The government is not in control  The government is a place of constant ethnic frictions that impede the performance of its duties. [1] Corruption is rife; the world bank gives DRC a control of corruption rate of only 5%. [2] But the biggest problem is that the government can’t exercise control over the country. The vastness of Congo, and its lack of any roads or rail links between population centers, ensures this is the case. People have no trust in the democratic structures and display no national feeling. Instead loyalties are to the more than 200 ethnic groups. Some of which are shared with neighbouring countries – which are geographically closer so loyalties lie more with those countries than the DRC government. This is also a problem with other resources such as tin. [3] The UN has been able to do little to prevent government corruption, or to encourage greater national feeling.  [1] ‘Annan disquieted by rising factionalism in DR of Congo Government’, UN News Centre, 30 March 2004,   [2] Worldwide Governance Indicators, ‘Country Data Report for Congo, Dem. Rep., 1996-2012’, The World Bank,   [3] Herbst, Jeffrey, and Mills, Greg, ‘DRC: The only way to help Congo is to stop pretending it exists’, Congo DRC News, 26 July 2013,