Lately I've become increasingly aware of the confounding nature of economics in what is the nation-state of DRC. Ancient tax policies from the era of an economic idiot dictator remain in place more than 12 years after his death. The only taxes which exist are for international trade - of which a huge majority are imports. To make up for it, there are so many taxes that companies usually evade taxes by using illegal means. If they go by legal means - they pay bribes to get a little bit of relief from some of the dozens of taxes. How much of these taxes go into actual human service development? It is a rhetorical question I think...
The "development" of the country is in the hands of Chinese who gave up a little of their fortune for a whole whole lot of the DRC's wealth. Rumor has it that the DRC gov't hardly negotiated and the terms of the contract have not been revealed. The gov't gave access rights to copper mines (for 25 yrs) for 9 billion dollars worth of infrastructure development in a country the size of western Europe that hadn't had any infrastructure development work for 30 years - until this contract was signed in 2005 or so. So they need the 9 billion in infrastructure improvements, but its Chinese leading the road-building while Congolese provide the day labor. The minerals are extracted and leave the country raw. For a country that has so many minerals, a mineral processing industry would be a logical sector to develop, but just like the past 100 years, every commodity crosses out of Congo in nearly its rawest form possible.
World Bank projects fund the rest of the progress. The president talks of 5 Building Sites (Cinq Chantiers) - Education, Health, Infrastructure, Employment and some other sector (should be electricity!?). Its mostly nonsense, since there is basically 0 sign of all the chantiers. None of the chantiers is visible outside of Kinshasa the capital - where the most powerful (or menacing) 8 million of DRC's 70 million residents live. With all these new buildings and roads, who will maintain? with which equipment? Who will pay for it?
On a micro-level, cultural practices still have a negative effect on the economy. Polygamy is still somewhat common - with some grand patrons having 4 wifes and 10-20 kids depending on their virility. Half of the kids are obliged to never finish or even attend school. Also, brides must be bought for a hefty price depending on their beauty. My young colleagues say the system is growing to treat women more and more like merchandise. Once the payment is accepted, the groom has the responsibility to pay for the
While recently celebrating my birthday, I learned that the birthday person has to pay for their party. If you expect presents you've come to the wrong place, because you get a whole lot more questions related to "why didn't you invite me to your party? / where is my beer? " than "how was your birthday?" And its not like what goes around comes around, because most people don't bother to celebrate their birthday. I can't say I blame them with the expense!
There is certainly potential for economic growth with so many people struggling - access to any new item at a reasonable price could bring a fortune to a well-placed and well-funded businessman. The reality is more that people come to Butembo to buy cheap shit from Dubai which usually breaks soon after the people leave. Having no warranties, the people are obliged to come back and buy again the next month or the next year. The businessmen maximise their profits, but the consumers are left to deal with the horrible options available to them. Prices are high because demand is far far higher than the supply. There is so little available startup capital, so people are stuck in poverty trap and can't pursue their ideas.
Tourism - basically forget it - unless you're willing to pay for one of the most expensive visas in the world, be met by harrassing officials at the border, and deal with unreliable, uncomfortable or unreasonably expensive transport or lodging. Look across the eastern border at Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda who have none of the resources of the DRC (except the ones they got from there). These countries have similar natural wonders and huge profits from the tourism sector because they are organized.
Credit? - nope. Insurance? - forget it. Stable currency? - DRC uses the dollar - thats at least a good idea.
The major matters of human security - savings, retirement, health care, are only available to a very few and is nothing like what is available in the west.
This accusing post is just meant to show the reality. I often find myself feeling bad for people here. What can people do other than to pray to God that things change? The territory of DRC was originally set up to be plundered, and in effect, this has never really changed. We must hope!
