Browsing: DRC joins EAC

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 …

• The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has welcomed the admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into the East African Community (EAC)
• CBK noted that DRC’s admission to the EAC also means it joins the institutions of the community, including the EAC’s Monetary Affairs Committee (MAC)
• It also effectively expands the region’s market size and offers a path between the seas for trade and cultural integration and new investment and employment opportunities for a dynamic population of about 300 million

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has welcomed the admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into the East African Community (EAC).

In a statement seen by The Exchange Africa, CBK said noted that DRC’s admission to the EAC also means it joins the institutions of the community, including the EAC’s Monetary Affairs Committee (MAC).

The occasion was marked by depositing the instrument of ratification with the Secretary-General …

With the recent addition of the DRC to the East African region, landlocked countries have found an alternative port of entry in the Atlantic Ocean. The swiftness of trade with two ports of entry and the region’s strategic location will be incomparable to any other region on the continent.

The East African Federation would be the fourth largest country in both population and landmass, trailing after China, India and the United States. President Uhuru Kenyatta says that the federation would have over 300 million people.

The gross domestic product for the region will sum up to US$250 billion, the fourth-largest in Africa and the 34th biggest globally. Since the beginning of the last decade, East Africa has had the fastest growing economy globally. In 2019, the region’s economy grew by about 5 per cent. If the federation continues with this growth rate, the new country would quickly become the biggest …

“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 …