With little foreign aid to rebuild the country's shattered economy,
the Kabila government will have to rely on private capital
The project to reconstruct Central Africa is moving painfully slowly and with very little money, over six months after the overthrow of
Mobutu Sese Seko’s regime spurred hopes of a revitalised Congo. While
Laurent-Désiré Kabila’s government has almost unequivocal backing from its neighbours (apart from Sudan) Western states are less convinced. They won’t finance a major reconstruction programme or even offer substantial forgiveness on the US$14.5 billion foreign debt (most of which was squandered by the Mobutu regime when it was a key Cold War ally). Instead, the West, along with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, wants a gradualist approach premised on the Kabila government’s progress in economic and political reform.
With the country deep in debt, what matters now is business and its political links
Helped by a mini-economic boom and political strong-arm tactics, President Henri Konan Bédié is looking more comfortable in power four years after the death of Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Yet...
The death of a detained politician has focused attention on northern discontents
Whatever caused the death of gaoled Northern military politician Shehu Musa Yar'Adua'on 9 December, it has sent a powerful message that Northerners can expect no special favours from...