The region can help but Congo must carry its own cross

One has to concur with Foreign Affairs Minister Louis Mushikiwabo’s view that only regional efforts can restore peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), given the fact that neighbouring countries have the greatest stake in putting out the eternal fires that erupt so often in that godforsaken country.I am, unfortunately less confident than the Honourable Minister about the chances of such success, mainly due to the inherent problem in Congo. The term, moral hazard, which economists have used since the 1960s, expresses revulsion toward protecting reckless risk-takers from the downside consequences of their actions.In shielding Kabila and his government from the predictable effects of their decisions or lack of action to honestly try to resolve the basic problems of their country and its citizens and, instead, trying to shift blame for the consequences of their actions or inactions to neighbouring scapegoats, the UN and the so-called international community do nothing but abet the Congolese in their moral hazard. Until the Congolese are allowed to carry the burden of their own actions or lack of action; until they realise that only they can resolve the chronically intractable problems of their country, no solution will stick for long. Neighbours, including Rwanda, can and should only support solutions for the DRC developed and agreed on by the Congolese themselves. We cannot and should not substitute ourselves for their own efforts. To continue to be made to scramble every time the Congolese create yet another major crisis is to encourage them in their moral hazard and to reinforce the efforts of the likes of Human Rights Watch. Let them stand on their own feet. By all means, let the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) provide support to help bring and sustain peace in the DRC. But such support must be to supplement, not to substitute for internal Congolese efforts to make peace among her people – all of them.Mwene Kalinda, Kigali

Opinions

The region can help but Congo must carry its own cross