of donor and lender support on infrastructure, energy, agriculture, health and education.

Tshisekedi instructed ministers to remove bottlenecks in procurement, project management and coordination with technical and financial partners. For investors, the directive signals official concern that weak absorption capacity is delaying capital deployment and undermining DRC's growth narrative despite large signed financing envelopes.