AFRICA/CONGO DR - The social market economy at the service of the individual and the community

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - How to ensure that the economy is really an engine for the promotion of individuals and society? This is the theme of the meeting, dedicated to social market economy, held yesterday in Kinshasa, capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo, organized by the Justice and Peace Commission of the Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The event was attended by several businessmen, trade unionists and workers of non-governmental organizations.
The issue is particularly felt in the DRC, one of the richest countries in raw materials in the world, but at the same time one of the States with a standard of living which is among the lowest in the world.
The different interventions were then focused on how to overcome this dichotomy national wealth/poverty of the population. One of the prerequisites is transparency in the management of public finances, while other speakers stressed the need to adopt economic policies to encourage the creation of small/medium enterprises and the emergence of a middle class in order to improve working conditions and increase government revenue. Finally, the importance of investing in "human capital" was highlighted. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 14/11/2013)