Senate questions Jean-Pierre Bemba over repeated fatal shipwrecks in DR Congo

On October 16, the Senate questioned Transport Vice Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba after Senator Faustin Luanga Mukela asked what measures were being taken to prevent repeated fatal shipwrecks in the DRC. Bemba cited aging and poorly maintained infrastructure, inadequate safety equipment, and weak links between transport modes. He announced that wooden whaleboats would be banned from navigation starting November 15 and stressed the requirement to wear life jackets; his ministry has pursued modernization, prevention, and digitalization measures since June 2024. Recent disasters included a barge sinking in Kinshasa on October 4 and the MV MJP sinking on Lake Tanganyika on September 23, leaving 39 people missing and 36 survivors.