Diplomatic World nummer 54

Food market in the outskirts of Kinshasa.
© Shutterstock
Beautiful lake in Democratic Republic of Congo.
© Shutterstock
in a position where they need to find a way of surviving.
I’m going to introduce change in the system which is
going to discourage any kind of corruption. These changes
are the following: I’m going to introduce the minimum
wage system. This means that, when a person works, the
minimum salary that anyone can be paid in any sector will
be 1000 dollars a month, at the least.
This takes into account the cost you have to pay for your
rent, the mortgage, to send your children to school, to get
good health care for your family, and even to save some
money but still being able to live. This nice salary is not
just a bonus. The idea is that, once you get paid well,
you have to work hard for it. If you are caught stealing
or being corrupt, you will be taken to court. We have to
restructure the court system, so that justice is dispensed in
a transparent manner and is the same for everyone.
The people who stole or are corrupt, will be judged and
when found guilty, will go to jail like everyone else. I, even
as head of state, will not intervene to get them out, even if
they are my close associates. Once these people get out of
jail, their names will be published in the official magazine.
They will be known throughout the country as corrupt
people and they and their families will be ashamed of it.
Another repercussion is that these people will never be
able to work in public administration ever again. They also
cannot participate in any events that are sponsored by the
state. So, basically, after they get out of jail they will be
outcasts and an example for all the other people.
This way, they will know I’m serious about it. I’ve never
been corrupt, and I’m going to change the country by
showing everybody that I made it without being corrupt.
We need to educate the people, pay them appropriate
salaries and treat them properly. However, when someone
makes a mistake, the judicial system needs to take care
of him or her. I think that, over time, this will eliminate
corruption in the Congo.
How about gender equality in the Congo?
53% of the Congolese population is female. Today, 30% of
the positions in the public administration is reserved for
women. I think that is problematic. I want to establish a
system in which all men and women are treated equally.
What would help is reserving equal treatment in terms of
education and employment. However, if they are not up to
the level, we need to provide them with additional training.
Scholarships, leadership trainings, and so on. We want all
men and women to be treated equally and to have access to
the same opportunities in the country. Rwanda, for example,
has done something spectacular: women in their parliament
represent almost 60%! I want to give those opportunities to
the Congolese women as well, not as a favor just because they
are women, but because they are equal developing partners.
Is this also accepted by the families?
I think our people are more and more educated and see
things differently than they did in the past. So, the more we
educate our people, the more they become sensitive to the
fate of everyone in the society and the more they will move
away from the traditional values that suggest that women
should remain in their kitchens instead of being at the
discussion table. It doesn’t mean that a women can’t still
go to the kitchen and help out when she’s working. Today,
men and women perform the same kind of tasks at home.
I believe it’s a matter of education and showing the people
that we want the society to change.
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