Crumbling Rail In Congo Seeks Private Investment

"Congo's national rail company, SNCC, lacks new parts and proper materials, so to repair its aging locomotives, machinists must fashion improvised spares, even nuts and bolts."

"Company employees are owed more than two years' back wages."

"'The workers aren't motivated and the machines are worn out. The rails aren't repaired. The maintenance crews don't have materials to do upkeep. These are the factors that are handicapping us,' engine driver Henri Mutombo said."

"Decades of mismanagement under former ruler Mobutu Sese Seko and a 1998-2003 war have left the central African nation's transport infrastructure in ruins."

"In a country the size of Western Europe, there are few paved roads outside of the capital, Kinshasa."

"For most Congolese, the rail system is the only economically viable means of traveling or transporting goods across the vast interior."

"There are plans to privatize several of the country's poorly managed and cumbersome state enterprises, and Transport Minister Remy Henri Kuseyo expects to open bidding soon for a private-public partnership that will take over the running of SNCC."