The Post-War Power Sharing and the Legal Politicisation of the Congolese Public Administration

ABSTRACT

This study explores how the power-sharing regime legally politicised the Congolese public administration during the transition from 2003 to 2006. Combining Lijpart’s consociational democracy theory with theories on the politicisation of public administration, I argue that the implementation of the power-sharing political regime in a post-war country may result in the legal politicisation of its public administration. This politicisation could disturb the post-war functioning and improvements of this public administration. Drawing on a qualitative research method and documentary research, I have found that the implementation of power-sharing during the post-war transition of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2003 to 2006 legally politicised the Congolese public administration. This situation gave rise to contradictions and overlaps between the transitional constitution and the existing labour legislation, multiple chains of command, and increase of appointments of public employees through political networks. These realities affected the implementation of reforms of this public administration.

KEYWORDS:

• Politicisation of public administration
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• power-sharing
• post-war transition
• consociational democracy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 “The law is harsh, but it is still the law” (my translation).

2 A Lumumbist refers to a person who subscribes to, or is claimed to subscribe to, Patrice Lumumba’s ideology.

3 Bemba oversaw the economic and finance cluster of the transitional government.

4 In a promotion canapée (with a canapé being a decorative sofa), a woman will be hired or promoted if she agrees to grant sexual favours to the person hiring her.