The Republic of the Congo is one of the most resource-rich countries in the world.  However, like many African nations, the country continues to be undeveloped due, at least in part, to a civil war that took place in the late 1990s.  It has enjoyed a relatively stable, if controversial, government since then, however (do not confuse the Republic of the Congo with the similarly named Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has been in a Civil War since 1996).

On May 1, 2014, Russian media service RT reported that Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo, announced plans to develop his country’s natural resources in conjunction with Russia.  These natural resources include petroleum, gold, iron, phosphorus, and base metals.  Particularly interesting, however, are some of the other statements that the African leader made.

For the past several decades, two of the leading sources of development financing have been the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Many individuals in the Western countries, however, fail to appreciate that many citizens and political leaders in emerging economics see both of these organizations as imperialistic organizations. In 1980, the Overseas Development Institute, an independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues, discussed some of the reasons for this attitude:

  • Developed countries are seen to have a more dominant role over less developed countries primarily due to the Western bias towards a capitalist form of the world economy with professional staff being Western trained and believing in the efficacy of market-oriented policies.
  • The International Monetary Fund works on the incorrect assumption that all payment disequilibria are caused domestically.
  • The effects of IMF policy are anti-developmental. In effect, the deflationary effects of IMF programs cause the receiving economy to contract.
  • The policy conditions of the organizations’ programs result in a transfer of wealth from less developed countries to more developed ones.This is essentially the way empires have operated throughout history, with wealth essentially being transferred from the conquered regions back to the conquering power.
  • Several IMF policies lack a clear economic rationale.
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