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Hillary Clinton Visits SFCG D.R. Congo

From left: Lena Slachmuijlder, Yolande Konde, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
and retired NBA star Dikembe Mutombo

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton honoured SFCG with a visit to its DRC programme in Kinshasa on August 10, 2009, in a stop on her seven country tour in Africa. Mrs. Clinton was joined by retired NBA basketball star Dikembe Mutumbo.

Secretary Clinton and Mr. Mutombo participated in a Special Town Hall Meeting, organised by SFCG and its local partner Cojeski (Collectif des Jeunes Solidaires du Congo Kinshasa). 140 university students came together for a conversation about their experiences and aspirations for democracy and governance in the DRC. The Town Hall Meeting is representative of a larger governance project that SFCG is implementing with support from USAID and the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

For more information on SFCG’s governance work, click here.

Key Remarks

SFCG’s Country Director Lena Slachmuijlder opened the discussion. She introduced the Secretary and emphasised the importance of the town hall meetings in the context of the DRC.  “Without dialogue,” she said, “we are unable to understand the ‘other’ in order to find points we have in common, despite our differences.”  She added that working for change needs to start with youth, because “when we are young, we manage to effect change, and we become loyal to this spirit of activism and service for the rest of our lives.

Yolande Konde, Provincial Coordinator of COJESKI and a law student at the University of Kinshasa stated, “Our universities are plagued by corruption, intimidation, tribalism, violence and an absence of values. But, very often, when we try to dialogue with our authorities or our elected leaders, the door is closed on us.”

In her remarks, Secretary Clinton highlighted the collaboration between Search for Common Ground and COJESKI in implementing the Town Hall Meetings to promote participation and accountability.  Secretary Clinton took note of COJESKI’s important work in holding Congolese authorities accountable.   Secretary Clinton further reinforced the need to take a strong stance on the utilisation of Congo’s mineral and natural resource wealth for the benefit of its population, who are among the poorest in the world.  She added that the exploitation of Congo’s most precious resource – its girls and women – must come to an end.

For information on SFCG’s Sexual and Gender-Based Violence programming, download this pdf.

An Active Discussion

SFCG then opened the floor for a question and answer session with the students. Their questions highlighted the sense of desperation and frustration that many youth feel currently.  One question that received applause from the students was:  “What if I work hard, and manage to become President of this country one day?  What assurance do I have that I won’t be eliminated as we have seen happen to previous leaders of our country?  Can the United States guarantee that this won’t happen again?”

Secretary Clinton replied with frankness, confirming that the DRC’s history has been marked by interference and manipulation by foreign powers.  But she emphasised that the Obama administration has placed improved relations with Africa at the center of its foreign policy.  “We are interested in those who want to move forward and build new, constructive relations, and not those who want to look to the past,” she stated.