TND News understands that Decree 034-b/2003 of 18/03/2003 allowed the IGF to be placed under the direct supervision of the President of the Republic.
By Our Reporter
Kinshasa – Sept. 19, 2022: On Thursday, September 15 2022, the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) of the Democratic Republic of Congo celebrated its 35th anniversary. The IGF was established on September 15th, 1987 through Ordinance-Law No. 87-323, thus establishing the senior government auditing service with general competence in the area of financial and public asset control.
Over the years, several ordinances and decrees were issued to clarify the IGF’s capabilities in terms of counter-auditing and supervision or to improve the status of the Inspectors of Finance. Ordinance-Law No. 91-005 of 06/03/91 made the Inspector of Finance a litigant at the Court of Appeal and Ordinance No. 91-018 the same month rendered the IGF a fiscal counter audit subject to authorization from the Minister of Finance.
TND News understands that Decree 034-b/2003 of 18/03/2003 allowed the IGF to be placed under the direct supervision of the President of the Republic, thus eliminating the prior authorization of the Minister of Finance for fiscal counter-audit missions.
Since 2009, and through Ordinance No. 09/097 of 8 December, the general Inspectorate of Finance has since been under the direct authority of the President of the Republic.
“Looking back over the years, the hard work and perseverance of the inspectors must be commended, and even more so in the last couple of years with the rehabilitation of the inspectorate. Ever since the inspectors have begun exercising concurrent control in various public institutions, there has been a visible improvement in the rationalization of state expenses,” the office of the IGF says.
In just over fifteen months, the work of the General Inspectorate of Finances (IGF) with respect to investigations, audits, financial patrols, and the supervision of state expenditures and revenues speak for itself. Over 90 missions were conducted in the last couple of years, with two third of those performed in 2021 alone. Several public institutions such as the National Social Security Fund (CNSS), the National Road Maintenance Fund (FONER), and the Industry Promotion Fund (FPI), to name a few, have seen their revenues increase as well as improvements in their working conditions.
The international community has also saluted and encouraged the IGF. Following the agreement between the DRC and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $1.5 billion financing plan over three years, Gabriel Leost, IMF’s representative in the DRC, stated during a visit to the IGF offices, “We came to brief the entire body of finance inspectors on the content of the IMF’s support for the government’s economic program and to define the role that the IGF must play in achieving the objectives set out in this program. The IMF’s support is aimed at achieving good governance in the DRC and improving the quality of life of the Congolese people. For that, the IGF is called to reinforce its controls in all the components foreseen in this support.”
Moreover, in 2021, the U.S. State Department rated the DRC in the top 15 countries in the African Budget Transparency Index and noted the visible significant progress. Within a year and a half, the IGF has undoubtedly proven itself as a necessary instrument for the management of public finances and the implementation of good governance at all levels of state institutions.
Jules Alingete Key, Chief of Service at IGF, has expressed, “We’re still a long way from seeing the end of the tunnel, but we’ve done a lot of work. We have efficiently supported the regulating bodies in the task of mobilizing revenues and, together, we have obtained results.”
“We have carried out control missions at the Central Bank and in the provinces, and we have issued many reports, which we have sent to the courts and which have led to arrests and trials. The IGF has done a remarkable job, but the task is immense, and we will have to continue this fight against corruption,” he added.