Congo Government Crackdown on Foreign Businesses

Claiming that commercial activity in the Congo is for the benefit of Congolese only, the Kabila government has pulled the welcome mat for foreign nationals, according to reports from Covenant News Service sources in the country.

Foreign shopkeepers have been told they must conform with new trading rules no later than December 31 or face prosecution. Reuters news agency reported October 8 that the new rules require foreign shopkeepers to invest (deposit) a minimum of $500,000 in order to continue doing business. Some observers believe the intent is to limit jobs in the sector to Congolese nationals and control the circulation of currency in the country.

These actions come at a time that some had hoped for stability in certain regions of the country, especially areas like Gemena and Karawa, centers of mission activity of the Evangelical Covenant Church, among others. The potential impact of the government's actions on mission operations is unclear at this time.

A Congolese spokesman for the ministerial commission on fighting economic crime told state television October 7 that "commercial activities are exclusively reserved for Congolese nationals. Foreign nationals can, with special permission from the president of the republic, nonetheless engage in commercial activities that he deems appropriate under conditions required by the law." Reuters reports non-Congolese traders have been shutting their shops in Kinshasa since October 4 when teams of economic police began a series of spot checks to check conformity with the new restrictions.

Government forces have already started arresting foreign business people for breaking new rules limiting foreign involvement in small-scale commerce, according to various news sources. Reuters reported police arrested six Lebanese businessmen in Kinshasa and accused them of undermining the national economy - they apparently violated the rule introduced in September that requires foreign traders to invest a minimum of $500,000 and restrict their activities to the import-export trade and to wholesale or semi-wholesale business.

The Kabila government has declared possession of foreign currency illegal. The government also reportedly has told commercial banks to comply with new rules to stabilize the exchange rate, warning them that investigators were on the trail of those flouting the rules. The government also has outlawed private holdings of foreign currency as part of efforts to bolster the Congolese franc.

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