After four months of waiting and negotiations, the DRC finally has a Prime Minister. Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba was appointed on Monday, and it is a reputed economist who takes the reins of government.

Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba was born in 1947. A Doctor of Economic Sciences since 1979, he is very well known in the academic world. He has been a professor at the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Kinshasa since 1979.

He also knows the political world. It was in 1970 that he began his journey through the corridors of power, first as director of the cabinet of the Minister of Portfolio before being appointed vice-minister first to the Economy, to the Portfolio, and twice to Planning.

Advisor to Mobutu

Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba moved closer to the presidency of the Republic in 1986 by becoming senior advisor to President Mobutu on economic and financial matters. He subsequently became Minister of Planning in 1990, then of Finance a year later.

In 2003 and 2014, he was executive secretary of the steering committee for the reform of state-owned enterprises in the portfolio. And his most recent position was that of director general of the National Railway Company of Congo.

While the majority of the political class bows to his CV, many, especially those in the opposition, question his effectiveness. Some recall that Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba was unable to turn around the National Railway Company of Congo.