coupures 22 mai 2007 (eng)

Congo-Kinshasa: Monuc DOA - 'We Are Breaking Ground in Peacekeeping'

United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
INTERVIEW21 May 2007Posted to the web 21 May 2007
Eoin Young
This week we spoke to Hazel Scott, MONUC's Director of Adminstration (DOA), to get her impressions on the new MONUC mandate, and its budget, as well as the changes she has implemented in the administration of the mission since her appointment as DOA on September 12 2005.
How do you feel about MONUC's new mandate?
I think it's very good that we have gotten a mandate for as much as six months, and it has some very good elements that are necessary in terms of security sector reform and the consolidation of peace, and the training of the military and other aspects. I think that this is the first mission that has had such a mandate to train the military, and for that, I think that we are breaking ground in peacekeeping.
Will there be any reduction or increase in the budget?
Actually because of the way the UN system runs, we had to prepare this year's budget last year, in October. Although the budget has not yet been approved, there may be a slight increase, as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).
There will be a staff increase mainly in security and the administrative functions, and that has to do with the recent decentralization of administrative functions to the regions.
The staff increase translates into 166 staff members, 111 of which are national staff as we are trying to increase national staff and national capacity building. We will continue to have the same level for military and police staff.
What did you implement at the administration level in the MONUC mission?
When I came to this mission it became pretty obvious there were many problems. Given the size of the mission, many things were coming to my desk that didn't need to come, and decisions were taking a long time to be made, because everything was coming to Kinshasa.
So one of the things we embarked upon was to have some consultants come on board who agreed that we had to move towards decentralization. Basically what we have done is we have decentralized into three sectors, in the east we have two sectors, one in Bunia and one in Bukavu, and Kinshasa in the west, headed by regional administrative officers, who coordinate the work within each sector.
All officers within each sector are headed by a Field Office Manager (FOM), so most of the decisions are being made at a regional level or at the office level. At the mission level, we concentrate on things like budget or planning for the year besides giving instructions to the region managers so that they can carry out the work.
We have found it very useful, it's still in its teething stage, because we started last year, and we're aiming to do an assessment of it next month.
Regarding MONUC staff, will there be any change in MONUC's structure such as women's participation in the mission?
We certainly look at gender when we are recruiting. This has always been one of the focuses for the organisation as a whole. Unfortunately in the DR of the Congo, particularly among our national staff, since most of the posts are logistical in nature, we have difficulty finding women for some of these posts.
But we are certainly going to be giving some benefits to women so that we can increase the numbers in that respect.
The other day I travelled to Goma, and I saw that we had two women mechanics there. That was very heartening to me, so I hope that we can do the same in other areas of the country.
MONUC is the largest peacekeeping mission, what do you see as the differences between it and the other missions?
I think it is just the sheer magnitude and complexity of the problems that we have here. Not necessarily in terms of the political problems, but the problems in terms of the infrastructure of the country, the size of the country and the numbers of people here.
I think it was the BBC that termed the elections as a "logistical nightmare," and it certainly is a logistical nightmare to get around the country. In that respect, we are very different from most of the other missions, because the areas that they cover are very small, and we have a time difference between east and west, which doesn't exist in any other mission.
The United Nations is now hiring Congolese as police, observers or international staff for other missions, how engaged is MONUC in this process?
From a civilian perspective, MONUC has provided capacity building for most of our local staff, which has given them opportunities to go out as UNV's, and as international staff in other missions, even though this is not the reason why we do the capacity building. We do the capacity building for them to be able to work within the country, but it's good to see that they can get out, get exposure, and return to be better citizens within their country.
-----------------------------------------------------------------Central Africa: States to Agree On 'Wanted Persons' in DRC Meeting

The New Times (Kigali)
21 May 2007Posted to the web 21 May 2007
Robert Mukombozi
Delegates from four Great Lakes countries will on June 4 meet in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to draw the final list of most wanted persons in the region, sources have said. The officials from Burundi, DRC, Rwanda and Uganda will be meeting as part of follow-up to previous meetings on the issue under the Tripartite Plus Joint Commission, through which efforts are being made to return total peace to the region that has bore the blunt of violence over years.
According to a reliable source, senior security, intelligence and diplomatic officials from the four countries will converge in Lubumbashi, DRC's second largest city to review draft lists and come up with a common position.
All the regional countries presented their draft lists of most wanted individuals in the last meeting in Kigali, which were sent to a common information fusion centre in DRC for screening.
"The upcoming Tripartite Plus meeting in DRC will review the short-listed dissidents presented by each country for a concrete resolution to be passed on a common list," a reliable source said on condition of anonymity.
The source said that the matter is expected to draw unprecedented heated debate as it will seek to finalise the end the controversy surrounding the draft list of Ugandan wanted people.
During the March 14-15 Tripartite Plus Joint Commission meeting, Uganda presented a shortlist of ten most wanted persons that include Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen, all leaders of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Others were Jamil Mukulu, Yusuf Kabanda and Rashid Lukwago of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group as well as Edson Muzoora, Samson Mande and Anthony Kyakabale of the hitherto shadowy People's Redemption Army (PRA) rebel group.
Although the other categories of Ugandan rebel leaders of LRA and ADF were approved by member countries, the source said the PRA blacklisted people remain under contention.
Rwandan delegates reportedly refused to sign the common list claiming it has no information regarding the insurgent activities caused by the alleged PRA listed members.
The source also disclosed that while Rwanda considers PRA as negative force, it has refused to sign off Muzoora, Mande and Kyakabale on reasons that they have never caused insecurity anywhere, at least to the knowledge of Rwanda.
The source observed that the controversy was feared to cause delays in the drafting of the final list, which if completed would be submitted to the United Nations and African Union for the two bodies to apprehend the wanted persons.
Rwanda's State Minister for Cooperation, Rosemary Museminari, confirmed the upcoming DRC meeting but was non-committal on details.
Asked whether the high profile regional meeting would put a conclusion to the controversial list, she said that those are "security details she could not share with the media".
"It is true. The next Tripartite Plus Meeting (will take place) very soon in the DRC but I am not ready to discuss the agenda in the media because these are security matters that deserve to be treated with confidentiality," Museminari told The New Times by telephone on Saturday.
Anything said on critical security matters under protest amongst member countries such as the lists of most wanted rebels, she argued, would be seen as pre-empting issues lined up for discussions in the upcoming meeting.
According to the agenda of the upcoming the meeting, a copy of which The New Times obtained, delegates will also discuss negative forces.
The United Nations Mission in the DRC (Monuc), African Union and the Global Development Research Centre (GDRC) are among the bodies that will present status reports on dissident groups in the region.
Rwanda's most wanted persons include senior leaders of the Forces four the Democratic Liberation of Rwanda (FLDR) such as the German-based Ignace Murwanashyaka.
Also under sub section III of the main agenda, the member countries are set to agree on final scenarios of military action against negative forces as a follow-up to military chiefs' resolutions Bujumbura, Burundi.
The Chiefs of Defence Staff agreed during the April meeting that collective military operations against insurgents are imperative if the region is to register sustainable peace and stability.
However, this position was also contested by DRC government on whose territory most regional insurgencies are based.
"This issue will definitely become contentious because the DRC is still opposed to the recommendation of applying the scenario of a joint military action to wipeout negative forces in the region," a source disclosed.
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China's development model beneficial to Africa: DRC's finance minister


Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) can draw lessons from China's development model, DRC's finance minister Athanase Matenda Kyelu has said.
Speaking Sunday during a press briefing after his return from the 42nd annual assembly of the African Development Bank (ADB), which was held from May 16 to May 18 in the Chinese city of Shanghai, the minister said there were many development models in the world and the Chinese model is one of them.
The DRC can learn from certain elements within this model, those which can be harnessed to create a development partnership, with a view to responding better to our needs, particularly with regard to improving growth and reducing poverty, the minister said, adding that China, just like all the Asian countries, has enjoyed continued economic growth.
African countries chose China to host the meeting owing to the similarities the country shared with the realities of the African continent, said Kyelu who led the DRC delegation, which also included deputy budget minister Celestin Mbuyu and DRC's Central Bank governor Jean-Claude Masangu, to the assembly.
Source: Xinhua
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Africa: UN Conference to Promote Reintegration of Ex-Fighters

Africa Renewal (United Nations)
21 May 2007Posted to the web 21 May 2007
Ernest HarschUnited Nations
As recently as February, fighting raged between rebel militia fighters and government soldiers in the Ituri forests of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). But on 8 May, following the agreement of the militia commanders to finally disarm, more than 200 members of the group handed in their weapons to United Nations peacekeepers in Doi, northeast of Bunia, the regional capital.
Several hundred more fighters still remain in the forests. But thousands of their comrades have already demobilized, as the trend towards peace picks up momentum. Some of these former combatants are being retrained for service in the new national army. Others are taking part in the many reintegration projects under way in Ituri and elsewhere in the DRC. They are learning skills to help them return to civilian life, from manufacturing bricks, milling grain and rearing goats to building bridges and primary schools.
More than 3,000 kilometres away, in Côte d'Ivoire, another disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) operation is about to begin, following the signature in March of a peace agreement between the government and rebel forces that have held the northern half of that West African nation for more than four years. Under the programme, up to 50,000 fighters on both sides of the conflict will disarm and return to civilian life.
In yet another country, Chad, the government signed an agreement with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in May to immediately disarm all child soldiers in the ranks of its army. Beyond simply freeing children from military service, explained UNICEF Representative Stephen Adkisson, an effort will also be needed to help them "rejoin the communities from which they came and rebuild their lives."
Whether they are children or adults, many of those caught up in Africa's various wars now want nothing more than to set aside their weapons and earn a living. As Haja Sheriff, a former militia woman in Liberia, told Africa Renewal, all she hopes to do is get some land to grow rice and vegetables and maybe raise a few animals.
Preventing more violence
Across the continent, as more of Africa's numerous wars are settled and give way to peace agreements, the disarmament and reintegration of former combatants is becoming an increasingly common feature. Through its African peacekeeping operations, the UN has helped disarm and return to civilian life some 400,000 former combatants over the past five years alone.
Carrying out DDR effectively is vital for "preventing the recurrence of violence and creating the conditions for sustainable peace," then UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa Legwaila Joseph Legwaila said in April. Unfortunately, he added, "there is ample evidence that current DDR practices often do not accomplish those objectives, since there have been numerous instances of African countries relapsing into violence."
With the aim of helping Africans ensure the greater success of such operations, the UN's Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) and the government of the DRC will hold an International Conference on Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration and Stability in Africa in Kinshasa on 12-14 June.
Focus on Africa
There have been other conferences, seminars and workshops devoted to assessing and strengthening DDR programmes. In December 2006, the UN established Integrated DDR Standards to improve the design of such operations in a more systematic fashion. But the focus of the Kinshasa conference, like a similar pan-African DDR conference organized by OSAA in Sierra Leone in June 2005, will concentrate specifically on Africa and will emphasize the views and recommendations of African practitioners.
The participants will come from some 20 African countries, among them Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, the DRC, Liberia and Uganda. They will include government officials, DDR beneficiaries, members of national armed forces and former insurgent factions, parties to peace accords, and representatives of host communities and civil society organizations.
They will draw on the lessons of past and current DDR experiences in Africa, with the aim of highlighting ways to make disarmament and reintegration strategies more effective, build African ownership of them and encourage the international community to provide more constructive support.
While there have been some improvements in DDR practices in recent years, certain aspects pose particular challenges. So in addition to sharing experiences across countries, the conference will focus on several thematic issues that require more attention. These will include child soldiers and children in armed conflict, the links between DDR and transitional justice, military and police reform, problems related to the presence of combatants from other countries, better addressing the specific needs of women ex-combatants and building public-private partnerships to create jobs for former fighters.
"By refining our approach to DDR," says UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guéhenno, "we can better help each ex-combatant to ultimately reintegrate into society." The aim, he said, is to have them "go from being a cause of insecurity to a force for growing stability."
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Congo-Kinshasa: Media Defend Democracy

Africa Renewal (United Nations)
21 May 2007Posted to the web 21 May 2007
Michael FleshmanUnited Nations
Since its founding in 1998, the non-governmental watchdog group Journaliste en danger (JED) has won international recognition for its tenacious defence of press freedom in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the vast central African country battered by decades of dictatorship, ethnic division and war. But when inflammatory reporting fuelled political violence in the capital, Kinshasa, in August 2006, threatening elections, the JED found itself in the unusual position of calling for stronger control of abuses by the media by the official regulatory agency, along with more aggressive enforcement of ethics standards by professional media bodies.
Within a week of the violence, the rights group convened a meeting of the country's main journalists' associations and media houses to demand an end to biased coverage of political events, even-handed enforcement of media laws by the official Haute authorité des média (HAM) and the relaunch of an industry-wide "tribunal of peers" to monitor compliance with standards of accuracy and fairness.
In a post-election analysis of media coverage during the campaign, the JED found that some newspaper, radio and television outlets were acting as a "propaganda press committed to defending the political interests of its own candidates and demonizing its political adversaries," in a country where many private media companies are owned by candidates and political parties.
The press freedom group charged that some coverage resorted to "shamefully exploiting macabre images" of the violence, "inciting revenge and accusations, justifying crime and . . . cementing political tensions" between ethnic groups, parties and regions throughout the election campaign. "Worst of all," the report charged, "state-owned radio and television stations took part in the general decline by siding almost exclusively" with the president's party.
Media's role vital
The stakes in the DRC were high. The 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda had touched off more than a decade of both internal conflict and external intervention in the DRC (formerly Zaire). Estimates of the number of deaths caused by violence, disease and the collapse of basic services run as high as 4 million. A fragile peace agreement was signed in 2002 and opened the way for the largest UN peacekeeping operation in history, the UN Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC), which has nearly 20,000 international soldiers and civilians.
Despite the UN presence, ethnic conflict continued in the eastern part of the country, and the election period itself was marred by clashes between supporters of the incumbent, President Joseph Kabila, and those of a former rebel leader, Mr. Jean-Pierre Bemba. Mr. Kabila was declared the winner of presidential runoff elections in October 2006 that Congolese and international observers declared generally free and fair.
Many saw the role of the media as vital to the success of the transitional period that began after the signing of the December 2002 accord. In a resolution adopted earlier that year at protracted peace talks known as the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, the warring parties declared that "independent, free, responsible and efficient media are a guarantee for public freedoms, the smooth running of democracy and social cohesion." During the election campaign, they noted, the media would be essential in helping voters "gain insight into the profiles of public figures and politicians, as well as into their programmes. . . .
This enables the public to express itself credibly during electoral and consultative events." The media were especially important in a country the size of Western Europe with few roads and railways, 1.5 million people uprooted from their homes by violence and no experience of political pluralism or elections. The large distances and high cost of travel, weak and poorly financed political parties and the continuing presence of armed, partisan militias in some areas meant that traditional campaigning by candidates and party officials would be limited. That placed an even greater burden on the media as the main vehicle for voter education and political campaigning.
Freedom of expression and the press, largely unknown during the dictatorial 30-year rule of Mobutu Sese Seko, was entrenched in the transition constitution. Article 27 established individual freedom of expression. Article 28 guaranteed press freedom, limited by the need to "safeguard public order [and] morality" and the rights of others. Clause 29 established a public "right to information." It also required state-owned media to be objective and impartial and to provide fair access for "a plurality of opinions." Oversight and regulation of the media was entrusted to the HAM, an official body composed of all parties in the transitional unity government and headed by a respected journalist and award-winning rights campaigner, Mr. Modeste Mutinga.
'Irresponsible reporting' Training increased in an effort to prepare the Congolese media for its new role as an instrument of democracy. The JED and the other media organizations sponsored many briefings and seminars for reporters, broadcasters and editors on the elections and the media's ethical and professional obligations. The German Konrad Adenauer Foundation conducted a 12-day training course in June 2006 for 15 Congolese provincial journalists, a programme that included background on the electoral process, meetings with senior transition officials and the head of the national electoral commission, and training in interviewing, recording and editing techniques.
But in the end, noted Ms. Julia Craw-ford, Africa director for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), "while some media in the DRC have played an important role" in the process, "there were a lot of problems and a lot of irresponsible reporting." Much of the media, particularly in Kinshasa, she said, were strongly partisan, and, in the view of many international and local observers, sometimes fanned sectarian divisions through slanted or false reporting.
Encouragingly, Ms. Crawford told Africa Renewal, "many DRC press freedom organizations, particularly JED, spearheaded the effort to highlight abuses, even as they advocated for more press freedom and greater professional responsibility."
Many of the worst abuses seemed to occur at moments of crisis. During heavy fighting between ethnic militias in the eastern town of Bunia in 2003, JED President Donat M'baya Tshimanga reported, the Congolese media generated extensive coverage of the violence, but without sending reporters to the scene. "The media - and they may not even be aware of it - serve as a platform for the warlords, who use the rivalry between different ethnic groups in Bunia and the DRC only for their own profit.
. . . The hate speeches of the conflict would not have had the same effect if the media had not agreed to play the role of mouthpiece" for the opposing sides.
In a special report on the DRC in 2004, the CPJ observed that national and local officials sometimes exceeded their authority under the transitional constitution to censor and punish unfavourable or incendiary reporting - taking radio and television stations off the air and threatening legal action against reporters in contravention of the agreement. The international press freedom group also documented instances of continued harassment and assault of journalists by militias and political parties throughout the transition.
Nor was the official media oversight body, the HAM, immune to criticism.
In its November analysis of the media, the JED charged that "the struggle against incitement to hatred and violence, while noble in principle, has allowed the media regulator to exercise systematic censorship of the privately owned media, thereby restricting the democratic debate so greatly needed during the election period, while the state-owned media has been usurped by the ruling party."
According to a report by the non-governmental International Crisis Group, based in Brussels, the HAM shut down a pro-government radio and television station in 2005 for 15 days for broadcasting a politician's comments describing a mixed-race opponent as "a bat - half mouse, half bird" and urging government partisans to "trap it, burn it and eat it." The same station broadcast another speaker's call on party supporters to grab opposition leaders and "burn them with tyres around their necks." In contrast, two opposition newspapers were shuttered for 90 days for contentious but less inflammatory reports alleging ongoing allegiances between Mr. Kabila and neighbouring Tanzania, where he grew up. Overall, concluded the JED, "a large number of Congolese media failed to live up to their role."
Although the JED's primary role is to protect press freedom and individual journalists from government censorship and harassment, noted Ms. Crawford, the organization has always pursued "a double-pronged approach: shouting to local and international media about abuses by the authorities . . . but at the same time pushing for more responsibility in the journalism profession."
That approach was in large part a response to serious abuses by the media, she said. But in addition, "the JED has also said on numerous occasions that the entire press corps could find itself being penalized for the excesses of only some sections of the media." Improving the quality and accuracy of reporting in the DRC, she observed, was one way to protect the press from government interference.
Entrenched obstacles Despite the problems, the Congolese media produced a body of sound reporting and the transitional institutions often worked well in moving quickly against abuses. According to many observers, the tattered condition of the Congolese media meant that the situation could have been much worse.
In a detailed survey of the state of the Congolese media commissioned by the South African Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in late 2004, Mr. Claude Kabemba observed that while the DRC media was "one of the most diverse and free on the continent, the quality of information and the role of the media in the democratization process leaves much to be desired."
Despite the presence of more than 200 different newspapers, 52 private television networks and some 250 private and community radio broadcasters, in addition to state radio and television, Mr. Kabemba asserted that few "capture the reality of the society." Instead, these media outlets reflect "the political, religious and ethnic inclinations of their owners." The profession itself, he said, is "divided and without vision" and is often marked by "a total disregard for ethics and professionalism."
Part of the explanation is financial, as the steady decline in the country's economic and social fortunes has taken an inevitable toll on the media industry. Printing presses and broadcasting equipment are often decades old, expensive to operate, difficult to repair and maintain and inadequate for meeting the information needs of a population of more than 50 million. Neither state television and radio nor the scores of private stations transmit nationally, as antiquated equipment and chaotic regulations limit their broadcast range.
Dire poverty is another major obstacle. Few of the country's nearly 3,000 trained journalists earn a living wage. Instead, journalists are paid to write stories by the individuals or organizations they are covering - a practice known as le coupage (literally, "blending"). "Most journalists go around searching not for news but for people who can pay them to publish their stories," Mr. Kabemba wrote. The resulting stories invariably reflect "what the person who pays the money wants to hear" and bring the profession into public disrepute.
Reforming the DRC's economic and political culture to allow the media to play their part in development and nation-building will be a major challenge to the nation's journalists, its fledgling democratic government and the international community. In his conclusion, Mr.
Kabemba argues for a top-to-bottom overhaul of the industry, including massive retraining of staff, investment in modern printing presses and transmitters, refurbishment of the education system, adoption of new media laws and pay scales that can help insulate the press from undue political influence and the temptation of le coupage.
"The DRC is the principal reservoir of world strategic minerals which are the envy of both regional and international powers," Mr. Kabemba concluded. The country "needs to be protected by a truly democratic state. . . . The media holds the crucial key in promoting the culture of democracy and good governance, but it needs the necessary support to play its role efficiently and correctly."
The UN's Radio Okapi Given the shortcomings of the DRC's national media, the dangerous divisions among Congolese and the enormous territory to monitor, the UN peacekeeping mission attaches great importance to the use of media to promote reconciliation and democracy. One result has been Radio Okapi, the innovative official MONUC radio station established jointly with a Swiss non-governmental organization, Fondation Hirondelle. Staffed almost entirely by Congolese journalists, Radio Okapi states that its mandate is "to inform the Congolese public and the international community of the process of the political transition" and to serve as a "communication relay" between MONUC and the Congolese public.
Broadcasting in the DRC's five main languages and able to reach virtually every corner of the country through its network of transmitters, relay towers and shortwave equipment, Radio Okapi is the only media outlet with national reach. Its slogan, "breath of the DRC," was soon associated with reliable news reporting and unbiased programming about the transition to democracy.
In contrast to much of the local media, Radio Okapi's reporters are comparatively well paid and rigorously trained in journalistic ethics and reporting standards. Le coupage - accepting payment in return for favourable stories - is forbidden, as is editorializing on behalf of parties or individuals. The station pioneered a number of journalistic firsts in the DRC, including political debates, fair access to airtime for political parties and scientific opinion polling.
Radio Okapi's status as MONUC's official radio outlet has insulated editors and reporters from political influence and freed the station from dependence on wealthy patrons eager to promote their political views. Its emphasis on political impartiality, financial independence and high professional standards make it a model for journalism in the transition to Congolese democracy.
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Congo-Kinshasa: Congo Steps Out in the Finery of Peace

Business Day (Johannesburg)
ANALYSIS22 May 2007Posted to the web 22 May 2007
Darryl MossJohannesburg
ELECTIONS have been held, politicians have met, pontificated, dined and signed treaties, but now the real economy is moving. Organised by the Association of SADC Chambers of Commerce and Industries (Ascci), a delegation of more than 200 people, representing more than 100 businesses, met in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, recently. They ranged from multinational heavyweights through to micro and mini enterprises. The topic of discussion: how to get goods, services and investments flowing between SADC (Southern African Development Community) states and the Congo. Years of civil war, spurred by the natural resources available in the Congo, have left the economy and the infrastructure in tatters. However, in this huge country, with a population of 60-million, lie copper, cobalt, diamonds, uranium, zinc, iron, coal, bauxite, petroleum, water and hardwood in great abundance.
In a postconflict situation, the newly elected government of Joseph Kabila has already made significant strides. Political and country risk is considerably lower, particularly following the departure of the main rebel leader, Jean-Pierre Bemba, to Portugal.
In Lubumbashi, heart of the cobalt and Copper Belt, the city is shaking off its war camouflage.
Cranes, shiny painted offices, warehouses and homes, road-repair crews and flowing vehicle traffic are evidence of this. Businesses and households are reaching out to suppliers of equipment, services and consumer goods.
As businessmen took on the heat, humidity and disrepair of Kinshasa, the discussions were of a rebirth of the economy. But this was not just a talk shop. These were serious, senior businessmen, taking time out of their hectic schedules for discussions they believed would add to the order books of their organisations. There were also cabinet ministers from the Congo -- young, articulate and with economic and business savvy.
Given the mineral richness and the part minerals play in the economy, the major discussions focused on the mining and energy sectors. The production of the Inga hydroelectric plant, the major electricity supply source, is erratic, and power distribution tenuous. However, $300m has been made available to restore the output and distribution of Inga to its design capacity of 1120MW.
There have also recently been concerns about government interference in the mining industry.
First, the government announced that all contracts related to mining exploration, concessions and activity were to be revisited. The government felt that many of these had loopholes that allowed mining and processing operations to minimise tax income from the mining sector.
Mining director-general Jean-Felix Mupande explained that contracts were under review only, in order to ensure that they conformed with all aspects of the Congolese law and the mining code. No changes were envisaged for exploration contracts, but the main concern was with the 60 or so partnerships entered into between state companies and foreign partners. Initial scrutiny had revealed that some of these had tax and legal loopholes that needed to be closed.
Then Moise Katumbi, the governor of Katanga province, banned the export of ore from the Congo, which caused a huge outcry among miners, and a lengthy backup of trucks at border posts. Again, Mupande explained that it was forbidden by the mining code to export raw ore, unless the ministry had given permission.
What does all this mean for business organisations and investors?
First, that business organisations such as Ascci have an important role to play in boosting trade and investment in the region. While politicians should be creating an environment in which the free flow of goods, services and investments can take place, only businesses can bring this into being.
Second, that while the Congo is still a risky place to do business, it has improved dramatically. There are significant opportunities in retail, banking, transport, construction, and particularly in mining.
Finally, for investors, check out the mining counters of those companies active in the Congo, particularly the junior miners, where a significant upturn in activities in the Congo will have a major effect on their overall results.
Moss is GM, mining distribution, at Metso Minerals.
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Central Africa: In a Region Emerging From War, Cooperation Remains a Challenge

Africa Renewal (United Nations)
30 April 2007Posted to the web 21 May 2007
Michael FleshmanUnited Nations
Efforts to consolidate peace in Central Africa's war-ravaged Great Lakes area took another step forward at the end of 2006 with the adoption of the comprehensive Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region. The agreement was signed by the heads of state of 11 countries in Nairobi on 15 December and came just weeks after another significant regional milestone, the successful presidential election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The region plunged into widespread armed conflict in the chaotic aftermath of both genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and the overthrow of the dictatorial government of Mobutu Sese Seko in the DRC, formerly Zaire, in 1997. By 2003, when a transitional government took power in the DRC as part of a UN-backed peace agreement, eight African countries and a score of independent rebel groups were involved in the fighting. The protagonists included Rwandan and Ugandan forces seeking to overthrow the DRC government, Angolan, Zimbabwean and Namibian troops fighting alongside government soldiers, Burundian troops operating in the Congo against their own rebel opponents and anti-government Rwandan militias in the eastern DRC, in addition to local ethnic militias.
Four priorities, many challenges
The signers of the pact (Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Congo Republic, the DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) pledged to cooperate in four areas: security, democracy and governance, economic development, and humanitarian and social welfare.
They agreed to detailed region-wide protocols and programmes of action for each. The assembled leaders also pledged to develop joint approaches to HIV/AIDS, the empowerment of women, environmental protection and human rights. The pact's four main areas are:
Peace and security: Signers must renounce force in regional relations, abstain from sup-porting or tolerating the presence of armed dissidents of other states, cooperate in disarming and dismantling existing rebel movements, control regional arms transfers, eliminate and prevent hate speech and ethnic discrimination, and prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly sexual violence and abuse of women and girls.
Democracy and good governance: The signatories must establish or abide by the rule of law and respect for human rights; enact or strengthen constitutional systems based on a separation of powers, political pluralism, regular and credible elections and transparency in political and economic governance; and establish a regional council on information and communications to promote free expression and media rights.
Economic development: Parties to the agreement must end or prevent the illegal exploitation of natural resources, respect national sovereignty over natural resources, establish the Great Lakes as a "specific reconstruction and development zone," harmonize national and regional economic policies, cooperate in projects relating to regional energy, transport and communications, and enhance commerce and development among border populations to promote regional integration.
Humanitarian and social welfare: The signers must protect and assist internally displaced populations in line with international standards, protect and respect the property rights of returning refugees and displaced persons, establish regional early warning and disaster prevention systems, and guarantee access to basic services for populations affected by conflict and natural disasters.
'Long and difficult' path
The pact is the product of a six-year, African-led diplomatic process aimed at reducing mutual suspicions between area governments and establishing a legal and political framework for addressing the region's pressing economic, security and humanitarian problems. The first breakthrough came in 2002 in South Africa, when the parties to the Congo conflict agreed on a cease-fire, the withdrawal of foreign forces and the establishment of an interim government.
In 2004, regional leaders responded to a UN Security Council call for region-wide talks by attending the first International Conference on the Great Lakes Region in Tanzania. That summit adopted the Dar es Salaam declaration, outlining the terms of a comprehensive regional settlement.
It was at the second international conference in December that regional leaders agreed on the final details of the pact. The process has been supported politically and financially by a 28-country Group of Friends that includes South Africa, the US, Nigeria, and many members of the European Union.
In a message delivered to the summit on behalf of then Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa Legwaila Joseph Legwaila noted that "the Great Lakes region has witnessed some of the bloodiest wars in the world. The cooperative mechanism embodied by this international conference reflects the centrality of the regional dimension in finding solutions to the various conflicts." He acknowledged that negotiations "proved to be long and difficult because of the magnitude and complexity of the problems" and cautioned that the hardest part - implementation - still lies ahead.
The responsibility for implementation rests with the governments of the Great Lakes, aided by a conference secretariat that reports to a regional committee of cabinet ministers. This committee in turn advises the heads of state, who will meet in summit every two years. Civil society groups are expected to participate locally through national implementing bodies. Funding for the secretariat will come from mandatory assessments on signatory countries and donor funding. The pact also establishes a Reconstruction and Development Fund, to be financed by donors and Great Lakes governments and managed by the African Development Bank. The fund will help underwrite reconstruction, development and regional integration projects.
Failure 'not a choice' Although the complex peace agreement is fragile, there are signs of progress. In early February southern Sudanese authorities ordered Ugandan rebel forces out of the country, accusing them of mounting attacks inside Sudan. Several weeks later, the DRC's newly elected President Joseph Kabila told a meeting of Great Lakes parliamentarians that the area's conflicts were "blocking development" in the area. "Open war has come to an end, and dialogue has become the method of resolving conflicts," he said. He added that his government is closely monitoring continuing peace talks in Uganda and Burundi.
According to press reports, the DRC's armed forces have sought to expel the remaining Rwandan rebels from its territory and complete the demobilization of former combatants. Some 20,000 UN peacekeepers remain in the DRC to assist the new government with security. A 6,000-strong UN force completed its peace mission in Burundi at the end of 2006.
In an interview, the head of the conference secretariat, Tanzanian Ambassador Liberata Mulamula, told Africa Renewal that while implementing the pact is "a huge challenge," there are prospects for "quick dividends" in a number of areas, "including the establishment of joint security management of common borders," the creation of "transborder development basins" to ease poverty and discontent along porous and insecure national boundaries, and early-warning mechanisms for conflict prevention and humanitarian emergencies.
"The signing of the pact was seen as a new beginning for the Great Lakes region and indeed the African continent," Ms. Mulamula said. But success will hinge on adequate funding for the agreement and its development programmes and on the political will of regional leaders to respect its provisions. "The world has witnessed the devastating effects of war and intractable conflicts in this region," she concluded. "Failure is not a choice!"
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