I read this article and realised the loss is not unique to the Congolese. Everywhere in Africa even as governments fight second hand clothes, we are still far away from seeing policies that facilitate local industries to be competitive. From the farm to the industries, heavy reliance on imports while exporting less finished goods has many countries in debt.
While i do not have answers, this good feature by Quartz documents how lives have been changed in Lubumbashi. A combination of insecurity and instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the mushrooming cheap Chinese cloth has left devastating impact on families and communities that once held up the Congo glory of textile production.
Rosebell Kagumire 