The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been widely derided as a failed state, unable to meet the basic needs of its citizens. But while state infrastructure continues to decay, many essential services continue to be provided at the local level, often through grassroots initiatives. So while, for example, state funding for education is almost non-existent, average school enrolment remains well above average for Sub-Saharan Africa. This book addresses this paradox, bringing together key scholars working on public services in the DRC to elucidate the evolving nature of governance in developing countries. Its contributions encompass a wide range of public services, including education, justice, transport, and health. Taking stock of what functions and why, it contributes to the debate on public services in the context of ‘real’ or ‘hybrid’ governance beyond the state: does the state still have a function, or is it no longer useful and relevant? Crucially, how does international aid help or complicate this picture? Rich in empirical detail, the contributors provide a valuable work for students and scholars interested in the role played by non-state actors in organizing statehood – a role too often neglected in debates on post-conflict reconstruction.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been widely derided as a failed state, unable to meet the basic needs of its citizens. But while state infrastructure continues to decay, many essential services continue to be provided at the local level, often through grassroots initiatives. So while, for example, state funding for education is almost non-existent, average school enrolment remains well above average for Sub-Saharan Africa. This book addresses this paradox, bringing together key scholars working on public services in the DRC to elucidate the evolving nature of governance in developing countries. Its contributions encompass a wide range of public services, including education, justice, transport, and health. Taking stock of what functions and why, it contributes to the debate on public services in the context of 'real' or 'hybrid' governance beyond the state: does the state still have a function, or is it no longer useful and relevant? Crucially, how does international aid help or complicate this picture? Rich in empirical detail, the contributors provide a valuable work for students and scholars interested in the role played by non-state actors in organizing statehood – a role too often neglected in debates on post-conflict reconstruction.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) faces immense challenges in delivering education services to all children of school age in the country, let alone ensuring that those adults who were deprived of an education have the opportunity to remedy that loss. Dictatorship, economic decline, more than a decade{u2019}s civil war and endemic corruption have unsurprisingly left an education system that is catastrophically failing the nation{u2019}s children, with consequences for the national economy as well as for the individuals concerned. To overcome this educational deficit, a massive increase in the education budget will be necessary to pay for the expansion of teacher training, the development and distribution of teaching materials including books, the construction of new schools and the improvement of the conditions of work for teachers, especially those in remote areas of the country. But the findings of the report on which this paper is based (Effective Delivery of Public Education Services) suggest that the government must even more importantly act to ensure that additional funds will be correctly spent.

This note focuses on some of the key problems confronting the civil and public service in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in particular the reform of the wage system and the impact of the decentralization process on civil service reform. It was produced by the World Bank in collaboration with the ministries of public service and budget, as well as with experts of the Cooperation Technique Belge (CTB). The paper is based on an in-depth analysis of the Congolese public service system, published in a separate note, as well as on a series of analytical papers on the decentralization process in DRC, which are available separately. It also incorporates feed-back and comments received during a presentation at the National Forum on Decentralization that was held in Kinshasa, October 3-5, 2007. This analytical paper offers several options aimed at solving the problems that have been identified and discusses in detail the three issues relating to the current reform agenda that are now the key to resolving the fundamental issues below: 1. the impact of the decentralization process on the organization and management of the civil service; 2. the reform of the wage system and, linked to that, the rationalization of the number of civil servants.