Cash-strapped Congolese eye deep inequalities ahead of vote

FILE PHOTO: People wait for transport in front of a campaign poster of the Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi for the upcoming presidential elections, in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo December 16, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/FILE PHOTO


KINSHASA (Reuters) - Five years after graduating with a diploma in computer network maintenance, Georges Bamue, 27, still navigates the streets of Democratic Republic of Congo's capital as a motorcycle taxi rider, unable to find a job or raise enough to start a business in his trained field.

On a good day, he makes around $30, but with Congo's rampant inflation, the depreciation of the local currency, and multiple demands on his meagre income, he struggles to make ends meet paying rent and making sure his family does not go hungry.