Gilda Rosemonde Ngambo:Shrewd and unpredictable (Profile)

She is the spokeswoman of an association known in French as Movement Citoyen pour le Respect de l’ordre Constitutionelle or in English, Citizen Movement for the Respect of Constitutional Order.  It is a popular youth movement created by the opposition to mobilize Congolese against plans by the government to change the constitution of 20^th January 2002, which installed two terms presidential limits. Before receiving her as guest in my live Television programme called: La Grande Interview on Friday May 30^th 2014 at 8h30 pm, on MNTV, I first met her at Hotel Saphire, where she was working. On that day, she was in the company of another member of their movement by name Wifried Kivouvou. I was struck by her simplicity and her intelligence. And within me, I was saying that, she won’t stay long with the Congolese opposition. I was impressed by her, because, in a country, where rich men in high places, almost all, belonging to the ruling PCT Party, have destroyed young women. It was therefore hard to see a young intelligent lady such as Rosemonde, who accepted to suffer in the opposition and also to be married to a man who was not wealthy.

In short, Rosemonde is different from most Congolese girls, who are mostly crass and mostly animated by materialism.  Some or a majority of Congolese young girls are equal to their male peers in one area: corruption. They almost all have one rallying cry or slogan in French, that goes thus: “Vie ton moment” or in English: “live you’re your moment”. These kind of young girls want to have a Toyota RAV 4 car, a dream trip to Paris or Dubai, as it is currently the trend and also upon return, they are expected to open a boutique at the Marche Moungali. All these expected largesse, is from the deep pocket of an old married and corrupt politician belonging to the ruling PCT party.  30 or more years of PCT rule in Congo, has destroyed the foundation of Congo. Immorality and the culture of immediacy are what reigns in Congo under Denis Sassou Nguesso. Gilda Rosemode Montsara Ngambo, who is a writer, is different and immune to the attractions of cheap shinning, but ephemeral lifestyle that most young women of her generation have chosen. And more, when she decided to enter into politics, she opted for the difficult track, that of the opposition. She is intelligent and bold, with a strong mastery of Congolese politics and also with an extraordinary debating capacity that frightens opponents in the opposition as well as in the majority.  

Thierry Moungalla, Minister of Communications of Congo says that, she is shrewd and unpredictable. While Alain Akouala describes her as the best in her generation with an Olympian calm that is incapacitating.  As for Clement Mierassa, he says: Rosemonde is the example that, there are competent young Congolese in the country.  She is perhaps the best choice that the opposition has ever made in contemporary times. That of selecting a lady not because she is connected to anyone within the hierarchy of the opposition, but she was selected based only on her merit. She is one of the people to be counted on, especially if the opposition comes to power or if, there is any kind of coalition government and if she is given a post of responsibility, she would serve as a role model to many Congolese girls, who only think that, success depends on material possession or getting married to a wealthy old corrupt politician, who is member of the ruling party. Rosemonde is not only a symbol of hope that, there are youthful potentials in the young generation of those who have chosen the opposition, but she is also a symbol of hope to people who think that, the current generation of young men and women in Congo, is one that is lost in the corruption and cheap lifestyle shown to them as examples by those currently ruling the country.  The other lady that I have met is Mrs. Claudine Munari Mabondzou MP. 

Congo:Predominantly masculine & Land of un-ambitious women (Tonton a pesa-a-tala Te)

But I was dead wrong. And throughout my stay and work in Congo, I met these very same elite daily. Some of them, we became friends, while others considered me as their bête noir, because of my outspokenness. But one other thing that I also noticed in Congo was that, in spite their apparent modernity, the elite milieu was predominantly male with little or no place for women.  Congolese women or a majority of them, have been destroyed by old men with deep pockets and who, almost all, belong to the ruling PCT party. The reasons will be given ahead. Congo is the only country perhaps with the exceptions of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in French-speaking Equatorial Africa and that is majority religiously Christian and animist , wherein women are not ambitious. Their only ambition is marriage and this, only to rich old men, belonging to the system. The other past time of some Congolese girls is to make up and look beautiful, hence cosmetic and sex industries or the leisure sector seems to flourish. But there are no statistics of the sector in the land of corruption. Congolese girls or a majority of them, like most African girls are extremely materialistic and agonizingly lazy, they are also groomed with the only ambition, being to get married to a big shot within the ruling party, even as a third, fourth of fifth wife.

Polygamy is tolerated

It is a country where polygamy is tolerated and accepted by young women, whereas in most of Equatorial Africa and even in majority Muslim African states, women are fighting against polygamy and want to be independent. Those girls and women who do accept it, it is because of two things. The first is greed or quest for status symbol, which is characterized by the ownership of a car or regular trips to Dubai or Paris. The second is poverty and low or poor education. But as already mentioned, in Congo, everything is in reverse order. In politics or civil services or in even in professions such law, journalism and medicine to name just these few, the presence of Congolese women is marginal, whereas in it is a different situation elsewhere on the continent, where women are making progress in all fields. In this chapter, you will read brief biographies of the various people that I have met and sometimes interviewed in my programme: La Grande Interview. These people are currently playing major or minor roles in their respective fields and also influencing how things functions in Congo.  It is certain that, there are some important social, economic and political actors who might have featured in this chapter, but I was not able to mention them.

I have not done so because I ignored them. If important names have not featured, it is most often because, they did not fall within my radar or being an imperfect person, I may have forgotten or omitted some of them. But you will discover that, amongst those that I have retained in this chapter, there are very little women present. The reason is simple, Congolese women are perhaps the less ambitious that I have come across in the close to 35 countries in Africa that, I have visited. As mention earlier, Congolese are perhaps the most welcoming people on the continent that I have met, but their women, are perhaps the laziest.