Free article preview  

After assassinations, wars and hyper-corruption, President Kabila talks of building on remarkable victories

Congo-Kinshasa’s fiftieth birthday celebrations on 30 June were marred on two sides. International accusations of corruption delayed an US$8bn debt deal (see Box), and an oil tanker explosion killed more than 230 people, many of them children watching a World Cup football match. Neither politics nor the economy are working so the big questions remain unanswered: how to use the country’s legendary natural resources honestly and constructively and how best to run a country more than half the size of Western Europe....

(This article contains approximately 1082 words)

end of free article preview

Current subscribers: log in now to read the complete article. Misplaced your password? Then click here for a password reminder.

Not a subscriber? Then you can read this article in full either by becoming a subscriber now, for 3, 6 or 12 months, or you can buy this individual article.

  • Subscribe to Africa Confidential:
  • Buy this article:
  • 3-month subscription
    Prices from £205.00 (+ VAT where applicable)
    6-month subscription
    Prices from £376.00 (+ VAT where applicable)
    12-month subscription
    Prices from £705.00 (+ VAT where applicable)
  • UK & European Union
    £17.00 (+ VAT where applicable)
    Rest of the world
    $27.00

  • If you have a print subscription already, click here for a password that gives you full access to the website.
  • If you are logged in, but still cannot access the full text of this article, email customer services or telephone us on +44(0)1638 743633.

Keywords:

Belgium, Chinese, Leopold II, Joseph Kabila, Ukraine, Floribert Chebeya,, John Numbi, Mobutu Sese Seko, Ellen Berends-Vergunst, United States, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, Rwanda, Paul Kagame, Albert II, Baudouin, Louis Michel, Patrice Lumumba, Ban Kimoon, Boulevard du 30 juin, Place du 30 juin, Boulevard Triomphal, Palais du Peuple, Mission de l’Organisation des Nations unies pour la stabilisation de la République démocratique du Congo