The encroachment of certain influential individuals who employ cronyism, patronage, and networking into the recruitment and hiring processes of employees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a widely discussed issue in media and public discourse. However, it remains an underexplored subject within scholarly research. This paper seeks to address this gap by providing a comprehensive overview of this phenomenon over time. Drawing upon Jamie Peck’s concepts of labour incorporation and labour allocation, while also examining the prevalence of illegality and informality, this study argues that these ‘influential individuals’ or ‘well-connected actors’ have assumed the roles and responsibilities traditionally held by labour market actors and institutions. Consequently, this has exacerbated long-standing malpractices within the Congolese labour market. The interference of these ‘influential individuals’ disrupts the normal functioning of the Congolese labour market, even as proponents of these practices offer justifications for their actions. Employing qualitative interviews and documentary research, this study traces the historical origins of such interference, dating back to the colonial era.
BierschenkTOlivier de SardanJ-P (2014) States at Work: Dynamics of African Bureaucracies. Leiden: Brill.
2.
BossekotaLWSabitiJK (2001) RD Congo: Dernier pays du monde? Rapport d’OBSAM. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Université Technologique Bel Campus.
3.
De HerdtTOlivier de SardanJ-P (2015) Real Governance and Practical Norms in Sub-Saharan Africa. London: Routledge.
4.
GouldDJ (1977) Local administration in Zaïre and underdevelopment. Journal of Modern African Studies15(3): 349–378.
5.
GouldDJ (1980) Bureaucratic Corruption in the Third World: The Administration of Underdevelopment in Zaire. New York: Pergamon Press.
6.
Gyimah-BoadiE (2000) Conflict of interest, nepotism and cronyism. In: PopeJ (ed.) TI Source Book 2000: Confronting Corruption: The Elements of a National Integrity System. Berlin: Transparency International, pp.195–204.
7.
HartK (1985) The informal economy. The Cambridge Journal of Anthropology10(2): 54–58.
8.
HaskinJM (2005) The Tragic State of the Congo: From Decolonization to Dictatorship. New York: Algora Publishing.
9.
HochschildA (1998) King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Boston, MA; New York: First Mariner Books Edition.
10.
HübschleA (2017) Contested illegality. In: BeckertJDeweM (eds) The Architecture of Illegal Markets: Towards an Economic Sociology of Illegality in the Economy. New York: Oxford University Press, pp.177–197.
11.
IlofoIE-E (1973) Essai sur la Reglementation du Service National de l’Emploi au Zaire (Titre XI, Chapitre de l’ordonnance-loi N° 67/310 du 9 aout 1967 portant code du travail). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Faculte de Droitl Kinshasa, Université Nationale du Zaire, Campus de Kinshasa.
12.
InakaSJ (2020) Post-war labour market reconstruction: the case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. PhD Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
13.
InakaSJ (2022) Labour relations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: an epic history of an anti-unionism terrain. South African Review of Sociology52(3): 64–83.
14.
InakaSJNshimbiCCTshimpakaLM (2023) The Reconstruction of Post-War Labour Markets in the Southern African Development Community: Insights from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
15.
INS (2018) Enquete avec questionnaire unifie a l’indicateur de base de bien etre, Rapport de l’Enquete. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: World Bank Group.
16.
IyendaG (2006) Social research and data collection in poverty and underdevelopment in the Congo: context, practices and problems. Civilisations54: 107–115.
KiryaMT (2020) Promoting anti-corruption, transparency and accountability in the recruitment and promotion of health workers to safeguard health outcomes. Global Health Action13(Suppl. 1): 1701326.
20.
KodiM (2008) Corruption and Governance in the DRC During the Transition Period (2003–2006). Pretoria, South Africa: Institute for Security Studies.
21.
KusuanikaF (2021) Actu expliquée 21.09 – Gisèle Mpela expulsée? scènes de ménages au sommet de l’état. Tele Tshangu, 21September. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQdUsHQJ0K0
22.
LarmerMKennesE (2014) Rethinking the Katangese secession. The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History42(4): 741–761.
23.
LumbuMM (2004) Les ministres de Mobutu (1965–1990). Memoire de Licence en Histoire, Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
24.
LwambaB (1985) Histoire du mouvement ouvrier au Congo Belge (1994–1960): cas de la Province de Katanga. PhD Dissertation, Université De Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
25.
MattiSA (2010) The Democratic Republic of the Congo? Corruption, patronage, and competitive authoritarianism in the DRC. Africa Today56: 42–61.
26.
MbembeA (2000) De la postcolonie: essai sur l’imagination politique dans l’Afrique contemporaine. Paris: Karthala.
27.
Ministère de la Fonction Publique (2014) Le Journal Du Fonctionnaire No. 1. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Syrius Presse.
28.
MonavillePA (2013) Decolonizing the university: postal politics, the student movement, and global 1968 in the Congo. PhD Dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
29.
MpingaKGouldDJ (1975) Les réformes administratives au Zaïre, 1972–1973. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: PUZ.
30.
Ndaywel è NziemI (1998) Histoire générale du Congo: de l’héritage ancien à la République Démocratique. Bruxelles: Duculot Afrique Editions.
31.
Nzongola-NtalajaG (2002) The Congo: From Leopold II to Kabila: A People’s History. London: Zed Book.
32.
Olivier de SardanJ-P (1999) A moral economy of corruption in Africa?Journal of Modern African Studies37(1): 25–52.
33.
Olivier de SardanJ-P (2010) Développement, modes de gouvernance et normes pratiques (une approche socio-anthropologique). Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue Canadienne d’études du développement31(1–2): 5–20.
34.
PeckJ (1996) Work-Place: The Social Regulation of Labor Markets. New York: Guilford Press.
35.
PypeK (2020) Stones thrown online: the politics of insults, distance and impunity in Congolese polémique. In: BudkaPPostillJBräuchlerB (eds) Theorising Media and Conflict. New York: Berghahn Books, pp.237–256.
36.
République démocratique du Congo (2002) Loi N° 2002/015 du 16 Octobre 2002 portant Code du Travail. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Journal Officiel.
37.
République démocratique du Congo (2016a) Loi N° 16/010 du 15 juillet 2016 modifiant et completant la loi N° 015-2002 portant Code du Travail. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Journal Officiel.
38.
République démocratique du Congo (2016b) Loi N° 16/013 du 15 juillet 2016 portant statut des agents de carrière des Services Publics de l’État. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Journal Officiel.
39.
République du Zaïre (1973) Ordonnance-loi N° 73/023 du 4 juillet 1973 portant Statut du Personnel de carrière des Services Publics de l’État. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Journal Officiel.
40.
République du Zaïre (1981) Loi N° 81/003 du 17 juillet 1981 portant statut du Personnel de Carriere des Services Publics de l’État. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Journal Officiel.
41.
ReybrouckDV (2014) Congo: The Epic History of a People. New York: HarperCollins.
42.
ReyntjensF (2009) The Great African War: Congo and Regional Geopolitics, 1996–2006. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
43.
SchatzbergMG (1982) ‘Le mal zairois’: why policy fails in Zaire. African Affairs81(324): 337–348.
44.
StearnsJK (2012) Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa. New York: Public Affairs.
45.
TchouassiG (2019) La spécificité du modèle socio-culturel Africain et le processus d’embauche dans les entreprises camerounaises. Revue congolaise de gestion2(28): 154–192.
46.
TitecaKde HerdtT (2010) Regulation, cross-border trade and practical norms in West Nile, North-Western Uganda. Journal of the International African Institute80(4): 573–594.
47.
TitecaKFlynnR (2014) ‘Hybrid governance’ legitimacy, and (il)legality in the informal cross-border trade in Panyimur, Northwest Uganda. African Studies Review57(1): 71–91.
48.
TrapidoJ (2015) Africa’s leaky giant. New Left Review92: 5–40.
49.
TrapidoJ (2016) Kinshasa’s theatre of power. New Left Review98: 57–80.
50.
TshombeL-M (2017) Public administration in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In: Vyas-DoorgapersadSTshombeL-MAbabioEP (eds) Public Administration in Africa: Performance and Challenges. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, pp.27–44.
51.
Van ImpeA (2012) Investing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Legal Guide. Brussels: De Wolfs.
52.
Van SchendelWAbrahamI (2005) Introduction: the making of illicitness. In: AbrahamIVan SchendelW (eds) Illicit Flows and Criminal Things: States, Borders, and the Other Side of Globalization. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University, pp.1–37.
