The Real Problem in the Congo

Disclaimer: This article reflects my own opinion and not that of my employer, NDI.

The recent news reports coming out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) highlight the perversion of good intentions reflected in the inflated numbers of rape victims in the eastern DRC by both the “pretend” victims and the agencies that have received public and private resources to care for them.  This should be a wake-up call to Africa policy-makers the world over and a trigger for a re-think.  The re-think should focus more resolutely on the distinction between symptoms and fundamental causes.  Policy-making on the DRC is determined by symptoms that shock and pull at our heart-strings.  Sensational news reports, self-interested humanitarian organizations and political pressure have led policy-makers at the highest levels in western countries to overlook the fact that as tragic as the shocking tales of mass abuse, displacement and chronic conflict are, they are still just symptoms geographically positioned far away from the fundamental causes, the centerpiece of which remains leadership failure.

The physical separation between the cause and the symptoms reinforce western tendency to ignore the former, but if failure to address fundamental causes continues, the failure in the East will deepen, spread and thus, grow even more spectacular.  The sign-posts are there even as western policy makers and celebrity thought leaders persist in barking up the wrong tree with their isolated focus on the Eastern Congo conflagration. 

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At NDI DRC, we are especially working on promoting the ascendancy of women across the political landscape in the country through our work with leading political parties, including the ruling PPRD, and our work with associations of female politicians and the women caucus in parliament which sadly extends to only 8% of the national legislature.  The tragic victimization and marginalization of women in Eastern Congo and throughout the country will only subside when we focus our efforts on amplifying the collective political voice of women here in Kinshasa and within the leadership of all influential institutions, political and other organizations throughout the country.