VZCZCXYZ0008
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKI #1100/01 3511134
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171134Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 0445

UNCLAS KINSHASA 001100 
 
DEPT FOR AF/C LAMORA, CA/VO/F URBANIC, CA/FPP MATTINGLY, AND CA/EX 
BOETTCHER; JOHANNESBURG FOR RCO MAY 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC CMGT CVIS ASEC OTRA CG
SUBJECT:    DRC PASSPORTS AND CORRUPTION:  YET ANOTHER 
            CHALLENGE TO GOOD GOVERNANCE IN THE CONGO 
 
REF:        KINSHASA 1007 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  On November 9, 2009, the Government of the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo (GDRC) announced that all 
non-biometric passports would be cancelled effective December 31, 
2009 (reftel).  The announcement marked the culmination of a 
two-year effort by the GDRC to regularize passport issuance and 
reduce wide-spread corruption undermining confidence in Congolese 
documents.  At the same time, the twists and turns of the process 
itself and the final product that resulted reveal the challenges the 
government faces in trying to provide basic services to citizens. 
The process also offers an example of how corruption and bad 
government are inextricably linked.  By January 1, 2010 Congolese 
travelers will have a more secure travel document, but oversight of 
the process has not improved, and the problems associated with 
Congolese passports continue to exist with nearly every document the 
GDRC issues.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) On November 6, 2009 the GDRC announced that all 
non-biometric passports would expire December 31, 2009.  The new 
passports incorporate standard security features: they are machine 
readable and use a digitized photo.  Biographic data is no longer 
hand-written, a practice that rendered many passports illegible in 
the past, and the passports have unique serial numbers.  The 
government insists that it has sufficient stock on hand to ensure an 
adequate supply to passport offices throughout the Congo.  The 
government also has promised to speed passport issuance -- which can 
take as long as six months -- and to standardize fees, thus reducing 
incentives for corruption. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) But the two-year process of replacing the old passports 
has not gone smoothly, largely as a result of the government's weak 
administrative capabilities.  In 2008, for example, the government 
ran out of stock for tourist passports and issued all Congolese 
travelers official passports, annotating the documents for tourists. 
 Some European countries refused to recognize the annotated 
passports.  In February 2009 the passport replacement program was 
suspended when the GDRC learned that the new passports repeated 
serial numbers and lacked a space for travelers to sign their names. 
 In August 2009 the government moved all passport issuances to 
Kinshasa because embassies abroad were not remitting fees.  In 
addition, the government has not been able to standardize fees or 
speed issuance: Congolese citizens are likely to pay two to four 
times the official rate of $150 in bribes, and the wait time remains 
at six months. 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Most important of all, no governmental oversight exists to 
insure the identity of Congolese travelers.  Applicants are required 
to submit one of two forms of identification: a voter card, or a 
certificate of nationality.  (Note: Old passports are not accepted 
as proof of identity.  End note.)  Voter cards are issued 
irregularly and usually in conjunction with upcoming elections.  A 
photo is attached to the voter card, and fingerprints are taken, but 
the information presented is accepted at face value, and passport 
offices lack the capacity to compare fingerprints.  The certificate 
of nationality is issued after an interview at the Ministry of 
Justice; it lacks a photo, and the biographic information it 
contains is not verified. 
 
¶5.   (U) Cultural traditions explain these practices, at least in 
part.  Congolese law allows a citizen to obtain a birth certificate, 
a marriage certificate, a divorce certificate, a national ID, and in 
Qa marriage certificate, a divorce certificate, a national ID, and in 
some cases, an adoption decree based on a statement made in front of 
a judge.  The statement is not verified by a government official. 
Many Congolese citizens, particularly in rural areas, distrust the 
state, and see no reason to spend money to obtain official 
documents.  As a result, nearly all documents are registered years 
late.  Naming conventions are not standardized: many applicants for 
American visas have changed their names three or four times, each 
name backed by a valid passport. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) But an even bigger reason is money.  Government officials 
receive abysmal payment for their services (if they are paid at all) 
and work in primitive conditions.  Long-time, mid-level officials 
may earn as little as $200 per month.  Municipal offices around 
Kinshasa open late and sometimes close by noon, as bureaucrats hurry 
to their second (or third) job.  Offices lack computers, air 
conditioning, desks, and even paper.  MFA diplomats sometimes ask 
embassies to send a driver, because the MFA cannot afford 
transportation to deliver diplomatic notes.  Municipal offices, 
particularly in outlying areas of Kinshasa, resemble open air 
markets, where documents are freely bartered and where it is 
impossible to tell who the genuine officials are.  In these kinds of 
conditions, the temptation to take and solicit bribes is 
overwhelming, even for the most honest bureaucrats. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Comment:  Neither corruption nor poor management alone are 
 
to blame for the lack of governmental services in the Congo. 
Instead, the two combine to derail efforts aimed at improving public 
administration.  As a case in point, in August the Ministry of 
Education informed the consular section that 16 high-school diplomas 
submitted with diversity visa applications were fake.  The 
applicants were refused visas.  In October, the Ministry corrected 
itself and said the diplomas were genuine.  The consular section 
does not know if clerks at the Ministry made a genuine error or 
received bribes to change their decision, but we have learned, as 
many Congolese citizens already knew, that the government lacks the 
capacity -- and, sometimes, the will -- to verify the documents it 
issues.  End comment. 
 
Garvelink