...Says, "Hello,my brothers."Corruption, Decay Are Pushing Zaire Closer To Chaos
Sunday, December 22, 1996, By Bob Drogin 1996, LosAngeles Times
...Says, "Hello,my brothers."
KINSHASA, Zaire A VISIT TO THE Mama Yemo Hospital, Zaire's largest publichealth facility, is not for the faint of heart.
The operating room floor is so rotted that surgeons must avoid gaping holes,crumbling plywood and rusting metal. Only a few lights or air conditionerswork. So doors are open to the light and the sweltering heat outside, whererats scurry in the grass.
"We try to do what we can," said Dr. Jean Baptist Sondji, pausingas he performed a mastoidectomy in the gloom. "But mostly, many peopledie."
The government rarely pays doctors and nurses, so patients must pay fortreatment. Those who cannot afford the fees sometimes are held against theirwill until relatives or friends can find the money.
"We have not had support from the government for the last 10 years,"said Dr. Antoine Modia Oyandjo, director of what once was one of Africa'sbest hospitals.
The Mama Yemo is named for the late mother of President Mobutu Sese Seko.Mobutu, whose prostate cancer was diagnosed earlier this year, flew to Switzerlandand France for treatment. After four months abroad, he returned home toa jubilant welcome Tuesday.
But Mobutu is considered unlikely to reverse the decay in Zaire. His 31-yearreign is chiefly to blame.
Plundered by its leaders, with a culture of corruption that undermines allattempts at progress, one of Africa's largest nations is sliding into chaos.
"There is no law," said Guillaume Ngefa, head of the Zairian Associationfor the Defense of Human Rights. "No state. No government."
The government does exist. But it is bankrupt and provides few public servicesto a population suffering growing deprivation and hardship.
Salaries of state employees, from teachers to postal workers, are oftenless than $1 a month. But they are not paid for months. To survive, manyhave privatized their jobs, selling government property or demanding feesand bribes for everything from birth certificates to burials.
"This is a kleptocracy," complained a Western diplomat. "Youhave to bribe your way for everything. The country is being destroyed byignorance, inefficiency and malice."
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Virtually every aspect of life - schools, hospitals, courts, roads, banks- is affected by the collapse of central authority. In response, peoplehave taken matters into their own hands - for good or ill.
With no government funding for education, for example, most schools in thiscrumbling capital have no books. Teachers are so rarely paid that they chargetheir students - often in U.S. dollars, since Zaire's currency is nearlyworthless.
Families increasingly take turns eating, as well. Muhimuzi said a surveyof 1,200 homes by her group in four Kinshasa districts showed 70 percentof families ate "at intervals," with the children eating one mealand the parents the next.
"Some families eat only once a day or once every three days,"she said.
Once rare here, malnutrition is now increasing rapidly. So are epidemicsof infectious diseases, from polio to measles.
"People don't have enough food," said Marie Therese Mubien, 39,a mother of five in Bandalungwa, another Kinshasa slum. "And many childrenare just abandoned."
The near-collapse of government services has forced desperate Zairians tofend for themselves.American Civil Rights Review-- A Fabulous Link!
In traffic accidents, for example, onlookers ferry the injured to hospitalsin trucks and taxis because few ambulances exist. If fire breaks out, residentsform bucket brigades because few fire engines still work.
The lack of central authority means no one - and everyone - is in charge.
"It's very eroding," a senior relief official said. "Younegotiate an agreement with a minister, and then you go to the airport andsome army lieutenant says: `This is nothing.' "
The police and military, rarely paid by the government, pay themselves byrobbing people or holding them for ransom. "Undisciplined soldiers. . . commit many criminal infractions, including robbery, extortion andlooting on a daily basis," a U.S. State Department human rights reportnoted earlier this year.
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