The Congolese head of state Joseph Kabila Kabange had promulgated the law on the 26 provinces of the country since Monday, March 02, 2015, presidential Presidential Act with the programming determining the terms of installation of the new Provinces in the DRC.
In this regard, Bandundu, Ecuador, Kasa?-Occidental, Kasa?-Oriental, Katanga and Province-Orientale are the selected provinces. In the procedure of this dismemberment, a Commission is foreseen in each Province and the components of each one of Commission will be appointed by Decree of the Prime Minister, to have a good result as planned. According to the term of article 226 of the Constitution, the 25 provinces including the city of Kinshasa should be installed within 36 months following the installation of political institutions after the first elections.
The installation of these provinces will take place in two phases: The first will be in the provinces: Kongo Central, Maniema, North Kivu, South Kivu and the city of Kinshasa are not concerned by the new phase. During the second phase, the new provinces will be Bas-U?l?, Ecuador, Haut-Katanga, Haut Lomami, Haut U?l?, Ituri, Kasa?, Kasa? Central, Kasa?-Oriental, Kwango, Kwilu, Lomami, Lualaba, Mai-Ndombe, Mongala, North Ubangi, Sankuru, South Ubangi, Tanganyika, Tshopo and Tshuapa.
With the help of territorial division, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will now have 26 provinces, that is to say 25 provinces, plus the city-province of Kinshasa. The application of this measure, which was to expire nearly five years ago – May 14, 2010 – will soon be effective. The official installation of these provinces will be done in two phases, according to the presidential ordinance made public on March 2nd. The programming law determining the installation of 26 new provinces in the DRC was promulgated by the head of state Joseph Kabila. This law provides for the dismemberment of six provinces, that is to say the subdivision into several provincettes and the non-dismemberment of five others.
The provinces to be dismembered are Bandundu, Ecuador, Kasa? Occidental, Kasai Oriental, Katanga and Province Orientale, while the provinces of Maniema, North Kivu, South Kivu, Bas-Congo, which becomes the Kongo Central, and the city-province of Kinshasa will keep their current state.
In this work of subdivision, the respect of the limits of current districts will be rigorous. The province of Bandundu should thus give rise to three provinces: Kwilu, Kwango and Mai Ndombe; Ecuador will be divided into five provinces: Ecuador, Tshuapa, North Ubangi, South Ubangi and Mongala; while Province Orientale will give birth to four provinces, namely: Tshopo, Haut-U?l?, Bas-U?l? and Ituri.
From the current Katanga will be born four provinces: Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Haut-Katanga and Lwalaba, while Kasa? Oriental will generate the following three provinces: Kasa? Oriental, Lomami and Sankuru and Kasa? Occidental will give birth to two provinces: Kasai and Central Kasai.
Thus, the DRC will have Bas-U?l?, Ecuador, Haut-Katanga, Haut Lomami, Haut U?l?, Ituri, Kasa?, Kasa?-Oriental, Kwango, Kwilu, Lomami , Lualaba, Lulua, Mai-Ndombe, Mongala, North Ubangi, Sankuru, South Ubangi, Tanganyika, Tshopo and Tshuapa.
The administrative history of the DRC indicates that this country went through several stages of territorial division before its independence obtained on June 30, 1960. In 1924, the country had four provinces, namely: Congo-Kasai, Ecuador, Katanga and Province Orientale. From 1935 to 1963, this number increased to six provinces: Coquilhatville (Ecuador after 1947), Elisabethville (Katanga after 1947), Costermansville (Kivu after 1947), Leopoldville (which included the following districts: Congo-Leopoldville, the district of Bas-Congo -Boma, the Lacopold II-Inongo district and the Kwango- Kikwit district), Lusambo (Kasai after 1947) and Stanleyville (Orientale after 1947).
In 1963, the country had 21 provincial provinces plus Leopoldville These are the following provinces: Congo-Central (Capital: Matadi), Cuvette-Centrale (Capital: Coquilhatville, now Mbandaka), Haut-Congo (Capital: Stanleyville , today Kisangani), Katanga-Oriental (Capital: ?lisabethville, now Lubumbashi), Kibali-Ituri (Capital: Bunia), Kivu-Central (Capital: Bukavu), Kwango (Capital: Kenge), Kwilu (Capital: Kikwit), Leopoldville (Capital: Leopoldville, now Kinshasa), Lomami (Capital: Kabinda), Lualaba (Capital: Kolwezi), Luluabourg (Capital: Luluabourg, now Kananga), Mai-Ndombe (Capital: Inongo), Maniema (Capital: Port-Empain, now Kindu), Middle Congo (Capital: Lisala), North-Katanga (Capital: Albertville, today Kalemie), North Kivu (Capital: Luofu), Sankuru (Capital: Lodja), South-Kasai (Capital: Bakwanga), Ubangi (Capital: Gemena), Uele (Capital: Paulis, today Hui Isiro), Kasai-Unity (Capital: Tshikapa).
A year after the seizure of power by Joseph-D?sir? Mobutu in 1966, the number of provinces went down to eight plus Kinshasa: Bandundu, Congo-Central, Ecuador, Orientale, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Kinshasa, Kivu and Katanga .
During the Second Republic, which runs from 1971 to 1997, the number of provinces will fluctuate with the rhythm of political moods of the Mobutu regime. In 1971, the province of Katanga becomes Shaba, the province of Central Congo becomes the province of Lower Zaire and Orientale province becomes the province of Upper Zaire. In 1988, the province of Kivu is divided into the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema. In 1997, the province of Shaba becomes Katanga, the province of Lower Zaire becomes the province of Bas-Congo and the province of Haut-Zaire becomes the province of Haut-Congo then the province Orientale.
Apart from all other political considerations, the new administrative configuration of the country will have the advantage of creating jobs; From 11 governors that account the country, one will have, immediately the new installed and operational provinces, 26 governors, in addition to all the other collaborators, to add the deputies …
However, if the dismemberment of the provinces to help solve this problem of unemployment, he will have to add another: that of the leadership of the Head of State who will have more administrative entities to supervise …
Article 2 of the 2005 constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo specifies a division of the country into 26 provinces, including the city-province of Kinshasa. Passed in February 2006, this new territorial organization was to take effect in the three years following the actual establishment of the political institutions provided for in the Constitution (Article 226), that is to say in February 20091. At the end of 2012, it was however, is not yet in place. The 26 provinces included in the constitution are:
Province / Chef-lieu / Area (km?)
1 Bas-Uele Buta 148,331
2 Ecuador – Mbandaka 103 902
3 Upper Katanga 132,425
4 Haut-Lomami Kamina 108 204
5 Haut-Uele Isiro 89,683
6 Ituri Bunia 65,658
7 Kasai Tshikapa 95,631
8 Kasai-Oriental Mbuji-Mayi 9,481
9 Kinshasa Kinshasa 9,965
10 Kongo-Central Matadi 53 920
11 Kwango Kenge 89 974
12 Kwilu Kikwit 78 219
13 Lomami Kabinda 56,426
14 Lualaba Kolwezi 121 308
15 Kasai Central Kananga 60 958
May-Ndombe Inongo 127,465
17 Maniema Kindu 132 520
18 Mongala Lisala 58 141
19 North Kivu Goma 59,483
20 North Ubangi Gbadolite 56,644
21 Sankuru Lusambo 104,331
22 South Kivu Bukavu 65,070
23 South Ubangi Gemena 51,648
24 Tanganyika Kalemie 134,940
25 Tshopo Kisangani 199 567
26 Tshuapa Boende 132,957