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MISS CONGO SOUTH AFRICA 2013 TO BECOME AMBASSADOR FOR PEACE, DEMOCRACY, GOOD GOVERNANCE, NATIONAL RECONCILIATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Grand Finale in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 14 December 2013

SARAH MBATA

True Congolese Beauty... Inside or Outside and for What?

The Miss Congo South Africa (SA) Pageant is a non-profit organization based in South Africa. Two proudly Congolese citizens, namely Geoffrey Tshitundu and Jocelyn Kabale, are the Chairperson and the Chief Executive Officer of this organization respectively.

Congolese citizens living in and outside South Africa are grateful to such organizations as African Crest Radio and Guesthouse, Chez Inn Hotel (Chez Temba), Franco SA, Invention, Mediterranean Conference Centre, Turffontein Medical Centre, and Shaking African Soil Entertainment (SASE), that sponsored the pageant and keep on contributing to making it successful.

The main objective of Miss Congo SA is to promote Congolese beauty and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

With a size of around 2, 345, 408 square kilometers inhabited by some 75 million people from several ethnic groups and located right in the centre of the continent, the DRC is the second largest country and one of the most populated in Africa. The Congo River, which runs from the South-East to the West, is also the second African longest river after the Nile and the world most powerful after the Amazon. There are also several beautiful lakes like Tanganyika, Kivu, Idi Amin, Mobutu and Munkamba. DRC nature reserves like Virunga and Kahuzi Biega contain different and unique species, including Okapi. The country is an earthly paradise.

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The DRC acceded to independence from Belgium on 30 June 1960. Four presidents have so far run the country, namely Joseph Kasavubu, Joseph-Desire Mobutu, Laurent-Desire Kabila and Joseph Kabila Kabange, who is the current president. Patrice-Emery Lumumba, who was the prime minister at independence, remains one of the key political figures in the Congolese history.

Apart from Kinshasa, which is the capital city of the Republic, the DRC is divided into 10 provinces pending their subdivision into 25 provinces in terms of the Constitution that currently governs the country. This Constitution was approved by referendum held on 18 - 19 December 2005 and promulgated by President Joseph Kabila on 18 February 2006.

Since its accession to independence, the DRC has gone through a vicious circle of rebellions, ethnic conflicts, wars, foreign aggressions, human rights violations, and authoritarian regimes. The Congolese people have been denied their rights to democracy, good governance, development, peace, security as well as the right to enjoy their natural resources.

The 2006 Constitution virtually entrenches all human rights, including children and women rights. Unfortunately, many children have been used as soldiers in the armed conflicts and deprived of their right to education. Some are in the streets and recently, the ‘kuluna’ (young armed gangsters) phenomenon has emerged in cities like Kinshasa. The DRC is one of those countries where girls and women have suffered the most over the last decades. The country has become the world capital of rape and violence against women. Moreover, Congolese women do not participate in the political life fully despite the constitutional entrenchment of their equality right known as the right to “parity” between men and women.

The DRC is a country full of paradoxes. Here is one of the richest countries in the world but where the people are also among the poorest; a country named a “democratic Republic” but democracy has so far gone by name only; a country where it rains almost every day and everything may grow, but where people suffer from hunger. The “country of all the beauties” has failed to show them and seduce the world.

The DRC has also been lagging behind other African nations instead of playing a leading role in the African renaissance as advocated by former SA President Thabo Mbeki in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. And yet, African people throughout the continent expected and still expect the DRC to lead.

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Although other nations can assist in the renaissance of the DRC as a prerequisite for an African renaissance, this would first require the contribution of the Congolese people themselves.

Despite the long and multifaceted crisis it has gone through since independence, the DRC remains one of the most beautiful countries on the planet. The Congolese beauty is part and parcel of the beauty of Africa and the universe. It can be found in the country and in the Diaspora, including among the Congolese people living in South Africa.

Against this background, Miss Congo SA pageant aims at celebrating the Congolese beauty and promoting the DRC in the rest of the African continent and the world. In promoting the DRC, its people, soil, sub-soil, fauna and flora, its aim is to change the negative image of the DRC and its people abroad. It should also contribute to promoting the DRC among the Congolese people themselves whether in the country or in the Diaspora at a time when many have become hopeless and lost interest in their country.

The majority of the Congolese youth in the Diaspora, including South Africa, have little knowledge of their native country, its people and culture. Many were born outside their country and never visited the DRC. They do not speak any national language and are restricted to French despite this being a foreign language once used by the colonial masters. Television shows and internet websites are their main source of knowledge about their country. Many have lost their identity without which there is no human dignity. They have become foreigners in both the foreign countries they call their “home” and the one from which they originated. Some are even ashamed to be called “Congolese”. Many are unaware of what is going on in our native land. The 28 November 2011 elections were rigged and contributed to aggravating the political crisis in the DRC. Recent political events that have gone unnoticed include national consultations that were held in September 2013 to bring about peace to Eastern Congo ravaged by many armed groups, especially the Rwandan backed M 23 rebels, illegal attempts to amend the Constitution, particularly its Article 220, to give the president a third term of office as well as the shameful negotiations between the government and defeated M 23.

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Miss Congo SA is particularly important for the youth. Throughout history, the youth have been instrumental in bringing about freedom, democracy, and development to their countries. It offers Congolese young women in SA a platform for them to learn more about and love the DRC. This is a platform for young women who love the DRC and are expected to lead, contribute to change in their country, and make a difference in the lives of Congolese people.

Miss Congo SA aims to encourage the Congolese youth residing in SA to be aware of and contribute to the development of their country while promoting the DRC abroad to make it attractive to the people of the rest of Africa and the world. To borrow from the South African Airways (SAA) welcome message on board its planes, Miss Congo SA should help take the DRC and Congolese beauty to the world and bring the world to the DRC to make it even more beautiful according to its national anthem, “Arise, Congolese”.

Its motto is “True Congolese beauty, inside and outside”. This true beauty has to be physical, moral and intellectual. True Congolese beauty should be based on moral Congolese values, which are also African and universal values. Through the Miss Congo SA, this beauty will be represented by one of the selected few beautiful girls who will be elected Miss Congo SA 2013.

To quality as a truly Congolese beauty, such a girl has to be a mature person, well-educated and she should keep on learning. She should know and love the DRC and its people she will represent. This proudly Congolese citizen should be the embodiment of the Congolese values. She should be willing, well prepared and equipped to promote the DRC and Congolese values inside and outside the DRC. Democracy, peace, good governance, respect for the rule of law and human rights, especially the rights of women who constitute the overwhelming majority of the population, are required in order to promote ‘True Congolese beauty inside and outside’.

Since the DRC has suffered so much from authoritarian rule, bad governance, corruption, human rights violations, absence of the rule of law, non-respect for the Constitution, rebellions, wars, tribalism, and political and social intolerance, the new Miss Congo SA should contribute to improving the political, economic, and social situation in the country. She should be the youth ambassador for democracy, peace, good governance, fight against corruption, and human rights, including the rights of women and the youth.

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Coming from SA where Nelson Mandela contributed so much to national reconciliation, she should also become an ambassador for national reconciliation by helping people to live together and promoting peace and tolerance in a country where so many young people can no longer afford to go to school, live in the streets or were used in armed conflicts.

Miss Sarah Mbata, a Congolese law student at the University of Johannesburg, is qualified to play such an important role expected from Miss Congo SA 2013. Born in Kinshasa before moving to SA for her studies, this beautiful and proudly Congolese woman, who still lives with her parents, is committed to promote the DRC and the Congolese beauty not only in SA, but also in the DRC, the rest of Africa and the world while she proceeds with her studies.

She just has the passion and loves the DRC. As she emphasized during the interview for Miss Congo SA held Chez Temba in October 2013, the DRC is

the most beautiful country that we were given by God…the Congolese youth need to be aware of situations happening in the Congo …they need to play a more active role in the reconstruction of their beloved country and should contribute to its renaissance, which is also required for the African renaissance. They should contribute to democracy, peace, good governance, national reconciliation, and the improvement of the living conditions of their people. Education is critically important. Since ‘educate a woman amounts to educate the entire nation’, the future of the DRC as a democratic, peaceful and prosperous country lies in the hands of women and I want to be one of those women.

This is the main reason why she attracted the attention of the Institute for Democracy, Governance, Peace and Development in Africa (IDGPA). IDGPA is based both in Kinshasa (DRC) and Pretoria (SA) and its main objective is to promote democracy, good governance, peace and development on the African continent.

By conveying Miss Sarah Mbata’s message, IDGPA in its own way demonstrates its support for Miss Congo SA in as much as its organizers are committed to offering a platform to the youth who will lead the DRC and Africa tomorrow. Special attention should be paid to women and the youth who have for long been discriminated against and should now contribute to the political, social, cultural and economic development of this rich country.

The board, organizers and sponsors of Miss Congo SA should be congratulated for their contribution to developing Congolese future leaders through the female Congolese youth in SA and to promoting the DRC abroad. The crowning ceremony to be held in Sunning Hill, Sandton, on 14 December 2013 will constitute an important moment in the history of the pageant.

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IDGPA wishes all the finalists well and would be pleased to see candidates like Sarah Mbata (Sarah M) elected as the Congolese beauty queen and Miss Congo SA 2013 with the support of the board, the sponsors and all the members of the Congolese community in SA who are kindly invited to vote.

Website : www.misscongosa.com

Facebook page : The Miss Congo/SA Pageant

Voting line : SMS MCSA 02 to 45509.

Voting closes on 14 December 2013 at 17h

Vote Sarah Mbata as many times as possible.

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