Early and Present Leadership of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Mojimba, “King Leopold and the conquest of the Congo”, modern world history, accessed february 16, 2017,

Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest

In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Poisonwood Bible, the reader is introduced to Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo, through the voices of the fictional Price women. Unlike the Price family, Patrice Lumumba was a non-fictional character who was elected and served only 7 months as the Congo’s Prime Minister. His reign was brought short by his execution in 1961. Though his tenure may have been short and occurred more than 50 years ago, Patrice Lumumba remains to this very day, an important man in history.

The definition of Economic Liberalism is the idea of approaching the market with private property, limited government intervention and the encouragement that a free market will be driven by supply and demand fueled by citizens that desire to succeed…. This is the complete opposite approach Leopold took in the Congo. In a free market, there is the notion that it will succeed because the people want to work for their own success. In the Congo, Stanley, Leopold’s consultant doing the groundwork, refers to the locals as lazy and needing guidance while he promotes “the gospel of enterprise,” (68) known today as free enterprise. Almost as if going along with Modernization Theory, he continues to say that they are too idle and the issue is Africans themselves, they are barbaric and clothesless. In a treaty created between the Belgians and the locals through Stanley, they decide the payment for the forced

creates a lack of understanding between the social groups in the Congo and their own

At these moments, life in the Congo is a living nightmare. The eastern provinces of the Congo see violence every day. Women are getting raped at alarming rates. Children are constantly abused and forced to become child soldiers. There are no sources of medicine or even clean water. Anyone can get murdered at any time, and no one is even safe in their own homes.

Over the course of human history, many believe that the “Congo Free State”, which lasted from the 1880s to the early 1900s, was one of the worst colonial states in the age of Imperialism and was one of the worst humanitarian disasters over time. Brutal methods of collecting rubber, which led to the deaths of countless Africans along with Europeans, as well as a lack of concern from the Belgian government aside from the King, combined to create the most potent example of the evils of colonialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s. The Congo colonial experience, first as the Congo Free State then later as Belgian Congo, was harmful to that region of Africa both then and now because of the lack of Belgian and International

The economy was projected to grow at 8.5% from 2011 to 2015. However, the economy only grew at a rate of 2.5% (Kreckel). The inability to reach the projected growth contributes to the nation’s poverty. This is because in the colonial era, no money was made or spent by the people, impacting the nation today. Additionally, the Republic of Congo has the lowest household average salary in the world of $270 per month (“DR Congo”). Again, the low salary can be blamed on King Leopold as he took all the wealth for himself and gave none to the people. Although trade was good under Leopold’s rule, as an independent nation it has dramatically decreased. In 2015, the Republic of Congo made $5.2 million in exports (“The World FactBook”). In the time of imperialism, Leopold made $100 million in exports; which in today’s dollars would be equivalent to 2.9 billion dollars (Kreckel). Today, the Republic of Congo’s economy is struggling. 87% of woman are living off of $1.45 a day (“The World Factbook”). From the time of colonialism to now, the daily amount that people can spend has only increased from $.25 to $1.45. Within 109 years, the Congo has still been unable to make a drastic change in their society. Due to King Leopold’s actions, the people had nothing under his control and still have little

The Democratic Republic of Congo has always been an extremely poor country. They rank as the poorest country in the world but have a high number of natural resources (“World Without Genocide”). The Congo has an unemployment rate of around ninety-five percent, more than half of the Congo people do not have access to clean water, and their mortality rates among children is highest of any country in world (“Congo Voice”). Their economic situation made it even harder for the

The history of the African continent has been marked by imperialism, oppression, violence and revolution. The history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, originally named the Belgian Congo is no different. The Democratic Republic of the Congo lies in the heart

The Eastern Congo is considered a weak state because of the corruption, poverty and war. The Eastern Congo has a large amount of natural resources which should be an asset to the country, but war and rebel groups are feuding over these resources. The corruption and feud over these resources weakens that state. The Eastern Congo has a large amount of farmland that is not utilized and could be used to feed most of Africa, but conflict and control deter the people from utilizing the farmland[1]. The argument over these resources is ultimately affecting the civilians. Many of these disputes have existed for decades. I was astonished to hear that there have been 5.4 million deaths since 1994 in Eastern Congo, most of which are civilians and less

The Dominican Republic of Congo, a rich land, estimated to be worth 24 trillion dollars in its natural resources is ranked one of the lowest on the Human Development Index, 176th out of 187 countries. How? The D.R. Congo’s fluctuating economy directly correlates with its immense war history. Dating past its independence, the D.R. Congo encountered its first struggle beginning in the 1880s when King Leopold II of Belgium controlled the territory. He ruthlessly exploited Congo’s natural resources through autocratic rule and slave labor. However, under pressure from the Belgian government in 1908, he eventually transferred control to

the op is about the upcoming elections in DR Congo with some of the most goals of Sustainable development by UN: mostly the Environment and democracy.

The awareness of market economy has been sluggish, although, the direction needed to change the economy has not yet been a concern by Congo’s government as much as it should be. The policies presented by the World Bank help stimulate the development of the country and fight against corruption. The education and empowerment of women, youth and children should become a political priority. The government does not have a structured political, social, economic and environmental policy that constantly identifies objectives and strategic priorities. Eventually, the trust of the Congo government will find a way to corrupt the policies and ensure their power (World Bank). Poverty and the low standards of the economic and social development of the country have affected the ability of individuals and society to unify. Extended families, village communities and women’s groups are major frameworks of unity and self-organization. Within these customs of self-organization, social trust appears to be high. On a more nationwide scale, matters are very different. Congo remains to be wrecked by social, economic and regional inequalities that are a concern of its one-sided integration into the

Despite several wars and international intervention, the Democratic Republic of Congo is plagued by local violence that has prevented development. Two conflicts in the province of Ituri demonstrate this local violence. The first occurred in 1999 and was a local dispute over land ownership in the wake of Belgian-colonialism. The second occurred in tandem with national violence all over the Congo but was made worst due to previous land disputes, such as that in 1999. Furthermore, it is important to note that the 2004 conflict occurred during the Second Congo war, but it had a decidedly local context. While the Ugandan and Rwandan governments were involved in the conflict at an arm’s length, they prolonged the conflict rather than started it (Human Rights 2003).