Editing Zaire (section)

====Centralisation of power====
Running parallel to the efforts of the state to control all autonomous sources of power, important administrative reforms were introduced in 1967 and 1973 to strengthen the hand of the central authorities in the provinces.<ref name=":5" /> The central objective of the 1967 reform was to abolish provincial governments and replace them with state functionaries appointed by [[Kinshasa]].<ref name=":5" /> The principle of centralisation was further extended to districts and territories, each headed by administrators appointed by the central government.<ref name=":5" />

The only units of government that still retained a fair measure of autonomy—but not for long—were the so-called local collectivities, i.e. [[chiefdoms]] and sectors (the latter incorporating several chiefdoms).<ref name=":5" /> The unitary, centralised state system thus legislated into existence bore a striking resemblance to its colonial antecedent, except that from July 1972 provinces were called regions.<ref name=":5" />

With the January 1973 reform, another major step was taken in the direction of further centralisation.<ref name=":5" /> The aim, in essence, was to operate a complete fusion of political and administrative hierarchies by making the head of each administrative unit the president of the local party committee.<ref name=":5" /> Furthermore, another consequence of the reform was to severely curtail the power of traditional authorities at the local level.<ref name=":5" /> Hereditary claims to authority would no longer be recognised; instead, all chiefs were to be appointed and controlled by the state via the administrative hierarchy.<ref name=":5" /> By then, the process of centralisation had theoretically eliminated all preexisting centres of local autonomy.<ref name=":5" />

The analogy with the colonial state becomes even more compelling when coupled with the introduction in 1973 of "obligatory civic work" (locally known as ''Salongo'' after the Lingala term for work), in the form of one afternoon a week of compulsory labor on agricultural and development projects.<ref name=":5" /> Officially described as a revolutionary attempt to return to the values of [[African communalism|communalism]] and solidarity inherent in the traditional society, Salongo was intended to mobilise the population into the performance of collective work "with enthusiasm and without constraint".<ref name=":6">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Meditz|Merrill|1994|p=53}}.</ref>

In reality, the conspicuous lack of popular enthusiasm for Salongo led to widespread resistance and foot dragging (causing many local administrators to look the other way).<ref name=":6" /> Although failure to comply carried penalties of one month to six months in jail, by the late 1970s most Zairians shirked their Salongo obligations.<ref name=":6" /> By resuscitating one of the most bitterly resented features of the colonial state, obligatory civic work contributed in no small way to the erosion of legitimacy suffered by the Mobutist state.<ref name=":6" />