ABSTRACT
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), previously known as Zaire, is a country located in the center of the African continent. The implementation of public administration in the DRC began with the arrival of the European colonizers. The traditional chief was seen as a local official working hand in glove with the colonial government and implementation tended to be both centralized and authoritarian. One of the first priorities for the colonial government was to implement an administrative demarcation of the country. The second administrative reform measures were introduced in 1924, when the colonial government decided to transform the 22 districts into 4 provinces: Congo-Kasai, Equateur, Katanga, and Oriental Province. The third phase of reform was the most wide-reaching transformation undertaken by the colonial government. The period from 1960 to 1964 is regarded as one of the most unstable in the DRC, both politically and administratively.
