Cash has become so scarce in Goma, the eastern Congolese city seized by anti-government fighters in January, that some parents are now paying school fees in cans of palm oil.
After the city fell to the Rwanda-backed M23 group, authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo stopped supplying cash to banks in M23-controlled areas.
Banks have since closed, cash points are all but empty and residents of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, are forced to fend for themselves for their everyday purchases.
“The priority at the moment is to have something to eat,” said Richard Mbueki, a teacher at the Majengo school, as he lifted a can of oil left by a parent.
“We are just getting by, this situation is untenable,” he said.
Parents “show up at school offering food and the school asks them to present a sample”, said Augustin Vangisivavi, an official at the Majengo school.
The school then “looks for which teachers are interested” in the goods.
“A price is set that corresponds to the market price, then the equivalent currency is entered into the school’s accounts before a receipt is issued,” Vangisivavi said.
It is an interim solution, but one that could drag on.
Talks between the DRC and Rwanda, who have committed to work towards a draft peace agreement, have yet to have any impact on the daily lives of the Congolese living in M23-controlled areas.
For now, Majengo school, as well as the city’s new authorities, urge residents to use mobile payment solutions.
But that mode of payment is not yet widely used in Goma, unlike in countries in east Africa.
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