Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo

Congo to Cancel Mining Contracts That Do Not Benefit its People

The idea sounds great and noble.  Cancel or renegotiate mining contracts that do not benefit the people of Congo.  I hope this is the truth.

Or is it a way to generate wealth for the new regime?  Global Witness says the review was transparent.  So, will the new contracts benefit the people of the Congo?

Link: BBC NEWS | Africa | Mining deals cancelled in Congo.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is to cancel "many" mining contracts and renegotiate others, a minister says.

The government said it wanted to ensure that the country's vast mineral wealth was used to benefit its people.

Many Congolese suspect that mining deals are often corrupt and campaign group Global Witness says the review was hit by a lack of transparency.

DR Congo has huge reserves of gold, diamonds, copper and coltan, used in mobile phones.

Correspondents say these riches have been a key factor in the civil wars, instability and bad government the country has known since independence.

The US steps up its Development Aid to Congo

The US through USAID plans to increase spending for development aid in the Congo.  No specific details was listed.   

Link: AFP: US ups development aid for DR Congo: USAID chief.

The director of US foreign assistance and USAID chief Henrietta Fore Monday announced more than 100 million dollars of development aid this year for the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo.

"US bilateral foreign assistance to the DRC is expected to surpass 100 million dollars (63.4 million euros) this fiscal year," she said, adding that this would be solely for development projects.

"Our increase in assistance demonstrates the United States' commitment to working side by side with the Congolese people toward a more stable and prosperous country."

Total US aid to the sprawling mineral-rich country would be more than 500 million dollars this year over 460 million dollars last year. Humanitarian aid alone, including American participation in the UN mission in DR Congo, or MONUC, would total around 400 million dollars in 2008.

In Case of Rape, Who do you blame?

A Chilean, Australian, and Canadian mining consortium of mining companies on the London stock exchange is interested in Congo's copper.  Who is responsible or culpable?   It's confusing to me.  But maybe that's how it is supposed to be.

Link: Chilean miner looks to Asia and Africa | smh.com.au.

The London-listed Chilean copper miner Antofagasta is on the prowl and may have some Australian miners in its sights.

Antofagasta, which bought Australian-listed Tethyan Copper a few years back, said it was looking at potential acquisitions in Central Asia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

Antofagasta's chief executive, Marcelo Awad, told the Financial Times the company had already had talks with junior miners operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"I foresee our company making a deal in Zambia or DRC or both within 18 months," he said, adding it would not act on its Democratic Republic of Congo ambitions until the completion of a review of mining contracts.

Perth's Anvil Mining could be a prime target in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Equinox Minerals, which is building a copper mine in Zambia, might also be a target. Equinox has a major shareholder in Canada's First Quantum but is of interest to Zinifex, Oxiana and others.

Wealthy nations must work to reduce poverty everywhere - Myth #6

Should wealthy nations, like the US, work to reduce poverty everywhere?  NO.  That's a myth we should help everybody or everywhere.  Who should we help?  We should be devoting our effort to the last billion poor.

Fortunately, we mostly agree to the bottom billion or last billion poor are those people who make less than a dollar per day adjusted.  The United Nations does an annual study called the Human Development Index.  The index measures not only income but other quality of life factors in the areas of health and education.  The tables of 177 indexed countries are divided into high, medium, and low human development.  Graphically, high human development countries are shown in blue, medium in yellow, and low in red.  In general, I think these countries, low human development in red, should our target for help, aid and assistance.

I totally agree that we (the wealthy nations) are allowing millions of children to die each year in the countries where the poor of the poor live.  But the questions become who are the poor of the poor, or in Biblical terms, the least of these (Matthew 28:31-46).

This post is a personal exposition of the article, A first step for the global poor – shatter six myths | csmonitor.com.  The article was written by journalist and former presidential speech writer Mark Lange about lessons from China on ending poverty.  Part One of a five-part series story, An End to Poverty -- New hope for the last billion poor, published by the Christian Science Monitor.

Could it be possible to eradicate abject poverty in one lifetime?  Ever since it was first asked, the question has seemed an improbable wish – a salve for the heart, untenable to the mind.  But today, the answer is as clear as it is imperative: Yes.

The idea that every living person can have the basics essential to human survival – and from there, begin to climb the ladder of economic development – is a prospect within reach. It does not require a master plan that solves all the world's problems. It does demand that wealthy nations change their approach in ways both subtle and significant.

It also means that the world's poorest – the last billion people who barely survive on the equivalent of less than $1 a day – must turn from lifetimes of bleak experience and look with higher expectations toward what is possible.

Today, the "average" person on the edge of survival is a child. Within the next hour, 1,200 more of them will perish. There are no easy solutions. But there is a clear path toward progress.

Help and Aid for Displaced Congolese in Ituri Province

Displaced Congolese that fled fighting receive help to return home.  Funds were released to the Ituri Province in northeast Congo to improve food security and the rehabilitation of health, and water and sanitation systems.

Link: DRC: Funds to boost stability in Ituri

The international community has released US$5.7 million as a first tranche of aid this year to stabilise the troubled district of Ituri in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ross Mountain, UN resident coordinator and special representative of the UN Secretary-General in the country, said.

"We have given every possibility to militia members to lay down their weapons. But there are still some elements - few in number - who are preventing citizens in one part of the district from taking advantage of the brilliant future which could lie ahead for this part of the country. Work to bring about stability will go on. I am confident that stability will be achieved," said Mountain.

The funds will be used to improve food security and the rehabilitation of health, and water and sanitation facilities, with a view to making conditions conducive for the return of displaced people to their places of origin, he said.

India and DRC to enter into pact

India is expanding into Africa.  It wants to build better business and economic relationship.  Congo, a leading diamond producer, was invited to a conference in India.

Link: India and DRC to enter into pact

The DRC is one of the 14 African countries, which have been identified to attend the India-Africa partnership summit to be held in April. As per the agreement, India has decided to lend its expertise in diamond cutting, polishing and mining. The visiting minister Nyamwisi is expected to enter into economic agreements both in the diamond industry and in the defense sector. The DRC had produced 28.9 million carats of diamonds worth $431.9 million in 2006.

Congo has no press or internet access

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is not among the Internet Enemies.  I should be happy but I am sad.  Because I think the reality is a country must have internet access and the press to be considered.  Therefore, Congo's problem are not coming outside of the country.

The local and world press has ignored the plight of the Congolese people.  You have a situation where 5.4 million people have died unnecessarily since 1998 from preventable and treatable diseases and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, yet nobody knows about it.

So the death toll continues at 45,000 people per month and nobody knows about it because Congo does not have a press corps or internet access.

Woody      

Link: UNESCO back out as group names Internet Enemies | ZDNet Government | ZDNet.com.

The countries on the RSF’s Internet Enemies list, displayed here, include Burma, China, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Saudia Arabia, Zimbabwe and six more.

Police Remove Sect in Bas-Congo

It is a case of finger pointing, the government blamed the sect while the sect blamed the government.  Underlying the accusations, it sounds like Bas-Congo wants to succeed from the nation.  Succession is frequently mentioned by those provinces with natural resources.  Another province is the mineral rich Katanga area.

The government said the sect "systematically undermined the state’s authority by attacking police officers or burning flags, and forbidding the singing of the national anthem in schools".  The sect "accused the government of bombing civilians and called for talks on the region’s governance, such as, alleged electoral fraud as well as unfair distribution of natural resources in Bas-Congo, the only oil-producing part of the country".

Link: The Times - Article.

Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday (Saturday, March 9?) stormed the headquarters of a politico-religious movement, Bundu dia Kongo (BDK), killing between four and six people, officials said.

"We mounted an operation to remove BDK followers from their headquarters. The operation is now complete; it was a success," a police officer in Matadi, capital of Bas-Congo province, told AFP. No official toll was given, but local and diplomatic officials who requested anonymity said four to six had died, with several people wounded as well.

Hear "The Story" of a real Congolese Doctor on the frontline

This is truly a rare opportunity to hear a Congolese Doctor, Dr. Jo Lusi, of eastern Congo on the frontline.  He was interviewed by Dick Gordon of "The Story".

Link: Doctoring in the Congo — The Story from American Public Media.

Dr. Jo Lusi risks his life tending to victims of war in some of the hardest-hit areas of the Congo. He performs operations in remote areas often under the crudest of conditions.  And more than once, he's had to literally run for his life, as he's now become a target for guerillas.  He does this work because he believes there's no greater act of love than putting his life on the line for the betterment of others.

A GREAT Video -- Rape of a Nation by Marcus Bleasdale

This video shows you the plight of the Congolese people.  The International Rescue Committee's (IRC's) new mortality survey summarizes what has happened in Congo since 1998. 

Link: MediaStorm: Rape of a Nation by Marcus Bleasdale.

About

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is home to the deadliest war in the world today. An estimated 5.4 million people have died since 1998, the largest death toll since the Second World War, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

IRC reports that as many as 45,000 people die each month in the Congo. Most deaths are due to easily preventable and curable conditions, such as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, malnutrition, and neonatal problems and are byproducts of a collapsed healthcare system and a devastated economy.

The people living in the mining towns of eastern Congo are among the worst off. Militia groups and government forces battle on a daily basis for control of the mineral-rich areas where they can exploit gold, coltan, cassiterite and diamonds.

After successive waves of fighting and ten years of war, there are no hospitals, few roads and limited NGO and UN presence because it is too dangerous to work in many of these regions. The West's desire for minerals and gems has contributed to a fundamental breakdown in the social structure.

Marcus Bleasdale does a superb job to capture in 11 minutes the situation in the Congo, especially eastern Congo.  The pictures, video, and narration gave an accurate assessment and status of life in the Congo today.

I have been a student of the Congo, from the past to present, for the last ten years.  I have not written off Kabila yet.  It is my belief that Marcus concludes that the election was a waste of time and money.  I think the process of democracy is still in motion.  One election does not make a democracy.  Therefore, I did not expect the clouds to disappear and the rainbow appear.  I believe the third or fourth election will be the true test of democracy.