Zaïrianisation

The zairianisation is the Political movement initiated by Mobutu Sese Seko in the republic of the Zaire during the years 1970, consisting in returning to an authenticity African E of the place names and Patronyme S, by removing all that was with consconance Occident ale.

Principles of the zairianisation

First steps

The October 27th 1971, president Mobutu announces the recourse to the authenticity , series of measure to be detached from all that can point out the Occident and its domination.

The country is famous “Republic of Zaire”. The Mobutu general became Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Zabanga, and obliges all his fellow-citizens to adopt African names (suppression of the first names Chrétien S and Westerners, and addition of a “Postnom”). The Abacost is promulgated. A news Monnaie - the Zaire divided into 100 makuta (singular Likuta) - replaces the Franc Congolese. Many cities are renamed. The colonial monuments are withdrawn.

Realized in the current of the year 1974, the “zairianisation” constituted one of the events of most important of the policy followed by the mode mobutist, namely the progressive nationalization of the commercial goods and the land and buildings which belonged to foreign nationals or financial groups. Actually, if this measurement fitted officially in an effort aiming to the national reappropriation of the economy like to the redistribution of the richnesses acquired during the Colonisation, it constituted a failure especially.

Economic structures

After the First war of Congo, Mobutu, new Head of State was committed regaining the confidence of the foreign mediums of businesses. In 1966, powerful mining industries of the Kasaï and Katanga were nationalized. It is then the golden age of Congo, now independent: in 1967 1 Franc Congolese is worth 2 then American Dollars, the public schools develop and the Rural migration accelerates; the prices of the Coffee, the Copper or others Minerai S are flourishing but the economy country still, as at the time colonial, too much is turned towards the Exportation and thus fragile.

Starting from 1973, the country is touched by a acute Economic crisis, which had with the fall in the prices of the Cuivre and with the increase in those of the Pétrole. The Corruption spreads and the Inflation becomes gallopping, while Mobutu privatize of many companies to its name or the names of its close relations (zarianisation). The produced country of important quantity of coffee for export but does not meet its food needs, Mobutu makes import cereals and Viande of South Africa and Rhodesia (two modes Ségrégation nists) instead of modernizing the Agriculture country which, considering its climate, could easily provide for its needs.

In a general way, the new owners of economic and financial goods were not sufficiently prepared to ensure a management of means and long run of the production equipment. Those which did not go bankrupt placed immense investments in Occident. Mobutu diverts the currencies of State in such way that in 1984, it is one of the richest men of planet with 4 billion dollars, the equivalent of the Foreign debt of the country. The Dette increases still more with the Pharaonic construction of the hydroelectric stopping of Inga, building site bequeathed by the colonial Belgium and which the Zaire did not need. If the Inga dam brought back money to the French companies (EDF) or Italian this one, just like the steel-works of Maluku was quickly damaged. This nationalist policy of the mode have also for consequence to slow down the overseas investments in Zaire, supporting in fine a form of Monopoly of entry of foreign assets in the chief of the various funds from development co-operation.

The Dictatorship, persecutions and the Paupérisation make flee the brains in Occident (Belgium and France at the head).

Political structures

The provision of goodwill and economic inheritances also constituted a relay of the Clientélisme maintained by the capacity. The clan surrounding the Head of the State thus could profit from the fruits of the policy of Nationalization, just like those which in the various areas of the country, made allegiance with the mode in exchange of a trade or land and buildings. Many Western countries signed conventions with Zaire in order to proceed to the compensation for the despoiled parts, but in the very large majority of the cases, these agreements were never applied.

See too

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