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Note: This document is from the archive of the Africa Policy E-Journal, published by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC) from 1995 to 2001 and by Africa Action from 2001 to 2003. APIC was merged into Africa Action in 2001. Please note that many outdated links in this archived document may not work.

Zaire: Info-Zaire No. 111, Excerpts
Date distributed (ymd): 960212

Info-Zaire, Number 111 (English) - January 19, 1996
(translated from a document produced by Entraide Missionnaire
- EMi - Montreal)

The Latest From the World of Politics

Zaire awaits the formation of a new government following the
December 6 announcement by Prime Minister Kengo that there
would soon be a cabinet shuffle.  Even though he listed his
government's achievements; its actions against those who have
destroyed the currency, the end of diplomatic isolation, and
the renewal of certain aid programs, Kengo recognised that he
has not been able to ward off social and economic decay.  He
stated, 'We can only succeed in setting things right with the
support and participation of one and all.'

This is welcome news, for it should be pointed out that
Kengo's government is ever more clearly sinking, in spite of
backing from Western powers and the World Bank.  Besides, as
the Belgian Minister of External Affairs reminded Kengo a few
days after his announcement, the Belgian government is still
refusing to renew ties with the floundering government of
Zaire, a government which, in addition, has never had the
confidence of the Zairian population.

On December 8, the Minister of the Interior announced a
lifting of the ban on the UFERI, party of the FPC President,
Nguz Karl-I-Bond.  Its members, who had held administrative
positions for the most part in Shaba, will be permitted
henceforth to return to their posts.  Having taken control of
Shaba and having organised the expulsion of the Kasai from the
province, the party had been all but destroyed by infighting
between Nguz supporters and followers of the former Governor,
Kyungu wa Kumwanza.  With elections looming, there is talk of
reconciliation.  But, will the population of Shaba accept
putting power back in the hands of those it deems responsible
for its present poverty and confusion?!

Beginning December 9, Mobutu spent a few days in Tripoli with
Kadhafi.  He apparently negotiated the importation and
distribution of Libyan oil for the Zairian market.  With
Kadhafi's help, he would also like to set up a major petroleum
company. However, these initiatives were taken by Mobutu
alone, without the participation of his government.  Of what
value is an agreement signed by one lone man, even if he is
the President of the country?!  But perhaps these two heads of
state, once enemies, now close friends in their diplomatic
isolation, have something up their sleeve.

Since mid-December, college and university professors have
been gradually returning to work in spite of opposition from
some unions who had wanted classes to resume only subject to
the draft agreement with the government being signed.  The new
scale provides a monthly salary of 3 million NZ ($195 US) for
an average professor, and 600,000 NZ ($40 US) for an
assistant.  This is quite an improvement for individuals whose
previous salary was less than $10 US a month.  Nonetheless, it
remains to be seen whether these salaries will be paid
regularly.  Probably not. Besides, the question of salaries
for other levels of teachers still remains unresolved.

On December 26, the HCR-PT (High Council of the Republic--
Transitional Parliament) passed a law with respect to
freedom of the press, 424 to 5, with 8 abstentions.  This
unanimity was surprising, given the uproar over Lambert
Mende's fiercely criticised proposed amendment which would
have obligated journalists to reveal their sources in the case
of a court order. Similar wording was subsequently adopted:
a journalist is not obligated to divulge his sources except
where the law requires. This reworded amendment remains
sufficiently vague.  While protecting journalists and their
sources in certain situations, it does not protect them from
the so-called security services. Freedom of the press is
therefore in jeopardy.

Late on the evening of December 31, the HCR-PT approved the
State budget for 1996, totalling 11 billion NZ ($710 million
US).  The council members deemed it necessary to modify the
Kengo government's budget of last November 3, by increasing
receipts and expenditures and projecting a deficit of nearly
$6 million US. Thus, the HCR-PT expects to obtain more than
$212 million US from customs revenues, $186 million US from
petroleum revenues, $51 million US from la Gecamines and $22
million US from la Miba.  As for expenses, a large share is
allotted to endowments, which includes; the presidential share
($47 million US), the share reserved for foreign debt ($31
million US) and monies put aside for the operation of the
Commission nationale des elections ($73 million US).
Optimistic council members based their projections on an
inflation rate of 20%, even though inflation topped 461% in
1995.  They saw fit to correct the exchange rate to 20,000 NZ
to $1 US, while Kengo, for his part, had estimated the average
rate of exchange to be 11,000 NZ.  Unfortunately, by January
2, the exchange rate was already at 15,600 NZ, and by January
8, had reached 17,500 NZ.

Having tossed all these figures about, the council members
undoubtedly felt that the coming year would begin in
prosperity. This was not so for the thousands of civil
servants who searched in vain to see if their months of back
pay had been calculated into the budget, or whether their
salary scales, already out of line with the actual cost of
living, had been adjusted even slightly.

The Commission nationale des elections (CNE) was finally
established as of January 1.  Most of the 44 members (22 from
lUSOR; 22 from the FPC) were sworn in before the HCR-PT, some
changes having been made to the original list. Thus, there are
now four representatives from Kengo's party as well as members
from the Churches who find themselves on the committee;
however, there is no representation from civil society.  The
CNE immediately began the tasks of organising itself
internally, electing a board, and preparing a budget for 1996.

Dissatisfied with the make-up of the newly formed CNE,
representatives from civil society met January 10 to establish
a parallel National Electoral Commission charged with
independently overseeing the preparation and handling of the
elections.  Among these groups are: the Conseil national des
ONG de developpement (CNONGD); l'Association Zairoise des
droits de l'homme (AZADHO); some unions; and the Comite
national pour des elections maintenant (CONEMA), founded by
Justice and Peace groups of the major Churches, among others.

About the Elections

In Kinshasa several weeks ago, in an Amos Group publication,
Jose Mpundu and Thierry Mlandu published a sociopolitical
essay entitled, elections au Zaire, chance ou danger pour la
democratie?.  At a time when elections have become an
increasingly popular topic of discussion, it is interesting to
explore the perspective of these two authors with a view to
understanding the question as seen by the Amos Group.

The authors present three major arguments.  The first argument
stipulates that in the present climate, it would be dangerous
to hold elections in Zaire.  If Mobutu is elected, the country
will see a return to dictatorship; if he is not, civil war
will erupt. If the opposition loses, it will not accept the
result of the polls, and will accuse Mobutu of having fixed
the elections.  In order to circumvent this foreseeable
impasse, the public must be educated and have its awareness
raised before anything can be done.

The second argument states that the Western Powers must not
become involved in these elections, neither as observers nor
as silent partners.  Their involvement should be limited to
helping Zairians recover assets plundered by officials of the
regime and stockpiled in Western banks.  These funds could
then be used to finance election expenses.

The third argument consists of presenting a twelve step
strategy for holding open and democratic elections under the
auspices of Zaire's established Churches.

The proposal is coherent and appears well thought out.  From
that point of view, it should be seen as a major step in the
psychological, technical and political processes leading the
population into the upcoming elections, and as a starting
point for discussion.  However, it must be pointed out that
the approach is somewhat limited.  In fact, the authors tend
to minimise the destructive potential of the present regime,
and show their naivete in thinking that entrusting the
handling of elections to the Churches and the communautes
ecclesiales de base (CEB) would suffice in order to ensure
that everything flows smoothly.  This does not give enough
weight to the influence of the Barons of the Regime and their
past dealings with the hierarchy of these Churches.

Besides, the question of recovering plundered Zairian assets
assumes that once identified, the thieves could be formally
charged and convicted in an ordinary court of law.  However,
the only available judicial authorities are those adept in
their dealings with the Western banks which continue to profit
from these gains even today.  Furthermore, these sorts of
proceedings are generally drawn out and costly, and are
received with little enthusiasm by financial institutions
which are hardly interested in where the investments
originated.

Having read the proposed strategies, it appears that their
success is predicated on mobilising the population to replace
the present administration with members of the CEB.  This is
undoubtedly a utopian project, but one which could ultimately
prove fruitful. This could be just what Zaire sorely needs.

News from the World of Business

On January 13, the Belgian airline company Sabena issued a
comment on an impending agreement with the Zairian government
aimed at getting the situation at the bankrupt Air Zaire under
control. Sabena, along with other partners including Swissair,
are to invest $33 million US to acquire 49.5% of the company,
which would then be known as New Air Zaire.  In addition to
running flights between Kinshasa and Europe, the new company
would explore the possibility of breaking into the rapidly
expanding domestic market, presently dominated by the wealthy
of the regime.  Sabena explained that this agreement is part
of a larger plan by the Zairian government to transfer control
of major national transport services to foreign interests.
Last March under this plan, the Societe national des chemins
de fer (SNCZ) became the Societe internationale zairoise du
rail (SIZARAIL) operated under South African control

It is not only transportation which is passing quietly into
the hands of foreign private enterprise.  Last December 8, an
agreement was signed between the Societe de developpement
industriel et minier du Zaire (Sodimiza) and the Anglo-South
African group, African Mining Corporation to study the
profitability of exploiting mineral deposits at Musoshi, 120
kilometres from Lubumbashi.  The aim is to increase copper
production at Sodimiza from 2,400 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes a
year. Earlier, in November, it was Kengo himself who announced
the signing of another agreement between la Gecamines and
l'Union miniere du Haut-Katanga, a subsidiary of la Societe
generale de Belgique, targeted at the development of cobalt
resources in discarded slag from installations at Kipushi in
Shaba.  The expected investment is on the order of $15 million
US.  This goes to show that the advice of international
financial institutions like the World Bank, which have
recommended that la Gecamines decrease expenditures to the
utmost in order to increase profitability, is about to be
followed, much to the delight of onlookers.  Democracy and a
just society do not seem necessary in the world of business.

..............

Telling Plane Crashes

Two fatal plane crashes have made headlines around the world.
On December 18, a Zairian plane crashed in Angola, killing 139
Angolans.  It had been chartered by UNITA and had set down
clandestinely in Angolan territory.  On January 8, a cargo
plane demolished Kinshasa's Simbazikita market, located at the
end of the Ndolo airport runway, killing more than 350 people.
It had not been able to take off, probably because it was
overloaded.  The African Air flight had not received
authorised clearance; however, the owner of the company had
borrowed authorisation papers from ScibeZaire, a company which
belongs to Bemba Saolona, a close friend of Mobutu.  This type
of thing happens regularly at Ndolo airport, renowned for its
clandestine comings and goings, where not much is made of air
traffic regulations.  Those responsible feel protected from on
high.  Mobutu attended the funeral at the Protestant Cathedral
(du Centennaire) in Kinshasa, held for those who died January
10.  The last time he had been there was in May of 1995, to
receive an aid shipment for victims of the Ebola virus.  Bemba
Saolona also attended.  Not surprisingly, someone was
overheard to say, 'Those responsible for what has happened are
inside the church.  I hope they're sorry.'

Contributors to this issue:  Fulgence Muteba, Roland Rivard,
Aleli Mboka and Denis Tougas (translated into English by L.
and J. Lazazzera - Toronto).  English version distributed
electronically by Inter-Church Coalition on Africa, 129 St.
Clair Ave. W, Toronto, Ontario M4V 1N5 Canada, Phone:
416-927-2124, Fax: 416-927-7554, E-mail: iccaf@web.apc.org

Info-Zaire is also available in French from Table de
Concertation sur Les Droits Humains au Zaire, Entraide
Missionnaire, 15 de Castelnau St. West, Montreal, Quebec H2R
2W3. Tel. (514) 270-6089; Fax (514) 270-6156 E-mail:
emi@web.apc.org.

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This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the
Africa Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's primary
objective is to widen the policy debate in the United States
around African issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by
concentrating on providing accessible policy-relevant
information and analysis usable by a wide range of groups and
individuals. APIC is affiliated with the Washington Office on
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rights group supported organization that works with Congress
on Africa-related legislation.

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