News stories by Badylon K. Bakiman

KIKWIT, DR Congo, Jul 05 (IPS) - "The macroeconomic climate is looking good, with a growth rate varying between five and seven percent," said Jean-Claude Masangu, governor of the Democratic Republic of Congo's Central Bank as he justified the release of new denominations of the Congolese franc.

The outlook for people living with disabilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains bleak, despite a variety of efforts to improve their lot and bring them in from the margins of society.

Women make up just 12 percent of the roughly 18,000 candidates who will stand for election to parliament in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Nov. 28 elections.

Women make up just 12 percent of the roughly 18,000 candidates who will stand for election to parliament in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Nov. 28 elections.

Smallholder farmers in Bandundu Province are boosting their harvests with the help of the sweetly-named velvet bean.

While discussion of hydroelectric power on the Congo River is dominated by the massive Grand Inga project and the dream of power for the entire continent, construction of a series of smaller dams to benefit local communities may produce tangible results much more quickly.

When the ground is broken for the Kakobola dam, engineers just might be able to hear the jubilation in the city of Kikwit, 200 kilometres away. The city's million residents are desperate to improve their water supply.

To see how women's associations in the Democratic Republic of Congo are helping their members improve their livelihoods, just follow the hubbub you can hear from Justine Kakesa's office: the Kikwit 2 market is bursting with merchandise made by women.

Led by the local church, residents of Gungu administrative zone, in the southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo have used their own resources to transform the conditions in which their children study.