Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - “The Democratic Republic of Congo has once more become respectable,” said an editorial in the Congolese periodical “Le Potentiel,” dedicated to the intensification of political, and above all, economic relations of Congo with the major world powers.
The United States, the European Union (and the individual European states), China, and India are increasing their contacts and contracts with their Congolese counterparts. For example, an impressive 8 billion-dollar agreement was announced in September 2007, signed between the government in Kinshasa and a group of Chinese companies, for rehabilitation of the African nation’s infrastructure and strengthening the mining sector. “The reconstruction of the country will not be accomplished only with the Chinese. It will be a shared effort on the part of everyone, with our partners in good faith, and firstly, with ourselves,” President Joseph Kabila told the Belgian press, calming Western fears.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has, in fact, seen important investments flowing in from international donors from traditional sources (World Bank), as well as recent acquisitions from China and India. The country has also been granted the cancellation of 9 billion dollars in external debt that was obtained through a structural adjustment program fixed by the World Bank. The structural adjustment programs, however, call for a spending cut, in general, for health and education, or at least the social State. The arrival of funds from Asian powers, could be an attractive alternative to the yoke of international finance. The counterparts, however, are Congo’s natural resources, considered vital for the world economy. Thus, the Congolese leaders have the possibility of negotiating to obtain funds and loans in better conditions than in the past.
The funds obtained, however, must be invested in a prudent manner, in order to benefit the true progress of the country. “Being given the opportunity for an economic boost is one thing. But knowing how to use it conscientiously, is another. This is, therefore, the problem that the leaders of the country should resolve so that they do not miss their chance,” the “Le Potentiel” pointed out.
If Congo’s natural resources, due to their strategic importance, can be a blessing to the country, the history of the colonial and post-colonial eras shows that the opposite is true...from the slavery imposed by the “free State of Congo” as it was called in colonial days, to the coup d’état and the civil wars that have marked the country’s 48 years of independence. Among these are not only diamonds and gold, but mainly strategic minerals for the worldwide industry, from coltan to vanadium, from magnesium to cobalt, from uranium (what was used in the atomic bomb at Hiroshima came from Congo) to petroleum. Thus, the risk that Congo continue to be a land of fighting between local factions representative of the various world powers is something that the Congolese people are themselves aware of. In order to avoid losing this new chance for progress, Congo will need to elaborate a national security plan and take into account the primary demands of the population. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 6/5/2008; righe 41, parole 507)
