Bouenza Prefect Begins Proximity Tour of Districts
Freshly and officially installed in Madingou, Bouenza Prefect Marcel Nganongo has traded protocol speeches for fieldwork. From October 22 to 24, 2025, he led a first inspection mission to the districts of Ntsiaki and Boko-Songho.
Traveling with departmental councilors, defense officials, and technical advisors, the prefect set a concise goal: to map urgent community needs, reassure residents of the state’s attention, and identify quick-win projects that can be activated with existing budgets before the next rainy season.
Festive Reception in Ntsiaki Highlights Cultural Pride
Ntsiaki, 120 kilometers southeast of Madingou, offered a reception fit for a national holiday. Masked dancers, drumming troupes, and elderly griots lined the red dirt road, draping the convoy in song.
Water, Electricity, and Staff Shortages Dominate Discussions in Ntsiaki
Inside the sub-prefecture hall, however, celebration gave way to frank discussion. Residents listed chronic water shortages, erratic electricity, and the virtual absence of qualified teachers, nurses, and police officers.
In response, Prefect Nganongo stressed the state’s commitment to rural equity, citing a national program that recently added 35 boreholes across Bouenza. “The priority is drinking water. We will escalate the technical files to Brazzaville and solicit partners where departmental funds fall short,” he stated.
The delegation visited CFF-Bois International, a logging operation employing 92 locals and providing scrap wood for domestic fuel. The prefect pledged to liaise with Énergie Électrique du Congo for a power supply upgrade.
Before departure, an elder presented the prefect with a kola nut, invoking ancestral blessings for a “reliable administration.”
Education Challenges Top Agenda at Boko-Songho Meeting
Two days later, the convoy reached Boko-Songho, a region of fertile valleys and salt marshes. The sub-prefect assembled schoolchildren and volunteer teachers for a guard of honor. She indicated that only eleven state-paid tutors serve 4,300 students, leaving volunteers to fill the gap.
Nganongo acknowledged the pressure but praised the civic spirit. “Education remains the cornerstone of the social contract. Your dedication inspires the government to accelerate teacher deployment,” he noted. The prefect promised to champion the issue at the next national budget conference.
The team inspected the freshly white-and-green painted Mboukou-Songho primary school and a solar-powered water point funded by the Congolese Water Fund. A villager said the borehole had halved the girls’ walking time, allowing them to arrive at class on time.
Site Inspections Reveal Public-Private Potential
In the neighboring village of Minga, Geolan’s base camp for mineral exploration drew interest. Engineers demonstrated sampling machines capable of analyzing manganese traces on-site. While insisting on environmental safeguards, Nganongo highlighted the potential for tax revenue for district roads.
Later, the delegation held a closed-door session with health agents at the integrated health center. The head nurse cited stockouts of antimalarials. The prefect promised a relay shipment from the departmental depot and encouraged use of the national digital pharmaceutical platform for weekly alerts.
Partnerships and Decentralization Chart the Way Forward
Concluding the mission, Prefect Nganongo told journalists that success depends on shared responsibility. “We will do our part, the council will do theirs, and the private sector must complement us. This synergy reflects the decentralization policy championed by the Head of State,” he emphasized.
He announced the creation of a monitoring unit that will track every grievance raised during the tour and publish progress quarterly. Civil society observers welcomed the initiative as a push for transparency, while departmental councilors predicted regular feedback could help stem rural exodus.
For many residents, the exchanges marked a new chapter. “We are used to seeing officials pass through during campaigns. This time, they listened,” said a volunteer teacher. As the convoy departed under a setting sun, villagers waved flags, hoping promises could translate into tangible change.
According to the departmental census, Bouenza has 13 districts with a combined rural population exceeding 440,000. The prefect hopes to complete visits to the eleven remaining districts by December. Each stop, he says, will produce a distilled action plan to feed into the 2026-2028 development agenda.
A second assessment tour is tentatively planned once the rainy season ends.