National Assembly: Opposition boycott looms over Monday vote on control of supercommittees

The scrum between opposition and pro-Kabila MPs over the control of

two key committees (dubbed "permanent commissions") continued at the

plenary session of Saturday, May 19.





The two supercommittes being disputed are: the PAJ (Political,

Administrative, and Judiciary Committee) and the ECOFIN (the Economic

and Financial Committee).





Opposition MPs, hell-bent on controlling those two supercommittees--or

barring one of them, the chairmanship of the strategic Committee on

Defense and Security--couldn't budge MPs of the majority, dead set

against what they see as unbridled ambition utterly unjustified by the

strength of their rivals in the National Assembly.





As the two sides couldn't come to a consensus, Speaker Aubin Minaku

decided to have the matter put to a vote in the plenary session of

Monday, May, 21.





A move denounced by the opposition, which is aware that the odds in

such an event would be stacked up against them.





Opposition MPs wanted instead Speaker Minaku to clam down on his

fellow coaltion MPs and have them see eye to eye with the opposition!





Speaker Minaku rejected this proposition and maintained the vote for Monday.





Opposition MPs are concerned that allowing this total control by the

majority of those supercommittees would open the door to reckless

constitutional changes allowing Kabila to stand for a third term, and

total lack of oversignt over government.





Be that as it might, the outcome of Monday vote can safely be

forecast: there's no way these supercommittees will ever be given to

the opposition.