Many things take longer in Congo. When we arrived one of our first tasks was to buy a car. Tearfund doesn’t allow their staff to take motorbike taxis because of safety risks and there are few public transport options to speak of. The kids needed to get to school, Martin to the diocesan office and to go anywhere in Goma you need a car. Last time we bought a car it was just after Imogen was born. We went to Cargiant in London, looked at a few cars, chose one and then picked it up the next day with all of its paperwork. Here it was a bit different.

We engaged a ‘commissionnaire’, a kind of broker used here to find a house, buy a car etc. Since 90% of the cars in Goma are Toyota and most roads are more rough volcanic rock than tarmac, we decided we needed a Prado. And we were strongly advised to go for a ‘new’ car, that is, a car that has recently imported from Japan. Electric or hybrid cars are not so much of an option here at the moment.

So started a steady stream of Prados turning up at our house as we feigned knowledge of how to check for the soundness of a second hand car. They laughed as I examined the milometer, as if that meant anything. The year of manufacture is apparently found on the driver’s seat-belt, but that rarely matched the import papers. The most important thing was how many miles it had done and where, since its arrival in Congo, and the state of the engine. Patrice from Tearfund came to help us with negotiations and kick a few tyres.

From when we chose the car, the whole process then took 4 days.

Day 1 - Thursday – negotiate the price. Time taken 2 hours. Knowing we were expats the prices for some Prados were inflated, but they were all roughly in the same price bracket. Of the final 3 Prados we chose 1. The commissionnaire phoned the car owner. Patrice phoned the car owner. I phoned the car owner. Most things in Congo are ‘à negocier’, with the understanding that the first price is not the last price. Not this time. After 2 hours on the phone (I work for the church, we pay 3% bank charges, there is only 1 key) the price came down by $0, with the one concession being he had left the car with a full tank of patrol. Still it was a reasonable deal.

Day 2 - Friday – pay some of the costs. Another 2 hours. The owner requested cash. So, started the daily trips to the bank to take out the daily limits on each of our bank cards, as well as those of friends and colleagues. We agreed that the owner would come the next day and we would seal the deal. He brought his brother and Patrice helped again. He requested a blank sheet of paper and drew up the act of sale. We put our passport details at the bottom and signed. Then he requested another blank sheet of paper for the IOU. We all counted the money. The owner, his brother, me and Patrice. We agreed that the car would stay at our house, but that the owner would take the key and the documents. He would return on Monday.

Day 3 – Monday – the final instalment. All morning. After more trips to the bank over the weekend, on Monday morning we received a phone call from the owner of the car to say that he couldn’t meet us at our house but we had to drive across town to meet him at a hotel. I was suspicious. I was assured that it was OK. We arrived at the hotel and phoned the owner. He said he was at a different hotel, on the other side of town. Patrice became suspicious and so called for security back-up. We arrived at the other hotel to find the owner there. He got into the car and everyone counted the enveloped stuffed with $100 bills, including the Tearfund driver. The key and the documents were handed over. The car owner left and the security back-up appeared from out of the shadows to check everything was OK.

Day 4 – Tuesday – documentation. All day. We needed driving licences – you simply pay $30 and you get one, which explains much of the driving in Goma. And insurance, ‘à negocier’; the technical control certificate, road tax, and even a $20 if your front windows are tinted. Ours aren’t (just the back ones!). All of this needs to be in order for when you get regularly stopped by the police. Sometimes the police ask to check your papers, often they just say they are hungry and can you help.

It was fortunate that the children had started school and Martin had not yet started his job in Goma, as buying a car seemed like a full-time job while it lasted. Still, it has made a massive difference to our ease of getting around and our general enjoyment of life in Goma, for which we are very thankful. Not forgetting transporting turkeys - given as a gift for preaching.

8 December 2020