US embassy cable - 04KINSHASA1845

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001845 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PINS, PREL, CG, PRM 
SUBJECT: MOBUTU'S HOMETOWN OF GBADOLITE "THE MOST FORGOTTEN 
CITY IN THE CONGO" 
 
 
1. (U) Summary. A visit to Gbadolite in northern Equateur 
Province showed a region suffering substantial decay, massive 
poverty and serious neglect by the national government. 
Although security had improved with the departure of large 
numbers of MLC soldiers for the east, abuses by remaining 
soldiers continued. Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba and his 
MLC party were unpopular with the local population, despite 
the fact that this area is Bemba's stronghold. Demobilization 
of child soldiers in Gbadolite started recently, but has run 
into obstacles due to lack of resources and expertise on the 
part of local NGO's running the program. End Summary. 
 
Gbadolite Longs for the "Glory Days" of Mobutu 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
2. (U) Poloff visited Gbadolite September 18 to evaluate the 
current situation in the area. He stayed at the once 
exclusive Ndekele Hotel owned by Joseph Mobutu, currently in 
a state of decay and disrepair. The Ndekele's cracked and 
empty swimming pool, peeling walls and broken fixtures are 
representative of the general condition of Gbadolite, once 
the site of Mobutu's favorite retreat in the Congo. Mobutu's 
luxurious Chinese palace and his main mansion in the city lay 
in ruins, looted and overgrown by tall grass. The Coca Cola 
factory, which ceased production in 1999, lay idle, and the 
vast African palm oil plantation Mobutu owned in Gbadolite 
was overgrown with vegetation. 
 
3. (U) The only signs of recent progress visible in the city 
are the new offices of Vodacom and Celtel communications. A 
weekly flight by Wimbi Dira Airlines keeps Gbadolite linked 
to Kinshasa, although goods flown from Kinshasa cost two to 
three times more in Gbadolite. Trade with the nearby Central 
African Republic is minimal due to cumbersome border fees 
paid by local merchants and theft by remaining MLC soldiers 
(Note: Local officials indicated that the border has been 
open only once or twice a month for trade. End Note.) 
Subsistence agriculture of crops such as rice, manioc, corn 
and peanuts is the main economic activity in the area. There 
is also some level of fishing and cattle raising, although 
most cattle were killed during the war. The main roads around 
the city, however, were actually in good condition and a 
local hydroelectric plant produced sufficient electricity to 
supply the city and its outlying areas. 
 
4. (SBU) A visit to a Belgian-built hospital 13 miles from 
Gbadolite showed empty shells of buildings, a rusting 
operating room in which a medical assistant without any 
formal training had just performed a cesarean section on a 
patient who, to our surprise, had survived the procedure. The 
hospital had a handful of unpaid staff and no medicines or 
equipment to speak of. A Catholic nun explained that 
malnutrition was rampant and that although Medicinis Sans 
Frontieres-Belgium (MSF) was present in Gbabolite, their 
assistance was limited and most people in the region lacked 
access to health care. (Note: MSF was the only international 
NGO that we found in the area. End Note.) The same nun noted 
that school attendance outside Gbadolite was well under 50% 
due to parents' inability to pay school fees. 
 
Bemba's MLC Unpopular with Locals 
--------------------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) Members of civil society, NGO's and local officials 
expressed relief over the departure of a significant number 
of soldiers from Jean-Pierre Bemba's Movement for the 
Liberation of Congo (MLC) to the east. They estimate that out 
of approximately 7,000 soldiers deployed in the area prior to 
August, only 600-800 remained. Local NGO's said that MLC 
soldiers had caused substantial insecurity for the local 
population, stealing harvests and destroying agricultural 
fields and raping women at will. Such abuses had a 
detrimental effect on agriculture, as farmers did not want to 
harvest only to essentially feed MLC soldiers. 
 
6. (SBU) While poloff was in Gbadolite, Vice-President Jean 
Pierre Bemba made a brief visit to the city, but did not meet 
with any local officials. He spent 30 minutes in his private 
residence and then left the area. Civil society 
representatives said that the MLC had not done anything for 
the province and that Bemba was not popular in Gbadolite, the 
MLC's former base. The mayor of Gbadolite referred to 
Gbadolite as "the most forgotten city in the Congo" and noted 
that local people had lost faith in the national authorities 
and that the region had yet to see any tangible benefits from 
the transitional institutions. According to him, five 
political parties are already present in Gbadolite: the MLC, 
the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma (RCD-G), the People's 
Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), and the 
Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR). 
 
Demobilization of Child Soldiers Faces Challenges 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
7. (SBU) Poloff visited two centers for the demobilization of 
child soldiers run by local NGO's in Gbadolite. The 
demobilization of child soldiers in the area started on 
September 1st. The initial idea involved housing over 120 of 
these children in one center. Within the first two days, 
these children had threatened a journalist who visited them 
and attacked a local teenager. At this point they were 
divided into two groups of 60 and placed in two separate 
centers. Although there were no credible reports of further 
problems with the local population, the demobilized child 
soldiers looked restless and angry. (Comment: Some local 
activists voiced concern about the lack of expertise on the 
part of the NGO's running the demobilization program. Indeed, 
poloff did not see any evidence of the availability of 
professional staff such as psychologists who could conduct 
anger-management sessions for children who openly displayed 
high levels of frustration during our visit. End Comment.) 
 
8. (SBU) The NGO's running these centers want to reintegrate 
children into their communities. Most children, however, come 
from different parts of the Congo and the process of family 
reunification could take some time. In the meantime, the 
children are being sensitized about community reintegration 
and civilian life. The children themselves told poloff that 
they were angry at not having received any pay from the 
government after several years of military service. Most said 
that they came from very poor families and did not want to go 
home empty-handed; many were anxious to start school and felt 
that the centers did not have enough activities for them. 
(Comment: Poloff raised the issue of school attendance with 
the NGO's, but they said they did not have the funds to 
provide for education at this time. Since most children will 
likely spend several months in these centers, this will be an 
ongoing source of frustration and a potential problem for the 
NGO's and the surrounding communities. End Comment.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
9. (SBU) The Gbadolite region faces many of the same problems 
experienced by other regions of the Congo following five 
years of war: massive unemployment, insecurity resulting from 
unpaid soldiers who prey on the rural population, and lack of 
government support for basic services such as health and 
education. Gbadolite, like other parts of Equateur Province, 
however, has received less attention from international NGO's 
and UN agencies, whose primary focus remains the East. The 
transition government is unlikely to provide significant 
support to the region in the foreseeable future. With 
thousands of Congolese refugees expected to return to 
northern Equateur Province from the CAR and Congo-Brazzaville 
in the next several months, it will be important for the 
international community to pay attention to the humanitarian 
situation in the area, before it, and security, deteriorate 
further. 
MEECE