Zaire The Economy
Traditional wooden mask
INDEPENDENT ZAIRE HAS NEVER lived up to its enormous
economic
potential. The political turmoil that followed
independence from
Belgium in 1960 irrevocably disrupted the economy. Even
after
political and civil order was restored by Mobutu Sese Seko
in the
mid-1960s, efforts at economic revival consistently fell
short.
Indeed, the government's misguided and overambitious
economic
policies, first of Zairianization and nationalization of
foreignowned enterprises and then of large-scale
industrialization,
undertaken on the basis of the country's mineral wealth
and at the
expense of the agricultural sector, brought economic
disaster in
their wake. The regime resorted to heavy foreign borrowing
to fund
economic development and grandiose industrial projects.
When the
prices of commodities (especially copper), on which Zaire
was
heavily dependent, dropped drastically in the mid-1970s,
export
earnings and government revenues dropped sharply, and
Zaire faced
a grave economic and financial crisis. Thereafter, the
country,
urged on by Western donors and by the
World Bank (see
Glossary) and
the International Monetary Fund (
IMF--see
Glossary),
attempted a
series of economic reforms and structural adjustments. But
ultimately all efforts at reform or significant change
were
undercut by the
patrimonialism
(see Glossary) and rampant
corruption that characterized the regime.
In the early 1990s, as the regime of President Mobutu
appeared
on the verge of collapse, the economic situation was
desperate. The
country remained heavily indebted and impoverished,
despite its
vast mineral wealth and early economic promise. A large
proportion
of its population lived outside of the formal economy,
eking out a
marginal existence through subsistence agriculture and
informal
trade or barter. The standard of living for most of the
population
was low and continued to decline as inflation skyrocketed.
By most accounts, the export-oriented Zairian economy
has been
in a free-fall for a number of years, suffering the
effects of
monumental, institutional corruption, neglect, and
mismanagement.
But the economic crisis was worsened by the rampant
looting and by
rioting by unpaid troops in late 1991 and again in early
1993,
which in turn led to the mass exodus of the foreign
technicians who
had kept the economy going--in particular copper
production and the
maintenance of economic infrastructure.
By the end of 1992 and throughout 1993, Zaire's economy
was
described as being in ruins, the formal economy having
virtually
ceased to function. The banking system had in essence
collapsed
because of the rampant hyperinflation and drastic fall in
the value
of the currency. Most banks were closed; those that were
open had
no reserves, so only cash transactions were possible.
Shoppers
reportedly circulated in Kinshasa with sackfuls of
virtually
useless paper currency. The central bank, which had in the
past
served as Mobutu's personal piggy bank, was for all
practical
purposes bankrupt. The tax collection system was defunct,
and few
if any customs revenues were collected. Most foreign aid
had been
cut off, and copper production, long the mainstay of the
economy
and the main source of government revenues, had dropped
off
significantly. The government was able to pay its bills
only by
printing new currency. But even that avenue was being
closed off as
foreign printing companies rebelled at printing money
without being
paid.
The effects of the economic chaos on Zairian society
were
enormous. Unemployment and poverty were widespread.
According to
press reports, the public-service sector was no longer
operational.
The economic infrastructure had virtually broken down as
well. The
telephone, electrical, and the transportation systems were
all a
shambles. By some estimates, as little as 10 percent of
the road
network in existence at independence was still
functioning. Road
and rail links between major cities were being overgrown
by the
jungle.
Data as of December 1993
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