At the End of the Day it's really Not that Simple or Straight Forward as some might think
Since Felix took over, he and his new Ministry have been very busy "Taking a long hard look at themselves" and how to remedy the wrongs of previous Deals that amounted to doing little for the DRC as most of us know. No wonder it's taking longer than we would like or expect when you see how busy they've been Dealing with and Cleaning up the Crap of the past, getting Bogged Down at the same time trying to get Mining Licenses / SEZ etc done and dusted, as well as having to Deal with the ongoing Inga Dam debacle, where
Capital costs for the various Inga schemes are equally eye-watering, ranging up to $100 billion for Inga III and Grand Inga combined.
Will Democratic Republic of the Congo president Félix Tshisekedi at last turn the Grand Inga Dam mirage into the Grand Inga Dam barrage?
The dream of harnessing the mighty Congo downstream of Kinshasa to eventually generate up to 50,000 MW of electricity has been dangled before the largely unelectrified Congolese and the outside world for decades.
Félix Tshisekedi speaking of the miners in Katanga:
“They have stolen enough from us. That’s enough “
“I am going to Kolwezi to check things with which I do not agree. Our country has a lot of strategic minerals. In the immediate future, the DRC will be at the center of global lusts and strategies for control of cobalt and copper that we have. But it is not normal that the Congolese continue to suffer ”, declared, in Lingala, Felix Tshisekedi under the applause of the thousands of Lushois.
The Head of State was of the opinion that so far it is more mining in the DRC has benefited more foreign investors than the Congolese population. Therefore, he wants to change the situation.
“Those who mine (our minerals) get richer while we, the owners of the land, get poorer. It’s finish. I’m going to Kolwezi to talk to the miners because I want to see clearly. I want the DRC to develop. It is not normal that this soil which allows the others to get rich misses the schools, the hospitals, the roads and that its population is in misery. This is not normal. I would like to know those who keep the DRC in poverty. And I hear to see if they will continue to do their “dirty” work “, hammered Felix Tshisekedi.
Speaking during an academic meeting at the Economic and Social Council, Albert Yuma, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gécamines and President of the Federation of Enterprises of Congo, indicated that the DRC lost about 6.5 billion USD to the continuation of unbalanced mining contracts ”between Gécamines and multinationals between 1996 and 2009.
“Our country has been systematically looted and none of our partners, nor the NGOs which are traditionally giving lessons in moral matters, have dared to attack or criticize this economic and financial tragedy”, denounced the PCA of Gécamines in front of the Councilors of the Republic in his presentation entitled “The challenges of the revised Mining Code”, argued Albert Yuma.
The National Assembly sends a delegation of deputies to gather information on illegal explorations in South Kivu- DRC
“We want to go and see how mining is done in South Kivu. We already have the names of the people who own the mines, we will check how it works, ”MP Dhedhe Mupasa, member of the delegation and rapporteur for the environment, tourism, natural resources and sustainable development committee told ACTUALITE.CD. .
DRC agrees to IMF deal but players worry over looming purge of sector
IMF committed to a three-year credit to the tune of $1.5 billion.
But it came with conditions, one of which was to enhance the fight against graft as well as clean up messy or lopsided mining agreements granted to foreign firms.
The arrangement is such that the DRC must revise old agreements for mining as well as set up policies that will prevent future deals from being one-sided.
One such contract has stepped on the toes of Chinese investors who signed a contract in 2008 to extract minerals in Lualaba Province.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s decision this week to launch a programme meant to clean the lucrative mining sector is causing jitters among players who may have benefited from skewed contracts.
The programme to purge the sector, Congo’s biggest source of revenue, is a result of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July.
Under this arrangement, the IMF committed to a three-year credit to the tune of $1.5 billion.
But it came with conditions, one of which was to enhance the fight against graft as well as clean up messy or lopsided mining agreements granted to foreign firms.
The arrangement is such that the DRC must revise old agreements for mining as well as set up policies that will prevent future deals from being one-sided.
One such contract has stepped on the toes of Chinese investors who signed a contract in 2008 to extract minerals in Lualaba Province.
In his communication during the nineteenth meeting of the Council of Ministers, held on Friday, September 10, the President of the Republic Félix Tshisekedi asked the Minister of State, Minister of Infrastructure and Public Works to present, during the twenty- and-first meeting of the Council of Ministers, the state of play of the technical and financial execution of the projects included in the Sino-Congolese contract, and to the Minister of Mines to do the same in her sector.
Beijing announces its support to the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the repression of illegal mining activities where certain Chinese companies are cited. This is what emerges from a series of messages posted on Tuesday, September 14, 2021 on Twitter by Wu Peng, an executive of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The latter indicates that the Beijing authorities have ordered the six Chinese mining companies banned from activities by the Governor of South Kivu province to pack up and leave the sites “as soon as possible ”.
This senior official in Chinese diplomacy is also announcing severe sanctions against any Chinese company guilty of the charges brought by the DRC.
“ In addition, the affected companies will be punished and sanctioned by the Chinese government. Relevant authorities in Fujian and other provinces are investigating and will take action. We will never allow Chinese companies in Africa to violate local laws and regulations, ” Wu Peng wrote.
