• DRC and World Bank approved an action plan to raise disbursement to at least 30% in 2026.
• Current rate stood at 22% in 2025, below 25% over the past five years.
• Portfolio covers 22 projects worth $1.4 billion, amid structural and security challenges.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and the World Bank have agreed on a roadmap to speed up the execution of development projects and improve disbursement performance in 2026.

On February 17, the Congolese government and the World Bank validated a consolidated action plan resulting from a country portfolio performance review. The plan includes a detailed implementation schedule with regular monitoring checkpoints. The ceremony was chaired by Deputy Finance Minister Gracia Yamba Kazadi.

The objective is to raise the disbursement rate of World Bank–financed projects in the DRC to at least 30% in 2026. According to Albert Zeufack, the World Bank’s country director for the DRC, the country has not reached a 25% disbursement rate over the past five years. In 2025, the rate stood at 22% for ongoing projects.

The plan was developed following a technical session held on November 12, 2025, bringing together government and World Bank experts. It covers 22 projects with total financing of $1.4 billion. Infrastructure and education account for more than one-third of the funding, with $250 million and $300 million respectively, including support for skills development.

Mr. Zeufack noted that the rapid expansion of the World Bank’s portfolio in the DRC — from around $3 billion in 2020 to more than $8 billion today — has exposed persistent structural and operational constraints in project execution.

Key challenges include the growing complexity of projects, delays in procurement and no-objection procedures, limited capacity within project management units and insecurity in the eastern part of the country. He also pointed to the underperformance of some United Nations agencies in implementing activities, calling for stronger accountability mechanisms.

These constraints weigh directly on absorption capacity and disbursement levels, despite significant development needs. To address them, Deputy Minister Kazadi called for strengthening project teams through training and the integration of young graduates. She also urged better upstream preparation to allow procurement processes to begin as soon as projects become effective.

She further advocated for more systematic government involvement in validating co-financing agreements, the organization of accountability workshops to clarify stakeholder roles, the integration of security risk analysis at the project design stage and the adoption of results-based contractual approaches in partnerships with U.N. agencies.

Ronsard Luabeya, Bankable