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Zaire Conditions of Service
The conditions of service for most Zairian soldiers and
officers are dismal. Even before the chaotic years of the
early
1990s, in which the bankrupt government did not pay most
troops
regularly if at all, inadequate and irregular pay for the
majority
of personnel meant that they must have some source of
outside
income. Such income could come from a variety of
interests, ranging
from legitimate business enterprises to stealing and
reselling
government supplies and equipment. Such practices had an
obvious
negative effect on soldiers' morale and motivation but
also
seriously affected capability and readiness by forcing
soldiers to
spend much of their duty day attempting to make ends meet.
As a
result, training and other service-related matters assumed
second
priority.
In the early 1990s, most military units (except for the
elite
DSP) were paid so infrequently, and when paid were paid
with
worthless zaires, that they felt compelled to loot to
survive.
Aside from the two major military looting rampages in
September
1991 and January-February 1993, smaller-scale banditry and
looting
continued routinely, both in Kinshasa and in other
regions. In
addition, military personnel often resorted to extorting
money from
the citizenry or made private arrangements with local and
foreign
businesses who paid them to act as private guards.
In the past, the situation for some mid- and
senior-level
officers tended to be better. Starting with the rank of
major or
lieutenant colonel, some Zairian officers were able to
secure
outside sources of income, which permitted them to support
their
families. By the time an officer became a colonel, he had
usually
guaranteed himself an adequate income through involvement
in
business by exploiting his military position.
General officers traditionally were in the best
financial
position by far of all Zairian military personnel. First,
they
could profit from their duty assignments by skimming funds
intended
for the soldiers in their organizations, but they were
also well
placed to capitalize on contacts they made to establish
business
connections. For example, a former air force chief of
staff was
reportedly one of the wealthiest and shrewdest businessmen
in
Zaire. Even while he was chief of staff, he owned several
companies, many of which did business with the air force
and other
government agencies. All these business interests,
however, left
little time to run the air force, which reflected this
neglect.
Aside from pay, other conditions of service are also
deplorable. Zairian units rarely are fed two meals a day,
with most
only fed once. In the past, the presence of foreign
advisers often
served to improve this situation somewhat. For example, at
the
Belgian-run Senior Military Schools Group, Zairian
personnel
received three meals daily, which was, however,
exceptional. Many
other benefits designed to offset low salaries either do
not exist
or are sporadic. Free medical care, for example, often
depends on
the presence of foreign advisers, and free medicine,
although
authorized, is rarely available. Housing is also usually
inadequate
to meet the basic needs of the soldiers. Most enlisted
personnel
are forced to live in squalor, and the situation, even for
companygrade officers, is often not much better.
Data as of December 1993
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