Presidents Kabila and Bush meeting in 2003 to discuss support

In a post-conflict economy, the first source of growth is funding by donors. When Joseph Kabila took over the presidency in January 2001, he had the initiative to bring in assistance even before the war ended. Among his first acts he approached both the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) asking them for help to improve Congo’s economic situation and build up a donor coalition. A joint observation mission was set up.

“What we found in 2001 was a country divided and at war. Infrastructures were non-existent, health and education indicators were appalling, there was a $14 billion debt and the inflation rate reached 500 percent,” says Onno Rühl, former World Bank representative to the DRC. In an unprecedented move, the WB and the IMF decided to act before the peace agreement had been made. Aside from the fact that Congo had no internal platform for growth, informal talks with the then rebel leaders had led to the conclusion that all parties shared the same basic economic approach.

By the time peace was signed in 2003, Congo had a remarkably strong donor coalition behind it. The total international pledge so far is around $5-6 billion. Assistance has focused primarily on stabilizing the economy and obtaining access to the highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) initiative. The national budget has been restructured in order to attain some stronger financial management. Corruption has been tackled and financial assistance has been provided for the upcoming elections. A head start was made on infrastructure reconstruction with a joint WB and EU project to repair the road from Kinshasa to the port of Matadi.

Besides the continuous efforts to be done, donor institutions remain satisfied with the country’s progress. The fifth IMF review of the DRC’s performance under an $852.1 million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement was completed successfully last year, enabling further assistance to be given.