Am resistent to change...like most people are. This April, I reluctantly moved with my husband to Lubumbashi, his new place of work at a Copper Plant. I was assured and re-assured that we would move back to India when I chose to. Brave words, I must say, considering am a very fussy customer. Today, after 6 months I do not regret moving here, must admit I miss some of the finer nuances of life. The 1st week of our existence here, I did think we were going back home sooner than desired. Today am enjoying the people, the landscape and the adventure that goes with discovering a new place. Lubumbashi is the 2nd largest City in The Democratic Republic of the Congo...fomerly called Zaire. Before I welcome you to Lubumbashi, I need to introduce you to its Country.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a nation located in Central Africa. It is the 3rd largest Country in Africa by area, after Sudan and Algeria and the 12th largest in the World. The DRC, with its population of nearly 71million is the 18th most populous nation in the world and the 4th most populous nation in Africa, as well as the most populous officially Francophone Country.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is often referred to as DR Congo, or Congo-Kinshasa after the capital of Kinshasa (in contrast to Congo-Brazzaville for its neighbour). It also borders the Central African Republic and Sudan to the North, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi in the East, Zambia and Angola to the South, and is separated from Tanzania by Lake Tanganyika in the East. The Country enjoys a short Atlantic coastline (37km) at Muanda in the West and a roughly nine-km wide mouth of River Congo, which opens into the Gulf of Guinea.
The Congo River is the deepest in the World and is 2nd only to the Amazon River in terms of volume of water discharged, gets its name from the ancient Kingdom of Kongo which inhabited the lands at the mouth of the River. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and The Republic of the Congo lie along the River's banks, and are hence named after it. The River and its tributaries flow through the Congo Rainforest, the 2nd largest in the world, 2nd only to the Amazon in South America.
The Country became a Belgian Colony 1n 1908 and was known as The Belgian Congo till 1960. In May 1960, in a growing nationalist movement, the MNC Party led by Patrice Lumumba won the Parliamentary Elections. The party appointed Lumumba as Prime Minister. On 17 January 1961, Katangan Forces and Belgian Paratroops supported by the United States and Belgium's intent on copper and diamond mines in Katanga and South Kasai kidnapped and executed Patrice Lumumba.
A constitutional referendum after Joseph Mobutu's coup of 1965 resulted in the Country's official name being changed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1971 it was changed again to Republic of Zaïre, its 4th name change in 11 years and its 6th overall. The Congo River was renamed the Zaire River. He turned Zaire into a springboard for operations against Soviet-backed Angola and thereby ensured US backing. But he also made Zaire synonymous with corruption. Mobutu retained his position for 32 years through several sham elections and the use of brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war brought in a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from Rwanda and Burundi. After the Cold War, Zaire ceased to be of interest to the US. In 1997 when neighbouring Rwanda invaded Zaire to flush out extremist Hutu militias, it gave a boost to the anti-Mobutu rebels, who quickly captured the capital Kinshasa, installed Laurent Kabila as President and renamed the country The Democratic Republic of the Congo, since it was thought that Zaire was a painful reminder of the Mobutu regime.
A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DRC, Congolese armed rebel groups, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. A rift between Kabila and his former allies sparked a new rebellion, backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe took Kabila's side, turning the Country into a vast battleground. Laurent Kabila was assasinated in January 2001.
Laurent Kabila's son, Joseph Kabila was named Head of State. In October 2002, the new President was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying Eastern Congo, two months later the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a Government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003 with Joseph Kabila as President and 4 Vice-Presidents represented the former Government, former Rebel Groups, the Political Opposition and Civil society. The Transitional Government held a successful constitutional referendum in December 2005 and elections for the Presidency, National Assembly, and Provincial Legislatures in 2006. The National Assembly was installed in September 2006 and Kabila was inaugurated President in December 2006. Provincial Assemblies were constituted and elected Governors and National Senators in January 2007.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently the poorest country in the world. After years of conflict, people may still be dying at a rate of an estimated 45000 per month. The war claimed an estimated three million lives, either as a direct result of fighting or because of disease and malnutrition. It has been called possibly the worst emergency to unfold in Africa in recent decades. Reports indicate that almost half of the individuals who have died are children under the age of 5. The aftermath of the war has gutted the Country. This death rate has prevailed since efforts at rebuilding the nation began in 2004.
President Kabila began implementing reforms, although progress has been slow and the International Monetary Fund curtailed their program for the DRC at the end of March 2006 because of fiscal overruns. Much economic activity still occurs in the informal sector, and is not reflected in GDP data. Renewed activity in the mining sector, the source of most export income, boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth from 2006-2008, however, the Government's review of mining contracts that began in 2006, combined with a fall in world market prices for the DRC's key mineral exports inflicted major damage on the sector. An uncertain legal framework, corruption, a lack of transparency in Government Policy are long-term problems for the mining sector and the economy as a whole. The global recession cut economic growth in 2009 to less than half its 2008 level, but donor assistance and diligence on the part of the Central Bank have brought foreign exchange reserves to their highest levels in 25years after the financial crisis caused reserves to fall to less than one day's worth of imports in early 2009. The DRC signed a new Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF this year.
The Heads of the Great Lakes States and UN pledged in 2004 to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the region, including Northeast Congo, where the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), organized in 1999, maintains over 16500 uniformed peacekeepers, members of Uganda's Lords Resistance Army forces continue to seek refuge in Congo's Garamba National Park as peace talks with the Uganda government evolve. The location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite. Uganda and DRC dispute Rukwanzi Island in Lake Albert and other areas on the Semliki River with hydrocarbon potential. The Boundary Commission continues discussions over Congolese-administered triangle of land on the right bank of the Lunkinda river claimed by Zambia near the DRC village of Pweto. Coup attempts and sporadic violence heralded renewed fighting in the eastern part of the country in 2008. In an attempt to bring the situation under control, the government in January 2009 invited in troops from Rwanda to help mount a joint operation against the Rwandan rebel Hutu militias active in eastern DR Congo. Rwanda arrested the Hutu militias' main rival, Gen Nkunda. However, the Eastern areas still remain beset by violence.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a source and destination Country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Much of this trafficking occurs within the Country's unstable Eastern Provinces and is perpetrated by armed groups outside Government Control. The Government lacks sufficient financial, technical, and human resources to effectively address not only trafficking crimes, but also to provide basic levels of security in some parts of the Country.
One of Africa's biggest producers of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption, traffickers exploit lax shipping controls to transit pseudoephedrine through the Capital, while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the Banking System vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the Country's utility as a money-laundering centre.
Joseph Kabila has enjoyed the clear support of Western Governments such as the US and France, regional allies such as South Africa and Angola and businessmen and mining magnates who have signed multi-million dollar deals under his rule. He has promised to rule by consensus to try to heal the still raw scars of Congo's many conflicts.
•Full name - Democratic Republic of the Congo
•Population - 66 million (UN 2009)
•Capital - Kinshasa
•Area - 2.34 million sq km (905,354 sq miles)
•Major languages - French, Lingala, Kiswahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba
•Major religions - Christianity, Islam
•Life expectancy -46 years (men), 49 years (women) (UN)
•Monetary unit - 1USD = 900 Congolese Francs
•Main exports - Diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil
•GNI per capita - US $150 (World Bank, 2008)
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a nation located in Central Africa. It is the 3rd largest Country in Africa by area, after Sudan and Algeria and the 12th largest in the World. The DRC, with its population of nearly 71million is the 18th most populous nation in the world and the 4th most populous nation in Africa, as well as the most populous officially Francophone Country.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is often referred to as DR Congo, or Congo-Kinshasa after the capital of Kinshasa (in contrast to Congo-Brazzaville for its neighbour). It also borders the Central African Republic and Sudan to the North, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi in the East, Zambia and Angola to the South, and is separated from Tanzania by Lake Tanganyika in the East. The Country enjoys a short Atlantic coastline (37km) at Muanda in the West and a roughly nine-km wide mouth of River Congo, which opens into the Gulf of Guinea.
The Congo River is the deepest in the World and is 2nd only to the Amazon River in terms of volume of water discharged, gets its name from the ancient Kingdom of Kongo which inhabited the lands at the mouth of the River. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and The Republic of the Congo lie along the River's banks, and are hence named after it. The River and its tributaries flow through the Congo Rainforest, the 2nd largest in the world, 2nd only to the Amazon in South America.
The Country became a Belgian Colony 1n 1908 and was known as The Belgian Congo till 1960. In May 1960, in a growing nationalist movement, the MNC Party led by Patrice Lumumba won the Parliamentary Elections. The party appointed Lumumba as Prime Minister. On 17 January 1961, Katangan Forces and Belgian Paratroops supported by the United States and Belgium's intent on copper and diamond mines in Katanga and South Kasai kidnapped and executed Patrice Lumumba.
A constitutional referendum after Joseph Mobutu's coup of 1965 resulted in the Country's official name being changed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1971 it was changed again to Republic of Zaïre, its 4th name change in 11 years and its 6th overall. The Congo River was renamed the Zaire River. He turned Zaire into a springboard for operations against Soviet-backed Angola and thereby ensured US backing. But he also made Zaire synonymous with corruption. Mobutu retained his position for 32 years through several sham elections and the use of brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war brought in a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from Rwanda and Burundi. After the Cold War, Zaire ceased to be of interest to the US. In 1997 when neighbouring Rwanda invaded Zaire to flush out extremist Hutu militias, it gave a boost to the anti-Mobutu rebels, who quickly captured the capital Kinshasa, installed Laurent Kabila as President and renamed the country The Democratic Republic of the Congo, since it was thought that Zaire was a painful reminder of the Mobutu regime.
A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DRC, Congolese armed rebel groups, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. A rift between Kabila and his former allies sparked a new rebellion, backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe took Kabila's side, turning the Country into a vast battleground. Laurent Kabila was assasinated in January 2001.
Laurent Kabila's son, Joseph Kabila was named Head of State. In October 2002, the new President was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying Eastern Congo, two months later the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a Government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003 with Joseph Kabila as President and 4 Vice-Presidents represented the former Government, former Rebel Groups, the Political Opposition and Civil society. The Transitional Government held a successful constitutional referendum in December 2005 and elections for the Presidency, National Assembly, and Provincial Legislatures in 2006. The National Assembly was installed in September 2006 and Kabila was inaugurated President in December 2006. Provincial Assemblies were constituted and elected Governors and National Senators in January 2007.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently the poorest country in the world. After years of conflict, people may still be dying at a rate of an estimated 45000 per month. The war claimed an estimated three million lives, either as a direct result of fighting or because of disease and malnutrition. It has been called possibly the worst emergency to unfold in Africa in recent decades. Reports indicate that almost half of the individuals who have died are children under the age of 5. The aftermath of the war has gutted the Country. This death rate has prevailed since efforts at rebuilding the nation began in 2004.
President Kabila began implementing reforms, although progress has been slow and the International Monetary Fund curtailed their program for the DRC at the end of March 2006 because of fiscal overruns. Much economic activity still occurs in the informal sector, and is not reflected in GDP data. Renewed activity in the mining sector, the source of most export income, boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth from 2006-2008, however, the Government's review of mining contracts that began in 2006, combined with a fall in world market prices for the DRC's key mineral exports inflicted major damage on the sector. An uncertain legal framework, corruption, a lack of transparency in Government Policy are long-term problems for the mining sector and the economy as a whole. The global recession cut economic growth in 2009 to less than half its 2008 level, but donor assistance and diligence on the part of the Central Bank have brought foreign exchange reserves to their highest levels in 25years after the financial crisis caused reserves to fall to less than one day's worth of imports in early 2009. The DRC signed a new Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF this year.
The Heads of the Great Lakes States and UN pledged in 2004 to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the region, including Northeast Congo, where the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), organized in 1999, maintains over 16500 uniformed peacekeepers, members of Uganda's Lords Resistance Army forces continue to seek refuge in Congo's Garamba National Park as peace talks with the Uganda government evolve. The location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite. Uganda and DRC dispute Rukwanzi Island in Lake Albert and other areas on the Semliki River with hydrocarbon potential. The Boundary Commission continues discussions over Congolese-administered triangle of land on the right bank of the Lunkinda river claimed by Zambia near the DRC village of Pweto. Coup attempts and sporadic violence heralded renewed fighting in the eastern part of the country in 2008. In an attempt to bring the situation under control, the government in January 2009 invited in troops from Rwanda to help mount a joint operation against the Rwandan rebel Hutu militias active in eastern DR Congo. Rwanda arrested the Hutu militias' main rival, Gen Nkunda. However, the Eastern areas still remain beset by violence.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a source and destination Country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Much of this trafficking occurs within the Country's unstable Eastern Provinces and is perpetrated by armed groups outside Government Control. The Government lacks sufficient financial, technical, and human resources to effectively address not only trafficking crimes, but also to provide basic levels of security in some parts of the Country.
One of Africa's biggest producers of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption, traffickers exploit lax shipping controls to transit pseudoephedrine through the Capital, while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the Banking System vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the Country's utility as a money-laundering centre.
Joseph Kabila has enjoyed the clear support of Western Governments such as the US and France, regional allies such as South Africa and Angola and businessmen and mining magnates who have signed multi-million dollar deals under his rule. He has promised to rule by consensus to try to heal the still raw scars of Congo's many conflicts.
•Full name - Democratic Republic of the Congo
•Population - 66 million (UN 2009)
•Capital - Kinshasa
•Area - 2.34 million sq km (905,354 sq miles)
•Major languages - French, Lingala, Kiswahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba
•Major religions - Christianity, Islam
•Life expectancy -46 years (men), 49 years (women) (UN)
•Monetary unit - 1USD = 900 Congolese Francs
•Main exports - Diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil
•GNI per capita - US $150 (World Bank, 2008)
Compiled from Central Intelligence Agency - The World Factfile Report, Wikipedia and BBC News
