The usually vibrant streets of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, have fallen eerily silent. The city is grappling with an unprecedented economic and financial crisis following last month’s takeover by M23 rebels, reportedly backed by Rwanda.
Businesses are struggling to survive, financial transactions have nearly ground to a halt, and residents are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. With banks and cooperatives shut down, monetary transactions have become almost impossible, leaving Goma’s two million residents in dire straits.
Gaston Mumbere, a local resident, worries about how he will pay his bills at the end of February. “We are suffering a lot, and our families are also victims of the lack of circulation of money between people,” he said. “The banks are not functioning, and now we are realising that weapons kill people, but hunger will also kill us.”
The closure of financial institutions has left businesses reeling, with market vendors struggling to sell their goods. In Virunga, Goma’s main market, sellers often go home empty-handed. Collette Musumba, who sells beans, has seen her income plummet. “We used to earn up to 100,000 Congolese francs ($36), but today it’s hard to earn even 30,000 francs ($11),” she said. “I don’t sell much in a day, and I close the goods to go home and cook for the children.”
Even government and private-sector employees have yet to receive their salaries since M23 seized control, raising fears of a complete economic collapse. Analysts warn that the financial system is teetering on the brink, with trust in banks and microfinance institutions rapidly eroding.
“Microfinance institutions will suffer even more than banks,” said Deogracias Bengehya, an economics professor at Goma University. “Why? Because banks have representatives elsewhere, but many microfinance institutions operate only in Goma.”
In a bid to stabilize the situation, North Kivu’s governor—appointed by the M23 alliance—met with banking officials in mid-February to explore ways to reopen financial institutions under secure conditions. However, no concrete solutions have been reached.
The ongoing financial paralysis underscores the fragility of Goma’s economic system and raises urgent concerns about an impending humanitarian catastrophe. The United Nations has already classified the humanitarian situation in the city as alarming, with food insecurity and displacement worsening by the day.
As violence rages on in the DRC, the UN has given the green light to the evacuation of families of its international staff from Burundi, according to a letter seen by news agency AFP. The letter is dated February 21st; since then, several flights have been chartered, a UN official said.
In recent weeks, the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized two important cities in eastern DRC. The group has pushed ahead in its advance, and the fighting has inched closer to the Burundian border. The nation, which has backed the DRC with some 10,000 troops under a previous deal, has increasingly voiced concern.
This week, the Burundian President stated that his country was committed to resolving the differences between the two countries by peaceful means. His comments came as military sources said that Burundi had stationed troops along its border, some ten kilometers from the M23 advance.
The mineral-rich east of the DRC has been plagued by conflict for more than three decades, since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
As Goma remains under rebel control, residents continue to struggle, uncertain of when—if ever—normalcy will return.
Written by Olivier Noudjalbaye Dedingar, USA/UN Correspondent.
