Turning over a new leaf

It’s been a mantra, since our project started almost three years ago, that the government doesn’t want to decentralise, even though the Constitution says that it has to. It was clear that the big fish in Kinshasa want to hang on to power and are no more likely to share it, or the money that goes with it, than they are to take a cut in salary in solidarity with the starving poor. Since one of the objectives of the project is to assist decentralisation it was getting pretty frustrating.

Kabila’s not got a very good reputation for decisive action, but one thing he has done right is to appoint a cabinet of younger people who want to make a difference. One such is the Minister of the Interior . . . and Decentralisation.

So, taking the bull by the horns we decided to hold a big conference about how to get the process moving. The Prime Minister agreed to open and close the proceedings, and the Minister of the Interior would give the opening keynote speech.

We had over three hundred delegates including the top brass from many provinces.

But what was amazing was that the Minister himself spent time in the working groups thrashing out details of a new strategy. One of them was chaired by another minister – Education.

On the last day three other Ministers came to give their ideas about what needed doing, and subjected themselves to some very critical questions from the floor. What was funny was that when the Ministers started speaking people from the floor would shout “Who are you?” and he would have to introduce himself, giving a CV just like a candidate in an interview. This was such a contrast with the pompous “I’m above all that” behaviour of the previous cabinet.

But refreshing as it was to see Ministers engaging with the real issues, it was even more refreshing to hear them talk about their problems. The Minister of the Civil Service talked very frankly about the problem with pensions. In a word they simply don’t have the money to pay the pensions due, so allow staff beyond pensionable age have to continue working. Not that the pensions are huge: $1000 is as much as some people might get as their full and final pay out. They may have been paying into pension funds, but all that was wiped out by successive bouts of massive inflation. The situation, he said, “is ridiculous”.

The Minister of Agriculture complained bitterly about the situation he had inherited. There is a staff of 16,000 in his Ministry in Kinshasa, and only 8,000 in the rest of the country – which is, of course, where they are needed. Even that is too many because all the Ministry’s budget is absorbed by salaries, so they don’t have money to do anything else. But the fact that he’s talking frankly about the problem was like a breath of fresh air, and he received enthusiastic applause.

They were actually enjoying themselves . . .

So we’re optimistic. But confident? That’s another story.