Kinshasa, March 18th, 2023 (CPA), – The burgomaster of the municipality of Kintambo in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Pepitho Karhono Kilala is determined to maximise the revenue of her jurisdiction, in order to better respond to the many challenges of her municipality.
« I want to maximise the revenue of the Kintambo municipality, in order to better respond to the multiple challenges of this municipality, » she said in an exclusive interview she gave to the Congolese Press Agency (CPA) on Friday.
Ms. Pepitho Karhono intends to materialize the vision of the President of the Republic, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi, through the governor of the city of Kinshasa, Gentiny Ngobila, that of ensuring the tranquillity and well-being of the people of Kinshasa in general, and that of the inhabitants of the municipality of Kintambo in particular.
« It is really a great honour for me to lead this municipality. I will spare no effort to overcome the challenge. Since I come from such a difficult municipality to manage, the municipality of Kinshasa, I believe I have enough tools to overcome the obstacles, despite the many environmental, security and financial challenges to overcome. I remain hopeful for a better future, » she said.
Education is a key element in human life. « Education is a key element in human life, but unfortunately many women in DRC have not had the opportunity to study. To achieve gender equality, it is necessary to catch up with women’s education by creating modules, themes, programmes to overcome their level, whether in the field of information technology or others, » said Ms. Pepitho.
After education, she said, the next challenge in this area will be accessibility to technology for the majority of women and girls in DRC, and for those who have access to it to use it wisely.
He continued: « Women must be transformed, sensitised and trained, because gender equality is not always effective in several sectors despite all the efforts made over the decades. In today’s world, the new information and communication technologies help enormously in popularising the movements of the masses on the issue; they help to reach in record time the distant points of the globe. With only more than 30% of women active in the digital world and slightly more in all sectors, this is not fattening the economy; although it must be recognised that technology alone is not a universal remedy to this problem”.
« We need to address the cultural, social and economic factors that contribute to this inequality and have an eye on technology to ensure that it is used equitably and inclusively and above all, we need to educate men. Yes, women can succeed in this fight, if and only if they also advocate for the education of men.
As for sexual minorities, DRC has its own values which are the opposite of sexual minorities. Our traditions do not encourage or recognise homosexuality, it is against nature, » she said.
She concluded: « Women are the primary factor in economic and human development. I encourage Congolese women to get involved in politics and in the education of men for a lasting peace”.
As stipulated in Article 40 paragraph 1 of DRC Constitution: « Every individual has the right to marry the person of his or her choice, of the opposite sex, and to found a family”.
Ms Pepitho Karhono was appointed mayor of the municipality of Kintambo following a series of orders signed on November 25th, 2022 by the President of the Republic. CPA/
