Administrative training and modernisation in Zaire

Abstract

This paper analyses the rise and fall of the Ecole Nationale d’ Administration (ENDA) of Kinshasa from 1961 to 1971 in the context of the modernisation forces of a new country. Alongside the historical peculiarities of the setting, the ENDA experience illustrates strikingly many of the themes surrounding similar institutions in other developing countries [Schaffer, 1974]. These themes include the institution's search for an appropriate role and for security, its struggle for status and survival, its conflict with the university establishment, the competitive bids for influence of technical assistance agencies, and the need to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.