The March 23 Movement/Congo River Alliance (M23/AFC) has announced the creation of a new department called the General Inspectorate of Governance (Inspection Générale de la Gouvernance – IGG) to oversee governance in areas under its control in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The announcement, made by the group’s political spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, cites Decision No. 023./COORDO-PR/AFC-M23/2025 DU/10/2025, adopted following consultations and a leadership meeting held at the Bunagana border in Rutshuru Territory on December 20, 2023. The statement, dated October 31, 2025, bears the signatures of rebel leaders Bertrand Bisimwa and Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo.
According to the statement, the new department reflects M23/AFC’s stated commitment to offering a credible and ethical alternative to what it describes as “poor governance” that has led to state bankruptcy, collapsed public infrastructure, looting of national resources, and widespread impoverishment. The group emphasized the need to strengthen accountability and transparency in public affairs.
The IGG is tasked with ensuring internal control, supervision, and evaluation of administrative, financial, and operational management across all departments, programs, projects, public services, administrative entities, public utility establishments, and parastatals, excluding the judiciary.
It will examine the legality and compliance of administrative, financial, and logistical actions, oversee the implementation of decisions and instructions from the Alliance Council and Political Coordination, evaluate departmental and institutional performance, identify and report irregularities or risks of mismanagement, propose corrective or disciplinary measures, and produce periodic reports with recommendations to the Alliance Council.
The DRC government has not responded to the announcement. Analysts say this move underscores challenges to achieving a rebel withdrawal from occupied territories, despite ongoing peace talks in Doha, Qatar, aimed at resolving the conflict.
Since resuming insurgency in 2022 under Bertrand Bisimwa and Emmanuel Sultan Makenga, M23/AFC has installed its own political, security, customary, and judicial structures in areas it controls across North and South Kivu provinces.
The DRC government has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting M23, claims denied by both Kigali and the rebels, who maintain that their insurgency is driven by a commitment to fight corruption, xenophobia, and discrimination within Congolese leadership.
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