Zairean zaire Zairean zaire The Zaire (French: "Zaïre"), was the unit of currency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then of the Republic of Zaire from 1967 until 1997. There were two distinct currencies. All but six of the 79 series of banknotes issued bear the image of Mobutu Sese Seko. The Zaire (French: "Zaïre"), symbol: "Z", or sometimes "Ƶ", was introduced in 1967, replacing the "Congolese franc" at an exchange rate of 1 zaire = 1000 francs. The zaire was subdivided into 100 "makuta" (singular: "likuta", symbol: "K"), each of 100 "sengi" (symbol: "s"). However, the sengi was worth
Zaire 74 performers included Celia Cruz and the Fania All-Stars. The concert was promoted by Don King, as a part of the build-up to the Ali-Foreman fight. At the time of the event, Zaire was run by Mobutu, a dictator who became notorious for corruption, nepotism and human rights violations. Mobutu agreed to host the festival and to help cover its costs. A documentary about the Zaire 74 festival, entitled "Soul Power", was released in 2009. The film was directed by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, who served as the editor on the 1996 documentary "When We Were Kings", which also contains selections of concert