Vol 52 No 16 | CONGO-KINSHASAMINING Mutatis mutandis 5th August 2011 Mystery surrounds a sale by the state-owned Générale des Carrières et des Mines to a company linked to Dan Gertler, a close friend of President Joseph Kabila. Just...
Vol 52 No 15 | ANGOLACONGO-KINSHASA Bad fences, bad neighbours 22nd July 2011 Disputes over politics, oil and diamonds are dividing the two neighbouring governments Relations between Luanda and Kinshasa could deteriorate sharply after a series of disputes. Angolan border police expelled about 15,000 Congolese in April and May after rounding them up...
Vol 52 No 14 | CONGO-KINSHASAMINING How honesty can cost jobs 8th July 2011 Local officials and Western companies argue about new regulations on conflict minerals which they say could worsen economic hardship Unemployment among artisanal miners is rising as nervous electronics manufacturers, such as Apple and Intel, source fewer imports from them. Many companies are acting on a precautionary basis...
Vol 52 No 14 | ANGOLACONGO-KINSHASA Cabinda man arrested 8th July 2011 The latest twist in the long dispute between Angola and Congo-Kinshasa came with the arrest in Kinshasa of Cabindan human rights activist Agostinho Chicaia in late June. Tension...
Vol 52 No 13 | CONGO-KINSHASA Election express 24th June 2011 The government’s determination to push through the heavily contested national elections by December is raising concern about their credibility Regional antagonisms and logistical problems are overshadowing presidential and parliamentary elections due on 28 November. After much delay and after constitutional reform pushed through by the presidency, the...
Vol 52 No 13 | CONGO-KINSHASA Call back 24th June 2011 A United Nations group of experts on Congo-Kinshasa broke new ground in its twice-yearly report of 7 June by offering those it criticises the right to reply. In...
Vol 52 No 10 | CONGO-KINSHASAMINING Ethical smelting 13th May 2011 The Katangese Mines Minister, Juvénal Kitungwa Lugoma, was in Paris on 5 May assuring nervous electronics and automotive company representatives that cassiterite and colombo-tantalite (coltan) from Katanga was...
Vol 52 No 8 | CONGO-KINSHASA Taking the democratic out of DRC 15th April 2011 President Joseph Kabila and his supporters will restrict democratic representation only to the rich, if a bill sponsored by Kabila-stalwart Evariste Boshab goes through. The law will double...
Vol 52 No 6 | CONGO-KINSHASA Real bullets, phoney coup 18th March 2011 Suspicions abound about the government’s account of a small but deadly attack near the President’s home The government called it a terrorist attack but what actually happened is still not clear. The raid on one of President Joseph Kabila’s homes came in the early afternoon of...
Vol 52 No 6 | CONGO-KINSHASA The state of the forces 18th March 2011 Congo-Kinshasa’s armed forces comprise about 150,000, including 2,500 in the Navy, 3,000 in the Air Force and 15,000 in the Republican Guard. Military observers believe that most of the naval and...