Browsing: DRC admission to EAC

June Njoroge Awakening the Sleeping Giant Article Caption President of the DRC Felix Antoine Tshisekedigiving his address at the 77th session of UNGA in Newyork.Image Source DW

Awakening Africa’s sleeping giant: The Tshisekedi touch in DRC

Countries

The scramble for, partition and exploitation of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s vast natural resources by both regional and international players, have for centuries robbed the country of its peace.

Since the dark colonial era of King Leopold II when the DRC was known as the Belgian Congo in the 19th and 20th centuries respectively, the country has incessantly fought to just survive. The so-called ‘resource-curse’, has left citizens to bear the brunt of the ever-emerging conflicts.

The achievement of peace in the DR Congo has hitherto seemed an elusive dream, but could the incumbent President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi, be the torchbearer that finally brings peace to the Congo?

Unlike his predecessor, Joseph Kabila, Tshisekedi has made the achievement of peace in DRC top of his agenda, since taking over leadership in 2019, pegging his legacy to this quest. Why is the attainment of peace so important to Tshisekedi? Not…

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DRC and EAC: Who stands to gain more from the pact?

Regional Markets

“Concerning the management of the mineral resources sector, the Partner States agree, among other things, to promote joint exploration, efficient exploitation and sustainable utilization of shared mineral resources,” the treaty reads in part. The World Bank notes that DRC’s natural resources are diverse and immense in its country report. The country has the world’s second-largest primary humid tropical rainforest endowment and carbon sink globally. 

“However, forest loss rates have accelerated in recent years, and in 2020, the DRC lost 1.31 million ha of natural forest, equivalent to 854 million tonnes of CO₂ of emissions. This has had deleterious environmental impacts (including rainfall patterns, biodiversity, and climate change) and is threatening the livelihoods of the 35 million people who depend on forest resources,” World Bank says in the report.

World Bank’s collaborations in energy sector investments have been intended to rehabilitate transmission networks and hydropower plants, raise Inga’s electricity production by …