Basankusu is a town in Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the main town and administrative centre of the Basankusu Territory. In 2004, it had an estimated population of 23,764. It has a gravel airstrip, covered and open markets, a hospital, and three cellphone networks, the first of which was installed in 2006. The town is also known as a centre for bonobo conservation efforts. Despite such developments, most inhabitants live at a subsistence level: hunting, fishing, keeping chickens and keeping a vegetable plot. In 2010, the workers at the local palm plantation would earn an average monthly salary of $40 (US dollars), most others would have much less. SNV Netherlands Development Organisation: Socio-economic Impact of palm oil producers in Basankusu territory – The result of organisation and structuring of associations, Democratic Republic of Congo. Jean Pierre USOTILA PIE adviser, Portfolio Equateur Province, RD Congo, Palm Oil, Agriculture
The location of the town on the Lulonga River, a tributary of the Congo, at the confluence of the Lopori and Maringa Rivers has contributed to its success as a centre for trade in the region. Set deep in tropical rainforest, the rivers serve as the highways for transport of people as well as goods.
Historically, Basankusu holds some stories of exploitation during the times of the Abir Congo Company but was also the gateway to much of Equateur Province for those individuals involved in the reforms which came from the Casement Report and the Berlin Conference of 1884-85.
History
Origin of the name The name Basankusu is said to have been misunderstood by its European explorers and colonisers, who lacked knowledge of the local language. The Mongo group that founded Basankusu were the Okutsu; their descendants were called the Basaa Okutsu, meaning the "children of the Okutsu". This name was contracted slightly into the name Basaa'kutsu.Correspondence between Lomboto Enkankale Honoré and Francis Hannaway. November 2010.
Another account of the etymology of Basankusu is that it comes from basa ba nkoso, meaning "quarrelling parrots", or possibly Baasa bankoso, "small parrots".
Abir Congo Company See also Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape and Abir Congo Company. Basankusu was the first trading post of the Abir Congo Company (ABIR) along the Congo River from Kinshasa (then known as Leopoldville), the capital of the Congo. Later known as the Compagnie du Congo Belge, the Abir Congo Company harvested natural rubber in the 19th and early 20th century. It was granted a large concession with the rights to tax the inhabitants, taken in the form of rubber. The collection system revolved around a series of trading posts along the two main rivers in the concession – the Lopori and the Maringa. Each post was commanded by a European agent and guarded with armed sentries to enforce taxation and punish any rebels.The Crime of the Congo By Arthur Conan Doyle London: Hutchinson & Co., 1909.
ABIR would sell a kilogram of rubber in Europe for up to 10 francs (fr), which cost them only 1.35 fr to collect and transport. However, this came at a cost to the human rights of those who could not pay the tax, with imprisonment, flogging, and other corporal punishments recorded.
The Casement Report comprises a multitude of individual statements gathered by the British Consul, Roger Casement, including several detailing the grim tales of killings, mutilation, kidnapping, and cruel beatings of the native population by soldiers of the Congo administration of King Leopold. The British Parliament demanded a second meeting of the 14 signatory powers of the 1885 Berlin Conference, at which time the Belgian Parliament forced a reluctant Leopold to set up an independent commission of enquiry. This led to the arrest and punishment of several officials who had been responsible for murders during a rubber-collection expedition in 1903. Excerpted from Adam Hochschild, King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999, pages 225-233. The reforms that followed the Casement Report, including those that concerned ABIR at Basankusu, set the foundation for the colonial Belgian state of Congo.
Cathedral
The original Roman Catholic cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, built by Jan de Koning, a brother in the Mill Hill Missionaries society, during World War II, was demolished in 2012; it was rebuilt with a very similar design. The new building used computer design technology, and used reinforced concrete in place of kiln-fired brick. It remains the tallest building in Basankusu.Distinct feeling of loss after demolition of unique symbol of Catholic presence in Basankusu Mill Hill Missionaries The Mill Hill Missionaries, and later with some support from the Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae missionaries,Belgian Scheut Missions supported the establishment of the Diocese of Basankusu, which has its episcopal seat at the cathedral.GCatholic.org - Diocese of Basankusu The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church - Basankusu Diocese
On Sunday, October 21, 2018, ten bishops and a hundred priests concelebrated Mass at which Bishop Joseph Mokobe, Bishop of Basankusu, presided, for the inauguration of the newly rebuilt cathedral. https://www.vaticannews.va/fr/afrique/news/2018-10/rd-congo-la-cathedrale-de-basankusu-a-ete-inauguree.html Vatican News: RD CONGO : La cathédrale de Basankusu a été inaugurée
Geography Basankusu is situated on the Lulonga River, a tributary of the Congo, at the confluence of the Lopori and Maringa Rivers. This location facilitates the transport of local goods to and from the cities of Mbandaka and Kinshasa.
Because Basankusu is the last port of substance on the river of the Lopori Basin, conservation efforts for the bonobo, use the town as a base.Lola Ya Bonobo (Bonobo Heaven) Bonobo Reintroduction in the Democratic Republic of Congo Searching for Bonobo - Dr Therese Hart
Being slightly more than 1° north of the Equator, Basankusu has a tropical rainforest climate. There is no real dry season, with monthly rainfall in the town ranging between averages of 69 mm and 213 mm, with most months at the higher end of that range. Average high temperatures over a year are between 30 °C and 33 °C, although throughout the day a high of 37 °C is not uncommon. Evening lows average around 20 °C. BASANKUSU : Climat, températures, précipitations, ensoleillement
Being close to a major river and enduring frequent, heavy tropical rainfall, Basankusu is prone to the damaging effects of water. In July, 2010, the town was affected by flooding,Inondations à Basankusu: mille quatre cents sans abri with 1,400 people made homeless. Roads, which are all non-metalled, and bridges were also affected. Such frequent harsh weather conditions have an effect on the quality of life for local people. Waterborne diseases can become more prevalent, and the transport of goods, such as food, medicine, and trade goods, becomes more difficult.
Climate
Commerce
Basankusu is a centre for palm oil production and treatment. One company, Compagnie de Commerce et des Plantations (CCP),Compagnie de Commerce et des Plantations (CCP) produces palm oil from plantations of African oil palms at nearby villages Lisafa and Ndeke. The factory at Lisafa is responsible for the treatment of the palm oil and production of soap. The plantation areas are as follows: 3,488 hectares (ha) of oil palms, and 372 ha given over to coffee.CCP - Palm Oil Production It is a major local employer, with almost 4,000 workers on its payroll. Although CCP is one of the successful businesses in the area, it is in dispute with village chiefs regarding land acquisition.Les Conflits Fonciers In 2010, a worker would earn an average monthly salary of $40 (US dollars), depending on output.
The frustration of local producers was brought to the attention of the press by Mlle Jeanne-Marie Abanda, Director of Caritas Basankusu, when she explained their difficulties in December 2009: The same information is reported by the Congolese Control Office (Office Congolais de Controle).Producteurs et acheteurs du maïs à Basankusu ont du mal à évacuer leurs marchandises
Jef Dupain, who worked as an African Wildlife Foundation (AWF)African Wildlife Foundation primatologist at that time, and had spent more than a decade in the Congo working with bonobos, also stated the devastating impact a lack of transport for trade has on conservation: "You can't just tell the local people not to eat bushmeat. You're not taken seriously." Because of this, an AWF-funded cargo barge, the Ferbo I, was brought in to travel up and down the Congo and Maringa Rivers to collect agricultural products from local farmers. This worked well in aiding local people to evacuate their products. Unfortunately, the project ended when the authorities seized the boat to transport troops, in 2005. Congo River Cargo Boat Brings Promise to Endangered Great Apes AWF funded barge 'Ferbo' breaks down and leaves passengers stranded African Wildlife Foundation - Congo Shipping Project
Communication and transportation
The isolated situation of the town makes communication with the wider world challenging. During the military conflict of 1998–2003, Basankusu was in rebel (Movement for the Liberation of Congo, MLC) hands and cut off from trade and relief from the rest of the world.
The roads within Basankusu are non-metalled and prone to erosion from the frequent, torrential downpours. Roads to other towns and villages are also non-metalled; their condition has continued to decline since the country's independence from Belgium in 1960. The metal Bailey bridges, which span ravines and streams along the roads, are also in very poor condition and in danger of collapse in some cases. Motor vehicles are rare and are usually only owned by businesses, hospitals, Christian missions, and government organisations.
The rivers provide the most obvious means of transporting goods and people. A 700-kilometre boat journey from Basankusu to the capital, Kinshasa, can take several weeks. Major barge operators are Transports Fluvial et Commerce de l'Equateur (TFCE) and Office National des Transports (ONATRA). United Nations Joint Logistics Centre River Transport and Barge Operators Passengers often travel in cramped conditions, in some cases travelling atop the logs being pushed along the river by the barges. They are victim to high prices for food and other essentials along the way. The frequent breakdown of these river boats puts passengers in a precarious position regarding daily sustenance; a delay of several days can oblige passengers to sell all their belongings so that they can buy a meal. The poor communication within the country, generally, means that passengers cannot be helped by friends or family.
There is an airport, consisting of a 1,480-metre gravelled airstrip and a small building where passengers can wait. One 28-seater passenger plane to and from Kinshasa lands at Basankusu Airport each week, and an occasional 16-seat capacity plane associated with the palm oil plantation. Several cargo planes also land here. The cost of a flight, however, is beyond the means of most private individuals; passengers tend to be people working for NGOs or businesses in Kinshasa.
There is no postal service in Basankusu. To send letters, the custom is to give them to someone who is travelling or the pilot of a plane, who will send them from Kinshasa or Europe.
Mobile phone use started with the installation of two mobile phone masts, in 2006, each with its own generator and watchman. The advent of mobile communication has made a large difference in the lives of many people. The phone networks, one of which, Vodacom, is a subsidiary of South Africa's Vodacom Group (ultimately owned by Vodafone UK).