DR Congo, Tanzania and Rwanda-in-the-middle have all celebrated their fiftieth birthday and are thus about the same age.
Why does the vastly rich Congo, whose population exceeds that of Tanzania by two and half times that of Rwanda, require any help to deal with Rwanda?
So, could the problem be more with Congo than with Rwanda?
In a way, Rwanda sits like a mirror at the heart of Africa. On one side there is a huge country that stretches as far as the ocean. On the other side, there is a huge country that stretches as far as the ocean.
Congo, stretching from the Atlantic to the centre of Africa, has over 70 million people, Tanzania, stretching from the Indian Ocean to the centre of Africa has 45 million people, and tiny Rwanda has about 10 million.
Both Tanzania and Congo are stupendously rich in minerals and forests.
The “international community” is now accusing Rwanda of destabilising DR Congo. They could be right. But they should pause and ask why Rwanda isn’t destabilising Tanzania instead?
After all, its geographical relation to the two countries is the same, except that Tanzania has 25 million fewer people than DR Congo, so it should be easier for Rwanda to mess up.
Why don’t we hear of Rwanda sponsoring Tanzanian dissidents? Why is it inconceivable for Rwanda to be arming Zanzibari extremists to secede from the Union but it is routinely suspected of arming secessionists in eastern DR Congo?
So, could the problem be more with Congo than with Rwanda?
Dizzying wealth
The international community has always been interested in Congo’s affairs, and in 1960/61, just after the country attained Independence, two “civilised” Western democracies decided that the best service they could render the Congolese people was to kill their popular, newly elected leader – Patrice Lumumba — to install a man who in their view would be more democratic and developmental — Joseph Mobutu.
With such a record and credentials of reading what is best for the Congolese, the international community now believes it has found the cause of Congo’s problems – Rwanda.
Those who want to solve DR Congo’s problems — and that should be almost everybody — would do well to ask the following question: Why does the vastly rich Congo, whose population exceeds that of Tanzania by two and half times that of Rwanda, require any help to deal with Rwanda?
At seventy plus million people and dizzying wealth, DR Congo should be having a well equipped, well paid army of 1.4 million men under arms (at a standard ratio of one government-armed man for every 50 people).
Why can’t DR Congo just overrun small, poor Rwanda and install a government of its choice?
The answer is that DRC has the potential to be the richest, most advanced and most militarily powerful country in Africa.
But it got stunted as a state from the time it became a personal property of King Leopold; and when it finally got a chance to start off towards development, its only ever legitimately elected leader was sentenced to death by two wealthy nations and executed by firing squad.
Recently, leaders of SADC have expressed interest in the affairs of DR Congo. Let us hope they direct their collective brainpower towards establishing a working government in Kinshasa that uses the vast wealth of its people for their development.
Published in NMG
Joachim Buwembo is a Knight International fellow for development journalism. E-mail: [email protected]
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