The Democratic Republic of Congo is sinking deeper into fiscal distress as its military battles a powerful insurgency allegedly backed by neighboring Rwanda. Lawmakers are now reviewing a revised wartime budget that reflects the heavy toll of prolonged conflict in the country’s volatile east, where the M23 rebel group has seized strategic territory near the Rwandan border.
Multiple government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, have confirmed that the M23 offensive has forced the closure of tax collection offices in areas under rebel control. This disruption, combined with escalating defense expenditures, has squeezed the national budget and pushed the government to make drastic financial adjustments. The International Monetary Fund recently flagged the crisis, warning that Congo’s public finances are under extreme pressure due to both lost revenue and emergency security costs.
President Felix Tshisekedi’s administration, which had initially expected to present its budget in mid-March, only approved the revised plan late last week. It now awaits parliamentary debate. The new proposal outlines a slight reduction in overall spending to $17.2 billion but acknowledges a sharp fall in projected tax revenues—from the earlier 15.1 percent of GDP down to 12.5 percent.
The cost of maintaining national defense has spiked dramatically. According to internal government briefings, Congo spent an estimated $1 billion on security operations in just the first four months of 2025. The finance ministry’s March announcement of doubled salaries for both soldiers and police—intended to shore up morale among frontline forces—could add another $500 million to the year’s military expenditure.
Despite these efforts, army officials on the ground say troops continue to face critical shortages in food, ammunition, and even basic field equipment. A Congolese general revealed that most funds appear to be funneled into weapons procurement, yet oversight remains weak. A senior finance ministry official admitted that large portions of the defense budget are managed off-the-books, outside of standard auditing channels, making tracking nearly impossible. “Even we don’t have full visibility,” the official conceded.
The financial ripple effects are being felt across ministries, many of which have been forced to slash their operational budgets. Senior institution heads have seen their salaries cut, according to IMF representative Rene Tapsoba. The domestic budget deficit widened to 0.8 percent of GDP last year and could climb to 1.2 percent in 2025. Tapsoba estimates that the loss of rebel-held territories—many of them rich in gold, tin, and coltan—could alone account for a 4 percent drop in projected government revenue.
The war has also laid bare long-standing dysfunctions within the Congolese military establishment. A recent Senate report showed the national army includes more than 268,000 personnel. However, over 36,000 are currently inactive, with some 3,600 retired soldiers still awaiting nearly $145 million in owed benefits. These figures raise questions about the true capacity of the military amid one of the gravest threats to national sovereignty in recent years.
International scrutiny continues to grow. The United Nations and several Western governments have accused Rwanda of covertly supplying the M23 rebels with weapons and personnel. Kigali denies any support for the group, insisting its military presence along the border is a defensive response to threats posed by Congolese forces and militias allegedly harboring remnants of the 1994 Rwandan genocide perpetrators.
