US embassy cable - 05KINSHASA1993

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 001993 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2010 
TAGS: ECON, EFIN, PINR, PGOV, CG 
SUBJECT: NEW DRC MINISTER OF ECONOMY, PIERRE MALOKA 
 
REF: KINSHASA 1926 
 
Classified By: GREG GROTH, ECON COUNSELOR: REASON 1.4 B AND D 
 
1.(U)  Econcouns met on November 29 with the new Minister of 
Economy, Pierre Maloka Makonji.  Maloka, who was sworn in on 
November 27, replaces outgoing minister Floribert Bokanga 
Nzakomba, who left the GDRC after the recent cabinet 
reshuffle (reftel).  Under the transitional framework the 
Economy Ministry is filled by an appointee of the RCD/G 
faction, led by Vice President Azarias Ruberwa, but is under 
the direction of the VP in charge of the Economic and 
Financial Commission, Jean-Pierre Bemba. 
 
2. (C)  Maloka said he met Ruberwa for the first time in July 
while attending a Protestant church service in Kinshasa, and 
that the two became friends. Maloka said that he realizes 
that his term as Minister will only last at most six months, 
but that he wants to accomplish something during his tenure. 
Maloka is so new to the job that he had not been in his 
office, and admitted that he did not yet have a clear vision 
of his approach.  He did, however, use the term "Christian 
values" more than once during the discussion, and asked aloud 
at one point how the Congo could be such a rich country and 
its people still be so poor.  Econcouns and the Minister 
spoke almost exclusively in English, and Maloka admitted at 
one point that his French is a little rusty due to lack of 
use. 
 
3. (SBU)  Maloka is 65 years old, born in the town of 
Bosonjafo, near Mbandaka in the Equateur province.  His 
father was a minister with the British Baptist mission there. 
 Maloka emigrated to the U.S. in the early 1960s, and is a 
Legal Permanent Resident of the U.S.  He received a B.S. 
degree in Business Administration from Roosevelt University 
in Chicago and an M.A. in Economics from De Paul University. 
He returned to the Congo during the period 1974-80 as 
Director of Development for the Church of Christ in Zaire, a 
union of 56 Protestant churches which claims a membership of 
12 million people.  Beginning in 1990, Maloka taught 
economics at Campbell University, located on Camp Le Jeune, 
in North Carolina.  His course offerings included both 
microeconomics and macroeconomics.  From July 2001, Maloka 
has served as president of the Congolese National Unity Party 
(PUNA), after being elected in absentia.  Maloka met his 
American wife, Fran, in the Congo and they have been married 
for 42 years.  They have a son, Pierre, who lives in the U.S. 
 
 
 
 
MEECE