DRC Bans 112 News Organisations

Panafrican News Agency, 16 December 2000

Kinshasa, DR Congo—Authorities in Kinshasa have banned 112 newspapers and news agencies from publishing for non-compliance with the law governing the press in the Democratic Republic of Congo, official sources said.

A ministerial order issued Thursday in Kinshasa said that 76 of the banned publications were not registered as stipulated by the law, while 36 others had not completed registration procedures.

Only 51 press organisations were fully registered in the country.

Most of the banned news organisations were already confronted with high cost of production and sales that hamper operation.

The spiralling prices have affected the reading public in Gabon, where foreign exchange rate on Friday stood at 125 Congolese Francs to one US dollar as against 50CF to the greenback at the official rate.

One affected publisher told PANA the fact is that the Congolese State is the main enemy of the press.