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Congo Essay

Bachelor of Arts in Communication Sciences (University of South Africa)

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PAPER 2 – ESSAY QUESTION

QUESTION 5 -: CONGO

• What were the ideas that influenced the Congo?

• Political (type of a leader, legacies of colonialism, political be
stability and instability, challenges and successes)
• Economic (type of economy, challenges and successes)
• Social and cultural successes/challenges that Congo faced (benefits
of independence, education, Africanisation)

Mind Map:

WHAT WERE THE IDEAS

THAT INFLUENCED THE
CONGO

POLITICAL(SUCCESSES AND
CONGO CHALLENGES)

ECONOMIC (SUCCESSES
AND CHALLENGES)

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL

KEY CONCEPTS
• Zairianisation : replacing foreigners retrocession
• Retrocession: reversal of Zairianisation
• Positive neutralism: bring back African values
• Authoritarian: favouring or enforcing strict obedience to authority of
personal freedom
• Kleptocracy: government whose corrupt leaders use the political
power to appropriate the wealth of their nation, by embezzling it.
• Military coup: the seizure and removal of power by political factions,
the military or a dictator.
• One party state: single party state, one party has the right to form
government usually based on existing constitution.

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• Africanisation: refers to the modification of place, names and

personal names to reflect an African identity.
• African nationalism: The desire by Africans who shared similar
languages, customs and traditions to be united under a leader of their
own nationality.
• Colonialism: the occupation and control of one nation by another.
• Decolonisation: a process whereby the colonial powers withdrew
from the colonies and ended their rule.
• Neo Colonialism: refers to the continued exploitation of Africa’s
resources by the former colonial powers and the developed world.

FACTS: CONGO
Political, Economic Social and Cultural successes/ challenges

A. Influence of the two Political Leaders

● Patrice Lumumba ruled very briefly and could not make an impact on the
future of an independent Congo
● He believed that Africa should be freed from foreign interference
● His vision was of a unified Congo
● He turned to the Soviet Union for aid and the West was under the
impression that he was a communist. This probably led to his downfall
● Mobutu Sese Seko banned all political parties and ruled as a dictator for
31 years and he amassed a personal fortune through corruption
● He was responsible for human rights abuses and there was unrest and
economic
decline during his rule
● In 1971he renamed the Congo, Zaire and the YSA supported him because
he was anti-communism
B. Challenges and influence as a result of Colonialism
● After independence inexperienced Congolese were forced to handle the
administration that led to the decline of the standard of the Civil Service, Army
and Army
● There was a huge backlog in education and there were no Secondary
School Educators
● Artificial colonial borders separated ethnic groups and this led to political
instability
● Ethnic groups broke away such as Katanga in the Congo
● In this way the colonial powers left a legacy of conflict
C. Political challenges, stability, instability and influence
● The Congo and most other African states experienced a period of political
instability after independence
● Ethnic rivalry, greed and political ambition caused instability
● The military dictatorship and the Civil war, which was supported by the
international community, led to political instability in the Congo
● The Congo became a tool in the Cold War between the USA and USSR
● The assassination of Lumumba started the instability

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D. Economic challenges and influence

● Mobutu nationalised mines and private enterprises and in this way his
political cronies and own family were enriched
● Although the Congo is rich in minerals and agricultural resources, it relied
on a single agricultural crop or mineral as a main income
● Congo relied on copper only and were dependent on copper. The price of
copper declined drastically and as a result led to economic decline
● The transport network deteriorated because of neglect

E. Social and Cultural challenges and influence

● Congolese authors published prose, poetry and plays
● Promotion of African art, literature and handicraft
● Mobutu took full control of education from the churches, but in 1990
church schools were brought back
● A shortage of funds and teachers had a negative impact on education
● Mobutu started with Africanisation in 1970 where European names were
discarded and replaced by African names and western clothes were
banned and European personnel were replaced by Zairans
● Under colonial rule African languages had become marginalised as
limited in scope and confined to oral tradition, rural areas and the language
of adults.

ENRICHMENT – CONGO
Political, Economic and Social successes/ challenges that the
Congo faced

The kind of state that emerged

● By 1965 the Congo had become a one-party state. The only political
party allowed was the “Movement Populaire de la Révolution” (MPR).
● The country became a corrupt dictatorship under Mobutu Sese Seko,
who never allowed democratic elections to be held.
● He claimed to follow a capitalist path in order to attract foreign aid
money, because to remain in power he was dependent on US support.
● Mobutu was eventually overthrown by Laurent Kabila, who was
succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila. In 2006 the country did hold
elections, giving some legitimacy to Joseph
Kabila’s leadership.
Economic success and challenges
In the Congo the production, consumption and distribution of goods were
badly managed. Some historians might blame the Cold War for this, while
others might emphasise the government’s poor choices, but few would
disagree that it was a failed economy. Some production, consumption and
distribution did take place, and these instances can be viewed as
successes. However, the fact that it has so many natural resources, and
has the agricultural potential to feed the entire African continent, make this
country’s inability to properly sustain even its own people a sign that it was
significantly underachieving.

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The Congo experienced the following economic successes:

● Mining, oil, agriculture, and forestry continued to earn money for the Congo.
● Industry was encouraged through reduced import duties on factory equipment.
● Foreign firms provided employment.
● Foreign firms were well taxed, which earned some wealth for the country.
● Mobutu successfully sourced financial aid from the USA.
● Too little of this was invested in industry and infrastructure, yet the money taken by top
officials not only increased their spending power but also benefited some local
businesses and led to some employment in a ‘trickle down’ effect.
● The country also successfully borrowed money from the IMF and private banks.
● Since 2009 inflation has been brought under control.
The Congo face the following economic challenges:
● During the first period of Mobutu’s dictatorship, foreign firms still owned the
mines, so the profits from mining operations were sent overseas instead of
flowing into the Congolese economy.
● Once the mines were placed under the control of locals, these mines were
not well managed because of a lack of experience, and this also led to the
country underachieving in terms of its potential.
● Much of the wealth that was earned from mining then went into the bank
accounts of Mobutu and top-ranking officials rather than being reinvested in
the growth of the mining operations.
● Foreign aid and loans were wasted in corruption.
● The country developed a large national debt.
● A lack of development in terms of infrastructure meant that the economy
did not grow significantly.
● Civil wars interrupted trade, industry, and agriculture.
● The over-printing of paper money eventually caused runaway inflation in the
early 1990s.
● The buying power of people’s income plummeted, and poverty increased. ●
The country experienced starvation and epidemics.
● When GECAMINES, the largest state-owned mine, experienced financial
difficulties in 1994, the economy became extremely fragile.
● Although the economy has improved somewhat, an over-dependence on
mining still makes it vulnerable to a fall in commodity prices.
● The high unemployment rate leads to many Congolese people leaving the
country to look for work elsewhere.

Political successes and challenges

It is possible to identify some areas of political success in the Congo, as well as
ongoing challenges.
The Congo experienced the following political successes:
● Under Mobutu it was largely politically stable.
● The country managed to remain unified despite the attempts by a number of
provinces to break away.
● Through aspects such as name changes, attempts were made to reflect the
country’s African roots and to build a national identity.

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● In 2006 and 2011 elections were held

The Congo faced the following political challenges:

● Once the Belgian colonisers left, the locals who took charge had little
experience of running a country.
● The country was huge, had a large population and poor infrastructure.
● It contained many different ethnic groups with different allegiances and
different languages.
● In-fighting between the various factions caused death and instability.
● There was also great inequality among the people.
● While it was initially set up as a democratic state, there was not sufficient
checks and balances in place to protect this democracy.
● Under Mobutu the country was ruled as a one-party state and a dictatorship
for 32 years.
● Mobutu created a regime of terror to crush all opposition, which meant there
was no freedom of speech.
● Mobutu bribed officials to keep them loyal, and corruption became rife.
● The dependence on Western countries for financial aid and military support
threatened the country’s ability to chart its own course.
● Western businesses in the Congo were also so powerful that they threatened
the country’s sovereignty.
● The conflict in Rwanda spilled over into the Congo. ● The country
experienced two civil wars.
● Human rights were not protected, and women’s rights were particularly
badly neglected.
● While the country now holds democratic elections, there is a lack of
transparency.

THREE POSSIBLE QUESTIONS:

1. EXPLAIN TO WHAT EXTENT THE CONGO WAS SUCCESSFUL IN

BRINGING ABOUT POLITICAL STABILITY, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT AS WELL AS CULTURAL STABILITY.

Support your line of argument using relevant historical evidence.

(50)

2. CRITICALLY DISCUSS THE VARIOUS POLITICAL, SOCIAL

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES AND SUCCESSES FACED BY THE
CONGO AFTER ATTAINING
INDENDENCE IN 1960.

Support your line of argument using relevant historical evidence.

(50)

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3. ‘AFTER ATTAINING INDEPENCE IN 1960 THE CONGO ACHIEVED

MANY POLITICAL, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL SUCCESSES UNDER
THE LEADERSHIP OF MOBUTU SESE SEKO’

Do you agree with the statement? Support your line of argument with
relevant
historical evidence.
(50)

ESSAY WRITING SKILLS:

• READ THE QUESTION CAREFULLY
• UNDERLINE THE KEY WORDS/ INSTRUCTION WORDS.
• TAKE NOTE OF THE TIME FRAME
• RESPOND DIRECTLY TO THE QUESTION, ALSO SUPPORT
YOUR ANSWER WITH THREE REASONS.
INTRODUCTION AND THE CONCLUSION

EXPLAIN TO WHAT EXTENT THE CONGO WAS SUCCESSFUL IN

BRINGING ABOUT POLITICAL STABILITY, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT AS WELL AS CULTURAL STABILITY.

Support your line of argument using relevant historical evidence.

(50) INTRODUCTION
Congo was to a lesser extent successful in bringing about political
stability, economic, and social developments, because it experienced
challenges i.e. political instability, socially there was inequality and
poverty, Mobutu became dictator and in this way his political cronies
and family were enriched.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the above discussion shows that the Congo was successful
to a lesser extent to bring about political stability, social and economic
development…………….

EXAMPLE OF A PARAGRAPH:
The Congo experienced political challenges and successes after attaining its
independence in 1960 (point).
Congo was under European rule until the 1960, they attained
independence through democratic elections, J. Kasavubu became
president and P Lumumba was a prime minister (explanation).
The Congo was highly fragmented along ethnic lines with leaders
competing against each other, the period after independence was
characterised by violence and political upheaval. Mobutu Sese Seko
came into power through a military coup. Mobutu did not have good
leadership qualities. This caused challenges because he did not hold

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free and fair elections, The Congo became a one-party state. There
was some political stability because he was authoritarian, opposition
parties were silenced (elaboration). Thus The Congo was successful
to a lesser extent in bringing about political stability. (Link)

These are the other facts that needs to be added to the essay:
• Kleptocracy
• Violation of human rights
• Extravagance
• Aligned himself with the West
• Zairianisation
• Africanisation
• Central government

Economic
• Single product economy
• Relied heavily on agriculture and mineral extraction
• Lack a vibrant manufacturing sector
• Followed a capitalist economic system
• Had few qualified technicians and engineers
• Nationalised land and industry
• No oil reserves and suffered an economic crisis when oil
prices rose in 1970
• Decline in the state of infrastructure
• Increased gap between rich and poor
• Application of retrocession
• Depended of foreign aid
• Shortage of food and consumer goods
• Development of a new elite supporters
• Lots of corruption and mismanagement
• Education and language (inherited colonial education system,
promoted Eurocentric values, fewer children received modern
primary education, few technicians and engineers, children
taught European history, African content was regarded as
inferior and not taught) at the independence of the Congo the
were 14 university graduates, after independence the higher
education system was expanded, from 1960-1974 primary
education in the Congo rose from 1.6 million to 4.6 million.
French remained the language of instruction. Mobutu phased
out religious instruction in schools and took full control of
education.

Africanisation
• Mobutu promoted African beliefs and culture
• Africanisation/Zaireanization
• European names replaced with local names e.g. Congo was
changed to Zaire

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• Many towns and cities were renamed

• Encouraged people to wear African clothing , play and listen
to African music, and eat African food, promoted African faith
Clothing
• Adopted Kwame Nkrumah’s style of clothing
• Wearing the Western clothing was banned Art
• Promoted African Art and literature and handcraft
• Promoted their own plays

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