Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0416/04161.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 33KB | 546 lines

$Unique_ID{COW04161}
$Pretitle{267}
$Title{Zaire
Chapter 2A.   Government and Politics}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Margarita Dobert}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{mobutu
political
government
army
students
president
shaba
first
foreign
national}
$Date{1978}
$Log{Monkey, Central Zaire*0416101.scf
}
Country:     Zaire
Book:        Zaire, A Country Study
Author:      Margarita Dobert
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1978

Chapter 2A.   Government and Politics

[See Monkey, Central Zaire: Monkey, Central Zaire]

     A promising start and steady consolidation of power followed by serious
upsets and erosion of support characterized President Mobutu Sese Seko's first
thirteen years as Zaire's ruler. Taking over in 1965 after five years of
turmoil, he dealt successfully with all forces that might present a threat,
such as the Catholic Church, labor unions, ethnically based groups, and
rebellious students. Exalting the prestige and grandeur of the state, of
Zairian nationalism, he presented himself as the savior of a divided nation,
in the image of Charles de Gaulle. Typically he shifted the national
anniversary from June 30, the day of independence, to November 24, the day of
his assumption of power.

     As soon as he felt secure at home, he took a bold radical stance in
foreign affairs, aspiring to become a major voice in the third world. Economic
success, based on high copper prices, underpinned his political ventures.

     He created a rigidly centralized administration reminiscent of Belgian
rule, topped by a single authority figure that Mobutu claimed to be in the
African political tradition. Governing by decree, his words literally were law
His power was absolute, anchored in a constitution of his own inspiration that
made him head of the legislative, executive, and judiciary. Political and
government functions at all levels were fused within a single party over which
the masses had no control and that they tended to view as largely an aspect of
the administration.

     All key positions were held by men who were totally dependent on Mobutu
for their survival. They feared and respected him for his personal courage,
acute political sense, skill at dividing and using people, and his ability to
articulate. Mobutu shifted them at will, allowing no one to develop a personal
power base. Their loyalty to him was bought at a heavy price for the economy
because their positions in the upper echelons of the political-administrative
hierarchy and state enterprises enabled them to enrich themselves in such a
way that income-which might have been invested to benefit the population at
large-was not available for such purposes. Their failures and weaknesses were
documented in secret dossiers assembled by the president's highly efficient
intelligence service.

     Plummeting copper prices in 1974, inflation, fiscal mismanagement,
dislocation caused by Zairianization (see Glossary), a gamble on an
unsuccessful participant in the Angola civil war in 1975, and a lamentable
showing of the army during the first Shaba invasion of 1977 combined to
undermine Mobutu's power. Anger and demoralization erupted in a series of
plots. Mobutu dealt with his enemies, actual and presumed, with increasing
severity and tried to ride out the economic and political crises at home.
Abroad, he showed a low profile, his dreams of leadership in Africa shattered.
He was forced to reassume dependency on Western powers who feared that his
fall might create a vast political vacuum in the center of the continent. A
second Shaba invasion in May 1978 brought the vulnerability of the regime into
even sharper focus and dealt a serious blow to the economy by temporarily
stopping mining operations at Kolwezi.

Political Geography

     Since independence the former Belgian Congo has been known successively
as the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and, since October
27, 1971, as the Republic of Zaire. The term zaire, which has been the name of
the currency since 1967, is based on a corrupted version of the Bantu word
nzari for river. Names of cities were also changed in 1971 and 1972 (see table
A, Preface). The boundaries with nine states have been demarcated, most of
them following such natural features as major rivers, lakes, and streams. The
nation claims territorial waters extending for twelve nautical miles from its
short (thirty-seven-kilometer) coastline on the Atlantic Ocean (see fig. 1).

     Internally the country is organized into eight regions and the autonomous
capital of Kinshasa, which administratively corresponds to a ninth region.
Regions were called provinces before July 19, 1972, and there had been six at
the time of independence. To remove causes for ethnic dissension, their number
was increased to twenty-one in June 1963. But in the course of renewed
centralization, the number was reduced to twelve in April 1966 and on December
24 of the same year to eight. In October 1971 and January 1972, during the
general changeover from European to African names, Orientale became
Haut-Zaire; Central, Bas-Zaire; and Katanga was renamed Shaba.

     Regions are subdivided into subregions (formerly called districts) and
subregions into zones (formerly called territories or communes). In 1978 there
were thirty-eight subregions of which thirteen comprised major towns and their
environs. There were 134 zones, a number of which were urban.

Political Dynamics

Political Developments, 1965-78

     On November 24, 1965, the military high command of the Armee Nationale
Congolaise (ANC) proclaimed the dissolution of the existing government and the
installation of General Joseph-Desire Mobutu as chief of state, replacing
President Joseph Kasavubu. A state of emergency was declared, and the military
leaders announced that, in order to restore national unity and end the
confusion brought about by political and ethnic rivalries, the new government
would remain in power for a period of five years. Although there was no
immediate elucidation of the political and ideological orientations of the new
regime, the leaders asserted that they had no intention of developing a
military dictatorship and that the institutions of government would continue
to function in accordance with the 1964 constitution. President Mobutu
declared that his action was not a military coup but a duty performed in order
to save the country from further chaos and anarchy.

Consolidation of Government Control

     After the assumption of power by the new leadership, all political
activities were banned. Colonel Leonard Mulamba, named by President Mobutu to
the position of prime minister, was charged with the formation of a
"government of national union" to include representatives from each of the
twenty-one provinces and the city of Kinshasa.

     Throughout the early months of the new government the leaders repeatedly
emphasized the drive to create a "new Congo" through common work and
sacrifice. The president called on all government officials to set an example
for the nation by working in the fields. His phrase "Retroussons les manches"
(Let's roll up our sleeves) became the government's slogan.

     After the establishment of the new government there followed a
progressive consolidation of executive, administrative, and political
functions by which political power was increasingly centralized in the office
of the president. The portfolio for national defense, as well as the direct
control of the security police, was taken over by the president. He further
assumed the power to rule by decrees that would have the force of law, thus
effectively eliminating the decisionmaking role of parliament.

     Official policy was initiated by the president rather than in the office
of the prime minister, and the government was identified, both at home and
abroad, with the personal role of Mobutu. In October 1966 the office of prime
minister was eliminated, and its powers were taken over by the president.

     Central government co