AVZ Discussion 2022
- Thread starter GazDix
- Start date
CKK in the interview said he will take control of the project . So it looks to me like that's what he has done . It's illegal of course , and they know we will fight it , but it will be 12 months or more before it's sees the ICC and months after that for an outcome . Surely a document exists .
Absolutely nailed it
MoneyBags1348
Top 20
Well done TITS.... @Winenuts' stint was a worthy one but I like the way you showed him how it's done. The fight for the 'Mantle' goes on as does the fight for Manono, and complacency has no place in either fight!!
When we can stop fucking around defending our project we will have to have an official ceremony
Love that you decided to censor the warning, rather than the profanity
If the DRC strips AVZ of its majority ownership of the Manono project, AVZ will launch an eye-watering multi-billion dollar damages claim in the ICC.
With this in mind, plus well-documented evidence of systematic China-DRC corruption, plus the potential death of its lithium battery aspirations, plus reputational damage ahead of national elections, I think the DRC government will not pull the plug.
Nonetheless, this is a high-stakes game of who blinks first.
Just thinking out aloud.
Cheers
F
With this in mind, plus well-documented evidence of systematic China-DRC corruption, plus the potential death of its lithium battery aspirations, plus reputational damage ahead of national elections, I think the DRC government will not pull the plug.
Nonetheless, this is a high-stakes game of who blinks first.
Just thinking out aloud.
Cheers
F
Frank
Top 20
George Forrest a Congolese story from Kasa Vubu to Tshisekedi
The Forrest group celebrates its 100 years of existence in Lubumbashi. George Forrest, the patriarch, looks back on the history of this family business which merges with the history of the country.
It also takes a look at current events, the future and the sometimes complex links with Belgium.
Mr. George Forrest, this year you are celebrating the 100th anniversary of your group in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
How do we manage to survive and develop for a century in this country crossed by many upheavals?
There have been good times as well as very difficult times.
But I can say that the best way to grow; it is to remain correct with oneself, with the country, to have an ethics in business.
Our strength has always been our social approach.
We were raised by parents who taught us that if you receive from a country, you have to give back to the people.
What we always do with hospitals, schools, dispensaries.
It's a bit like paternalism seen from here...
What does it mean to be paternalistic?
When you have a State that no longer has social structures, which perhaps no longer has the means to put education back at the heart of priorities, it is our duty to react.
It is impossible to build a country without education.
In this context, if private individuals can come in support of the State, it is still not bad. I don't think there are enough companies doing this.
Because with this behavior, you recreate a sense of state.
This means that the private sector replaces the State...
Not entirely. We help the state.
Throughout your career, have you sometimes been criticized, in particular by human rights NGOs, who accuse you of enriching yourself on the backs of a poor country?
It is true that NGOs have not spared us.
I think there is a lot of jealousy. But we must not lose sight of the fact that we did not build our business in a few months or a few years.
We have been in the Congo for a hundred years.
We have gradually put the structures and means in place to be where we are today.
We did not loot the country, we built, we created tens of thousands of jobs.
Despite the storms we sometimes weathered, we stayed and we stayed with our workers.
The Forrest group in Congo, how many workers?
We no longer have the mines, so we have less staff today. We must be at approximately 10,000 workers.
You have known all the Heads of State since the independence of this country, from Kasa Vubu to Tshisekedi, passing through Mobutu and the Kabila, and there is one constant in the history of this country, it has never stopped sink into misery.
How do you explain this long descent into hell and how do you view these heads of state?
Kasa Vubu was the most correct. An idealist.
A man trained in good schools of principles and good governance.
Then we had Mobutu.
His first five years were fabulous because he turned the country around.
He put a whole system back in motion.
Then, he unfortunately embarked on his projects of Zairianization and radicalization which decapitated the country.
He never straightened up.
On the contrary, it was the slow fall of the country into a deep abyss.
Then we saw Kabila senior arrive, he only stayed in power for four years.
He was a revolutionary who thought, when he came to power, that he was going to find the country he had known in the 1960s, but, unfortunately for him, it was the broken Congo of the 1990s, took a long time to understand that there was not much left of this country.
Then he was assassinated and his son was brought to power.
Honestly, his first five years were okay.
After 2006, once he won the elections, badly advised, he went completely off the rails.
His advisers, greedy, eager for easy money, took him into the systems of corruption.
They did everything to bring the Chinese, the Indo-Pakistanis, the Turks to the country with whom it was easier to do business than with the Europeans, who are more careful in terms of ethics.
His policy pushed Europeans to leave the country.
In this list, is the current head of state missing?
He is a man of good will.
He wants to do something but he was badly surrounded.
Unfortunately, he began to sanction his entourage late.
He has a very strong sense of friendship, but his friends still had to be sincere and want to work for the country.
This was not the case, they took advantage of him to build fortunes in a few months.
Today, he sanctioned a few of them.
To hear you, you make the same observation for Joseph Kabila and for Félix Tshisekedi.
The man is well intentioned, but it is those around him who corrupt...
I would say that Kabila was more inclined to follow his advisers and do things on his own.
You talked about the Chinese, the Indo-Pakistanis, the Turks, we see that they occupy a good part of the business in the Congo, how do you explain that the Europeans, and in particular the Belgians, have faded away?
Europe no longer knows Africa, it thinks it knows it but this is often no longer the case.
What is more, Europe has failed to support its businesses and entrepreneurs.
While in all the other countries mentioned, the States support their companies.
Here, on the contrary, companies are opposed.
We listen too much to NGOs.
For them, the less ethics there are in business, the better off they will be, the more business they will have.
What do these NGOs bring as added value, as business, as employment?
Nothing.
NGOs will never develop the country.
I sincerely believe that if European governments had supported their companies, things would have turned out differently.
I claim to be able to say that I know this continent well and that, as a whole, it remains quite favorable to Europe.
The bridges have not been cut between our two continents, but we must not lose sight of the fact that there is a new generation arriving in Africa, which no longer has the same ties with Europe.
A lot of these young people have studied in Russia, China, India, they come less here because they are no longer allowed or because the conditions for coming here have been made more complex.
So when these young people return home, they have in mind the feeling of their welcome in these countries, as the old ones had a form of benevolence for the Europe which had welcomed them.
Today, times are changing.
Eyes are directed to other skies. We should facilitate access to studies for young Africans.
Those who have done good studies, who have good training will go home because they know that they have every chance of having a good position there.
One does not become a migrant for pleasure. Another point that can explain this gap that is emerging between Belgium and Africa is the attitude of the banks.
Here, they are closing the accounts of all residents in Africa and particularly in the Congo.
At the same time, you organize economic missions, you ask people to go and invest in Congo, and when they do, you forbid them to open bank accounts here.
This is total nonsense. I don't understand Europe.
It promotes investment in Africa but it lets the banks exclude those who have the courage to go there.
I therefore wonder whether the States are complicit with the banks or the banks are complicit with the States, to keep the countries of Africa in a state of poverty and thus allow the emergence of rebellions for reasons that they know but that we do not know.
All that explains why the Europeans don't come.
We don't help them, sometimes I even have the impression that we do everything to discourage them.
Concretely, you who have expatriates working for you in Congo. What do you do for their salaries?
We pay them where they tell us, but they no longer have an account in Belgium. Before, that was not the case.
Today, banks give you three months to close your accounts. It is a Belgian specificity.
We can demonstrate that everything is traceable, that all taxes have been paid, that doesn't change anything.
Despite this picture, do you think there are still possibilities for a Belgian to invest in the DRC?
Yes, unquestionably.
But the government must play the game.
It must take clear positions, it must prohibit banks from closing the accounts of those who do business in this country.
Obviously, there are conditions to be respected on both sides.
We must demand maximum transparency. But if there is this transparency, we must prohibit the closing of these accounts.
This is a terrible brake on the development of any business.
What would be the sectors in which a Belgian entrepreneur could seek to invest today in Congo?
I immediately think of the processing sector.
I won't talk about the mines because a lot of resources are needed.
Most have been donated, sadly.
You were in this area... Yes, but Kabila took over our mines.
Without compensating us and the Belgian government did nothing to help us.
We lost these mines and a lot of money.
This is an area to avoid.
mediacongo
Food for thought
Frank
The Forrest group celebrates its 100 years of existence in Lubumbashi. George Forrest, the patriarch, looks back on the history of this family business which merges with the history of the country.
It also takes a look at current events, the future and the sometimes complex links with Belgium.
Mr. George Forrest, this year you are celebrating the 100th anniversary of your group in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
How do we manage to survive and develop for a century in this country crossed by many upheavals?
There have been good times as well as very difficult times.
But I can say that the best way to grow; it is to remain correct with oneself, with the country, to have an ethics in business.
Our strength has always been our social approach.
We were raised by parents who taught us that if you receive from a country, you have to give back to the people.
What we always do with hospitals, schools, dispensaries.
It's a bit like paternalism seen from here...
What does it mean to be paternalistic?
When you have a State that no longer has social structures, which perhaps no longer has the means to put education back at the heart of priorities, it is our duty to react.
It is impossible to build a country without education.
In this context, if private individuals can come in support of the State, it is still not bad. I don't think there are enough companies doing this.
Because with this behavior, you recreate a sense of state.
This means that the private sector replaces the State...
Not entirely. We help the state.
Throughout your career, have you sometimes been criticized, in particular by human rights NGOs, who accuse you of enriching yourself on the backs of a poor country?
It is true that NGOs have not spared us.
I think there is a lot of jealousy. But we must not lose sight of the fact that we did not build our business in a few months or a few years.
We have been in the Congo for a hundred years.
We have gradually put the structures and means in place to be where we are today.
We did not loot the country, we built, we created tens of thousands of jobs.
Despite the storms we sometimes weathered, we stayed and we stayed with our workers.
The Forrest group in Congo, how many workers?
We no longer have the mines, so we have less staff today. We must be at approximately 10,000 workers.
You have known all the Heads of State since the independence of this country, from Kasa Vubu to Tshisekedi, passing through Mobutu and the Kabila, and there is one constant in the history of this country, it has never stopped sink into misery.
How do you explain this long descent into hell and how do you view these heads of state?
Kasa Vubu was the most correct. An idealist.
A man trained in good schools of principles and good governance.
Then we had Mobutu.
His first five years were fabulous because he turned the country around.
He put a whole system back in motion.
Then, he unfortunately embarked on his projects of Zairianization and radicalization which decapitated the country.
He never straightened up.
On the contrary, it was the slow fall of the country into a deep abyss.
Then we saw Kabila senior arrive, he only stayed in power for four years.
He was a revolutionary who thought, when he came to power, that he was going to find the country he had known in the 1960s, but, unfortunately for him, it was the broken Congo of the 1990s, took a long time to understand that there was not much left of this country.
Then he was assassinated and his son was brought to power.
Honestly, his first five years were okay.
After 2006, once he won the elections, badly advised, he went completely off the rails.
His advisers, greedy, eager for easy money, took him into the systems of corruption.
They did everything to bring the Chinese, the Indo-Pakistanis, the Turks to the country with whom it was easier to do business than with the Europeans, who are more careful in terms of ethics.
His policy pushed Europeans to leave the country.
In this list, is the current head of state missing?
He is a man of good will.
He wants to do something but he was badly surrounded.
Unfortunately, he began to sanction his entourage late.
He has a very strong sense of friendship, but his friends still had to be sincere and want to work for the country.
This was not the case, they took advantage of him to build fortunes in a few months.
Today, he sanctioned a few of them.
To hear you, you make the same observation for Joseph Kabila and for Félix Tshisekedi.
The man is well intentioned, but it is those around him who corrupt...
I would say that Kabila was more inclined to follow his advisers and do things on his own.
You talked about the Chinese, the Indo-Pakistanis, the Turks, we see that they occupy a good part of the business in the Congo, how do you explain that the Europeans, and in particular the Belgians, have faded away?
Europe no longer knows Africa, it thinks it knows it but this is often no longer the case.
What is more, Europe has failed to support its businesses and entrepreneurs.
While in all the other countries mentioned, the States support their companies.
Here, on the contrary, companies are opposed.
We listen too much to NGOs.
For them, the less ethics there are in business, the better off they will be, the more business they will have.
What do these NGOs bring as added value, as business, as employment?
Nothing.
NGOs will never develop the country.
I sincerely believe that if European governments had supported their companies, things would have turned out differently.
I claim to be able to say that I know this continent well and that, as a whole, it remains quite favorable to Europe.
The bridges have not been cut between our two continents, but we must not lose sight of the fact that there is a new generation arriving in Africa, which no longer has the same ties with Europe.
A lot of these young people have studied in Russia, China, India, they come less here because they are no longer allowed or because the conditions for coming here have been made more complex.
So when these young people return home, they have in mind the feeling of their welcome in these countries, as the old ones had a form of benevolence for the Europe which had welcomed them.
Today, times are changing.
Eyes are directed to other skies. We should facilitate access to studies for young Africans.
Those who have done good studies, who have good training will go home because they know that they have every chance of having a good position there.
One does not become a migrant for pleasure. Another point that can explain this gap that is emerging between Belgium and Africa is the attitude of the banks.
Here, they are closing the accounts of all residents in Africa and particularly in the Congo.
At the same time, you organize economic missions, you ask people to go and invest in Congo, and when they do, you forbid them to open bank accounts here.
This is total nonsense. I don't understand Europe.
It promotes investment in Africa but it lets the banks exclude those who have the courage to go there.
I therefore wonder whether the States are complicit with the banks or the banks are complicit with the States, to keep the countries of Africa in a state of poverty and thus allow the emergence of rebellions for reasons that they know but that we do not know.
All that explains why the Europeans don't come.
We don't help them, sometimes I even have the impression that we do everything to discourage them.
Concretely, you who have expatriates working for you in Congo. What do you do for their salaries?
We pay them where they tell us, but they no longer have an account in Belgium. Before, that was not the case.
Today, banks give you three months to close your accounts. It is a Belgian specificity.
We can demonstrate that everything is traceable, that all taxes have been paid, that doesn't change anything.
Despite this picture, do you think there are still possibilities for a Belgian to invest in the DRC?
Yes, unquestionably.
But the government must play the game.
It must take clear positions, it must prohibit banks from closing the accounts of those who do business in this country.
Obviously, there are conditions to be respected on both sides.
We must demand maximum transparency. But if there is this transparency, we must prohibit the closing of these accounts.
This is a terrible brake on the development of any business.
What would be the sectors in which a Belgian entrepreneur could seek to invest today in Congo?
I immediately think of the processing sector.
I won't talk about the mines because a lot of resources are needed.
Most have been donated, sadly.
You were in this area... Yes, but Kabila took over our mines.
Without compensating us and the Belgian government did nothing to help us.
We lost these mines and a lot of money.
This is an area to avoid.
mediacongo
Food for thought
Frank
Last edited:
I think these boneheads only think about themselves and want to line their own pockets . If it looks like we will continue down this path then either cut a deal (if that's possible ) or sue them on the world stage now . Lets not wait going through this BS for another 18 months . Lets do in now . Put the cards on the table now .
Last edited:
MoneyBags1348
Top 20
I have also thought the DRC wants Cominiere to have a greater percentage of this project and this is one suspect way to try and get it
@Misfits and @Mr Inappropriate I added some of the information (below) I gathered pointing at corruption in the DRC and if it implicates their politicians then the people to blame must be the DRC NGO and Civil Society Groups because they are the ones who provided this information. The only thing is I need to try and condense it into smaller blocks and get it ready to add to THE VUKA GROUP promoted and Zijin sponsored DRC MINING WEEK EVENT in June
AHEAD OF THE DRC MINING WEEK 14-16 JUNE 2023
THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO IS STILL FULL OF CORRUPTION
NOTHING HAS CHANGED SINCE 2017
ASSESSMENT OF CORRUPTION RISKS IN THE AWARDING OF MINING RIGHTS IN THE DRC PDF
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...ChAWegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw0kM-taVquP0amGjdMt-PT_
THE FOLLOWING REPORTS FROM:
DRC NGO AND CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS
GLOBAL WITNESS, ZOOM ECO.NET, AFRICA INTELLIGENCE
REUTERS, COPPERBELT KATANGA MINING, 7SUR7.CD, ECONEWSRDC.COM
MINES.CD, MAGAZINE LA GUARDIA, IWEBRDC, CONGO -NOUVEAU, ACTUALIT.CD
14/12/2021
Investigation sounds alarm on risks in Congo’s nascent lithium sector
A new investigation by Global Witness looking into the Democratic Republic of Congo’s nascent lithium sector sounds the alarm bell on a swathe of potential supply chain risks. To create the report, the London and Washington-based NGO looked at a sample block of 51 mining concessions that concentrated around the town of Manono in southern DRC and where hard-rock lithium deposits have been discovered. The investigation found concessions on and around DRC’s lithium deposits are or were held by or involved a small number of people with close business relationships – including a now-serving government official – with former President Kabila,”
According to the group, Cong Mao Huai, reported to be an adviser to former DRC president Joseph Kabila, is or was associated with companies with ownership links to six concessions investigated by Global Witness. The NGO claims to have seen documents that appear to show there have been long-standing business links between Cong and now-serving Minister Guy Loando Mboyo. The report also cites data from Congo Hold Up – the biggest leak of financial information from Africa to date – which supports the allegations of the business links between the two.
MINING.COM Staff Writer | December 14, 2021 | 5:06 am Battery Metals Africa Lithium
Investigation sounds alarm on risks in Congo’s nascent lithium sector
A report by Global Witness states that concessions on and around DRC’s lithium deposits are or were held by or involved people with close business relationships with former President Joseph Kabila.
www.mining.com
12/08/2022
The Episcopal Commission for Natural Resources of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CERN-CENCO) organized, this Thursday, August 11, 2022, a conference under the theme: "How can lithium from Manono in the DRC contribute to the energy transition? ? Multi-stakeholder reflection on the sidelines of the pre-COP27”.
Initiated under the cover of the Ecclesial Network of the Congo Basin Forest (REBAC), this conference brought together several stakeholders, including partner companies such as COMINIERE, AVZ and other shareholders.
RDC : l’exploitation de lithium de Manono au cœur des échanges entre la CENCO et les différentes parties prenantes
La Commission Episcopale pour les Ressources Naturelles de la Conférence Episcopale Nationale du Congo (CERN-CENCO) a organisé, ce jeudi 11 août 2022, une conférence sous le thème : « comment le lithium de Manono en RDC peut-il contribuer à la transition énergétique ? Réflexion multipartite en...
zoom-eco.net
05/09/2022
DRC UNITED STATES
US disillusioned over failure to turn DR Congo away from Beijing. Ever since Félix Tshisekedi took power, Washington had hoped he would curb China's huge influence in the country. Four years later, the United States is bitterly disappointed that it has failed to break Beijing's hegemony in strategic mining issues.
DRC/UNITED STATES : US disillusioned over failure to turn DR Congo away from Beijing - 05/09/2022 - Africa Intelligence
Ever since Félix Tshisekedi took power, Washington had hoped he would curb China's huge influence in the country. Four years later, the United States is bitterly disappointed that it has failed to - 9/5/2022
09/10/2022
Financial crime watchdog adds Congo to money laundering watch list
KINSHASA, Oct 8 The Financial Action Task Force plans to put Democratic Republic of Congo on a list of countries subject to increased monitoring. Congo, a major cobalt and copper producer, will go on the global financial crime watchdog's so-called "grey list" of deficient countries no later than Oct. 21 for shortcomings in stamping out financial corruption, including money laundering and anti-terrorist financing
Financial crime watchdog adds Congo to money laundering watch list
The Financial Action Task Force plans to put Democratic Republic of Congo on a list of countries subject to increased monitoring, the country's Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya said on Saturday.
29/10/2022
DRC: UC SAS denounces a mining fraud of more than USD 10 million estimated at 60 tons of Coltan and Cassiterite, perpetrated in Manono and Malemba-Nkulu
A mining fraud of more than 60 tons of coltan and cassiterite, valued at more than USD 10 million, is allegedly perpetrated in the territories of Manono and Malemba-Nkulu, in the provinces of Haut Lomami and Tanganyika. This company accuses a certain Hadley Nathus and a Canadian subject named Eric Allard (chairman and CEO of the company TANTALEX) who, acting in complicity with the leaders of COMINIERE, would be in collusion with some authorities of the country, to cover up this large-scale mining fraud. UC SAS alerts the authorities to monitor this situation.
In addition, this company accuses by name the Ministry of Justice of having taken a decision contrary to the rule of law by instructing the Single Window for Business Creation (GUCE), through its letter number 2160/LW10130/APP/CAB/ME/MIN/J&GS/2022 of September 20, 2022, technical service under its supervision, to cancel a legal transfer of shares for the benefit of a Canadian subject "yet condemned on Congolese soil by judgments that have become final". The company UC SAS notes that the instruction of the Ministry of Justice given to the GUCE "violates the laws of the country and proceeds from an abuse of power, insofar as it operates on the judgments that have become final about this assignment: RP19203, RCE 7495, RPO 10247/10267, as well as a pre-law under RAC 2942". In addition, it deplores the "sabotage" of the efforts made by the President of the Republic Felix Tshisekedi, to establish good governance in the DRC, marked by, among other things, respect for the principle of separation of powers and the improvement of the business climate. "The DRC must avoid being influenced by crooked individuals, so-called investors, while recognized speculators, at the risk of tarnishing the image of the entire country, and particularly the Sama Lukonde government...", deplores the UC SAS in its statement.
UC SAS denounces a mining fraud of more than 10 million USD valued at 60 tons of Coltan and Cassiterite, perpetrated in Manono and Malemba-Nkulu in DRC - Copperbelt Katanga Mining
A mining fraud of more than 60 tons of coltan and cassiterite, valued at more than 10 million USD, would be perpetrated in the territories of Manono and
copperbeltkatangamining.com
20/11/2022
DRC - Mines: COMINIERE SA accused of blocking the Manono Lithium production project, this mineral prized in the manufacture of electric batteries (Civil Society)
The Congolese state portfolio company COMINIERE SA is accused of continuing to multiply illegal manoeuvres to block the effective start-up of Dathcom's lithium mining project in Manono, Tanganyika province.
President Tshisekedi called to ensure the integrity of the leaders of the COMINIERE
Based on this observation, civil society asks President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi to ensure that the climate of trust reigns between the shareholders of the joint venture Dathcom Mining SA so that operating operations begin urgently and to give orders to the state services for Dathcom Mining SA to be notified and that the 10% of action of the State are effectively registered in the register of the Mining Cadastre, in accordance with
mining legislation.
Leaders of the COMINIERE called to resign
Finally, the leaders of COMINIERE SA are called upon to resign taking into account the conclusions of the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) on their management and the sale of the assets of this state enterprise. The organizations and platforms of civil society in the DRC that signed this press release are: CDH, ESPOIR ONGDH, JUSTICIA Asbl, LICOCO, MAX IMPACT, MDR, POM, RCEN, RDN Asbl, CERN/CENCO AND TPRDC.
RDC - Mines : La COMINIERE SA accusée de bloquer le projet de production du Lithium de Manono, ce minerais prisé dans la fabrication des batteries électriques ( Société civile)
La société du portefeuille de l'Etat congolais COMINIERE SA est accusée de continuer à multiplier les manœuvres illégales pour bloquer le démarrage effectif du projet minier de lithium de Dathcom Mining SA, à Manono, dans la province de Tanganyika. La dénonciation est faite par les...
20/11/2022
Civil Society points to the culprit and mobilizes to save the Manono lithium mining project
The lithium mining project in Manono, in the province of Tanganyika, is stalling. And civil society, evolving in the natural resources sector, does not hesitate to name the culprit: Cominière (Congolese mining company), this company of the State Portfolio born from the vestiges of Zaire-Etain. In a statement, made simultaneously, on November 20, 2022, in Kinshasa, Kolwezi, Lubumbashi and Bukavu, these Civil Society Organizations note that "the management of Cominière SA must stop blocking Manono's development and undermining the presidential energy policy and the development of 145 territories by multiplying strategies to block Dathcom Mining". From the outset, these Civil Society Organizations specialized in natural resources issues say they note "agitation and maneuvers on the part of certain administrative and judicial government services as well as Cominière SA in order to freeze the notification of the Operating Permit of Dathcom Mining SA and communicate to it the total amount of surface rights due to the State. Faustin KUEDIASALA 0
La Société civile pointe le coupable et se mobilise pour sauver le projet d’exploitation du lithium de Manono - L'info qui fait échos
Le projet d’exploitation du lithium de Manono, dans la province du Tanganyika, piétine. Et la Société civile, évoluant dans le secteur des ressources naturelles, n’hésite <a class="mh-excerpt-more"...
econewsrdc.com
21/11/2022
DRC: La Cominière in the sights of the 12 NGOs
A dozen national organizations accuse the public company Cominière S A of blocking the Manono Lithium project. Indeed, to start the exploitation of this strategic ore, there is a prerequisite, it is access to electrical energy
RDC : La Cominière dans le viseur des 12 ONG
La Cominière s'oppose-t-elle à la réhabilitation des centrales hydroélectriques de Mpyana Mwanga par AVZ POWER ?
magazinelaguardia.info
28/11/2022
DRC: this is why civil society organizations specializing in mining issues are asking Tshisekedi to dismiss the portfolio minister
In a joint press release, Congolese civil society organizations and platforms specializing in mining issues (Justicia Asbl, LICOCO, RND Asbl, POM, MDR, GANVE, CDH, ESPOIR ONG, RCEN, CERN / CENCO, TPRDC, MAX IMPACT) , who have been monitoring the exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo, ask the President of the Republic to dismiss the Minister of Portfolio of the Government of the Republic By Gilbert Ngonga
RDC : voici pourquoi les organisations de la société civile spécialisées sur les questions minières demandent à Tshisekedi de révoquer la ministre du portefeuille | IWEB RDC
Par Gilbert Ngonga Dans un communiqué conjoint, les organisations et plateformes de la Société Civile congolaises spécialisées sur les questions minières ( Justicia Asbl , LICOCO , RND Asbl , POM , MDR , GANVE , CDH , ESPOIR ONG , RCEN , CERN / CENCO , TPRDC , MAX IMPACT ), qui ont fait
iwebrdc.com
30/11/2022
19/12/2022
Sale of the mining assets of Cominière SA: Technical director Célestin Kibeya accused of complicity and usurpation of competence
Congolese civil society organizations and platforms specializing in mining issues (Justicia Asbl, LICOCO, RND Asbl, POM, MDR, GANVE, CDH, ESPOIR ONG, RCEN, CERN/CENCO, TPRDC, MAX IMPACT), monitoring exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo, accused, in a press release, the technical director Célestin Kibeya Kabemba of being no stranger to the selling off of the mining assets of the Congolese mining company (Cominière SA). Worse still, the man exercises the functions of interim Director General without presidential order, nor decree of the ministry of supervision, that of the Portfolio, even less a report of the Board of directors. "Already on October 26, 2022, when the interim Managing Director Mwamba Athanase was not yet in the hands of Congolese justice, the same Mr. Kibeya had co-signed as '' Managing Director ai '' on behalf of Cominière SA a press release press attributed to UNITED COMINIERE SAS with Eric Allard, a convicted person in Lubumbashi for forgery and use of forgery, and Michel Kitwa Nelkin. “, denounce these NGOs.
11/04/2023
DRC: CNPAV asks Felix Tshisekedi to reconsider his letter to Joe Biden requesting the lifting of sanctions against Dan Gertler
The Congo is not for sale (CNPAV) sends a letter to the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Félix Tshisekedi to express his "deepest dismay" following the discovery, in the columns of the New York Times newspaper, of his letter dated of May 05, 2022 addressed to his American counterpart Joe Biden, requesting the lifting of sanctions against Dan Gertler. According to CNPAV estimates, the losses for the Congo in cases linked to Dan Gertler amount to more than $2 billion.
RDC : le CNPAV demande à Félix Tshisekedi de reconsidérer sa lettre adressée à Joe Biden sollicitant la levée des sanctions contre Dan Gertler
Le Congo n'est pas à vendre (CNPAV) adresse une lettre au président de la République Démocratique du Congo Félix Tshisekedi pour exprimer son plus "profond désarroi" suite à la découverte, dans les colonnes du Journal New York Times, de sa lettre
In addition to these reports, it appears businessmen such as Simon Cong and Dan Gertler continue to have impunity in the DRC. Not included here are the IGF Report and articles by Kiki Kienge
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Azzler
Top 20
I thought I'd do some thinking out loud if you guys don't mind, because this is very alarming news.
I'm trying to bring everything into perspective.
This move is obviously unlawful, you can't just cancel a contract unless there is an intervention decree from government.
If cominiere could throw us out with this move, they would have done it long ago.
Why do it now? An unlawful public move like this at this time can only mean utter desperation.
While the move may not be legal, it will delay this longer and longer, which is the chinese plan of attack.
If CKK is endebted to Zijin, and he promised them something, took their money and cant deliver, what does he do?
The incriminating audio of CKK might have been a warning shot from Zijin?
Get us what we want or we release more incriminating information.
Desperate moves are made by desperate people.
Not that I understand Congolese mining laws one bit, but I think the only way out of this is intervention from the President.
This move may force his hand to do just that.
CKK Needs to be arrested and replaced.
I can't imagine The MoM or the president happily waiting another 12+ months for this new drama to play out.
Enough is enough.
It's simply too damaging for them to take it all away from AVZ after the time and money invested, abiding by the laws, supporting the community, ect, ect...
Sooo just thinking out loud because I need some hope and to think things through.
Take some time out guys, this is so fucking frustrating and scary.
9cardomaha
Regular
Just the below for peer review lol;
1. the current AVZ v Cominiere case won't seek damages but just void Cominiere's attempt to kick us out, and finally put the illegal sale to ZJ to rest
2. the new ICC should supercede the one we have ZJ since it covers some of the same things - for international law this would be like double jeopardy because one ruling would determine the other (i think the rule is that which ever case is bigger, and has more parts should be heard first).
3. Our recourse if JVA is dissolved, would be to sue the DRC government - that is when we would seek damages and lost potential, amounting to 100 years of DRC national GDP (my maths is bad, but this checks out)
1. the current AVZ v Cominiere case won't seek damages but just void Cominiere's attempt to kick us out, and finally put the illegal sale to ZJ to rest
2. the new ICC should supercede the one we have ZJ since it covers some of the same things - for international law this would be like double jeopardy because one ruling would determine the other (i think the rule is that which ever case is bigger, and has more parts should be heard first).
3. Our recourse if JVA is dissolved, would be to sue the DRC government - that is when we would seek damages and lost potential, amounting to 100 years of DRC national GDP (my maths is bad, but this checks out)
I think the cards are on the table, and negotiations on-going.
In poker parlez, AVZ just saw and raised the bet.
Cheers
F
US - Alright DRC, we'll help you guys out, but you gotta stop all this corruption shit.
DRC - OK but just let us do this one last thing really quick
US - Is it super corrupt
DRC - .....
US - Well?
(DRC leans over and whispers with China, China hands DRC a crudely written note under the table)
DRC - .....define 'corrupt'?
US - Is that your answer or China's answer?
DRC - ... ours?
US - Answer's still No.
Azzler
Top 20
Yes, I feel this now that you mention it.
The way the announcement was worded was almost like a confident poker move.
Mickyb64
Regular
100% mentally exhausted.
Jens seems pretty confident and unshaken.
Take that however you will.
Me I'm a little shaken
Cominiere terminated our JVA (illegally) . If we have to take them to court to have it recognised as BS , how can they award us with the ML ? What Cominere have done is effectively taken the the ML off the table for about the next 18 months . Stall tactics . CKK is a Chinese puppet . Unless the MoM or Felix step in and help us we will continue to push sh1t up hill and run out of time and money . Hopefully Nigel is giving them something serious to think about .
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