The Congolese Public Administration: A brake on development?

By examining meticulously the history of the DR Congo, we note bitterly that since its accession to independence this country has struggled to achieve its development. In truth, several elements obstruct its development process including the colonial vestige, the globalization of international trade for the benefit of the West, the trap of foreign aid, the resurgence of armed conflicts and the bankruptcy of the public administration. The latter remains the basic element of underdevelopment. This is all the more true when we know that the public administration is supposed to play a determining role in terms of economic, political, security and social performance of a country. Unfortunately, the great drama of the DR Congo is the fact of having a broken public administration. Aware of this state of affairs, Congolese political leaders have launched successive reforms on three occasions. The first two reforms have not produced the expected results and the third reform raises controversial hopes.