Namibia's head of mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ambassador Simeon Uulenga, is confident that the DRC elections to be held tomorrow will be credible.
Uulenga says that Namibia enjoys sound relations with the DRC dating back to pre-independence and will continue to do so, regardless of who wins the presidential race.
The DRC is a major trading partner of Namibia in Southern Africa, owing much to the tripartite agreement between Namibia, Zambia, and the DRC, which gave birth to the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor.
The Walvis Bay Corridor Group recorded a 33% increase in corridor cargo volumes for the 2022/2023 financial year, from 240,000 tons to 324, 000 tons for the Congolese market.
"We are making use of the port of Walvis Bay to have goods that go out of the DRC and that come into the DRC through our ports. And for that reason, Namibia has granted land to develop its own dry port in Walvis Bay. At the same time, the Congolese have given us land in Katanga province for us to develop a trade estate there where Namibian businesses could establish themselves and work within the DRC."
The DRC goes to the polls on Wednesday in a highly contested election. Ambassador Uulenga is hopeful for a free, fair, and transparent election process.
When asked about the impact of the east-DRC conflict on these elections and on regional stability and cooperation, this is what he had to say:
"We are hoping that these elections will contribute positively towards the resolution of the problem of insecurity. Mainly, the Congolese people themselves will have to play a major role. The rest of the region, SADC, is ready to support them where it is possible. I know the current government has done quite a lot to try to solve the problem of insecurity. They started reaching out diplomatically, and I would say it has not achieved its final result, but there is an impact as a result of what the current government has tried to do. What we are looking forward to is for the DRC to continue making an effort to solve this problem. We are looking forward to how the Congolese people express themselves tomorrow, and I wish the will of the people will be respected."