In Béni, in eastern DRC, security instability and the Ebola virus epidemic are tainting the economic fabric of the North Kivu region.
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Shaken for four years with massacres of civilians, the region of North Kivu sees its fields less and less frequented.
The Federation of Congo Enterprises and local civil society
ask the government to reduce taxes to relieve the inhabitants of Béni.
In the big market, as in the shops, the traders say the same sentence: “There are no buyers.”
“Our clients often came from Kinshasa, Goma and Kisangani, but they
no longer happen because of the massacres“, says Marceline Kavira, saleswoman at the Beni market.”It is difficult to get the goods because of the insecurity on the roads. Deposits are empty, so
that before we ran out of room for the goods, “she laments.
”The war and Ebola make the inhabitants of Beni flee. Before I arrived
to sell between 6 and 10 mattresses per day. It is difficult today
to sell even one mattress per week“complains Muhindo Mastaki, a trader from Beni, before adding,”soon, we will, I think, close our businesses. It does not work anymore“.
The Blessed section of the Federation of Congo Enterprises (FEC), has been demanding for the past 3 years the abolition of certain taxes to relieve entrepreneurs.
The city mayor, Nyonyi Bwanakawa, recognizes the plight of the entrepreneurs, but explains that “the removal of these taxes
would taint the administrative work of its jurisdiction “.
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“Because of the activism of the ADF, the populations of Béni no longer know how to go to the field. It is therefore normal that the economic fabric is affected “, explains the mayor, who adds that “with the Ebola epidemic, there are so many restrictions being placed on these affected areas “.
According to him, the Beni region is less and less frequented lately, following this situation of constant uncertainty.
All the surrounding villages have been emptied of their occupants due to insecurity and repeated killings in the town of Béni and its surroundings.
In addition to insecurity, this region has been facing the Ebola epidemic since last August, which has left more than 200 people dead.
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