Creative state plunder: "Tontine" with city funds in Kisangani

Congolese households often resort to two expedients to make ends meet:
1) get a loan from a "Banque Lambert," that is, a neighborhood loan
shark; or 2) join a "tontine," or a circuit of contributors who by
turns give each contributing member a predetermined amount of money on
a daily, weekly, or more commonly, monthly basis.

Tontines by women traders are proven to be sustainable and some
microcredit schemes are even based on their model. But tontine
circuits by underpaid civil servants usually disband abruptly when one
of the "shareholders" is unwilling or unable to pay other contributors
at the falling due.

Unbelievably, the mayor of Kisangani denounced this week the
million-plus-dollar "tontine" being systematically carried out by the
burgomasters of the city's 5 communes (Lubunga, Kabondo, Kisangani,
Makiso, and Mangobo). A Tontine set up with the money issuing from the
40% "retroceded" tax funds to communes as "decentralized entities" by
the city of Kisangani--a "retrocession" mandatory by law.

Radio-Kinshasa reports today that these 5 burgomasters have gone on
impulse buying sprees whenever they'd cash in their tontine: cars,
real estate, and even, second or third spouses!

While the mayor of Kisangani can certainly be commended for denouncing
these tontine-prone burgomasters, he didn't however spell out any
punishment that could be meted out against these "ventriotes"--a
Congolese pun with the words "patriot" and "ventre" (belly) to refer
to those who go into politics with the sole motive of plundering the
state.

At any rate, if these creative "ventriotes" aren't quickly impeached
by the provincial assembly, they might soon diversify into "Banques
Lambert" with city funds and enlist the help of corrupt local law
enforcement agents as their debt collectors!