Jean-Bedel Bokassa was President of the Central African Republic (CAR), one of the world’s poorest nations. Even today, it is still poor; its GDP is still below $3b.
Bokassa became Head of State via a coup, according to the IMF in its paper titled “Political Instability and Growth; The Central African Republic” by Ghura and Mercereau in 2004, from 1965 to 1977, the per capita real GDP of the CAR grew as “Operation Bokassa” launched a program to increase the supply of food, improve the yields of export crops and diversify the economy.
That economic success was short-lived; in 1977, Bokassa proclaimed himself Emperor, and from that date, the per capita GDP started to crash, never recovering until Bokassa left, see Fig 1
So, what happened?
It is simple: the CAR took its minimal export revenues to fund a most egregious display of destruction of national wealth by spending on imported, luxurious, unproductive consumption.
The creation of the monarchy in 1977 coincided with a fall in exports as a % GDP from 25% in 1977 to 22% in 1979
The Coronation of Bokassa as Emperor cost about $22m in 1977; for context, the GDP of the CAR in 1977, according to the World Bank, was $507m, the coronation cost a third of the nation’s budget, and everything was imported, from France, then consumed in Bangui.
The Golden throne for the coronation was made in France; it weighed two tons and cost $2.5m. Bokassa’s inauguration tunic, shoes and red cape were made in collaboration with Pierre Cardin and cost $145,000—the designer Lanvin made the dress of the Empress of CAR for $72,400. Bokassa crown and that of his Empress, including scepters, were made in France and cost $5m. 24,000 bottles of Moet and Chandon were imported. And, of course, sixty new Mercedes Benz were imported for the event, but wait, there is more waste.
Thirty-six horses to pull the coronation carriage were bought from Belgium and imported to CAR.
Four hundred fifty pounds of rose petals, to be tossed as the new Emperor walked to his throne, were also imported. A 6-foot cake, which opened to reveal live pigeons’ gold plates to serve food. Even the food eaten at the reception was imported; it had flown in from France.
The music, too, was imported. The 120-man French Navy Orchestra and an all-girl pop group from South Vietnam supplied it. You get the picture; it was extravagant by any standards.
All the exquisite labour was done by Frenchmen in France, with some imported to Bangui, the capital, to do more work. What struck me about this waste was how involved the French were. Bokassa came to power in a coup, facing internal pressure.
He ran to France and sought help, and the French sent him eighty paratroopers to secure his reign. It is widely believed France paid for part of the coronation as a bribe to Bokassa to leave his embrace of Col Ghaddafi.
The French sent Bokassa a sword from the Napoleon era as a “gift of the French Government.” French soldiers provided security for the event. The French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing supported the call for the waste of the wealth of a nation to be a “beautiful thing.”
What Bokassa did with the wealth of the CAR was flush it down a French toilet, just like the Nigerian politicians are doing today. Today, Nigeria has executive “Bokassas”, who live as emperors, importing N50m massage chairs, bulletproof Lexus SUVs, and perfume even as extreme poverty spreads in Nigeria.
The problem is not just the imports and consumption but what was imported by Bokossa and where it was consumed; thrones, horses and food added nothing to the economy of CAR. Consumption was restricted to the capital Banjul and just the few thousand that partook in the ceremony.
Thus, the economic effects of the consumption did not materialize. Even infrastructure was not upgraded; the large indoor sports hall where the coronation was held, for instance, had no air conditioning.
Bokassa’s coronation set the CAR many years back economically. The lesson is that imports, especially luxury consumables for a few, with scarce foreign reserves paid for by the many, will kill off an economy for a generation.
