First article
This is the conclusion of the general policy speech of the Coopérative centrale d'épargne et de crédit du Kivu (COOCEC-Kivu) delivered by its Managing Director, Justin Cibanguka Mugula, on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary. This celebration took place on Saturday April 30 in the meeting room of the Hotel Panorama.

In front of a number of guests, the managing director outlined the history of COOCEC, which came into being on April 28, 1972, with the founding of the first caisse populaire de l'ISES (ISA), now ISDR. Set up by Paul Beaulieu, a Canadian aid worker, in collaboration with the director of ISDR, Father Berthold, Justin Cibanguka points out that the 50 years of COOCEC-Kivu have not been rosy ones. According to Cibanguka, the institution has faced a number of difficulties, including hyperinflation of the 4-digit national currency between 1991 and 1996. There was also a persistent shortage of liquidity in the banking and cooperative system. And successive wars.

COOCEC-Kivu, 50 years on, facing new challenges" Today, 50 years on, we can congratulate ourselves on having withstood all these difficulties," he declared. "The best is yet to come", says the director, who is already looking ahead to the next 50 years. "We need to build on the achievements of the last 50 years and make them evolve so that COOCEC can continue to resist. 50 years is an age of maturity, but for us it's also an age of renewal.