Cash-strapped Congolese eye deep inequalities ahead of vote

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. Bamue, like millions of Congolese who will head to the polls on Dec. 20, has seen little improvement in living conditions despite Congo's vast critical minerals wealth, and promises made by President Felix Tshisekedi when he came to power in 2019.