APA – Kinshasa (DR Congo) Congolese Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, has tendered his resignation in a bid to avoid a conflict of interest as an elected member of parliament.
He will be focussing on his parliamentary duties as an elected lawmaker, a statement seen by APA on Wednesday seems to suggest.
Lukonde’s resignation effectively means that his entire government will now quit.
Mr Lukonde presented his resignation to President Félix Tshisekedi, according to an official statement.
Sama Lukonde, 46, has been prime minister for three years.
He was appointed head of government on February 15, 2021 after an alliance between the coalition of former president Joseph Kabila and that of Félix Tshisekedi collapsed.
He was elected to parliament on December 20, 2023 and said he was stepping down as head of government to concentrate on his parliamentary duties.
It is a legal requirement in the Democratic Republic of Congo that serving ministers are not members of parliament, meaning that one has to choose between remaining a legislator or resigning to remain in government.
A total of 39 Congolese government ministers were recently elected to parliament.
They will serve for the next five years.
Earlier, the deputy prime minister in charge of the economy and the deputy prime minister in charge of the civil service also tendered their resignations.
Félix Tshisekedi is preparing to form a new government to begin his second term.
However, some of the resigning ministers are likely to be part of the new team as they belong to the parliamentary majority, which constitutes Tshisekedi’s coalition.
CU/as/APA