Moïse Katumbi

Moïse Katumbi
Governor of Katanga Province
In office
2007 – September 2015
Personal details
Born Moise Katumbi
(1964-12-28) 28 December 1964
Lac Moero
Democratic Republic of Congo
Nationality Congolese
Political party PPRD (until 2015)
Spouse(s) Carine Katumbi [1]
Occupation Businessman
Politician
Chairman of TP Mazembe

Moïse Katumbi Chapwe (born December 28, 1964) is a Congolese politician and businessman.[2] He was the Governor of the Katanga Province, located in the southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from 2007 to September 2015.[3] He was a member of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) until 29 September 2015.[4] He has been described as "probably the second most powerful man in the Democratic Republic of Congo after the president, Joseph Kabila"[5] and was named "African Personality of 2015" by Jeune Afrique.[6]

Personal life

Moïse Katumbi was born to a Congolese mother and a Greek father, Nissim Soriano, who fled Rhodes between the two world wars when it was controlled by Fascist Italy.[7] He settled in Katanga, near the Moero lake.[8]

Moïse Katumbi is married to Carine Katumbi.[1]

Education

Moïse Katumbi studied at the Kiwele school of Lubumbashi and the Kapolowe mission where he obtained a State diploma, graduating in psychology.[9]

By the time he managed his brother's business and started other activities in Zambia, he got to learn English and followed management classes.[10]

Private career

Business

Fishery business

Moïse Katumbi began his business career by selling fish in school making a first profit of 40 dollars at the age of 13.[11] He then thrived in the fishery business in the Moero Lake mainly provisioning the State-owned mining company, Gécamines.[12]

Etablissement Katumbi

He has developed the activities in Zambia and diversified rapidly to other sectors: transport, trade, food supply.[13] From a massive road network system covering thousands of kilometers to the electrification of rural and urban communities, construction and renovation of schools and hospitals, Katumbi has his footprints dotted across the Katanga Province.[14]

In 1987, he created the holding Etablissement Katumbi to aggregate all of his activities being mine, transportation and food supply fields.[15]

Mining Company Katanga

Ten years later, after a period of diversification, he created MCK (Mining Company Katanga) which recovered 80% Gécamines' copper and cobalt mining activities.[10] On November 9, 2015, French company Necotrans bought MCK for an undisclosed amount.[16][17]

Football

TP Mazembe

Since 1997, Moïse Katumbi is also the Chairman of the football team TP Mazembe in Lubumbashi.[18] The team has won five times the CAF Champions League with last successes in 2009,[19] 2010,[20] and 2015.[21] It has also played the FIFA Club World Cup final in 2010 in Abu Dhabi.[22] and in 2015 in Tokyo.[23]

The club made history by becoming the first club from Africa breaking the European and South American stranglehold, to reach the final of the Fifa Club World Cup, where it lost to Inter Milan.[24]

Moise Katumbi also developed football as a social program to engage and train young people in the province of Katanga. (More than 2'000 members so far) Katumbi also completed TP Mazembe's stadium in 2011 at the cost of $35 million.[21]

FIFA Strategic commission

Since January 2, 2012, he was elected at the FIFA strategic commission.[25][26]

Political life

In 2006 and 2011, Moïse Katumbi supported Joseph Kabila's campaigns to run for President of the Democratic Republic of Congo.[27] However, like many others, Katumbi publicly distanced himself from Kabila in 2015.[28]

In a Reuters article published on November 13, 2015, Moïse Katumbi suggested immunity from prosecution for Kabila after leaving office "as an attempt to convince Kabila to leave office when his second and final elected term ends in the following year". Moise added that Kabila leaving within the constitutional timeframe would make him the "father of Congolese democracy" and a very appreciated president by the Congolese people.[29][30][31]

Deputy of the National Assembly

In 2006, he was elected as a Deputy in the National Assembly before being elected as Governor of the Katanga Province in January 2007, receiving 94 votes out of 102.[32]

Governor of Katanga

Shortly after he took office as Governor of Katanga, Moïse Katumbi implemented an export ban for raw minerals, thus forcing major mining companies to build transformation units in the province.[33] He increased local taxes from $80 million to more than $3 billion by fighting corruption and increasing exports of copper cathode. These revenues were used to build schools, roads, hospitals, and bring clean water (from 3% to 67% with access to clean water) to numerous poor populations.[32]

Following Chamber of mines data, Moise Katumbi increased copper production from 8'000 metric tons in 2006 to more than 1 million tons in 2014. His administration also built more than 1'000 kilometers of roads and reduced the price of corn flour from $45 to $10 a bag.[34]

In 2013, following the State Constitution of his country, Moïse Katumbi announced he would not run for a second term as Governor. For the 2016 presidential elections, many national and international observers see him as a potential candidate and successor to Joseph Kabila.[35][36][37]

Front Citoyen 2016

On 29 September 2015 he resigned as Governor, after the leaders of seven political parties were expelled from the ruling Presidential Majority for writing an open letter to Kabila in which they questioned his intention to stand down at the end of his second term in 2016.[38][39] Katumbi added that his resignation from the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy would allow him to highlight the national government's attempts to defy the constitution and delay elections[28] as well as regain his freedom of speech and action.[40] In the same declaration, he announced that important consultations among civil society members would take place in order to create a republican and democratic movement in the country. On 19 December 2015, Moïse Katumbi joined 26 other high-profile Congolese figures in a coalition dubbed "Front Citoyen 2016". The entity is engaged to protect the Constitution and ensure that the 2016 presidential elections take place.[41]

Prizes and Distinctions

On December 15, 2012, the Millenium Excellence Foundation awarded Katumbi with the « Black Star of Africa 2012 » award in Nairobi, Kenya. The distinction recognized his accomplishments and his role as a champion in African good governance.[42]

In January 2015, Moise Katumbi also received the « Football Leader of the Year » award from the African Football Confederation.[43]

On December 22, 2015, Moïse Katumbi was named « African Personality of 2015 » by Jeune Afrique, the largest pan-African magazine.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Matata III: M.Katumbi pas d'accord avec J. Kabila sur le choix d'un ministre". 7 sur 7. 28 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Moïse Katumbi Chapwe Millenium Excellence Foundation". Millenium Excellence Foundation Africa. 2012.
  3. ↑ Provinces of Congo (Kinshasa)
  4. ↑ "Is Katumbi's resignation a game changer in DRC?". Democracy in Africa. 21 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "An old ally of Joseph Kabila leaves the ruling party". The Economist. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Sondage : Moïse Katumbi, Africain de 2015 selon les lecteurs de J.A., devant Mbonimpa et Mukwege - JeuneAfrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2015-12-23.
  7. ↑ "Moise Katumbi Chapwe: The People's governor". Transterramedia. 10 September 2013.
  8. ↑ "Moïse Katumbi, un ovni en politique". Blog Le Soir. 31 March 2009.
  9. ↑ "Portrait de Moise Katumbi Chapwe". Enews 24. 2014.
  10. 1 2 "La conscience - Moïse Katumbi : l'homme, son parcours et ses œuvres". www.laconscience.com. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  11. ↑ "Moïse Katumbi Chapwe: A man the west would love to do business with". Forbes Custom.
  12. ↑ "Katanga Big Boss". Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  13. ↑ "Moise Katumbi Chapwe EMRC" (PDF). EMRC.
  14. ↑ "Kabila's "Decoupage": an aim at Moise Katumbi's rising popularity". Zambia Reports. 10 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "Moïse Katumbi: l'homme, son parcours et ses oeuvres". La conscience. 4 February 2007.
  16. ↑ "Necotrans fait l'acquisition d'une importante société de Moïse Katumbi". Jeune Afrique. 9 November 2015.
  17. ↑ "RDC: Necotrans rachète Mining Company Katanga de Moïse Katumbi". Radio Okapi. 10 November 2015.
  18. ↑ "TP Mazembe president". www.tpmazembe.com. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  19. ↑ "2009 CAF Champions League".
  20. ↑ "2010 CAF Champions League".
  21. 1 2 "Moise Katumbi - The Abramovich of African football". Ghana Web. 14 November 2015.
  22. ↑ FIFA.com. "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2010 - Awards - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  23. ↑ "FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2015 - TP Mazembe Mazembe - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
  24. ↑ "Katumbi: The Moses of Katanga". African Business Magazine. 4 April 2013.
  25. ↑ FIFA.com. "FIFA Committees - Strategic Committee - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  26. ↑ "The management of Moïse Katumbi attracts CAF". TP Mazembe. 17 May 2013.
  27. ↑ "- Www.LiveCongo.Com - Tout le Congo en Live !!! -". www.livecongo.com. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  28. 1 2 "Powerful governor of Congo's copper-rich Katanga province resigns". News Yahoo. 30 September 2015.
  29. ↑ "Congo's Kabila should receive immunity, says main opponent Katumbi". Reuters. 11 November 2015.
  30. ↑ "Katumbi wants immunity for Kabila after leaving office". Post Zambia. 13 November 2015.
  31. ↑ "DRC: Kabila should not face prosecution says main rival Katumbi". UK News Yahoo. 12 November 2015.
  32. 1 2 "Moïse Katumbi: New African Leadership". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  33. ↑ "Katanga : l'effet Moïse Katumbi - JeuneAfrique.com". Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  34. ↑ "Soccer-Loving Congolese Businessman Eyes Run for Presidency". Bloomberg. 11 November 2015.
  35. ↑ "Katumbi quits DRC ruling Party". Zambia Reports. 29 September 2015.
  36. ↑ "Millionaire governor gears up for 2016 Congo election bid". Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  37. ↑ Manson, Katrina (2015-01-20). "Congo: ‘Katumbi will decide the election’". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  38. ↑ "Congolese opposition mulls Katumbi as presidential candidate". Bloomberg. 12 October 2015.
  39. ↑ "Powerful governor of Congo's copper-rich Katanga province resigns". Reuters. 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  40. ↑ "Congo's Katumbi signals bid for presidency by quitting party". Bloomberg. 30 September 2015.
  41. ↑ Wilson, Tom. "Congo Opposition Parties Demand Election Calendar Be Revised". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
  42. ↑ "Moïse Katumbi le gouverneur du Katanga auréolé du prix de bonne gouvernance "Black star of Africa 2012"". Digital Congo. 26 December 2012.
  43. ↑ "Toure makes it four in a row". CAF. 8 January 2015.
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