The Effect of War and Peace on Foreign Aid
Richard L Jones
SOC 300
Professor Merlini
22 January 2015

War and Peace, these two words should never be used in the same sentence, just like saying Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, neither should the country of Qatar and the Republic of Congo, (DRC) where the average income in Qatar is over one hundred thousand dollars, while in the Democratic Republic of Congo, (DRC) it’s just under four hundred dollars which is a lot in a poor country. Positive vs. Negative
One of the negative sides to receiving foreign aid in a developing countries such as Congo which received nearly $500 million in 2012, and $736 million dollars in 2013. The chances that countries will repay those loans is nearly nonexistent, there having poor countries rely on more loans from the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
With 80 million hectares of arable land and over 1,100 minerals and precious metals, the DRC has the potential to be one of the richest countries on the African continent and a driver for African growth, but foreign aid lock down this country with agreements that the IMF and the World Bank knows DRC cannot repay and force them to stipulation such as reducing trading, cut their budgets, reduces their currency value, which hurts the country economy, inflation set in, and goods and services are unaffordable, therefore hurting the poorest of the poor. As Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said to George W. Bush in 2003, “I don’t want aid; I want trade. Aid cannot transform society.” (Daly, 2013)
Another negative side to giving aid the DRC is that since the DRC cannot repay the loans, most of their infrastructure goes unattended, and DRC have to close down schools, hospitals, and other government services, while the unemployment rate is at 63% in 2012, and a growth rate of only 8.5% in 2013, probably because of the restriction placed on DRC from the IMF, and the W.B.
The advantage of giving aid to the DRC is that it shows to the world that other countries are willing to invest in them, this could push their economy toward the positive side, bringing food, shelters, and government subsidies to the people who needs it the most. Strengthening trade relation with powerful countries such as the US, UK, and China could also bring private business, contractors, and developers into the DRC to give them some much needed infrastructure repairs, and replacement and updates such as roads, utilities, power, farming, and clean water. DRC helps DRC’s
Getting the government to help out with the famine that is plaguing the country for over two decades is easier said, than done. First of all, who is the government, and what are their role in taking back their country from the rebels. With nearly 3 million displaced civilians, more than 30 different armed groups, and thousands of rapes, and murders each year, who side the government is on? “Following a peace deal between the Congolese and the Rwandan governments, some of the main armed groups in eastern Congo joined the national government”…”Congo’s government is not only extremely weak, but it is also beholden to a political logic of patronage that undermines the reform of its own state and encourages the creation of competing armed groups” (Stearns, 2013)
With the hope of the government taking care of its people in DRC is fading fast, and the people of the DRC would be better to turn over control to another country whose intention is to help Congo get on its feet. When the IMF, and the World Bank gives loans to the DRC, are they really supporting the rebel’s, or have truly have good intention in helping the economy prosper, and hold its own. Why is it easier for the DRC government to purchase bombs, bullets, and other military hardware equipment, rather than medicines for the sick, books for school, and food for the hunger? Giving loans to a country who’s not able to support itself is not a good ideal.
DRC is a country which is rich in natural resources, including copper, cobalt, gold, timber, uranium, diamonds, coltan, and oil, but it lacks one important asset, they lack education, knowledge, and the ability to think for itself. Without education, DRC will always be like a “Brain-dead body”, always relying on other to take care of them, until they die off. To give, or not to give!
Giving the DRC more money, extending their loan time will not help the DRC until the government has been replaced with someone who cares about, and know what they are doing.
“Hundreds of millions of pounds of British aid money poured into a corrupt and conflict-ravaged African country have been wasted, a damning official report reveals…More than half of European Union projects aimed at bringing stability to the Democratic Republic of Congo have failed to deliver any results, spending watchdogs say”. (Drury, 2013)
The UK wasn’t the only country to lose money investing in the DRC, China also tried to invest in the DRC with negative results. In January 2013, China offered a megadeal of 6billion dollars to build school, roads, hospitals, in exchange the rights to mine for some of DRC natural resources, but because of corruptions, some government official agreed to the deal, but fail to keep it a secret from the IMF who loaned the DRC $551 million in exchange, the DRC government keep the mining contracts and transaction public.
Here’s is where the government did more damage to the poor of the poorest, because of corruption. “When Bloomberg revealed the DRC had sold its 25% stake in a copper mining venture called COMIDE SPRL – a trade the Congolese government hadn’t disclosed. The IMF responded to the news by refusing to renew the loan, meaning the DRC will essentially forfeit an incredible $225 million because a few Congolese officials didn’t want the world to know what they were up to”. (Kushner, 2013)
The World Bank reopened in the DRC in 2001 after operations were suspended for almost ten years because of political instability and corruption in the country, (Bandera, 2013)
Money so desperately needed for hospitals, clean water, schools, power, and sanitation all fell by the waist side because of ignorant and corruptions. Still feeling the effects from the civil war, poverty is as wide spread as the malaria which affected a quarter of the population. There’s always hope everyone, but if nothing is done about this government, and they continue to be the head of this country, then the body will most certainly die.

References
Daly, R. (2013, April 23). Why foreign aid is bad for the third world. Daily Collegian. Retrieved from http://dailycollegian.com/2013/04/23/why-foreign-aid-is-bad-for-the-third-world/
Streans, J. (2013, October 1). Helping Congo Help Itself. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139648/jason-stearns/helping-congo-help-itself
Drury, I. (2013, October 02). Wasted, the millions Britain has poured into aid for Congo: Damning report reveals EU projects have failed to deliver any results. Daily Mail, Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2441580/Wasted-millions-Britain-poured-aid-Congo-Damning-report-reveals-EU-projects-failed-deliver-results.html
Kushner, J. (2013, October 03). Corruption in the Congo: How china learnt from the west. TninkAfricaPress, Retrieved from http://thinkafricapress.com/drc/corruption-congo-how-china-learnt-west.
Bandera, K. (2013, July). Poverty in the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Blog, Retrieved from http://borgenproject.org/poverty-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-2/