In the age of globalization and development, almost 80% of world populations are living in poverty. In the 20th century, after decolonization when most of the countries got their independency, it did not work how they wanted to. Most of the countries especially African countries, fell into deep poverty and debt which they could not stand on their feet. This paper will shed lights on the economic struggles of democratic republic of Congo and the reasons behind it then suggest some solutions.
Bottom billion countries is a term that is used to referring to those countries which are falling behind or falling apart economically (Collier 2007). One of the most apparent bottom billion countries is The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) formally known as Zaire , it is the second biggest country in Africa with a population of 65 million (Shah 2010). DRC had been colonized by Belgium Empire and that period had long term political and economic affects not to mention cultural and language control. Furthermore, at the period of colonization, DRC was extracted from most of its natural resources and the people were treated as slaves for almost a century and that went on till the 1960’s. After the 1960’s, when most of Africa including Zaire got their independency, the problems of running a country on their own started in addition to the rise of many other issues. Therefore, (Collier 2007) categorizes the problems that are holding back the bottom billion countries into four categories and called them traps. The traps are; the conflict trap, natural resources Trap, landlocked with bad neighbors and bad governance trap. in addition to the traps that Collier mentioned, Sachs (2005,56) has identified few other traps like Cultural barriers, geopol...
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...ferent circumstances. Traps of conflict, natural resources, landlocked and bad governance has impacted deeply on the economic development and improvement in Congo due to past and present problems and issues. In this paper, the traps that are holding back Congo along with some of solutions were mentioned and discussed briefly.
Works Cited
-Collier, Paul. The Bottom Billion. New York: Oxford University press, 2007.
-Katunga, John. "report from Africa." Wilson Center. Vol. 12. Wilson Center, n.d.
-Nibishaka, Emmanuel. "Natural resources and conflict in the Democratci Republic of Congo(DRC)." Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung. 2011.
-Sachs, Jeffery. The end of poverty. New York: the penguin press, 2005.
-Shah, Anup. The Democratic Republic of Congo. Global issues, 2010.
-Williams, Christopher. "Explaining the great war in Africa." Fletcherforum. Vol. 37:2. 2013.
This relates back to Congo, where violence spurred by ethnic rivalries is due to local groups’ desire to make money by getting into the extractive industries. In another example, Newmont, an American company, mines Ghanaian gold and pays the government part of the profits. Here, Burgis shined the spotlight on an environmental issue: the sodium cyanide spill in Kwamebourkrom that killed aquatic life and posed hazardous living conditions for locals (Burgis, 134). Finally, in the last few chapters, Burgis touched on Cecil John Rhodes’ legacy as the founder of De Beers, blood diamonds, imperialism, and violence carried out by local governments and mining companies in order to protect their interests.
The country of Uganda is a struggling nation and has adversities with their living conditions, economy, and politics. Uganda uses a republic form of government. It has a mixed legal system of English common law and customary law. The country has a plethora of natural resources “including fertile soils, regular rainfall, small deposits of copper, gold, and other minerals, and recently discovered oil” (“CIA World Factbook”).The country itself has the potential to become wealthy and more powerful, but before you can access and use these resources, you first need to improve the living conditions for the people of the country. In order to do this the country is currently attempting to stabilize the economy by undertaking an economic reform. However, “unreliable power, high energy costs, inadequate transportation infrastructure, and corruption inhibit economic development and investor confidence”(CIA World Factbook). Once again, many small things need to be changed and fixed before the achievement of the final goal of improving the economy is remotely possible. Overall the...
Economic ways started in the nineteenth century, still have a hold on the countries of the sub-Sahara today. These countries are all impoverished and have seen horrific civil wars, however, the general consensus is that they are making slow improvements in their economy. The starvation, overpopulation and health problems are still very evident. Perhaps continued assistance coupled with education and protection will keep them on the road to stability and more rewarding lives for their citizens.
This is a tale of horror and tragedy in the Congo, beginning with the brutal and exploitative regime of King Leopold II of Belgium, and culminating with the downfall of one of Africa’s most influential figures, Patrice Lumumba. The Congo is but one example of the greater phenomenon of European occupation of Africa. The legacy of this period gives rise to persistent problems in the Congo and throughout Africa. Understanding the roots and causes of this event, as focused through the lense of the Congo, is the subject of this paper.
Since Congo’s independence in 1960, its history has been marked by a series of political conflicts. The economy of Congo, a nation endowed with resources of vast potential wealth has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The two political conflicts (first and second Congo wars), which began in 1996, have dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, have increased external debt, and have resulted in deaths of more than one million people.
In 1960, the Congolese finally became independent. They were no longer under Belgian rule. They finally got control over their own government, education, and resources. However, they did not have any political structure. They did not have agreeing institutions. They did not want to work together which led to a lot of civil war. The villages in the Congo are divided and don’t agree which leads to these wars. It is all because of the Belgian’s who ruled before. Many belgian’s still have high roles in the government and military of the Congo.
This project contains material from a variety of sources. Two of these sources include a newspaper article from the New York Times and a document found on the database ELibrary. The newspaper article, titled Congo’s War Turns to Brutal Killings on City’s Streets, is a primary source that was created by Norimitsu Onishi at the New York Times newspaper with the intention of informing people about the wars in the DRC. It was published August 28, 1998, the day after the events written about occurred. This document exists to inform the readers of the New York Times about the events happening in the DRC at the time of publication. The author thought that men and women over the age of about 25 would be reading this. In general, most people do not have the interest in
There is a mix of both the wealthy and non wealthy in each area but between rural and urban areas of Congo, majority of those who are in poverty live in the rural areas and the rich lives in the urban. As well, there are different regions in this country that majority of the poor and rich are located. The North currently has the most amounts of those who are in poverty living in this region with 50.1%. BZV appears to have the most amount of the rich living in this region with 41.4%Only about 30% of the population has access to healthcare and with HIV/AIDs and other infectious diseases being common, over 120, 000 individuals cannot seek health care. As little as 14%, those are the ones living in what would be considered as “healthier” environments in Congo.
The Congolese economy is excessively based in the oil sector, which represents about 52% of its GDP, 85% of its exports, and 70% of public revenue. The industry, non-oil sector, despite to Congo’s great potential is underdeveloped. The GDP was $12.6 billion and GDP per capita $3,700. Formerly ranked as a lower-middle- income country, per capita income has declined steadily since the late 1980s. The inflation and annual real growth were respectively 2.6% and -1.6%. We may significantly notice that more of the Congolese economic activities are not reflected the in GDP data and took place in the informal sector. The GDP by sector was represented as follow, industry (65%), agriculture (5%), and services
Embroiled in “Africa’s World War” for decades now; the Congolese are no strangers to instability and violence. Located in the heart of Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (commonly known as ‘Congo’) has for decades also been the centre of conflict in the formerly known ‘dark continent’.
Prior to 1960, Belgium and their King, Leopold ruled the Congo region. They held great interests in the rubber industry and created harsh labor camps that exploited the people. That is why after gaining independence in 1960, the nation then known as Zaire plunged into chaos. Military unrest coupled with oppressive warlord throughout the region made it a very unstable state, ready to collapse. Nowadays, U.N. peacekeeping forces hold posts in the nation to maintain its stability. The United States has had foreign relations with the country from 1960 and has signed many treaties to help promote growth in the region. One such document is the Peace, Security and Cooperation framework that exists between the United States and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as 10 other African nations. I believe that The Peace, Security and Cooperation framework definitely helps to promote the United States best interest in the DRC due to access to oil, prevention of military destabilization in the region as well as benefits from African businesses.
From 1965 up until present day, the Congo’s fate has exchanged from hand to hand due to weak, unstable, and changing governments ("D.R. Congo Backgrounder"). No matter the government in charge, the Congo always falls to misfortune with its native people paying the cost. Today, the Congolese people continue to be exploited due to the abundance of natural resources found on their land. Heavily sought after minerals, often used in electronics, are the modern culprits instigating the violence (Fehr). Competition is rife in areas where tungsten, diamonds, tin, and gold, dubbed “conflict minerals,” are more common (Fehr). Rebel groups constantly fight over the precious resources and often at the Congolese civilians expense. Caught in the crossfire, civilians are severely injured or lose their lives. When a rebel group finally wins their turf, the natives found on it, including children, are forcefully displaced, subjected to sexual violence, enlisted to fight for the rebel army, or enslaved ("D.R. Congo Backgrounder."). Once again, the Congolese people succumb to violence provoked by competition over natural resources.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been and unstable area for decades. Between the wars, conflicts, and armed groups nothing about the country is safe. Armed rebel militias earn millions of dollars more than the country is worth every year by selling conflict minerals. Conflict Minerals are defined as minerals that have been retrieved from areas of war or strife. These minerals could be in our electronics devices, and other products we use everyday. Government troops and militias fight to control the mines, murdering civilians, fracturing the structure of society leaving the country weak. Locals in small, poor communities are exploited or forced into the gruesome mining economy. A statistic estimates that over 50% of the mines have rebel groups stationed in them. Money earned from the sale of conflict minerals is used for personal profit and to create more violence. Minerals are smuggled out of Congo through neighboring countries, then sold to smelters around the world for refinement. Once minerals are processed in this way, it’s difficult to trace their origin. Conflict minerals easily make their way to the U.S. and all over the world in consumer products. Companies need these minerals for as cheap as they can get them. There is no clear solution to the problem, and the issue could go on for decades. The country is weak and corrupted with no where to turn. The alleged Government has worked with the rebels, trying to get whatever money they can, even if it means their own citizens being slaughtered and forced to work. There are no good guy or bad guys, nothing is in black or white, just a murky shade of gray. The entire country is just trying to do whatever it can to survive.
Natural resources found in the heart of Africa drive the European economy and are imperative for a wealthy nation. Rich soil and an abundance of water allow the Congo to cultivate mass amounts of rubber, copper, oil, and other minerals. As a result of high demand, the black man is expected to work at the rate of European industrialization; if he does not meet his quota, the punishment is severe. Now, rubber demands have skyrocketed because of the bicycle, a new mode of modern transport. The Congo’s largest revenue now comes from rubber, yet we neglect the black man who cultivates it. As a commodity, the black man is forced to work strenuous hours to keep up with uncontrollable production demands. Year after year, the Congo is stripped from its most valuable resources through unethical practices. Colonial regimes expose the true cruelty of European rule for the sake of economic
Throughout the chapter the text exerts more emphasis on the economical evaluation of a country's development rather than the alternative method. It begins to branch off quickly into the classification of countries deriving new topics all relating back to the economical approach. Beginning this discussion is the topic of underdevelopment.