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Corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

March 08, 2024

Corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which used to be an institutionalized part of the state, has been relatively lowered in recent years. However, it continues to exceed corruption in comparison to most states. The BBC's DRC country profile calls its recent history "one of civil war and corruption."[1] President Joseph Kabila established the Commission of Repression of Economic Crimes upon his ascension to power in 2001.[2]

History edit

The Mobutu era (1965–1997) edit

Mobutu Sese Seko ruled Zaire from 1965 to 1997, looting his country's wealth for personal use to such a degree that critics coined the term "kleptocracy". A relative once explained how the government illicitly collected revenue: "Mobutu would ask one of us to go to the bank and take out a million. We'd go to an intermediary and tell him to get five million. He would go to the bank with Mobutu's authority, and take out ten. Mobutu got one, and we took the other nine."[3] The Congolese explained the lack of support from the government by the humorous article 15: Débrouillez-vous ("Figure it yourself").

Mobutu institutionalized corruption to prevent political rivals from challenging his control, leading to an economic collapse in 1996.[4] Mobutu allegedly stole up to US$4 billion while in office.[5]

The Kabila Era (1997–2019) edit

Laurent Kabila led an insurgent group against Mobutu and quickly assumed power after Mobutu was overthrown.[6] During this time period, Kabila issued a statement making himself president with near absolute power in the government.[7] With people supporting him for overthrowing Mobutu, he was not initially met with much public opposition.[8] However, Kabila's and his government's goals for the regime were said to be unclear and vague.[8]

He refused immediate elections in fear of the country returning to Mobutuism, and continued to postpone promised elections.[7] The constitution was not changed, and he and his peers exploited resources for their personal benefit.[9] Laurent Kabila led a regime that upheld corruption through clientelism by appointing his clients as cabinet members.[10] Under the Kabila regime, the DRC has failed to pull itself out of its “collapsed state” status from when Mobutu was in power.[11]

The government has not implemented security and human rights reforms, free media, and the decentralization of power.[12] The economy plummeted, forcing workers to be underpaid and living conditions to deteriorate.[13] Laurent Kabila was killed in 2001 by one of his body guards in an attempted coup d'état.[14]

During that time period, The Democratic Republic of Congo received a score of 1.9 out of 10 in the Corruption Perception Index, which reveals high levels of corruption.[10]

His son, Joseph Kabila was elected president after Laurent Kabila's death.[6] Joseph Kabila is working with the World Bank to curtail corruption and improve economy.[15] In addition, the Commission of Economic Crimes was implemented in 2001 by President Joseph Kabila. Nonetheless, there are still reports of high-ranking officials exploiting resources for their personal benefit and other forms of corruption.[9] In 2006, the constitution changed the president's minimum age from 35 to 30 years old to include Joseph Kabila, who was 33 at the time.[10]

In 2017, Reuters exposed a scheme involving overpriced biometric passports.[16]

After Kabilas (2019–) edit

In June 2020, a court in the Democratic Republic of Congo found President Felix Tshisekedi's chief of staff Vital Kamerhe guilty of corruption. He was sentenced to 20 years' hard labor, after facing charges of embezzling almost $50m (£39m) of public funds. He was the most high-profile figure to be convicted of corruption in the DRC.[17] However, Kamerhe was released already in December 2021.[18]

In November 2021, a judicial investigation targeting former president Joseph Kabila and his associates was opened in Kinshasa after revelations of alleged embezzlement of $138 million.[19]

Corruption Perceptions Index edit

Main article: Corruption Perceptions Index
Year Score Rank
2017 21 161[20]
2018 20 161[21]
2019 18 168[22]
2020 18 170[23]
2021 19 169[24]
2022 20 166[25]
2023 20 162[26]

The table above shows how the Democratic Republic of the Congo fared in seven successive years of Transparency International's ranking of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index. Countries are scored on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean") and then ranked by score; the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.[27]

See also edit

General:

References edit

  1. ^ "DR Congo country profile". BBC News. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  2. ^ Werve, Jonathan (2006). The Corruption Notebooks 2006. p. 57.
  3. ^ Ludwig, Arnold M. (2002). King of the Mountain: The Nature of Political Leadership. p. 72.
  4. ^ Nafziger, E. Wayne; Raimo Frances Stewart (2000). War, Hunger, and Displacement: The Origins of Humanitarian Emergencies. p. 261.
  5. ^ Mesquita, Bruce Bueno de (2003). The Logic of Political Survival. p. 167.
  6. ^ a b Isango, Eddy (December 7, 2006). "Kabila Promises New Era for Congo" (PDF). Antigenocide.org.
  7. ^ a b Rosenblum, Peter (May 1998). "Kabila's Congo". Current History. 97 (619): 193–199. doi:10.1525/curh.1998.97.619.193. S2CID 146274596. ProQuest 200705711.
  8. ^ a b Schatzberg, Michael G. (1997). "Beyond Mobutu: Kabila and the Congo". Journal of Democracy. 8 (4): 70–84. doi:10.1353/jod.1997.0065. S2CID 154740659.
  9. ^ a b Nguh, Augustin (December 2013). "Corruption and Infrastructure Megaprojects in the DR Congo" (PDF). International Rivers.
  10. ^ a b c Matti (2010). "The Democratic Republic of the Congo? Corruption, Patronage, and Competitive Authoritarianism in the DRC". Africa Today. 56 (4): 42–61. doi:10.2979/aft.2010.56.4.42. S2CID 153894995.
  11. ^ Reyntjens, Filip (2001). "Briefing: The Democratic Republic of Congo, from Kabila to Kabila". African Affairs. 100 (399): 311–317. doi:10.1093/afraf/100.399.311. JSTOR 3518770.
  12. ^ Dizolele, Mvemba (July 2010). "The Mirage of Democracy in the DRC" (PDF). Journal of Democracy. 21 (3): 143–157. doi:10.1353/jod.0.0189. S2CID 154018859 – via National Endowment for Democracy and The Johns Hopkins University Press.
  13. ^ Mills, Greg (February 2002). "Africa Portal". Africa Portal. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  14. ^ Christensen, Christian (2004). "Political Victims and Media Focus: The Killings of Laurent Kabila, Zoran Djindjic, Anna Lindh and Pim Fortuyn" (PDF). Journal for Crime, Conflict and the Media. 2: 17 – via JC2M.
  15. ^ "Democratic Republic of Congo" (PDF). United Nations.
  16. ^ "Congo's pricey passport scheme sends millions of dollars offshore". Reuters. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  17. ^ "Vital Kamerhe: DRC president's chief of staff found guilty of corruption". BBC News. 20 June 2020.
  18. ^ "DRC: Under what conditions has Vital Kamerhe been released?". The Africa Report.com. 7 December 2021.
  19. ^ "DRC: Investigation opens on Joseph Kabila over $138 million embezzlement". Africanews. 24 November 2021.
  20. ^ ""Democratic Republic of the Congo (2017)"". Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  21. ^ ""Democratic Republic of the Congo (2018)"". Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  22. ^ ""Democratic Republic of the Congo (2019)"". Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  23. ^ ""Democratic Republic of the Congo (2020)"". Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  24. ^ ""Democratic Republic of the Congo (2021)"". Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  25. ^ ""Democratic Republic of the Congo (2022)"". Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  26. ^ ""Democratic Republic of the Congo (2023)"". Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  27. ^ "The ABCs of the CPI: How the Corruption Perceptions Index is calculated". Transparency.org. Retrieved 2024-02-22.

External links edit

  • Interactive world map of the Corruption Perception Index

March 08, 2024
corruption, democratic, republic, congo, this, article, needs, updated, please, help, update, this, article, reflect, recent, events, newly, available, information, june, 2020, which, used, institutionalized, part, state, been, relatively, lowered, recent, yea. This article needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information June 2020 Corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which used to be an institutionalized part of the state has been relatively lowered in recent years However it continues to exceed corruption in comparison to most states The BBC s DRC country profile calls its recent history one of civil war and corruption 1 President Joseph Kabila established the Commission of Repression of Economic Crimes upon his ascension to power in 2001 2 Contents 1 History 1 1 The Mobutu era 1965 1997 1 2 The Kabila Era 1997 2019 1 3 After Kabilas 2019 1 4 Corruption Perceptions Index 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksHistory editThe Mobutu era 1965 1997 edit Mobutu Sese Seko ruled Zaire from 1965 to 1997 looting his country s wealth for personal use to such a degree that critics coined the term kleptocracy A relative once explained how the government illicitly collected revenue Mobutu would ask one of us to go to the bank and take out a million We d go to an intermediary and tell him to get five million He would go to the bank with Mobutu s authority and take out ten Mobutu got one and we took the other nine 3 The Congolese explained the lack of support from the government by the humorous article 15 Debrouillez vous Figure it yourself Mobutu institutionalized corruption to prevent political rivals from challenging his control leading to an economic collapse in 1996 4 Mobutu allegedly stole up to US 4 billion while in office 5 The Kabila Era 1997 2019 edit Laurent Kabila led an insurgent group against Mobutu and quickly assumed power after Mobutu was overthrown 6 During this time period Kabila issued a statement making himself president with near absolute power in the government 7 With people supporting him for overthrowing Mobutu he was not initially met with much public opposition 8 However Kabila s and his government s goals for the regime were said to be unclear and vague 8 He refused immediate elections in fear of the country returning to Mobutuism and continued to postpone promised elections 7 The constitution was not changed and he and his peers exploited resources for their personal benefit 9 Laurent Kabila led a regime that upheld corruption through clientelism by appointing his clients as cabinet members 10 Under the Kabila regime the DRC has failed to pull itself out of its collapsed state status from when Mobutu was in power 11 The government has not implemented security and human rights reforms free media and the decentralization of power 12 The economy plummeted forcing workers to be underpaid and living conditions to deteriorate 13 Laurent Kabila was killed in 2001 by one of his body guards in an attempted coup d etat 14 During that time period The Democratic Republic of Congo received a score of 1 9 out of 10 in the Corruption Perception Index which reveals high levels of corruption 10 His son Joseph Kabila was elected president after Laurent Kabila s death 6 Joseph Kabila is working with the World Bank to curtail corruption and improve economy 15 In addition the Commission of Economic Crimes was implemented in 2001 by President Joseph Kabila Nonetheless there are still reports of high ranking officials exploiting resources for their personal benefit and other forms of corruption 9 In 2006 the constitution changed the president s minimum age from 35 to 30 years old to include Joseph Kabila who was 33 at the time 10 In 2017 Reuters exposed a scheme involving overpriced biometric passports 16 After Kabilas 2019 edit In June 2020 a court in the Democratic Republic of Congo found President Felix Tshisekedi s chief of staff Vital Kamerhe guilty of corruption He was sentenced to 20 years hard labor after facing charges of embezzling almost 50m 39m of public funds He was the most high profile figure to be convicted of corruption in the DRC 17 However Kamerhe was released already in December 2021 18 In November 2021 a judicial investigation targeting former president Joseph Kabila and his associates was opened in Kinshasa after revelations of alleged embezzlement of 138 million 19 Corruption Perceptions Index edit Main article Corruption Perceptions Index Year Score Rank2017 21 161 20 2018 20 161 21 2019 18 168 22 2020 18 170 23 2021 19 169 24 2022 20 166 25 2023 20 162 26 The table above shows how the Democratic Republic of the Congo fared in seven successive years of Transparency International s ranking of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index Countries are scored on a scale from 0 highly corrupt to 100 very clean and then ranked by score the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector 27 See also editResource Extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo passport Corruption in AngolaGeneral Crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Kleptocracy International Anti Corruption Academy Group of States Against Corruption International Anti Corruption Day ISO 37001 Anti bribery management systems United Nations Convention against Corruption OECD Anti Bribery Convention Transparency InternationalReferences edit DR Congo country profile BBC News 10 February 2016 Retrieved 29 July 2016 Werve Jonathan 2006 The Corruption Notebooks 2006 p 57 Ludwig Arnold M 2002 King of the Mountain The Nature of Political Leadership p 72 Nafziger E Wayne Raimo Frances Stewart 2000 War Hunger and Displacement The Origins of Humanitarian Emergencies p 261 Mesquita Bruce Bueno de 2003 The Logic of Political Survival p 167 a b Isango Eddy December 7 2006 Kabila Promises New Era for Congo PDF Antigenocide org a b Rosenblum Peter May 1998 Kabila s Congo Current History 97 619 193 199 doi 10 1525 curh 1998 97 619 193 S2CID 146274596 ProQuest 200705711 a b Schatzberg Michael G 1997 Beyond Mobutu Kabila and the Congo Journal of Democracy 8 4 70 84 doi 10 1353 jod 1997 0065 S2CID 154740659 a b Nguh Augustin December 2013 Corruption and Infrastructure Megaprojects in the DR Congo PDF International Rivers a b c Matti 2010 The Democratic Republic of the Congo Corruption Patronage and Competitive Authoritarianism in the DRC Africa Today 56 4 42 61 doi 10 2979 aft 2010 56 4 42 S2CID 153894995 Reyntjens Filip 2001 Briefing The Democratic Republic of Congo from Kabila to Kabila African Affairs 100 399 311 317 doi 10 1093 afraf 100 399 311 JSTOR 3518770 Dizolele Mvemba July 2010 The Mirage of Democracy in the DRC PDF Journal of Democracy 21 3 143 157 doi 10 1353 jod 0 0189 S2CID 154018859 via National Endowment for Democracy and The Johns Hopkins University Press Mills Greg February 2002 Africa Portal Africa Portal Retrieved 2018 10 11 Christensen Christian 2004 Political Victims and Media Focus The Killings of Laurent Kabila Zoran Djindjic Anna Lindh and Pim Fortuyn PDF Journal for Crime Conflict and the Media 2 17 via JC2M Democratic Republic of Congo PDF United Nations Congo s pricey passport scheme sends millions of dollars offshore Reuters 13 April 2017 Retrieved 14 April 2017 Vital Kamerhe DRC president s chief of staff found guilty of corruption BBC News 20 June 2020 DRC Under what conditions has Vital Kamerhe been released The Africa Report com 7 December 2021 DRC Investigation opens on Joseph Kabila over 138 million embezzlement Africanews 24 November 2021 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2017 Retrieved 2022 03 06 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2018 Retrieved 2022 03 06 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2019 Retrieved 2022 03 06 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2020 Retrieved 2022 03 06 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2021 Retrieved 2022 03 06 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2022 Retrieved 2023 02 01 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2023 Retrieved 2024 02 22 The ABCs of the CPI How the Corruption Perceptions Index is calculated Transparency org Retrieved 2024 02 22 External links editInteractive world map of the Corruption Perception Index Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo amp oldid 1209695446, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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