This year, Mobutu Sese Seko will celebrate his 22nd anniversary as president of Zaire. He has survived a history of eccentric personal and political behavior to become one of the longest-lasting rulers in modern African history. He has also emerged as a key U.S. ally in Africa. This alliance has been forged despite frequent and reliable reports of extraordinary economic mismanagement and widespread human rights violations, conditions that seriously jeopardize U.S. interests in Zaire and the region.
Blessed with natural resources that would enable Zaire to become one of the most prosperous nations in the region, the country has instead been plunged into economic ruin by the profligate habits of Mobutu. Zaire's mines hold more than half of the world's cobalt and a quarter of its industrial diamonds. The country is also rich in gold, silver, oil, copper, and uranium. These resources are mined and exported by a number of multinational companies, including several based in Belgium and the United States.
For some time after Mobutu seized power in the mid-1960s, high world copper prices fueled a robust national economy. But the profits were squandered on elaborate palaces, four-lane highways, stadiums, and monuments to Mobutu. In 1974, he spent $15 million hosting the world boxing championship between Mohammed Ali and George Foreman.
In a continent rife with corruption, Mobutu's self-dealing has become almost legendary. He has, by almost all accounts, become one of the richest men in the world, with a personal fortune estimated to be as high as $5 billion - exceeding Zaire's external debt. His personal holdings include chateaux in Belgium and homes in Switzerland, France, Italy, Senegal, and the Ivory Coast.
An unfortunate model
Mobutu's personal style has established an unfortunate model of behavior that is now widely emulated at every level of society. Those who serve his government also serve themselves. It is said that in Zaire today you need to know two things to survive: whom to see and how much it will cost. The effects of this pervasive, long-term corruption have been devastating.
Half of Zaire's children die before the age of five of malnutrition and disease. In real dollar terms, the average Zairian today earns one-tenth of what he or she earned in 1960. Unemployment is over 40 percent in the capital, Kinshasa, and 80 percent in many outlying cities. In 1986, most non-mine workers in Zaire earned between $7 and $20 a month.
In the last decade, Mobutu's empire has begun to collapse as world copper prices have plunged the country into economic distress. In desperation, Mobutu, who in the 1970s called for an African "authenticity" program, has turned to Europeans to help run the central bank, tax office, and other key ministries.
Despite this assistance, the Zairian economy remains on the brink of disaster. The national treasury frequently runs out of foreign exchange, and the country is simply unable to pay its bills. On several occasions the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sent representatives to Zaire to try to restore order to the country's treasury and Ministry of Finance, but usually its delegations leave in
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