L’Afrique du Sud et LA rdC : ÉvALuAtion d’un pArtenAriAt Sud–Sud Au ServiCe de LA pAix, de LA GouvernAnCe et du dÉveLoppement

This research paper assesses South Africa's role as an emerging development partner in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Using the NeST analytical framework, it examines the scope and quality of South African initiatives in peace, security, and state-building. The study finds that South Africa is a significant development partner, often exceeding traditional OECD donors when measured relative to Gross National Income. While the partnership is characterized by high levels of trust and demand-driven support, it suffers from fragmented coordination, weak monitoring and evaluation systems, and a lack of clear strategic objectives. The document highlights specific contributions in electoral support, public sector reform, and infrastructure financing, while noting challenges such as political instability in the DRC and bureaucratic inefficiencies in South Africa.

• South Africa is a major development partner for the DRC, and when aid is measured as a proportion of Gross National Income (GNI), it surpasses most OECD-DAC donors.
• Between 2001 and 2015, South Africa spent at least 8.5 billion ZAR (over 1 billion USD) on South-South cooperation in the DRC through various government departments and public entities.
• In 2008, South Africa's development spending in the DRC peaked at nearly 1.5 billion ZAR (approximately 181 million USD), making it the third largest development partner in absolute terms that year.
• South African development assistance in the DRC is primarily demand-driven, often initiated following presidential visits or ministerial meetings, though it lacks internal coordination and strategic direction.
• South Africa has provided extensive support for DRC's state-building, including the printing of ballots and logistics for 1,863 tonnes of electoral material for the 2006 and 2011 elections.
• South Africa's contributions to the DRC include significant capacity building in the public sector, such as helping draft organic laws for decentralized governance and conducting a civil servant census across 11 provinces.
• The partnership is characterized by a high level of trust, with the DRC government viewing South Africa as a 'trusted, reliable and honest partner' and an 'honest broker' compared to its immediate neighbors.
• South Africa's development efforts are hindered by a lack of integrated monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems, leading to a scarcity of evidence and data to inform policy decisions.
• South Africa's 'African comparative advantage' is limited by its struggle with the French-speaking nature of the Congolese public sector and its own internal bureaucratic inefficiencies.
• There is a contradiction between South Africa's foreign policy of African integration and its national policies, specifically regarding restrictive visa and permit requirements for the approximately 500,000 Congolese migrants in South Africa.

APA

Besharati, N. A., & rawhaNi, C. (2016). L’Afrique du Sud et LA rdC : ÉvALuAtion d’un pArtenAriAt Sud–Sud Au ServiCe de LA pAix, de LA GouvernAnCe et du dÉveLoppement. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Occasional-Paper-242.pdf

Chicago

Besharati, NeissaN alessaNdro, and Carmel rawhaNi. L’Afrique du Sud et LA rdC : ÉvALuAtion d’un pArtenAriAt Sud–Sud Au ServiCe de LA pAix, de LA GouvernAnCe et du dÉveLoppement. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2016. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Occasional-Paper-242.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Besharati |first1=NeissaN alessaNdro |last2=rawhaNi |first2=Carmel |title=L’Afrique du Sud et LA rdC : ÉvALuAtion d’un pArtenAriAt Sud–Sud Au ServiCe de LA pAix, de LA GouvernAnCe et du dÉveLoppement |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=September 2016 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Occasional-Paper-242.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{besharati2016lafrique, author = {Besharati, NeissaN alessaNdro and rawhaNi, Carmel}, title = {{L’Afrique du Sud et LA rdC : ÉvALuAtion d’un pArtenAriAt Sud–Sud Au ServiCe de LA pAix, de LA GouvernAnCe et du dÉveLoppement}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2016}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Occasional-Paper-242.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }