Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0418/04183.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 5KB | 98 lines

$Unique_ID{COW04183}
$Pretitle{267}
$Title{Zaire
Glossary}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Eugene K. Keefe}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{value
bank
world
zaire
equaled
lineages

}
$Date{1978}
$Log{}
Country:     Zaire
Book:        Zaire, A Country Study
Author:      Eugene K. Keefe
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1978

Glossary

     clan-A descent group (q.v.) the members of which are putatively descended
from a common ancestor; often comprises a number of lineages (q.v.).

     cuvette-French, basin. Commonly used in work on Zaire in most languages
to refer to the comparatively low area (average elevation about 400 meters)
constituting about a third of Zaire's area and lying south of the great curve
of the Zaire River. The natural vegetation of the entire area is either rain
forest or mixed rain forest and swamp.

     descent group-A unit the members of which are actually or putatively
descended from a common ancestor, in principle either exclusively through
males (patrilineal) or through females (matrilineal). The basic units are
referred to as clans (q.v.) or lineages (q.v.).

     evolue-A French term (lit., developed) used before independence to refer
to those Africans more or less dissociated from traditional institutions,
often with some postprimary education and speaking French. Such persons
usually held white-collar jobs and were primarily urban, but some (e.g.,
government-appointed chiefs and notables) were not.

     FAZ-Forces Armees Zairoises (Armed Forces of Zaire). Overall title for
the army, navy, air force, and gendarmerie-all of which are supervised by the
Department of National Defense and directly subordinate to the president, who
is commander in chief.

     GDP-Gross Domestic Product. The total value of goods and services
produced within a country's borders during a fixed period, usually one year.
Obtained by adding the value contributed by each sector of the economy in the
form of compensation of employees, profits, and depreciation (consumption of
capital). Subsistence production is included and consists of the imputed value
of production by the farm family for its own use and the imputed rental value
of owner-occupied dwellings. In countries lacking sophisticated data-gathering
techniques the total value of GDP is often estimated. GDP differs from Gross
National Product (GNP) in that it includes the value of net-factor payments
(interest, profits, and salary remittances) to non-residents.

     interlacustrine area-roughly the zone lying between the eastern shores of
lakes Idi Amin Dada, Mobutu Sese Seko, Kivu, and the northern end of Lake
Tanganyika on the one hand and the northern, western, and southwestern shores
of Lake Victoria on the other. Locus of the group of indigenous states, large
and small, inhabited by peoples collectively called the interlacustrine Bantu.

     lineage-A descent group (q.v.) the members of which can, in principle,
trace their descent through males from a common male ancestor or through
females from a common female ancestor. Lineages of great generational depth
may include others of lesser depth. In such systems lineages of greater depth
are likely to have different political, social, and economic functions than
lineages of lesser depth.

     World Bank-Name commonly used for the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which is part of the World Bank Group
(q.v.).

     World Bank Group-Consists of the World Bank (q.v.) and its two financial
affiliates, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the International
Development Association (IDA). IFC works with the private sector in developing
countries. IDA operates in the same sectors and with the same policies as the
World Bank but provides credits only to the poorer developing countries and on
easier terms than conventional World Bank loans.

     zaire-Zairian currency unit, introduced on June 24, 1967, replacing the
Congolese franc; Z1 consists of 100 makuta (singular, likuta), designated by
the symbol k. From June 24, 1967, through March 11, 1976, Z1 equaled US$2. On
March 12, 1976, the zaire was pegged to the Special Drawing Right (SDR)
thereby establishing an effective value of Z1 equaled US$1.15 or US$1 equaled
Z0.87. The rate between zaire and dollar was subject to market forces
thereafter, and in May 1978 US$1 equaled Z0.81 or Z1 equaled US$1.235.

     Zairianization-The policy, announced in late 1973, requiring the transfer
of foreign enterprises in agriculture, commerce, and transport to Zairians.
The inefficient management of the enterprises thus transferred led to a
partial retrocession of ownership to original holders beginning in 1975.