Chinese-owned companies, under investigation for irregularities in their gold mining operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DR Congo) east, hope to “bounce back” after a suspension that started in August, a consultant for one of the firms said.
Ordering the halt, South Kivu Governor Theo Ngwabidje Kasi said that he was determined to “restore order” in Mwenga territory, about 100km southwest of the provincial capital, Bukavu.
The move was in “the interests of the local population and the environment,” Kasi said, accusing the half-dozen Chinese-financed companies of “multiple abuses.”
The opacity of the exploitation and sale of Congolese gold has long been a source of concern, with UN experts last year noting “volumes of smuggled gold significantly higher than those marketed legally.”
Gold, one of the vast Central African country’s abundant mineral resources, is also used to finance armed groups and fuel the conflicts that have plagued its eastern provinces for more than a generation.
The fate of the Chinese-owned companies is in the hands of the federal government in Kinshasa, following a parliamentary investigation.
“We are confident — we will bounce back and we even want to go further: We will be a pilot project in the traceability” of gold, said Rudy Cornet, consultant for one of the companies, Oriental Resources Congo.
“Some operators are real bandits, but we must not put everyone in the same basket,” Cornet said, disputing any alleged contraventions of the mining code by his client.
Sources in Bukavu said that the firms have complied with the suspension — their machines are at a standstill — while busily preparing their legal objections.
“The companies have gone to Kinshasa. We have lodged our defense and we are waiting,” said Eric Kitoga, a Congolese lawyer representing the interests of Congo Blueant Minerals (CBM).
He denied a slew of accusations against CBM, including that its Chinese employees have worked on tourist visas, that it has not paid taxes and that it has not compensated farmers for the use of their fields.
The gold diggers have said that they provide valuable services, such as maintaining the road leading to Mwenga, but residents are up in arms.
“They have devastated everything: the palm groves, the cassava and rice fields, the fish ponds,” said Laban Kyalangalilwa, president of the Banyindu community in the chiefdom of Luindi.
Even if “arrangements” end up being made, mining firms must first repair “what they have caused,” by compensating farmers who have lost their livelihoods, he added.
“We are going to file a complaint against these companies, on behalf of our citizens, of the victims,” said Christian Wanduma, legal adviser to the neighboring chiefdom of Wamuzimu.
“The parliamentary mission took note of the mafias organized in Mwenga. We await its conclusions,” he added, predicting a communal “uprising” if the government glosses over the alleged misdeeds of the targeted companies.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese