U.S. MULTINATIONAL CORPORATE OPERATIONS IN ALGERIA,
CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE AND ZAIRE FROM 1975 TO 1990
Delivered by A. F. Madsen, M.Ed.
Acting President of Transnational Research Associates
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
THANK YOU FOR OFFERING ME THE HONOR AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT FAIRLY
WIDE-RANGING REMARKS THIS AFTERNOON CONCERNING THE OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT
MARKET IN WHICH MANY OF YOU ARE MOST CERTAINLY INTERESTED, BUT ALSO CONCERNING
THE HISTORY, NATURE AND EXTENT OF U.S CORPORATE INVOLVEMENT IN AFRICA DURING
THE LAST 20 YEARS, WITH TANGENTIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING NATIONS
IN ASIA AND LATIN AMERICA AS WELL.
I THOUGHT IT ADVISABLE TO STRUCTURE THIS TALK IN SUCH A WAY AS TO PROVIDE
INSIGHT INTO THE CREATION OF OVERSEAS PROJECT ACTIVITY, FINANCIALLY, DIPLOMATICALLY
AND COMMERCIALLY, AND SOMEWHAT LATER TO PROCEED WITH SPECIFIC DATA OF INTEREST
TO MANY OF YOU IN TERMS OF IDENTIFYING FIRMS CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN PROJECT
MOBILIZATION, TIMING OF RESUME SUBMISSION, LIVING CONDITIONS, SALARY, FRINGE
BENEFITS, TAX ADVANTAGES, SPECIAL ALLOWANCES AND CAREER STABILITY FOR AMERICANS
AND THIRD-COUNTRY-NATIONALS WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT.
OVERSEAS PROJECTS DO NOT SIMPLY MATERIALIZE. THE 800 MILLION DOLLAR INGA-SHABA
TRANSMISSION LINE PROJECT IN THE REPUBLIC OF ZAIRE, FORMERLY THE BELGIAN
CONGO, WAS THE RESULT OF ARDUOUS, INTRICATE NEGOTIATIONS OVER A PERIOD
OF MORE THAN THREE YEARS IN THE PRE-FEASIBILITY STAGE, INVOLVING SEVERAL
COMPETING NATIONS WITH STIFF COMPETITIVE POSITIONS; HOWEVER, WHEN IT ULTIMATELY
COALESCED IN LATE 1973 -- MAJOR FINANCING IN PLACE, TECHNICAL STUDIES COMPLETED,
GOVERNMENTAL APPROVALS OBTAINED, MOBILIZATION PLANS SKETCHED AND CORPORATE
RESPONSIBILITIES CLARIFIED -- THE INGA-SHABA EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE D.C. INTERTIE
WAS TO REPRESENT AMERICA'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS THIRD-WORLD COMMITMENT OF THE
1970s AND 1980s.
BRIEFLY, THE PROJECT ENTAILED DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF AN ELECTRICAL
TRANSMISSION LINE FROM THE MOUTH OF THE CONGO RIVER, SPECIFICALLY FROM
AFRICA'S THIRD LARGEST DAM, AFTER THE ASWAN AND COBORRA BOSSA, INGA, TO
THE DISTANT COPPER MINING REGION OF ZAIRE, IN COLONIAL TIMES KNOWN AS "KATANGA",
TODAY CALLED SHABA, SITE OF THE WORLD'S FIRST, ARGUABLY SECOND LARGEST
MINING CONCESSION, THE FORMER UNION MINIERE DU HAUT-KATANGA, TODAY RENAMED
"GECAMINES", A FRENCH ACRONYM FOR THE GENERAL SOCIETY OF QUARRIES
AND MINES, WHICH PRODUCES ENORMOUS QUANTITIES OF COPPER ORE FOR REFINEMENT
BOTH ON SITE AND IN EUROPE, LARGELY AT THE SOCIETE GENERALE MINIERE, SGM,
IN BELGIUM.
THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL RATIONALE FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THIS LINE WAS
TO PROVIDE ELECTRICITY, OF COURSE, FOR THE COPPER REFINEMENT PROCESS, BUT
ALSO TO LINK KINSHASA, THE NATION'S CAPITAL 1200 MILES AWAY, TO THE REVENUE
PRODUCING HEART OF ZAIRE. IN TIMES OF POLITICAL UNREST, UPHEAVAL OR DISLOYALTY
TO THE MILITARY REGIME, ELECTRICAL POWER COULD BE CUT TO SHABA PROVINCE,
ISOLATING IT ECONOMICALLY, AND, HENCE, ULTIMATELY MILITARILY IN CASE OF
PROLONGED REBELLION.
REVOLTS AND INCIDENTS OF CIVIL UPHEAVAL IN SHABA PROVINCE, INCIDENTALLY,
ARE COMMONPLACE AND STEM FROM THE EARLY YEARS OF CONGOLESE INDEPENDENCE
IN THE 1960s WHEN SECESSIONIST MOVEMENTS, UNDER MOISE TSHOMBE AND PATRICE
LUMUMBA, THREATENED THE TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF CONTEMPORARY ZAIRE, AS
WE KNOW IT TODAY.
THERE WAS EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THIS COULD OCCUR AGAIN... AND IT
DID, TWICE IN THE LATE 1970s, WHEN EX-KATANGESE INSURGENTS, TRAINED ON
ANGOLAN SOIL BY CUBAN ADVISORS, INVADED KOLWEZI, THE PRINCIPAL MINING TOWN
AND TERMINAL POINT OF THE INGA-SHABA TRANSMISSION LINE, ULTIMATELY TO BE
TURNED BACK BY A COORDINATED FRENCH, MOROCCAN AND AMERICAN MULTI-LATERAL
FORCE INTERESTED IN MAINTAINING THE ZAIRIAN REGIME OF MOBUTU SESE SEKO
IN POWER.
THE SHABA INVASIONS OF THE LATE 1970s RESULTED IN A TRIPLING OF THE INGA-SHABA
LINE'S OVERALL COST, AND IN A DELAY OF SOME FIVE YEARS IN COMPLETION OF
THIS MEGA-PROJECT. ONE AMERICAN PROJECT EMPLOYEE, WHO RUSHED BACK INTO
TOWN TO SAVE HIS GERMAN GIRL FRIEND, WAS KILLED, REPORTEDLY BY PRO-GOVERNMENT
TROOPS WHO MAY HAVE INTENTIONALLY TARGETED HIM. SOME 80 BELGIANS PERISHED
IN THESE ATTACKS, CHILDREN WERE TORTURED TO DEATH IN THE PRESENCE OF THEIR
PARENTS, LATER KILLED AS WELL, AND ULTIMATELY, WITH FRENCH PUBLIC OPINION
OUTRAGED, FRENCH AND MOROCCAN PARATROOPERS WERE SENT IN TO STABILIZE THE
SITUATION, USING AMERICAN C-140 TRANSPORTS.
WHEN RETIRED GENERAL THOMAS HAYES SAT DOWN WITH FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR
TO ZAIRE, SHELDON VANCE, TO DISCUSS THIS ENORMOUS UNDERTAKING THEY DID
NOT ANTICIPATE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIOLOGICAL
IMPACT THAT THIS PROJECT WOULD HAVE ON THE ZAIRIANS, AMERICANS, ITALIANS
AND SWEDES ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
FROM EARLY 1974 TO 1984, SOME 2300 ZAIRIANS WERE DIRECTLY EMPLOYED IN CONSTRUCTION
OF THE LINE, THOUSANDS OF OTHERS AS SUB-CONTRACTORS, CLEARING THE RIGHT-OF-WAY
OF DENSE TROPICAL UNDERGROWTH; OVER 800 AMERICANS WERE EMPLOYED AT THE
PROJECT'S APOGEE, WITH ANOTHER 2000 ROTATING IN AND OUT AS REQUIRED, OR
FOR REASONS OF INCOMPETENCE. HUNDREDS OF ITALIANS FROM SADELMI-COGEPI AND
ASTALDI ESTERO, RESPONSIBLE FOR VARIOUS PHASES OF TOWER IMPLANTATION AND
CONSTRUCTION, WERE RETAINED ON A SUB-CONTRACTING BASIS, AS WERE SWEDISH
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS FROM ASEA, HEADQUARTED IN LUDVIGA, WHO PROVIDED THE
STATE OF THE ART AC/DC CONVERSION TECHNOLOGY, INVOLVING ENORMOUS, "FRANKENSTEINIAN"
THYRISTOR VALVE UNITS REACHING HUNDREDS OF FEET UP INTO GYMNASIUM-LIKE
CONVERTER BUILDINGS IN INGA AND KOLWEZI. HERE, ELECTRIC ARCS WOULD JUMP
THIRTY FEET FROM CROWN-SHAPED DISCS TWENTY FEET IN DIAMETER, AN IMPRESSIVE
SIGHT.
YET, THE PRIME CONTRACTOR FOR THIS MASSIVE UNDERTAKING WAS HEADQUARTERED
IN BOISE, IDAHO. THE CONNECTIONS WHICH MORRISON-KNUDSEN COMPANY'S INTERNATIONAL
DIVISION HAD IN WASHINGTON D.C., LARGELY WITH SHELDON VANCE, AS WE MENTIONED,
FORMER AMBASSADOR TO ZAIRE, WHO HAD ESTABLISHED A PRIVATE CONSULTANCY DRAWING
ON HIS NAME AND PROMINENCE AS AMBASSADOR TO PROMOTE HIS PERSONAL BUSINESS
AMBITIONS, ENABLED THIS CORPORATION TO APPEAR, FIRSTLY, ON A SHORT LIST
OF PREFERRED FIRMS, THEN TO BE SINGLED OUT AS THE MOST QUALIFIED ENGINEERING
AND CONSTRUCTION ENTITY AVAILABLE FOR SUCH A COMPLEX EQUATORIAL UNDERTAKING,
FEATURING LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARES AND SOCIO-CULTURAL BARRIERS WHICH WOULD
TRULY PROVE CHALLENGING.
MKI, ALONG WITH ITS SUBSIDIARY "INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING COMPANY",
IECO, ESTIMATED THE COST OF SUCH A PROJECT TO BE ON THE ORDER OF 250 MILLION
DOLLARS IN 1974. WITH OVERRUNS AND CONTINGENCIES RELATED TO UNFORESEEABLE
EVENTS, KNOWN IN ENGLISH BY THE FRENCH TERM "FORCE MAJEURE" --
WHICH DIFFERS FROM ACTS OF GOD, AS SUCH -- THE INGA-SHABA PROJECT WAS DESTINED
TO SURPASS ONE BILLION DOLLARS BY 1984.
LET'S EXAMINE THE FINANCIAL MECHANISMS OF THIS TYPICAL OVERSEAS AMERICAN
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT. WE SAY "TYPICAL" BECAUSE, ALTHOUGH THE
SUMS OF CAPITAL REQUIRED FOR INGA-SHABA WERE ENORMOUS BY MOST PROJECT STANDARDS,
THE SAME CAN BE SAID, IN THE 1990s, OF SOMEWHAT MORE MODEST PROJECTS ON
THE ORDER OF 100 OR 200 MILLION DOLLARS.
FIRSTLY, THE REPUBLIC OF ZAIRE WAS IN NO ECONOMIC SHAPE TO FUND EVEN 3%
OF THE HARD-CURRENCY COSTS OF THIS PROJECT. VICIOUS COMPETITION FOR LIMITED
ZAIRIAN REVENUE GENERATED BY COPPER, MANGANESE, COBALT AND DIAMOND SALES
WAS A SALIENT FACT OF LIFE FINANCIALLY IN ZAIRE DURING THE 1980s.
COMPETITORS INCLUDED:
A. PRESIDENT MOBUTU'S ENTOURAGE, A RULING CLIQUE OF 300 FAMILIES WHICH
CONTROLLED ZAIRE. THIS GROUP RAKED OFF MONTHLY REVENUES PERMITTING MOBUTU
TO BECOME THE 11th RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD WITH A REPORTED FORTUNE SURPASSING
FIVE BILLION DOLLARS, THEN THE NATIONAL DEBT OF HIS COUNTRY. HIS FAMILY
MEMBERS, NIWA, THE SON, SETI, THE FEARED DIRECTOR OF THE ZAIRIAN SECRET
POLICE, LA SURETE NATIONALE, AND BOBBI LADAWA, MOBUTU'S MISTRESS, SOON
TO BE HIS WIFE, MARRIED BY CARDINAL MALULA UNDER THE LATTER'S PROTEST ON
THE EVE OF THE POPE'S MAY 1980 VISIT TO KINSHASA, DRAINED MONTHLY RECEIPTS
BEYOND ONE'S WILDEST IMAGINATION.
B. SGM, THE MONOLITHIC BELGIAN MINING AND REFINING FIRM, WHICH, UNTIL THE
ZAIRIAN REGIME MODIFIED ITS BINDING AGREEMENT WITH BELGIUM, WAS RESPONSIBLE
FOR REFINING UP TO 40% OF RAW ORE PRODUCED IN ZAIRE, CONSUMED ITS SHARE
OF MONIES GENERATED BY THE SALE OF COPPER AND MANGANESE. ULTIMATELY, MOBUTU'S
GOVERNMENT FOUNDED SOZACOM, A STATE-OWNED ENTERPRIZE WHICH FUNNELED REVENUES
BACK INTO HIS GOVERNMENT, STILL ESSENTIALLY A LOSS IN TERMS OF INTERNAL
STIMULATION OF THE ZAIRIAN NATIONAL ECONOMY.
INCIDENTALLY, THE SOZACOM BUILDING, IN KINSHASA, IS SURELY THE MOST IMPRESSIVE,
CAPPED BY A COPPER DOME VISIBLE FROM ALL VANTAGE POINTS, REPLACING THE
"ONATRA" TRANSPORTATION BUILDING AND THE "BCZ" BANK
AS THE PREMIER BUILDING OF THE CAPITAL CITY, A THRIVING METROPOLIS OF FOUR
MILLION PEOPLE, DESIGNED ORIGINALLY FOR 150,000 BY THE BELGIANS.
C. AIR ZAIRE, THE NATIONAL AIRLINE, WAS ALSO A MAJOR COMPETITOR FOR FUNDS,
WHICH, AT VARYING TIMES, WERE PAID TO SABENA, PAN AM OR SWISSAIR FOR PROPER
MAINTENANCE OF AIRCRAFT, MAINTENANCE WHICH COULD NOT BE PERFORMED BY AIR
ZAIRE TECHNICAL PERSONNEL. THE NATIONAL AIRLINE WAS OFTEN SO BANKRUPT THAT
ITS AIRCRAFT WERE REPOSSESSED BY BOEING AND AIRBUS INDUSTRIES FOR NON-PAYMENT.
THIS WAS THE CASE OF THE ONE 747 IN AIR ZAIRE'S FLEET WHICH, WHEN LANDING
AT ROISSY IN PARIS, WAS INSTANTLY SEIZED BY AUTHORITIES WAITING WITH APPROPRIATE
DOCUMENTATION.
THIS SERIES OF EVENTS LEFT REVENUES FOR ZAIRE, THE FORMER BELGIAN CONGO,
ONE OF THE WORLD'S TREASURE CHESTS OF PRECIOUS METALS, GEMS, HARDWOODS,
STRATEGIC MINERALS, COFFEE AND HYDRO-POWER, WITH ONLY 5 MILLION DOLLARS
PER MONTH IN NET INCOME IN 1981, FOR EXAMPLE, WHICH, OFTEN AGAINST THE
WISHES OF THE AVARICIOUS MILITARY MACHINE, GENERALLY MADE IT INTO THE COFFERS
OF THE BANK OF ZAIRE, THE CENTRAL BANK, THE THIRD-WORLD EQUIVALENT OF OUR
"FEDERAL RESERVE", ALBEIT STRUCTURED QUITE A BIT DIFFERENTLY.
OF THE FIVE MILLION DOLLARS MONTHLY, THE INGA-SHABA PROJECT WAS ALLOCATED
ONE MILLION BY GOVERNOR OF THE BANK OF ZAIRE SAMBWA PIDA, FOR ON-GOING
HARD CURRENCY EXPENSES UNRELATED TO THE MAJOR PROJECT FINANCING WHICH WE
WILL DISCUSS.
THE REMAINING FOUR MILLION, WHEN AVAILABLE, WERE ALLOCATED TO (1) THE GERMAN
PRINTING FIRM RESPONSIBLE FOR ENGRAVING AND PRODUCING ZAIRE'S INTERNAL
CURRENCY, A NON-CONVERTIBLE UNIT KNOWN AS THE "ZAIRE", WITH AN
ANNUAL INFLATION RATE OF 440 PER CENT, (2) SABENA AIRLINES, THIS TIME,
FOR REDEMPTION OF TICKETS AND SERVICES PAID FOR IN NON-CONVERTIBLE ZAIRES,
(3) GASOLINE AND FUEL FOR PRIORITY MILITARY USE AND (4) A SMATTERING OF
SMALLER BUSINESSES IMPORTING STRATEGIC GOODS.
ALL OF THIS WAS SUBJECT TO THE MERCURIAL DECISIONS OF THE FINANCE MINISTER,
NAMWISI, A NON-UNIVERSITY TRAINED APPOINTEE OF PRESIDENT MOBUTU, AND AN
OMNIPOTENT MEMBER OF THE RULING EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.
MY TASK, MONTHLY, IN ADDITION TO TRANSLATING VOLUMINOUS DOCUMENTATION,
TECHNICAL REPORTS AND CORRESPONDENCE, ... AND INTERPRETING AT DELICATE
NEGOTIATIONS INVOLVING TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, FRANCS, LIRA, KRONA
AND POUNDS STERLING FROM STATESIDE AND EUROPEAN SOURCES ..., WAS TO MAKE
THE ROUNDS OF SOME 17 OFFICES WITHIN THE BANK OF ZAIRE, TRACING THE PAPER
FLOW THROUGH A LABYRINTHINE MAZE OF POST-BELGIAN BUREAUCRACY, MODIFIED,
VIRTUALLY WEEKLY, BY PRESIDENTIAL DECREES, ORDINANCES AND PRONOUNCEMENTS,
IN ORDER TO EXPEDITE DISBURSEMENT OF OUR PROJECT'S ONE MILLION DOLLARS,
AS PROMISED, PLUS SOFT CURRENCY NEEDS ALLOCATED TO MEET OUR LOCAL ZAIRIAN
PAYROLL AND ON SITE EXPENSES.
THAT, ESSENTIALLY, WAS THE FINANCIAL SITUATION OF THE REPUBLIC FROM 1975
TO 1983, WITH MASSIVE DOWNWARD FLUCTUATIONS, NATURALLY, DURING INVASIONS
AND UPRISINGS. ANYONE OF CONSEQUENCE DURING THESE TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY
TOOK WHAT HE OR SHE COULD AND RAN FOR THE CAYMAN ISLANDS, THE SECHYELLES
OR EUROPE. THE NATIONAL POWER COMMISSIONER, NZEZA MAKUNSI, WAS ONE OF THOSE
WHO FLED...LEAVING ADMINISTRATIVE CHAOS IN HIS WAKE.
ZAIRE, THEREFORE, SIMPLY COULD NOT PAY FOR THIS BILLION DOLLAR INFRASTRUCTURAL
ASSET, THE INGA-SHABA LINE. IT WAS CONTROVERSIAL TO BEGIN WITH DUE TO ADEQUATE
CAPACITY PRODUCED BY HYDROELECTRIC MICRO-GENERATION UNITS ALREADY INSTALLED
IN SHABA PROVINCE BY THE BELGIANS, WHOSE FIRM, TRACTIONEL, HAD, IN A PRE-FEASIBILITY
STUDY OF ITS OWN, DETERMINED THAT THIS PROJECT WAS NOT WORTHWHILE UNDER
ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
WHAT, WITH ALL OF THIS CONTROVERSY, WERE THE MAJOR SOURCES OF THIS PROJECT'S
FUNDING?
INDEED, THE PRIVATE BANKING SECTOR IN THE UNITED STATES DEMONSTRATED EARLY
INTEREST IN THE PROJECT, CONVINCED OF ITS VIABILITY BY PROJECT ADVOCATES
IN THE CORPORATE DOMAIN AND POLITICIANS WHO THOUGHT ONLY OF AMERICAN PRIMACY
IN ZAIRE, ALREADY CLEARLY BELGIAN AND FRENCH TERRITORY, COMMERCIALLY AND
STRATEGICALLY.
THE BANKING CONSORTIUM WHICH ASSEMBLED THE MASSIVE FINANCING FOR THIS MEGA-PROJECT
CONSISTED, IRONICALLY, OF CHICAGO CONTINENTAL, MANUFACTURERS HANOVER, FIRST
NATIONAL OF BOSTON AND MELLON BANK, MOST OF WHICH, IN ENSUING YEARS, HAVE
UNDERGONE EMERGENCY MERGERS, RESTRUCTURINGS, BAILOUTS OR BANKRUPTCIES.
THIS AMERICAN PRIVATE SECTOR SUPPORT WAS MATCHED BY ITALIAN, SWEDISH AND
LESS SO BY BRITISH BANKS, ALL EAGER TO PROVIDE SOME OF THE FINANCING TO
HELP ENSURE EMPLOYMENT FOR THEIR TECHNICIANS AND ADMINISTRATORS.
THE PRIMARY LOAN PACKAGE WAS SCHEDULED OVER A THIRTY YEAR PERIOD, INITIALLY,
WITH FINAL PAYMENTS TO BE MADE IN 2005. AS EVENTS WOULD HAVE IT, OF COURSE,
ZAIRE DEFAULTED CONTINUOUSLY ON DEBT SERVICE ALONE, WITH RESCHEDULING NECESSARY
EVERY FEW MONTHS. PRINCIPAL PAYMENTS COULD NOT EVEN BE ENVISAGED. NONETHELESS,
FINANCING CONTINUED TO FLOW WITH DRAW-DOWNS AGAINST NEW LINES OF CREDIT
PROVIDING ON-GOING FUNDS FOR ALL PROJECT NEEDS.
THE GUARANTOR OF LAST RESORT, THE PRIVATE BANKS KNEW VERY WELL, WAS THE
EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES, AN ARM OF THE U.S. TREASURY. AS
DOMINO AFTER DOMINO TUMBLED IN THIS PRACTICALLY COMIC SCENARIO, THE U.S
GOVERNMENT STEPPED IN AND PROVIDED EXTENSIONS, BRIDGING FINANCING, ADDITIONAL
GUARANTEES AND ADVICE ON WHERE TO TURN NEXT FOR CONTINUING SOLVENCY.
THE DAY HER SERENE HIGHNESS PRINCESS GRACE OF MONACO DIED, BELGIUM'S SECOND
LARGEST DAILY NEWSPAPER, LA LIBRE BELGIQUE, PRINTED A BANNER HEADLINE ACROSS
ITS FRONT PAGE: "INGA-SHABA LINE CREDITS CUT!" IN THE LOWER RIGHT
HAND CORNER OF THE FRONT PAGE APPEARED THE NOTICE OF PRINCESS GRACE'S DEATH.
THIS PROJECT WAS BIG NEWS IN EUROPE, FOLLOWED INTENSELY BY WORLD LEADERS,
FINANCIERS AND CONSTRUCTION MAGNATES.
ULTIMATELY, AFTER CURTAILMENT OF CREDIT, AND EVENTUAL REINSTATEMENT OF
NEW FUNDING, THE LINE -- IN SPITE OF THE WARS AND TURMOIL MENTIONED --
WAS COMPLETED IN AUGUST OF 1982, AT A TOTAL COST OF 1.1 BILLION DOLLARS,
4.4 TIMES THE INITIAL ESTIMATE, WITH ON-GOING OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
COSTS AVERAGING 24 MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY, HARDLY A SUM THE REPUBLIC
COULD AFFORD ON A 60 MILLION DOLLAR ANNUAL INCOME, AFTER GRAFT.
THE LINE WAS DESIGNED TO OPERATE AT 550KV IN THE FIRST STAGE, AND 1100KV
LATER. AT COMPLETION, IT WAS CAPABLE OF TRANSMITTING SO MUCH ELECTRICITY
TO SHABA PROVINCE THAT THE ENTIRE SHABA DISTRIBUTION GRID WOULD HAVE BEEN
THROWN OUT OF BALANCE, HAD NOT THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL UTILITY INTERVENED.
THE GARGANTUAN LINE, REPRESENTING AMERICA'S PROUDEST AFRICAN ACHIEVEMENT
OF THE 1980s, SURPASSING IN LENGTH AND COMPLEXITY THE THEN COMPARABLE SOVIET
DC TRANSMISSION LINE IN SIBERIA, WAS RELEGATED TO PRODUCING MERELY 10%
OF ITS CAPACITY DURING ITS INITIAL YEARS, AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER, FELL
VICTIM TO TOWER STEEL THEFT, VANDALISM AND THE RAVAGES OF INTERNAL CIVIL
WAR. ZAIRE'S DEBTS HAVE NOT BEEN HONORED AND THE OUTLOOK FOR FUTURE PROJECT
ACTIVITY THERE IS, OF COURSE, BLEAK.
MORRISON-KNUDSEN HAD SIMILAR NON-PAYMENT PROBLEMS IN IRAQ, ON A HIGHWAY
PROJECT, AND IN ALGERIA, ON A SEED CLEANING PLANT PROJECT IN BLIDA. SOME
SUCCESS WAS REGISTERED IN DAHOMEY, NOW BENIN, CHILE, COLOMBIA AND INDONESIA
ON OTHER MORRISON-KNUDSEN PROJECTS.
THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMPACT OF THE INGA-SHABA PROJECT MUST BE ADDRESSED DUE
TO THE SHEER MAGNITUDE OF THIS UNDERTAKING.
THE AVERAGE ZAIRIAN WORKER IN THE 1980s EARNED 15 DOLLARS PER MONTH IF
HE WAS A SEMI-SKILLED LABORER, UP TO 150 DOLLARS PER MONTH IF HE WAS DEGREED,
BILINGUAL, EXPERIENCED AND IN A MANAGERIAL POST. INASMUCH AS THE AVERAGE
AMERICAN EMPLOYEE ON THE INGA-SHABA PROJECT, CERTIFIED IN HIS TRADE, DEGREED
IN HIS FIELD OR RECOGNIZED PROFESSIONALLY, EARNED $60 THOUSAND DOLLARS
PER YEAR IN 1985 DOLLARS, IN TODAY'S DOLLARS PERHAPS 84 THOUSAND, PLUS
BENEFITS, THE GAP BETWEEN INDIGENOUS PERSONNEL AND AMERICAN EMPLOYEES WAS
ENORMOUS.
YET, ZAIRIANS WERE HIGHLY PROTECTIVE OF THEIR JOBS, IN A COUNTRY WHERE
THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 65% OR MORE, AND GUARDED THEM JEALOUSLY. ONE
EMPLOYED ZAIRIAN WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR AN AVERAGE OF 12 PERSONS IN TERMS
OF FOOD, SCHOOL UNIFORMS, HOUSING, AND OTHER NECESSITIES. HENCE, THOUSANDS
OF HUMAN LIVES DEPENDED ON THESE VALUABLE JOBS, AND EMOTIONS RAN HIGH AMONG
ZAIRIANS IF "INJUSTICE" WAS PERCEIVED IN HIRING OR TERMINATING
INDIGINOUS EMPLOYEES. THE UNTZA, THE NATIONAL UNION OF ZAIRIAN WORKERS,
FOUGHT ENERGETICALLY FOR SALARY AND BENEFIT PACKAGES WHICH WERE NEGOTIATED
ANNUALLY IN BILINGUAL, MARATHON SESSIONS AT WHICH I INTERPRETED, AND OFTEN
DEVISED COMPROMISES, SUBTLY SUGGESTING 'THIS OR THAT' TO BOTH SIDES IN
THE APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE.
HUMAN MISERY IN ZAIRE WAS SUCH THAT PROSTITUTES LINED THE COMPANY COMPOUND
GATES, WOMEN FOUGHT OVER MEN, AND CHILDREN OFTEN BEGGED FOR RICE, MANIOC
AND SALTED BEEF. COMPANY LIMOSINES WOULD WHISK EXECUTIVES, AND THEIR INTERPRETERS,
PAST SCENES OF SQUALOR, MISERY AND ABJECTION, ON THEIR WAY TO MINISTRIES,
BANKS, THE PRESIDENTIAL MARBLE PALACE, OR TO TELEVISION STUDIOS AT THE
"VOICE OF ZAIRE", A COMPLEX BUILT BY THE FRENCH FOR MOBUTU, AND
UPGRADED SEVERAL YEARS LATER, AS A PERSONAL GIFT TO MOBUTU'S NEW WIFE,
TO ALLOW BROADCASTING OF COLOR PROGRAMMING TO THE .01% OF ZAIRIANS WHO
HAD SUCH SETS.
IN THE INITIAL MONTHS OF MY DUTIES AS CHIEF TRANSLATOR, I SPENT A GOOD
DEAL OF TIME BARGAINING FOR THE FREEDOM OF AMERICANS WHO HAD FALLEN INTO
THE HANDS OF ZAIRIAN POLICE AND MILITARY AUTHORITIES FOR A WIDE RANGE OF
SEXUAL OFFENSES, AND THEN TURNING THEM OVER TO THE PROJECT'S PERSONNEL
DEPARTMENT FOR A HASTILY ARRANGED FLIGHT TO THE U.S. LATER, I ASSIGNED
AN ASSISTANT TRANSLATOR, VIRTUALLY FULL-TIME, TO THIS TASK AND CONCENTRATED
ON THE MAJOR ISSUES OF OUR COLOSSAL PROJECT.
THERE WAS AN ENTIRE PANOPLY OF INTRIGUE, PLOTS AND COUNTER-PLOTS ON THIS
PROJECT:
1. THE THEFT OF 500,000 DOLLARS IN LOCAL CURRENCY WAS DISCOVERED IN THE
REINFORCED CONCRETE ACCOUNTING VAULT ONE MORNING;
2. A MACHETE PLACED IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT ON THE PILLOW OF THE PROJECT MANAGER'S
WIFE, ALTHOUGH SHE AND HER VILLA WERE GUARDED BY FOUR SENTINELS;
3. A DECAPITATION TRIAL REACHING THE SUPREME COURT OF ZAIRE, INVOLVING
ONE OF OUR AMERICAN PERSONNEL DIRECTORS IMPLICATED IN AN ALLEGED SCHEME
AIMED AT TRAFFICKING IN UNMENTIONABLE HUMAN ORGANS AND, OF SECONDARY IMPORTANCE,
HEADS. THIS WAS A COMPLEX CASE BILLED IN THE LOCAL PRESS AS THE "HEAD-CHOPPER
OF YOLO", MAKING MORRISON-KNUDSEN THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE EUROPEAN
COMMUNITY IN KINSHASA, SOME 60,000 STRONG.
THESE TYPES OF INCIDENTS WERE SO NUMEROUS THAT LIFE WAS A THREE RING CIRCUS
FOR THOSE IN THE VORTEX OF DECISION-MAKING. BECAUSE AMERICAN CORPORATE
EXECUTIVES ARE INVARIABLY INCOMPETENT IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES, THE INTERPRETER'S
JOB IS ONE OF INTENSE INVOLVEMENT IN EVERYTHING THAT TRANSPIRES. HE OR,
MORE RARELY, SHE BECOMES THE FOCAL POINT OF THE HOST GOVERNMENT'S INTERACTION
WITH THE COMPANY, IS FOUGHT OVER AT MEETINGS WITH FOUR OR FIVE EXECUTIVES
VYING FOR HIS ATTENTION TO TRANSLATE "THEIR" IDEAS TO FRENCH-SPEAKING
PARTICIPANTS, AND IS TRANSPORTED, AT GREAT EXPENSE, TO REMOTE LOCATIONS
BY BELL-JET RANGER HELICOPTERS, DC-3s, BOATS AND ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES TO
CO-OFFICIATE AT CEREMONIES, BROADCASTS OR MEETINGS.
READJUSTING TO THE BURGER-KING PLASTICITY OF AMERICA IS TRULY A CHALLENGE
AFTER FIVE YEARS IN A COUNTRY LIKE ZAIRE, MORE TIME IN CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE
AND A YEAR IN ALGERIA.
YET, LET US PLACE THE INGA-SHABA PROJECT INTO PROPER PERSPECTIVE, ANALYZING
WHAT LESSONS MIGHT BE LEARNED FROM THIS EXPERIENCE, ON BALANCE PROBABLY
GOOD, ALL THE WHILE REFERRING TO OTHER PROJECT ACTIVITY IN COUNTRIES WITH
WHICH I AM PERSONALLY ALSO FAMILIAR.
FIRSTLY, LOSSES SUSTAINED BY THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK ARE NOT LIKELY TO BE
RECOVERED, EXCEPT THROUGH ELABORATE REFINANCING SCHEMES WHICH MAY NEVER
BE HONORED BY THE CURRENT ZAIRIAN GOVERNMENT, OR BY SUCCESSIVE GOVERNMENTS,
SINCE THINGS ARE CLEARLY IN FLUX IN ZAIRE. THIS IS A LESSON THAT COULD
BE APPLIED TO ALGERIA'S PROJECTS, AS WELL, ALTHOUGH ALGERIAN REPAYMENT
IS GENERALLY MORE TIMELY AND RELIABLE.
SECONDLY, THE RATIONALE APPLIED TO ZAIRE'S INGA-SHABA PROJECT COULD NOT
BE UTILIZED IN, SAY, CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE, ACROSS THE RIVER IN THE FORMER
FRENCH CONGO, WHERE AN ESSENTIALLY SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT WAS, AND STILL
IS, IN POWER.
THERE, THE FIVE-YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN, WHICH I TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH
FOR THE DIPLOMATIC AND CORPORATE COMMUNITY IN THE 1980s, PROVIDED FOR BOTH
REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE IN A SYSTEMATICALLY PLANNED PROGRAM OF PREFINANCED
DEVELOPMENT, WITH FRANCE AS THE COMMERCIAL PARTNER, CUBA AS THE MILITARY
COMPONENT, AND THE FORMER SOVIET-UNION (NOW OBVIOUSLY OUT OF THE PICTURE
IN THE CONGO) IN CHARGE OF IDEOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, ALL UNDER THE LEADERSHIP
OF THE PCT, THE CONGOLESE WORKERS PARTY.
THIRDLY, THE ADVICE, IN AFRICA, OF FORMER COLONIAL POWERS SHOULD BE HEEDED
BY AMERICAN BUSINESSMEN, TO SOME DEGREE, IF CONSIDERED UNTAINTED BY OBVIOUS
MOTIVATIONS.
THE TRANSMISSION LINE IS CURRENTLY IN DISARRAY, PERHAPS BEYOND REPAIR AFTER
THE EVENTS OF THE LAST TWO YEARS IN ZAIRE; BILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN
SQUANDERED AND LESS THAN TWO PER CENT OF THOSE FUNDS COULD HAVE SAVED DETROIT'S
HOMELESS POPULATION FROM DEATH AT SUB-ZERO TEMPERATURES. I ADMIT, HOWEVER,
THAT THIS LINE OF ARGUMENTATION IS OPEN TO DISCUSSION.
FOURTHLY, THE SELECTION OF OVERSEAS PERSONNEL IS CRUCIAL TO PROJECT EFFICIENCY,
INTEGRITY AND QUALITY. IN ALGERIA, ON THE SALT REFINERY PROJECT, AND IN
ZAIRE, ON INGA-SHABA, CRITICAL MISTAKES IN HIRING WERE MADE, COSTING DEARLY
IN TERMS OF FUNDING, YES, BUT ALSO RESPECT, CONTINUITY AND CREDIBILITY.
