Ninja ex-combatants in Pool, a region in southern Congo-Brazzaville, rocked by a civil war between 2016 and 2017, will receive funding from the government and the World Bank for commercial agriculture development projects (PDAC) . These are financings for different types of projects for medium or micro-enterprises. The agreements were signed this weekend in Kinkala, capital of Pool.
With our correspondent in Brazzaville, Loicia Martial
AT the head of the cooperative called “Sambila” Gerdon Samba, ex-combatant, left the Massembo-Loubaki village to join Kinkala where he concluded an agreement while waiting for the financing of his project. His dream: to start fish farming first and, in a few years, to start breeding.
Food self-sufficiency objective
These projects are co-financed by the Congolese government and the World Bank. They are estimated at 400 million CFA francs for 186 Pool groups and cooperatives. First objective: to allow food self-sufficiency.
For Isidore Ondoki, national coordinator of the project, “ it must be admitted that this is an area where there have been troubles before. There are ex-combatants. it will perhaps allow them to turn their backs on arms for good; to carry out agro-pastoral activities and try to feed their families through working the land “, he underlines again.
Six billion CFA francs
And to apply the program of disarmament and reintegration of the combatants the government links the two projects. That of agricultural development and DDR. But to carry out the DDR, the government is looking for more than six billion CFA francs. Ané Philipe Bibi, representative of Pastor Ntoumi, former rebel leader welcomes the initiative: ” Someone who has handed over his weapon should, by all means, be reinserted and reintegrated so that he can actively participate in national life “, he analyzes. The government estimates that there are 7,500 ex-combatants to be reintegrated.
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