Corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, once legendary, has diminished in recent years, but continues to exceed corruption in most states.

Mobutu Sese Seko ruled Zaire from 1965 to 1997, looting his country's wealth for personal use to such a degree that critics coined the term "kleptocracy". A relative once explained how the government illicitly collected revenue: "Mobutu would ask one of us to go to the bank and take out a million. We'd go to an intermediary and tell him to get five million. He would go to the bank with Mobutu's authority, and take out ten. Mobutu got one, and we took the other nine."cite book|last=Ludwig|first=Arnold M.|year=2002|title=King of the Mountain: The Nature of Political Leadership|pages=72] Mobutu institutionalized corruption to prevent political rivals from challenging his control, leading to an economic collapse in 1996.cite book|last=Nafziger|first=E. Wayne|coauthors=Raimo Frances Stewart|year=2000|title=War, Hunger, and Displacement: The Origins of Humanitarian Emergencies|pages=261] Mobutu allegedly stole up to US$4 billion while in office.cite book|last=Mesquita|first=Bruce Bueno de|year=2003|title=The Logic of Political Survival|pages=167]

President Joseph Kabila established the Commission of Repression of Economic Crimes upon his ascension to power in 2001.cite book|last=Werve|first=Jonathan|year=2006|title=The Corruption Notebooks 2006|pages=57]

Corruption Perception Index

In 2006 Transparency International ranked Angola 156 out of 163 countries in the Corruption Perception Index, tying Bangladesh, Chad, and Sudan with a 2.0 rating.cite web|author=J. Graf Lambsdorff|year=2006|url=http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2006|title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2006|format=HTML|publisher=Transparency International|accessdate=2008-01-21]

ee also

*Resource Extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo
*Corruption in Angola
*Kleptocracy

References