The Democratic Republic of Congo: The Blind State

In his book Seeing Like a State, James S. Scott discusses how the modern state came to be, primarily by making its "territory knowable," meaning that aspects of a territory or a state need to be measured, assessed, or quantified to allow government programs to be implemented. Core to his t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAfrica policy journal pp. 20 - 22
Main Author Mvula, Kayemba
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Harvard Journal of African American Policy Studies 01.04.2020
Subjects
Census of Population
Censuses
Data
Economic growth
Election results
Infrastructure
Political representation
Poverty
Presidential elections
Program implementation
Africa
Congo-Democratic Republic of Congo
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Summary:In his book Seeing Like a State, James S. Scott discusses how the modern state came to be, primarily by making its "territory knowable," meaning that aspects of a territory or a state need to be measured, assessed, or quantified to allow government programs to be implemented. Core to his thesis, though it goes relatively undiscussed in the book, is how data come to be central to modern statecraft.1 So, if data are core to allowing a state to "see," how does one operate a state that is effectively blind?The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has not held a census since 1984,2 so statistically speaking, we know very little about the country. This lack of data doesn't just limit researchers and academics but the state itself. We are now coming up on the first anniversary of the presidential elections in the DRC, and Félix Tshisekedi is now president of the fourth largest country in Africa.3 Though the results of those elections were long in dispute,4 what we do know is that if poverty reduc - tion and economic growth are core to the government's mission, then the DRC is currently operating at a deficit.According to the National Agency for the Promotion of Investment in the DRC, the country currently possesses 238,935 kilometers of roads; approximately 5,000 km of railways; 89 hydroelectric plants; 500 airstrips; and 5 international airports.5 Unfortunately, this already existing infrastructure, which is necessary for development, is inadequate, and much of it is in serious disrepair.
ISSN:2332-581X
1932-4308