A falling local currency, salary arrears payments and war spending have pushed up prices in impoverished Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving locals struggling to afford basics. The economist, who declined to be named, said that government spending had gone on imports likely related to the conflict, as well as on salary arrears for public servants.
Since the new year, the Congolese franc has depreciated about 15 percent against the US dollar, according to official figures and money changers, hitting the poorest hardest