With the return of the Trump administration to the helm of the United States, there is a widespread desire for US companies to set up operations in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo to exploit its coveted mineral resources.
“Congo’s president has just offered the U.S. a stake in Congo’s minerals in an attempt to get President Trump to end the Rwanda-backed war…. “. On February 22, President Félix Tshisekedi’s spokeswoman responded to this erroneous assertion by American politician Derrick Evans by saying: “The President is inviting the USA, whose companies source strategic raw materials from Rwanda, which are plundered in the DRC and smuggled into Rwanda while our people are being massacred, to buy them directly from us, the rightful owners.”
In a recent interview with an American media, Felix Tshisekedi invited the United States and Europe to participate directly in the profits of the Congolese mining sector. This appeal is presented by his detractors as an attempt to sell off resources in exchange for security. “In reality, it’s a solemn invitation to all those who have, for years, preferred to come in through the window to get supplies, when they have the opportunity to come in through the front door”, explains a mining sector expert. Indeed, behind Rwanda’s military activism, it’s common knowledge that multinationals, including American companies, are lurking.
Last December, the Congolese government lodged complaints in French and Belgian courts against local Apple subsidiaries. Kinshasa accuses the American technology giant, whose products include IPhone phones and computers, of sourcing minerals from Rwanda’s looting of Congolese territory. The minerals in question are the 3Ts (tantalum, tangustene and tin), essential for the manufacture of electronic components.
Although the French justice system announced on February 27 that it had closed the case, the Congolese government, via its lawyers, says it will appeal against this decision.
“Faced with the evidence of “conflict minerals”, the official arrival of American or even European companies in the region will automatically close the door to smuggling. We’d be talking business instead of war. This can only be the wish of every world leader”, continues our expert.
In an interview with Jeune Afrique, former Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito hails President Tshisekedi’s stance, which he says will strip Rwanda of its “current positive role as broker”.
Infos.cd
