Almost daily reports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo describe the human carnage in the central African nation. Death, rape and mayhem seem the norm in the country that can’t protect its people, even with the largest U.N. peacekeeping force in the world. People in the western world wonder why such horrors continue unabated and demand answers and solutions to this desecration against humanity.
The root causes are many and no single blog post or book on the subject, for that matter, can completely explain the whys of this tragedy. Nor, for that matter, can easy solutions be articulated, much less implemented. But it is worth noting who profits from the horrors in the region.
There are, of course, the ethnic and tribal conflicts pitting governments and rebels against each other. Hostilities stemming from the regional conflict between warring tribal factions of Hutus and Tutsis as exemplified by the neighboring Rwandan genocide is part of the story. Payback will remain on the collective agenda for generations to come. But for anybody paying any attention to what is happening in the Congo, one thing is clear: the mineral wealth in the region motivates everybody to act in the most venal manner imaginable.
Recent news reports tell the story of a recent episode involving a Canadian mining company, Quantum Minerals, Ltd. According to the company’s web site, “First Quantum also holds a 65% interest in the Kolwezi copper-cobalt tailings in the DRC and strategic investments in Mopani Copper Mines (16.9%), operator of the Nkana underground copper mine and cobalt refinery . . .”
In recent months, the company became embroiled in a dispute with the DRC government over problems with its agreement to extract copper at its Kolwezi facility. “[The] Democratic Republic of Congo shut First Quantum’s US$750-million KMT copper project at Kolwezi last September, after a review flagged contract irregularities and production delays at the site.” According to Stockhouse.com .
Stockhouse.com, citing an article first appearing in Reuters, noted that the apparent victor in this dispute was the Kazakh mining group ENRC. Interestingly, an Israeli diamond mogul, Dan Gertler acquired a stake in ENRC. In addition, the Congo mines minister handed the Kolwezi licence to Highwinds Properties, controlled by Israeli investor Dan Gertler.
As reported by Canada’s Financial Post, the London-listed ENRC purchased 50.5% of Camrose Resources Ltd., which is controlled by Mr. Gertler, for US$50-million and US$125-million of promissory notes. “Camrose controls five copper and cobalt exploitation licences, including for Kolwezi, but does not own the infrastructure at the project left by First Quantum” the Financial Post noted.
Interestingly, Mr. Gertler is close to the DRC President, Joseph Kabila, having been invited to his wedding. SourceWatch.com tells an interesting tale about Mr. Gertler, who apparently has extensive ties not only with the Congolese president but with political leaders in the state of Israel.
The irony in this sordid fight for the country’s resources is that the millions siphoned off from the exploitation of this country’s natural resources is in the midst of the worst human rights tragedy in the last 20 years.
