I will attempt to update on the African Blogs that have caught my attention on a weekly basis. I am of course bound to miss a huge number so feel free to suggest any you think might be worth future inclusion.
Rosebell Kagumire blogs on clean water in Uganda and the UN Millennium goals. " The failure of such handouts to deliver sanitation solutions has highlighted at this unclogging blockages conference in Kampala. One participant told us how NGOs had built latrines for people in Kampala slums but majority were using these latrines to keep their animals." Alex Engwete Blogs on DR Congo politics an the maneuvering in Kinshasa.
So forget the antics of drama-queen Kamerhe! The most interesting thing to watch these days is the deadly no-holds-barred power struggle being played out within Kabila's Majorité Présidentielle (MP).
On Thursday, January 30, 2014 this bloody fratricidal power struggle that was being waged behind closed doors broke out in the open at the Grand Hotel in Kinshasa. But prior to that date, there was the ever widening rift between Prime Minister Matata Ponyo--hated within the MP for allegedly effectively plugging money leaks--and Deputy PM and Budget Minister Daniel Mukoko Samba.
“Why is the media coverage, for example, of conflicts in Nigeria and the Central African Republic important to countries in the West that do not appear to be involved in them? Anup Shah, author and owner of the Global Issues website, offers some answers to that question. Shah points out that simplistic views, at worst, are racist, whether intentional or not, and at best, offer no platform on how to move forward.”
Lesley on Africa blogs On the Ugandan Military deployment in South Sudan Within days of the outbreak of the violence in mid-December, the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) deployed to South Sudan at the government’s invitation. The UPDF’s mission at the outset was ostensibly to evacuate the over 200,000 stranded Ugandan nationals and to secure strategic installations in Juba. However, several weeks into the operation, President Yoweri Museveni disclosed that the UPDF was also involved in combat operations alongside government forces.
Virunga Mountains Blog Is unique in the Great Lakes Blogosphere. " The democratic Republic of Congo is very diverse and its not easy to tell or describe how Congolese look like-though, a stereo-type has been imposed on them by ignorant people. It can be very hard for some of us that have been living in diaspora for long to keep up with the culture. But we do try when we can."
Ann Garrison blogs Also blogs on the Ugandan military in South Sudan. " The Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army in Opposition has said that they expect no progress in peace talks regarding the civil war in South Sudan unless Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni withdraws his army from South Sudan, which is there to back up President Kiir's faction of the army, not only with troops but also with artillery and helicopter gunships." The Clowns of the Congo Congo DRC News ( M23 ) don't blog
This Account Has Been Suspended ( Not unusual and no great loss ) The Timbuktu Chronicles blog On Business, highly recommended.
" ...To start out his small operation, Mupuya figured out he needed a capital of 36,000 Ugandan shillings ($14). He raised the first $11 from selling 70 kilos of used plastic bottles he'd collected over one week. Mupuya then borrowed the remaining $3 from his school teacher and embarked on his entrepreneurial journey producing paper bags on a small scale. Since then, the business has grown extensively and today, at the age of 21, Mupuya is the owner of Youth Entrepreneurial Link Investments (YELI), the first registered Ugandan company to make paper bags."
“I play a mean guitar and I’d really like to be like Courtney Love.”
One thing she shares with the rock-star widow of Kurt Cobain is wealth. Her first single, Let’s Take it Naked, came out only last week but her riches are already up there with the superstars. Home is a fabulous Manhattan apartment with a Picasso above her bed and a valuable first edition of Alice in Wonderland on the coffee table." Visit Virungais not a blog, but the fantastic Gorilla DC blog is undergoing maintenance, that said the great new is that the Park is again open for business. I will update with the blog details but go visit the new site.
Silicon Africa reports Rosebell Kagumire made this observation on Facebook: " No secret that France is still living off the misery of Africans! " I knew nothing of this ( a situation that will change shortly ) and so will hold off for the moment commenting, other than to say this diminishes even further, if possible my opinion of the Government of France.
14 African Countries Forced by France to Pay Colonial Tax For the Benefits of Slavery and Colonization
Did you know many African countries continue to pay colonial tax to France since their independence till today!
When Sékou Touré of Guinea decided in 1958 to get out of french colonial empire, and opted for the country independence, the french colonial elite in Paris got so furious, and in a historic act of fury the french administration in Guinea destroyed everything in the country which represented what they called the benefits from french colonization.
Three thousand French left the country, taking all their property and destroying anything that which could not be moved: schools, nurseries, public administration buildings were crumbled; cars, books, medicine, research institute instruments, tractors were crushed and sabotaged; horses, cows in the farms were killed, and food in warehouses were burned or poisoned.
The purpose of this outrageous act was to send a clear message to all other colonies that the consequences for rejecting France would be very high.
Slowly fear spread trough the african elite, and none after the Guinea events ever found the courage to follow the example of Sékou Touré, whose slogan was “We prefer freedom in poverty to opulence in slavery.”
Sylvanus Olympio, the first president of the Republic of Togo, a tiny country in west Africa, found a middle ground solution with the French.
He didn’t want his country to continue to be a french dominion, therefore he refused to sign the colonisation continuation pact De Gaule proposed, but agree to pay an annual debt to France for the so called benefits Togo got from french colonization.
It was the only conditions for the French not to destroy the country before leaving. However, the amount estimated by France was so big that the reimbursement of the so called “colonial debt” was close to 40% of the country budget in 1963.
The financial situation of the newly independent Togo was very unstable, so in order to get out the situation, Olympio decided to get out the french colonial money FCFA (the franc for french african colonies), and issue the country own currency.
On January 13, 1963, three days after he started printing his country own currency, a squad of illiterate soldiers backed by France killed the first elected president of newly independent Africa. Olympio was killed by an ex French Foreign Legionnaire army sergeant called Etienne Gnassingbe who supposedly received a bounty of $612 from the local French embassy for the hit man job.
Olympio’s dream was to build an independent and self-sufficient and self-reliant country. But the French didn’t like the idea.
On June 30, 1962, Modiba Keita , the first president of the Republic of Mali, decided to withdraw from the french colonial currency FCFA which was imposed on 12 newly independent African countries. For the Malian president, who was leaning more to a socialist economy, it was clear that colonisation continuation pact with France was a trap, a burden for the country development.
On November 19, 1968, like, Olympio, Keita will be the victim of a coup carried out by another ex French Foreign legionnaire, the Lieutenant Moussa Traoré.
In fact during that turbulent period of African fighting to liberate themselves from European colonization, France would repeatedly use many ex Foreign legionnaires to carry out coups against elected presidents:
- On January 1st, 1966, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, an ex french foreign legionnaire, carried a coup against David Dacko, the first President of the Central African Republic.
- On January 3, 1966, Maurice Yaméogo, the first President of the Republic of Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso, was victim of a coup carried by Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana, an ex French legionnaire who fought with french troops in Indonesia and Algeria against these countries independence.
- on 26 October 1972, Mathieu Kérékou who was a security guard to President Hubert Maga, the first President of the Republic of Benin, carried a coup against the president, after he attended French military schools from 1968 to 1970.
In fact, during the last 50 years, a total of 67 coups happened in 26 countries in Africa, 16 of those countries are french ex-colonies, which means 61% of the coups happened in Francophone Africa.
Ex French colonies
Other African countries
Country
Number of coup
Country
number of coup
Togo
1
Egypte
1
Tunisia
1
Libye
1
Cote d’Ivoire
1
Equatorial Guinea
1
Madagascar
1
Guinea Bissau
2
Rwanda
1
Liberia
2
Algeria
2
Nigeria
3
Congo – RDC
2
Ethiopia
3
Mali
2
Ouganda
4
Guinea Conakry
2
Soudan
5
SUB-TOTAL 1
13
Congo
3
Tchad
3
Burundi
4
Central Africa
4
Niger
4
Mauritania
4
Burkina Faso
5
Comores
5
SUB-TOTAL 2
32
TOTAL (1 + 2)
45
TOTAL
22
As these numbers demonstrate, France is quite desperate but active to keep a strong hold on his colonies what ever the cost, no matter what.
In March 2008, former French President Jacques Chirac said:
“Without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power”
Chirac’s predecessor François Mitterand already prophesied in 1957 that:
”Without Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century”
At this very moment I’m writing this article, 14 african countries are obliged by France, trough a colonial pact, to put 85% of their foreign reserve into France central bank under French minister of Finance control. Until now, 2014, Togo and about 13 other african countries still have to pay colonial debt to France. African leaders who refuse are killed or victim of coup. Those who obey are supported and rewarded by France with lavish lifestyle while their people endure extreme poverty, and desperation.
It’s such an evil system even denounced by the European Union, but France is not ready to move from that colonial system which puts about 500 billions dollars from Africa to its treasury year in year out.
We often accuse African leaders of corruption and serving western nations interests instead, but there is a clear explanation for that behavior. They behave so because they are afraid the be killed or victim of a coup. They want a powerful nation to back them in case of aggression or trouble. But, contrary to a friendly nation protection, the western protection is often offered in exchange of these leaders renouncing to serve their own people or nations’ interests.
African leaders would work in the interest of their people if they were not constantly stalked and bullied by colonial countries.
In 1958, scared about the consequence of choosing independence from France, Leopold Sédar Senghor declared: “The choice of the Senegalese people is independence; they want it to take place only in friendship with France, not in dispute.”
From then on France accepted only an “independence on paper” for his colonies, but signed binding “Cooperation Accords”, detailing the nature of their relations with France, in particular ties to France colonial currency (the Franc), France educational system, military and commercial preferences.
Below are the 11 main components of the Colonisation continuation pact since 1950s:
#1. Colonial Debt for the benefits of France colonization
The newly “independent” countries should pay for the infrastructure built by France in the country during colonization.
I still have to find out the complete details about the amounts, the evaluation of the colonial benefits and the terms of payment imposed on the african countries, but we are working on that (help us with info).
#2. Automatic confiscation of national reserves
The African countries should deposit their national monetary reserves into France Central bank.
France has been holding the national reserves of fourteen african countries since 1961: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
“The monetary policy governing such a diverse aggregation of countries is uncomplicated because it is, in fact, operated by the French Treasury, without reference to the central fiscal authorities of any of the WAEMU or the CEMAC. Under the terms of the agreement which set up these banks and the CFA the Central Bank of each African country is obliged to keep at least 65% of its foreign exchange reserves in an “operations account” held at the French Treasury, as well as another 20% to cover financial liabilities.
The CFA central banks also impose a cap on credit extended to each member country equivalent to 20% of that country’s public revenue in the preceding year. Even though the BEAC and the BCEAO have an overdraft facility with the French Treasury, the drawdowns on those overdraft facilities are subject to the consent of the French Treasury. The final say is that of the French Treasury which has invested the foreign reserves of the African countries in its own name on the Paris Bourse.
In short, more than 80% of the foreign reserves of these African countries are deposited in the “operations accounts” controlled by the French Treasury. The two CFA banks are African in name, but have no monetary policies of their own. The countries themselves do not know, nor are they told, how much of the pool of foreign reserves held by the French Treasury belongs to them as a group or individually.
The earnings of the investment of these funds in the French Treasury pool are supposed to be added to the pool but no accounting is given to either the banks or the countries of the details of any such changes. The limited group of high officials in the French Treasury who have knowledge of the amounts in the “operations accounts”, where these funds are invested; whether there is a profit on these investments; are prohibited from disclosing any of this information to the CFA banks or the central banks of the African states .” Wrote Dr. Gary K. Busch
It’s now estimated that France is holding close to 500 billions African countries money in its treasury, and would do anything to fight anyone who want to shed a light on this dark side of the old empire.
The African countries don’t have access to that money.
France allows them to access only 15% of the money in any given year. If they need more than that, they have to borrow the extra money from their own 65% from the French Treasury at commercial rates.
To make things more tragic, France impose a cap on the amount of money the countries could borrow from the reserve. The cap is fixed at 20% of their public revenue in the preceding year. If the countries need to borrow more than 20% of their own money, France has a veto.
Former French President Jacques Chirac recently spoke about the African nations money in France banks. Here is a video of him speaking about the french exploitation scheme. He is speaking in French, but here is a short excerpt transcript: “We have to be honest, and acknowledge that a big part of the money in our banks come precisely from the exploitation of the African continent.”
#3. Right of first refusal on any raw or natural resource discovered in the country
France has the first right to buy any natural resources found in the land of its ex-colonies. It’s only after France would say, “I’m not interested”, that the African countries are allowed to seek other partners.
#4. Priority to French interests and companies in public procurement and public biding
In the award of government contracts, French companies must be considered first, and only after that these countries could look elsewhere. It doesn’t matter if the african countries can obtain better value for money elsewhere.
As consequence, in many of the french ex-colonies, all the majors economical assets of the countries are in the hand of french expatriates. In Côte d’Ivoire, for example, french companies own and control all the major utilities – water, electricity, telephone, transport, ports and major banks. The same in commerce, construction, and agriculture.
#5. Exclusive right to supply military equipment and Train the country military officers
Through a sophisticated scheme of scholarships, grants, and “Defense Agreements” attached to the Colonial Pact, the africans should send their senior military officers for training in France or French ran-training facilities.
The situation on the continent now is that France has trained hundreds, even thousands of traitors and nourish them. They are dormant when they are not needed, and activated when needed for a coup or any other purpose!
#6. Right for France to pre-deploy troops and intervene military in the country to defend its interests
Under something called “Defence Agreements” attached to the Colonial Pact, France had the legal right to intervene militarily in the African countries, and also to station troops permanently in bases and military facilities in those countries, run entirely by the French.
French military bases in Africa
When President Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d’Ivoire tried to end the French exploitation of the country, France organized a coup. During the long process to oust Gbagbo, France tanks, helicopter gunships and Special Forces intervened directly in the conflit, fired on civilians and killed many.
To add insult to injury, France estimated that the French business community had lost several millions of dollars when in the rush to leave Abidjan in 2006 the French Army massacred 65 unarmed civilians and wounded 1,200 others.
After France succeeded the coup, and transferred power to Alassane Outtara, France requested Ouattara government to pay compensation to French business community for the losses during the civil war.
Indeed the Ouattara government paid them twice what they said they had lost in leaving.
#7. Obligation to make French the official language of the country and the language for education
Oui, Monsieur. Vous devez parlez français, la langue de Molière!
A French language and culture dissemination organization has been created called “Francophonie” with several satellites and affiliates organizations supervised by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
As demonstrated in this article, if French is the only language you speak, you’d have access to less than 4% of humanity knowledge and ideas. That’s very limiting.
#8. Obligation to use France colonial money FCFA
That’s the real milk cow for France, but it’s such an evil system even denounced by the European Union, but France is not ready to move from that colonial system which puts about 500 billions dollars from Africa to its treasury.
During the introduction of Euro currency in Europe, other european countries discovered the french exploitation scheme. Many, specially the nordic countries, were appalled and suggested France get rid of the system, but unsuccessfully.
#9. Obligation to send France annual balance and reserve report.
Without the report, no money.
Anyway the secretary of the Central banks of the ex-colonies, and the secretary of the bi-annual meeting of the Ministers of Finance of the ex-colonies is carried out by France Central bank / Treasury.
#10. Renonciation to enter into military alliance with any other country unless authorized by France
African countries in general are the ones with will less regional military alliances. Most of the countries have only military alliances with their ex-colonisers! (funny, but you can’t do better!).
In the case France ex-colonies, France forbid them to seek other military alliance except the one it offered them.
#11. Obligation to ally with France in situation of war or global crisis
Over one million africans soldiers fought for the defeat of nazism and fascism during the second world war.
Their contribution is often ignored or minimized, but when you think that it took only 6 weeks for Germany to defeat France in 1940, France knows that Africans could be useful for fighting for la “Grandeur de la France” in the future.
There is something almost psychopathic in the relation of France with Africa.
First, France is severely addicted to looting and exploitation of Africa since the time of slavery. Then there is this complete lack of creativity and imagination of french elite to think beyond the past and tradition.
Finally, France has 2 institutions which are completely frozen into the past, inhabited by paranoid and psychopath “haut fonctionnaires” who spread fear of apocalypse if France would change, and whose ideological reference still comes from the 19th century romanticism: they are the Minister of Finance and Budget of France and the Minister of Foreign affairs of France.
These 2 institutions are not only a threat to Africa, but to the French themselves.
It’s up to us as African to free ourselves, without asking for permission, because I still can’t understand for example how 450 french soldiers in Côte d’Ivoire could control a population of 20 millions people!?
People first reaction when they learn about the french colonial tax is often a question: “Until when?”
For historical comparison, France made Haiti to pay the modern equivalent of $21 billion from 1804 till 1947 (almost one century and half) for the losses caused to french slave traders by theabolition of slavery and the liberation of the Haitian slaves.
African countries are paying the colonial tax only for the last 50 years, so I think one century of payment might be left!
Rosebell blogs President Salva Kiir free Ugandan journalists
This is Hillary Ayesiga a Ugandan journalist. I met Hillary in 2007 when we started working for Nation TV Uganda (NTV), a part of the Aga Khan’s Nation Media Group. It was the new station in Uganda, fairly professional- more than most TV stations to the best of my judgement. Hillary was a colleague for close to two years when i worked at NTV and he is a friend. He’s a hard working journalist. He never shies away from stories. On Saturday, Hillary was arrested in Juba, South Sudan together with Justin Dralaze, a video journalist that has worked with Reuters for long time until recently. The two had gone to South Sudan to do stories for Feature Story News (FSN), a US-based company.
I have known Justin too for more than 7 years,we have survived riots and demonstrations in the land of Museveni where teargas is administered more regularly and with more zeal than immunisation against killer diseases. These two journalists, well known, well respected in Uganda have been in detention at the National Security Headquarters in Juba. They were arrested while filming along the airport road in Juba without permission. This is the building where they are being held.
The government of South Sudan has detained them for more than 48 hours without a charge or even a statement. On the evening news i learnt that Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs was talking to President Salva Kiir’s government but nothing much is coming out. Tuesday morning news also reveal the Ugandan journalists were arrested together with a local journalist, Sunday David Tut working for Liberty FM radio station. It is very easy to prove that these are journalists and if they filmed without permission necessary steps can be taken but their detention without charge further taints Kiir’s government as a government that is intolerant to the press. The journalists have not been allowed a visit from families or even Uganda Embassy officials. Early this month, South Sudan’s parliament passed two bills to improve press freedom but journalists there continue to face arbitrary detention by the security forces. In 2013 press freedom index compiled by the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders South Sudan slipped 13 places to 124 out of 179 countries. Hillary and Justin situation comes at time when President Salva Kiir has sacked his entire Cabinet so the president’s involvement is vital to secure this release it might be difficult to get someone responsible. Ugandans have so far gone on twitter , put out a campaign calling on Salva Kiir to ensure release of the Ugandan journalists.
Will Congo’s poor benefit from world’s largest dam project?
Despite being in the path of this huge project, the people have very little information about the dam and the impacts it will bring to their lives. The situation is the same everywhere in Africa where poor communities are relocated to make way for huge infrastructure projects.
I blogged the initial story a few weeks back as a news story so it is great that Rudo Sanyanga has added to it.
A statement said the "foundation stone will be laid in October 2015." "With a production of 40,000 megawatts, the Grand Inga project will eventually provide electricity to half the African continent," it said. This is less than half of the DR Congo's total hydropower resources, which the World Bank estimates at 100,000 megawatts.
Africa’s poorest nation, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), plans to build the world’s largest (and most expensive) hydropower dam,Grand Inga on the Congo River’s Inga Falls. A day before I set forth for the DRC, the huge project took a significant step forward with the signing of a “cooperation treaty” by the DRC and South African governments. The treaty makes South Africa the principal purchaser of the power generated at Inga III power plant, the first phase of the Grand Inga. The country will buy 2500 MW of the total 4800 MW from the proposed dam. The balance will be sold to mining companies in Katanga in southeastern DRC. As expected, the signing event, held in Paris in May, attracted a lot of media coverage and excitement within the government circles in the DRC and internationally. It made headline news within the DRC for a week running. My mission was to see for myself what challenges that damming the Congo River at Inga Falls would bring.
That is somewhat different from suppling half the African continent as claimed by the initial story.
Charcoal trading
The DRC capital of Kinshasa is huge and full of contradictions. There are over 10 million people and less than 30% have access to electricity, in a country with so much potential to generate electricity. Connections are intermittent and less than 10% have electricity for 24 hours a day. So what do the rest use? Charcoal trading is common in most African cities but in Kinshasa it tops the list. It was everywhere, being sold in street kiosks, loaded on lorries and trucks along the roads and its smoke billowing out of homes. But on the other hand, electricity was being used wastefully where it was available. I tend to be quite conscious of water and energy saving in all the establishments that I come across. I was warned that I would experience lots of power cuts here, so I was pleasantly surprised when this hardly happened. I even found out that there were so many air conditioners in all the places I went to and that no one bothered to turn them off, even in an unoccupied room. Some buildings were over-equipped with the gadgets to an extent that it was too cold to be inside for more than five minutes. I had to carry a cardigan with me just in case the meeting room got too cold. I found out that the reason for the cold meeting rooms and the need for wearing a cardigan at the Equator was due to the fact that there was no motivation to save electricity. Electricity charges are fixed for about 90% of the consumers as only 10% of local consumers have meters. Secondly, in the area I stayed – Gombe Commune – people had their own huge generators and so had electricity all the time. Those at the lower end of the “totem pole” used wood charcoal. All contributed to carbon emissions in their different ways.
It is very difficult for me to get excited about Carbon emissions in this situation. Hydro is not a carbon emmitter and is rewnewable so it makes a lot of sense to encourage the development if...
I travelled to Matadi, a port city on the Congo River, 150km from the Atlantic Ocean. Matadi is 100km downstream of the Inga dams site. From there I visited Mvuzi III, one of the communities identified for relocation once construction on the Inga III dam project starts. What was the mood and attitude to the project in this community? It is sad to report that, despite being in the path of this huge dam project, the people here had very little information about the dam and the impacts it will bring to their lives. This situation is the same everywhere in Africa where poor communities are being relocated to make way for huge infrastructure projects. And of course this is the " if ". The governments and developers thrive by providing little or no information to the affected. The villagers knew that they would be relocated when Inga III construction starts but had no details of how the exercise would be conducted. They reported that the World Bank had carried out a survey in 2007 to establish the size of the affected communities and at the time informed them that they would receive US$900 compensation per household to relocate. The government and World Bank officials later informed me that a plan for the relocation would be developed to ensure fair compensation to the affected people. But the devil will be in the details—most especially how and if it will be implemented properly. The communities believe that they cannot go against the government’s wishes but would like a compensation package that does not compromise their lifestyle and livelihoods. They also hoped that the project would create employment opportunities for them. It is hard to get reliable income data for the DR Congo but the CIA puts the average income per year over the last 12 years at $ 300 US. That is probably on the low side.
My gut feeling is $900 US is far to low. I am guessing that the average income is going to be twice the CIA estimate about $600 US and one would think a 5 year average income resonable if you expect someone to relocate on an " all found " ( cost of relocation housing etc is also covered ) basis or compensation of $3000 US.
A few days after the signing of the treaty, the World Bank president and the United Nations Secretary General visited the DRC to discuss, among other things, energy developments. I set out with the hope of meeting the World Bank president to whom we had sent a letter asking several questions about this project. Hoping perhaps to hand the letter in person and get a response to our questions on the local population’s access to electricity and job creation prospects of Inga III versus renewable options; climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as issues of governance. To these questions we received an unsatisfactory response reaffirming the World Bank’s commitment to the development of Africa and no direct response to any of the questions we had posed. We were also hoping that the local World Bank office in Kinshasa would arrange a civil society forum to meet their President, but nothing of the sort took place. The presidents and officials held closed sessions with the DRC government.
The UN and the World Bank I would have thought might show some understanding of open government.
My visit also included a site visit to Inga I (351 MW) and II (1,424 MW) built in 1972 and 1982 respectively. These two have never operated efficiently since they were commissioned due to lack of maintenance – partly a result of years of war, partly a problem of lack of local skills, partly a problem with the corrupt and mismanaged state energy utility. At the Inga I and II hydropower stations, I met contractors who were carrying out refurbishing and maintenance work. This work is presently estimated to cost $883 million dollars when completed in 2016. This is four times the World Bank’s original 2003 estimate that put the project’s costs just under $200 million dollars. The rehabilitation of the power stations will include replacement and refurbishing of turbines, construction of a second transmission line to Kinshasa that will enable 35000 more consumers to be connected. The Inga –Kolwezi grid, which is operating at 25% capacity, will also be rehabilitated. The World Bank embarked on the rehabilitation project in 2003 with a justification that the rehabilitation of the two power stations and transmission line would enable the DRC to earn $40 million yearly through exports of electricity. Ten years down the line this dream has been marred by slow, barely satisfactory progress and huge cost overruns.
Unfortunatly there are no surprises here.
I had read a lot about “Camp Kinshasa” and was curious to see this compound where many who were displaced by the previous Inga dams have settled. This shabby compound is where the Inga I and II displaced communities had been dumped. The inhabitants have been waiting here for compensation for over 40 years. To get to the camp one has to pass through the Inga Estate, a small gated town established in the late early seventies to house workers from the DRC state power utility, SNEL, and supporting-service employees. The town has modern buildings although some were in a state of disrepair. A kilometre away from this town is Camp Kinshasa. It is an eyesore; the buildings are falling apart, with boxes and wooden boards nailed to support or cover holes in the original prefabricated structures. Litter was strewn along the fringes, and the structures are crowded with lots of people in a very small space. Service provision was non-existent. In the face of this misery and injustice, I wondered whether the displaced people from the Inga III project would receive fair compensation and whether it was right for the project proponents to start making claims about how they will address the latest displaced communities while they continue to turn a blind eye to the legacy of the past.At least $12 billion will be needed for construction of the Inga III and an astonishing $80 billion for Grand Inga dam. It does not make sense that DRC failed for over ten years to complete the rehabilitation of Inga I and II, yet now it expects to manage a bigger and more complex project. One cannot help but question whether there is human capacity to handle such a project and even capacity to absorb the huge amounts targeted for these developments. Is it realistic that Inga III can be completed in eight years when the rehabilitation has taken a decade and is still incomplete? The " Camp Kinshasa " link is a facinating tale of colonial and then DR Congo governmental indifference. It is hard to see things being different for the communities effected by Inga III. There would seem to be a justification for a the UN to step into the historical grievences and get them sorted and the communities effected by Inga III should be compensated before any development occures.
I have also wondered who will profit from the Inga projects (and in fact, I wonder who has profited from the costly rehabilitation of the previous dams). Inga III is clearly regarded by a range of developers and the Government as a commercial project that will supply power for export and the mines, not for the Congolese people. On the African continent, which averages a high energy gap, the DRC is 4th from the bottom, surpassed only by Ethiopia, Eritrea, Tanzania and Togo in lowest number of electricity use per capita. Yet the DRC is very rich in resources. Unfortunately, this blessing has so far turned out to be a resource curse. Transparency International rated the DRC 160th for governance and corruption out of 176 countries in the world. The Inga I and II rehabilitation process was not spared of corrupt deals. Six and a half million dollars went unaccounted for in 2008 and there maybe more that disappeared unknown. The citizens as well as the government are fully aware of the prevalence of corruption in all sectors. What systems will be put in place to combat corruption? Once again, who will profit from this project?
A few will profit hugly this is Africa and Africa is largley run by Crocodiles.
