This information is derived from the State Department's Office of Investment Affairs’ Investment Climate Statement. Any questions on the ICS can be directed to EB-ICS-DL@state.gov
Last Published: 7/24/2017

The GDRC’s constitution includes laws intended to fight corruption and bribery by all citizens, including public officials; however the application of the laws is rare, and when applied, politically motivated.  The GDRC also encourages private companies to establish an internal code of conduct and prohibit bribery, and they have historically been more likely to develop and implement anti-corruption controls than their SOE and parastatal counterparts.  The DRC hosted the Southern African Commission against Corruption (SAFAC) in November 2015 to discuss strategies to combat corruption.

In 2015, the DRC President authorized the creation of an anti-corruption office to fight corruption in the management of public affairs and appointed a “corruption czar” to decrease governmental malfeasance.  The new office is reportedly under-financed and, although it has allegedly prepared reports on several politicians who have been accused of corruption and embezzlement of public funds, the reports have not been publicized, leading many to believe that the office is highly politicized.  The ineffectiveness of the new office and “czar” was underscored by the DRC’s ranking of 156 out of 177 countries on the 2016 Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International.  The DRC’s score of 21 percent, which was nine places lower than its 2015 ranking, highlighted the lack of progress by the GDRC in fighting corruption, and underlined the endemic and deep roots of corruption in the DRC government, and day-to-day life.

While several NGOs contribute to the fight against corruption, their reports on the matter are frequently ignored by the government, particularly when government officials are implicated. American firms see corruption as one of the main hurdles to investment in the DRC.

The DRC is a signatory to the UN Anticorruption Convention, but not to the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery.  In September 2007, the DRC ratified a protocol agreement with SADC on Fighting Corruption.  In 2015, the government drafted a bill to fight corruption that was scheduled to be discussed in Parliament in 2016, however that did not happen and it is not mentioned in the 2017 parliamentary agenda.

The agency in charge of fighting corruption in the DRC is:
Cellule Technique de Lutte contre l’Impunite
Nkulu Mbayo Marie-Claude, Coordinator
Tel: 00243815189341
Email: nmbayo2002@yahoo.fr
 
Palais de Justice, Place de l'Indépendance
Kinshasa/Gombe, DRC
Special Advisor for Good Governance
Luzolo Bambi Lessa
Email: jedenonce2015@gmail.com
 
 

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