THE ENCROACHMENT OF FUNCTION AND ITS DIFFERENT PERIPETIES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PROVINCES IN THE DRC: CASE OF THE AD INTERIM GOVERNOR OF PROVINCE

Abstract

The Constitution of February 18, 2006, which
proclaims the united and indivisible character
of the DRC, established two levels of state
power: the central power and the province
within which exist decentralized territorial
entities and other administrative entities. This
Constitution thus clearly distributed powers
between the central power and the provinces.
The distribution of power exercise unfolds
three modes of exercising state power: i) the
exclusive jurisdiction of the central power,
ii) the concurrent jurisdiction of the central
power and the provinces, and iii) the exclusive
jurisdiction of the province. However, in
practice the provinces are increasingly under
the pressures of the central level of power
which leads to the proliferation of crises,
including those linked to the encroachment of
functions.
This study aims at understanding the specific
case of ad interim Governor, resulting mainly
from the interference of the central power
which puts aside the Governor so as to show
its preeminence over the second level of power.
Many provinces have been administrated by
ad interim governors. This exceptional case
seemed to have become the particular way
of doing things in the DRC. We want to let
scholars in the constitutionalism be aware of
this deviation induced by this practice which constitutes surreptiously in DRC the rampant crisis of the rule of the law. The long road to a
matured liberal regime is full of pitfalls stemming from the greed and grievances between the top
level of power and the bottom level.