” “The second ballot for the election of the President of the Republic, the first free and democratic elections in Congo, is going to take place next Sunday. The Congolese Church worked towards educating the voters (the majority voted for the very first time in their life) and will monitor the elections to make sure the voting will be transparent and to report any rigging. In the run-up to this "decisive" date, as it has been called by the Congolese Bishops in their message of 6th October, the Italian Caritas which has been in the country since 1995 is convinced "the Congolese will not fail to further prove their maturity". "The international community must keep focussing on this transition highlights the Italian Caritas and keep firmly asking that the democratic rules be obeyed. The new government will have to give priority to the serious poverty of the country and the deterioration of its infrastructure, by managing in the best possible way the huge natural resources and the flows of international aids that we hope will be more substantial than those of the last few years". Caritas wishes, along with the Bishops, that "Congo’s assets will not keep being pillaged to the exclusive benefit of a limited number of people".” “
