Belgium Open to Deeper Involvement in DRC’s Minerals Sector

Chronic Instability in DRC

The DRC is home to large reserves of copper, cobalt, lithium, and uranium among other minerals, but chronic instability has long been an obstacle to the foreign investment needed to fully develop them.

Seeking New Investment Partners

Kinshasa is trying to attract new players to the sector and talks are already under way with Washington after a Congolese senator pitched a minerals-for-security deal contacted US officials.

Belgium’s Interest in Congolese Minerals

Asked by Reuters about possible interest in Congolese minerals, foreign affairs minister Maxime Prevot said Belgium had firms with the know-how to ramp up its role in the sector.

Expertise in Rare Critical Materials

Prevot mentioned that Belgium has globally recognized expertise with players like Umicore and John Cockerill, who have the capacity to process all these rare critical materials.

Potential Investment Partnership

“If one day the opportunity arises to also be an investment partner, we will not pull back,” Prevot added.

Visit to DRC

Prevot is visiting the Great Lakes region, including Uganda and Burundi. On Monday, he met Congolese Prime Minister Judith Suminwa and President Félix Tshisekedi.

Mali’s Gen Assimi Goïta Named President for Five Years

Gen Assimi Goïta, the military leader of Mali, has recently gained the support of key political allies to be officially declared as the president for the next five years. This 41-year-old leader has taken power through two coups, with his most recent one in 2021 resulting in him being appointed as the transitional president. Despite promising to hold elections the following year after his last coup, Gen Goïta has failed to follow through, undermining efforts to restore multi-party rule in Mali.

A national conference, organized by the regime but boycotted by major opposition parties, has recommended naming Gen Goïta as president until 2030. While he has not publicly responded to this recommendation yet, the conference was seen as an attempt to legitimize his bid to stay in power.

Critics, including opposition leader Mohamed Salia Touré and Amnesty International, have expressed concerns over the suppression of the multi-party system in Mali. The proposal to dissolve all political parties has been condemned as a violation of freedom of expression and association. It remains unclear if the conference intends to dissolve all political parties or only those that do not meet specific requirements.

Furthermore, the conference has suggested suspending all activities related to elections until there is peace in the country. Mali has been grappling with jihadist violence linked to groups associated with the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda, prompting the military government to prioritize security measures.

In a significant shift, Gen Goïta has aligned Mali with Russia by forming alliances with coup leaders in neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger while reducing ties with former colonial power France. This move has caused the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from the regional grouping Ecowas, which had been advocating for the restoration of democratic governance in Mali.

Gen Goïta’s political journey began with a coup in August 2020, ousting then-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta following widespread anti-government protests. Despite an initial transition to an interim government, he seized power again in May 2021, ultimately leading to his current position as the de facto president of Mali.

As the military leader turned political figure, Gen Goïta’s actions and decisions continue to shape the future of Mali’s governance and international relations. The country’s path towards stability and democracy remains uncertain as internal and external pressures mount on the current leadership.

Why African leaders are creating the AFSM

With public debt soaring 170% in the past 15 years to more than $1.8-trillion (R33.36-trillion), the 54-country continent faces heightened external refinancing risks that could morph into a liquidity crisis. Debt repayments, which the African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates at $10bn (about R185bn) annually between now and 2033, come as the region faces slower economic growth, exchange rate volatility and dwindling aid.

How the AFSM will work

The AfDB, the continent’s multilateral development bank, will play a key role though it is unclear whether the mechanism will be hosted within the lender or as a separate entity. Next steps include establishing a legal treaty to govern the facility, African officials said. Modelled on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the AFSM is designed to save countries in the region about $20bn in debt servicing costs in the next 10 years, the AfDB estimates.