In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Water Distribution Authority (Regideso) produced a total volume of 336,284,849 cubic meters of water in 2024, generating revenues of 464.8 billion Congolese francs (approximately 163 million US dollars). The announcement was made by the general director of the public company, David Tshilumba, during the official presentation of the financial statements held on Thursday, June 19, 2025 in Kinshasa.
This initiative is part of a stated commitment to transparency and accountability in a vital sector where the needs of the population remain largely unmet.
Since 2020, Regideso has shown a progressive growth in its production. In that year, the company recorded a production of 294.5 million m³, compared to 301.4 million in 2021, 323.9 million in 2022, and 348.1 million in 2023. Although the volume in 2024 shows a slight decrease compared to 2023, the overall trend remains positive over the five-year period.
At the same time, the volume of water actually distributed increased from 164.9 million m³ in 2020 to 201.4 million m³ in 2024. However, this improvement was accompanied by an increase in the cost price, which rose from 2,033.88 FC/m³ in 2020 to 2,703.81 FC/m³ in 2024, raising questions about long-term profitability.
Despite these advances, Regideso suffered a shortfall of nearly 80 billion FC in additional revenues, and a loss of over 108 billion FC in legal profit margin. In 2024, the average selling price of water was set at 2,307.03 FC/m³, a rate below the profitability threshold, confirming the financial difficulties faced by the authority.
In light of these findings, David Tshilumba called for a strengthening of public-private partnerships: “Despite the progress made, Regideso needs capital to improve its production and distribution capacities.” And he appealed to economic operators to engage in improving access to clean water, particularly through investments in infrastructure.
To reverse the trend, Regideso intends to launch several structuring projects, including local production of pipes, meters, and equipment related to hydraulic infrastructure. The company also plans to digitize its operations to improve management, billing, and overall service performance.
“It is essential to increase our technical and operational capacities to sustainably improve the service coverage rate,” said the general director.
Despite efforts, national coverage of clean water remains below 20%, according to official data. This concerning statistic calls for collective mobilization to ensure that every Congolese citizen has access to this vital resource. “The challenge is immense. We must think together, in an inclusive and multisectoral approach, to permanently solve this problem,” concluded David Tshilumba.
In June 2023, Regideso had already highlighted its ambitions in terms of governance and investments to modernize its network. The year 2024 seems to mark an important step in this dynamic, even if financial and structural obstacles persist.
