Manque des Moyens

By Tanya Castle

If there is one phrase I hear more than any other in Congo when I ask why something isn’t done it’s: “manque de moyens,” in English: “lack of means.”  Time and time again this is cited as the reason why problems continue in Congo. 

The military trial of a colonel accused of rape that can’t continue because there is no judge with a higher rank than him in Bukavu and the government can’t pay for one to be flown in from Kinshasa…The doctor who tries his best to take care of up to five rape victims a day but can’t heal them properly because his clinic’s shelves are empty…The police who are called to a crime scene, who would like to do their job, but can’t get there because there’s no gas in the car.  All of these stories I have heard while here, and each one has been summed up with the phrase, manque de moyens.

At first I sympathized enormously with the professionals I spoke to who are trying to do their jobs in the most difficult conditions. And let’s be clear, I still sympathize with them.  The horrendous working conditions are not fair to them or the people they serve.  Yet it’s increasingly difficult for me to agree with them at this point. It is time that these public servants replaced the phrase “lack of means” with “lack of political will”!  It is, after all, a much more appropriate explanation of why something isn’t working or wasn’t done. 

Congo is not rich, but neither is it poor.  It is a country where these derelict conditions don’t have to be and shouldn’t be.  The money exists.  It’s just held in the hands of people who don’t make it availale.

It is a sad truth. I hope one day it won’t be.  I hope one day there will be access to means. But, I don’t see that day coming any time soon though.  However, maybe the day is coming when I will hear “manque de volonté politique,” in place of “manque des moyens.” I’d be happy with that.  At least it would be calling a spade a spade.