"Revaluing Congo: Monetary Reform, Liberalization, and Development in 1967"

On June 23, 1967, Democratic Republic of Congo undertook a large-scale monetary reform, replacing the Congolese franc with a new monetary unit, the zaire. While the zaire later became famous for struggling to hold its value amidst rampant inflation (particularly in the early 1990s), in this early postcolonial moment, the currency revaluation condensed a far more contentious debate over liberalization and economic nationalism. Exploring the texts of Gaston Lukomo, professor and key official within the Central Bank of the Congo, and speeches from President Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, this paper argues that the currency revaluation was part of a larger domestic effort to shift towards liberalizing the economy as the most promising route for development. Pushing back against the critiques of Mobutu’s Congo as a neocolonial puppet lacking economic commitments, this work builds on recent research that seeks a new political history of the secretive Congolese government.