God and Caesar in the Democratic Republic of Congo: negotiating church–state relations through the management of school fees in Kinshasa's Catholic schools

Abstract

This article argues that state (re)construction and functioning involves negotiated governance between both state and non-state actors, in which power relations between local actors are not just implicitly present or co-influencing policies but are of uttermost importance to the formation of policy and state. One of the main non-state actors in African service delivery is the church. State and church are two major poles of power which determine – through negotiation – large domains of service delivery, such as education. We discuss a major attempt by the Catholic Church to reform the school-fee system in Kinshasa (DRC). The attempt largely failed, but its analysis reveals the political capabilities of different actors involved. The arrangements of state and non-state actors largely evolve in a roundabout way, not at all along the lines of an explicit negotiation process, and are very much determined by local-level governance instead of higher-level policies.

[Dieu et César dans la République Démocratique du Congo : les négociations des relations entre l'église et l'état à travers l'administration des frais de scolarité dans les écoles Catholiques de Kinshasa.] Cet article soutient que la (re)construction de l'État et son fonctionnement impliquent une gouvernance négociée tant entre les acteurs étatiques et non-étatiques, et dans laquelle les relations de pouvoir ne sont pas seulement présentes implicitement ou ne font pas qu'influencer conjointement les politiques, mais sont d'importance capitale à la formation de la politique et de l'État. Un des acteurs non-étatiques principaux dans la fourniture de service en Afrique est l'Église. L'État et l'Église sont deux pôles importants de pouvoir qui déterminent - par la négociation - les grands domaines de fourniture de services, comme l'éducation. Cette étude examine une tentative de réforme majeure du système des frais scolaires à Kinshasa (RDC) par l'Église catholique. La tentative a échoué en grande partie, mais son analyse révèle les capacités politiques des différents acteurs impliqués. Les accords des acteurs étatiques et non-étatiques se développent majoritairement d'une manière détournée, pas du tout dans le sens d'un processus de négociation explicite, et sont très largement déterminées par la gouvernance au niveau local à défaut de politiques d'un niveau supérieur.

Mots-clés : République Démocratique du Congo ; l'État ; l'Église ; gouvernance ; secteur éducatif  

Keywords:

• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
• state
• church
• governance
• education sector

Notes

‘Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's’ (Matthew 22: 21).

The concept of ‘mode of governance’ is borrowed from Olivier de Sardan (2010).

Formulated by the president Mobutu Sese Seko in 1977.

The annual total mean household cost per pupil in primary education is between US$9 and US$14, depending on the region; while between and 14% of per capita income is spent on every child in primary education (World Bank 2005, p. 61).

Archevêché de Kinshasa, Informations aux coordinateurs, aux sous-coordinateurs, aux chefs d'établissement, et aux représentants légaux des congrégations enseignantes des écoles conventionnées catholiques de Kinshasa, 19 September 2008, p. 1.

Kimbanseke schools averaged 700 students, a figure which fell to 600 pupils at the start of the 2008–09 school year.

In the three poorest schools of our Kimbanseke sample, only 2 to 11% of the pupils have paid the full amount of school fees. In the three wealthier schools, between 28 and 66% of the students paid.

Interview, Archbishop Monsengwo, Kinshasa, 23 June 2009.

Those schools which did, simply asked for US$65 above the school fees that had already been fixed, which also boils down to non-participation.

Interview with administrator of the Catholic network, Kinshasa, 12 June 2009.

Interview, school director, Kinshasa, 11 June 2009.

Interview, school director, Kinshasa, 12 June 2009.

Interview, Msg Monsengwo, Kinshasa, 23 June 2009.

Interview, urban coordinator of the Catholic network, 12 June 2009.

Interview, religious administrator involved in audit of the sector), Kinshasa, 11 June 2009.

This was denied by Mgr Monsengwo, who argued that the church initiative was not illegal. He argued how according to the framework law, the church was authorised to levy for punctual actions. Interpreting the joint solidarity fund as a punctual action, it fitted within the law (Interview Msg Monsengwo, 23 June 2009).

According to the minister, this was because it was clear from the beginning that the measure would not be followed by the schools due to its inherent difficulties (high levels of school fees, and so on). (Interview with the provincial minister of education and her cabinet's director, 27 November 2008; interview with her adviser on 12 March 2009.)

Interview with an officer from the Catholic network, 22 June 2009.