US-Congo minerals pact is flawed, says rebel coalition leader
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the rebel Alliance Fleuve Congo (via Reuters)
The leader of the rebel coalition in Congo, which includes the M23, said that the US-Congo minerals pact, which offers the US access to mineral assets such as copper, cobalt, gold, and lithium, is flawed and unconstitutional, as reported by Reuters on January 29th.
The Minerals Pact, which was signed in Washington on December 4th, gives the US access to Congo’s mineral assets in exchange for investment and security cooperation. The short-listed minerals given by Congo officials open to American investors include gold, lithium, copper-cobalt, and manganese.
Corneille Nangaa, who is the leader of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), said the plan had “opacity surrounding the negotiations” and “procedural flaws, particularly the violation of the Constitution and the law.”
“The Americans may have signed it, but they should know that they signed it with an illegitimate regime, and a corrupt one at that,” he said.
However, Congo’s government has rejected these comments, saying that the minerals partnership “fully falls within the constitutional prerogatives”.
Nangaa’s comments raise questions about the feasibility of the minerals pact, as many key minerals lie in areas under the control of the M23 rebels, who have seized major mining zones in North Kivu and the urban capital, Goma, the region’s biggest city. Nangaa said that mining sites could become disputed if they are already offered to another partner.
The Congolese government responded to these concerns as “speculative”, saying that any cooperation would respect existing and valid contracts and abide by Congo’s mining regulations.
Furthermore, they said that their partnership with the US will be presented in parliament in March. “We have a sound majority in parliament, so we believe that we will get the parliament’s approval,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Daniel Mukoko Samba told Reuters.
As the US seeks to leverage diplomacy to secure critical mineral supplies, the region’s instability will pose challenges to the new minerals partnership. Yet it is one of the first attempts at making this a reality in Congo.
The rebel coalition continues to deny Rwanda’s backing, with the Rwandan ambassador to the US calling it a “security coordination” with the AFC and the M23. Nangaa added that security in areas occupied by the rebels had improved, with people returning home and resuming their normal lives.
Nangaa also accused the Congolese government of failing to honour the peace agreements and its commitments, as detailed in peace talks in Doha and the US. Recently, the M23 rebels infiltrated the eastern town of Uvira and withdrew, but Nangaa warns that further action may be taken if insecurity continues.
Reuters, Maghrebi.org
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