Decryptage: pour qui roule la révisitation selon Kasongo
Posté le dimanche 6 juillet 2008 http://congoreading.blogspot.com/2008/07/decryptage-pour-qui-roule-la.html
When Mobutu was forced into exile, the network of graft he left behind was transformed into a minerals-based war economy run by invaders, rebels, and warlords -- and abetted by Western companies. Neighboring nations were willingly used as transshipment points for the contraband minerals. Mobutu's replacement, Laurent Kabila (father of Joseph, the current president), canceled the contracts Mobutu struck with mining houses and dished them out to new companies to finance his war chest. As Laurent marched across Congo in 1997, so the story goes, he used a satellite phone to drum up $500 million in deals. When Laurent faced his own rebellion the following year, the Zimbabwean government stepped in, demanding access to minerals in exchange for saving him.
One of the most controversial contracts he is examining, for example, involves a public Canadian-British entity called Katanga Mining. Congo's central bank governor sits on its board of directors and, until recently, so did the minister of portfolio. "There is no way we can run this country if people keep having conflicts of interest," says Kitenge, the local businessman and publisher. "Corruption at the top of the government is far beyond 70%. The economy is run by a mafia. And the poor are getting poorer every single day."
The experience in the Congo of Frank He and Michael Huang isn't very encouraging. Before setting up their copper concession in Zambia, the Chinese brothers initially explored doing business in Congo. They left in the end, they told me, after finding the environment too chaotic and dangerous. At one point, according to Huang, Congolese immigration officials demanded a large bribe. Alarmed, the brothers called the Chinese embassy for assistance. This is the advice they received: "You came with money. Pay them."
Voie ouverte aux Chinois "If we can take the Congo," Mao said in 1964, "we can have all of Africa." While Mao had revolution on his mind, today's party leaders understand that Congo's soil has every mineral. "Put the Chinese in the bush," Victor Kasongo tells "and they survive with a bowl of rice. Europeans cost us too much. They need a satellite dish to watch rugby, casinos for the weekend. The Chinese just work, like soldiers." "If China wants to dominate the world, it's not our business to stop them. Who are we to close the door to them when we don't have water or electricity? If China doesn't come [to Congo], we're in big shit." The Chinese say, 'We need minerals for growing, and you need infrastructure.' So we have the same interests." Il fact, the Chinese are long on cash and short on rules. One can't help wondering if Westerners ever really had a chance to compete in Congo. After all, what Western nation (or company) could take on such gargantuan risk -- especially in a country the World Bank ranks as the very worst place in the world to do business? As China's ambassador to Congo, Wu Zexian, has said, China won the contract because its no- strings offer.: Chinese are " unbeatable. Unbeatable by far. There won't be any competitors."
Kasongo: l' homme à abattre With occasional help from Ernst & Young, Rothschild of Paris, and the U.S.-based (Jimmy) Carter Center, Kasongo's deputies were reviewing every detail, a process that has now taken a year. "Every contract is significantly flawed," a British adviser to Kasongo tells me. "Many of the deals were corrupt, and patently so." Kasongo explains that only 5 of the 60 deals were producing minerals, while 6 projects were still in the feasibility-study stage. "And 49 are sitting there waiting for ... what, I don't know," he fumes. "Expertise? Financing? Investors? A better time to market?" Congo urgently needs those mines to come on line, he says, in order to keep the economy moving, however slowly. But 22 of these "partners" aren't actively mining at all -- they're riding the spike in raw-material prices, "making a fortune with rising share prices" on stock exchanges from Vancouver to New York to London to Johannesburg. "They are mining the stock exchanges, not the mines!" Kasongo exclaims. "We can demonstrate that $17 billion of [stock-market value] is built on a lie to the world.
Kasongo despises the old-style patronage deals in Congo, but he's also a realist; and everyone knows there are protectors inside the government. "His political position is delicate," says one insider. "Half the mining world wants him dead. There is a limit to how far Victor can talk about corruption on his side. But he can change the deals."
Since February, Kasongo has been trying to renegotiate the most egregious of the old contracts in the ministry's portfolio. He's besieged by the old guard on one side, which still has plenty at stake in the existing deals, and the World Bank on the other, which is expressing concern that the China deal is corruption-prone and may saddle Congo with still more unsustainable debt on top of the $14 billion already owed to the West.
L' histoire des ressources naturelles est linéaire, marquée depuis 1997 par le mercantilisme de LD Kabila qui a troqué des richesses naturelles disproportionnées, en échange d' appuis financiers ou militaires. Ils appellent cela " l' économie sociale du marché" qui s' exprime en public en: " prenez, enrichissez vous, mais laissez quelque chose pour la population, en écoles, hôpitaux et routes". Ni le Panel de l' ONU sur le pillage, ni les expertises commandées par la Banque Mondiale, ni la Commission Lutundula, ni la possibilité de transparence sous la Transition et le régime de 1+4, ni la sévérité du rapport de la Commision de Révisitation. Rien n' a jamais ébranlé cette doctrine minimaliste. Va-t-on renégocier les contrats? A cela, il n' y a jamais eu de réponse ni claire ni empressée. La nouvelle donne est le hold up des évaluations des ressources et revenus par le miroir aux alouettes du méga-contrat chinois et l' affirmation ex cathedra du "gagnant-gagnant". D' où la tentation de diaboliser les appels à la sagesse et au nationalisme et de ficeler les dossiers autour d' une table dont les experts auront été éloignés.
C' est là tout l' intérêt de redécouvrir Victor Kasongo, qui passe pour être le "vrai" ministre des mines. Il a parfois des propos nationalistes, d' autres provocateurs qui ont entraîné une chute des cours de la Bourse. Il se dit capable de prouver que les contrats ont déjà rapporté 17 milliards de dollars sur la place boursière. Ira-t-il plus loin avec la révisitation? Et pour qui roule-t-il? Richard Behar l' a rencontré. Le reporter a également récolté des informations insolites. Ainsi l' ambassadeur de Chine pousse ses compatriotes à participer à la corruption.
La revisitation des contrats miniers dans l’impasse
LePotentiel http://www.lepotentiel.com/afficher_article.php?id_edition=&id_article=66772 Selon l’Observatoire des ressources naturelles en Afrique australe (SARW) « plus de six mois passés depuis que la Commission de revisitation des contrats miniers a déposé officiellement son rapport au gouvernement et, trois mois depuis la publication officielle de ce rapport par le ministère des Mines et tout semble silencieux !.. Avec cette opacité qui entoure désormais le processus de revisitation, le temps passe et de nouvelles donnes apparaissent dans la gestion des activités de tous ces partenariats . Des cessions et/ou des ventes des actions s’opèrent loin du pays et parfois à l’insu des sociétés publiques congolaises. « Pendant que les prix des matières premières continuent à hausser sur le marché international, du fait de la demande croissante de la Chine et de l’Inde, le gouvernement devrait en profiter pour finaliser ce processus afin que le pays bénéficie de ces prix ». Plusieurs questions « méritent des réponses appropriées pour permettre au gouvernement de la République de conduire à bon les négociations. Pourquoi et comment les ressources minières favorisent-elles le développement des autres pays ? Quel type de contrat et de gestion sont appliqués ailleurs ? Quel est le projet de développement présenté par le partenaire ? Le Congo n’a plus droit à l’erreur.
Kasongo qui fait peur
Daily News http://www.northernminer.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?id=85636&issue=06122008&ref=rss In March, Kasongo said renegotiation was necessary after the review uncovered internal rates of return far above global norms and "beyond all reasonable requirements to cover understandable political and other risk concerns or to compensate for any realistic drop, however dramatic, in the market price of metals," he said at the time. That sent waves of worry through major, mid-tier and junior mining players alike in the country. Some politicians too came down on the side of foreign companies arguing that the lack of transparency and the slowness of the process had hurt development in such key mining areas as the Katanga province.
China in Congo: A Moment of Truth by Richard Behar
Nouvellles Maffia et corruption Last June, the UN Security Council declared that its global peacekeeping operation should consider widening its mandate to prevent the illegal exploitation of resources from fueling violence. The Congolese representative pointed out that while "blood diamonds" might be better known, there was also "blood copper," "blood gold," "blood coltan," and "blood cobalt."
Kasongo qui fait peur
Daily News http://www.northernminer.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?id=85636&issue=06122008&ref=rss In March, Kasongo said renegotiation was necessary after the review uncovered internal rates of return far above global norms and "beyond all reasonable requirements to cover understandable political and other risk concerns or to compensate for any realistic drop, however dramatic, in the market price of metals," he said at the time. That sent waves of worry through major, mid-tier and junior mining players alike in the country. Some politicians too came down on the side of foreign companies arguing that the lack of transparency and the slowness of the process had hurt development in such key mining areas as the Katanga province.
China in Congo: A Moment of Truth by Richard Behar
Nouvellles Maffia et corruption Last June, the UN Security Council declared that its global peacekeeping operation should consider widening its mandate to prevent the illegal exploitation of resources from fueling violence. The Congolese representative pointed out that while "blood diamonds" might be better known, there was also "blood copper," "blood gold," "blood coltan," and "blood cobalt."
When Mobutu was forced into exile, the network of graft he left behind was transformed into a minerals-based war economy run by invaders, rebels, and warlords -- and abetted by Western companies. Neighboring nations were willingly used as transshipment points for the contraband minerals. Mobutu's replacement, Laurent Kabila (father of Joseph, the current president), canceled the contracts Mobutu struck with mining houses and dished them out to new companies to finance his war chest. As Laurent marched across Congo in 1997, so the story goes, he used a satellite phone to drum up $500 million in deals. When Laurent faced his own rebellion the following year, the Zimbabwean government stepped in, demanding access to minerals in exchange for saving him.
One of the most controversial contracts he is examining, for example, involves a public Canadian-British entity called Katanga Mining. Congo's central bank governor sits on its board of directors and, until recently, so did the minister of portfolio. "There is no way we can run this country if people keep having conflicts of interest," says Kitenge, the local businessman and publisher. "Corruption at the top of the government is far beyond 70%. The economy is run by a mafia. And the poor are getting poorer every single day."
The experience in the Congo of Frank He and Michael Huang isn't very encouraging. Before setting up their copper concession in Zambia, the Chinese brothers initially explored doing business in Congo. They left in the end, they told me, after finding the environment too chaotic and dangerous. At one point, according to Huang, Congolese immigration officials demanded a large bribe. Alarmed, the brothers called the Chinese embassy for assistance. This is the advice they received: "You came with money. Pay them."
Voie ouverte aux Chinois "If we can take the Congo," Mao said in 1964, "we can have all of Africa." While Mao had revolution on his mind, today's party leaders understand that Congo's soil has every mineral. "Put the Chinese in the bush," Victor Kasongo tells "and they survive with a bowl of rice. Europeans cost us too much. They need a satellite dish to watch rugby, casinos for the weekend. The Chinese just work, like soldiers." "If China wants to dominate the world, it's not our business to stop them. Who are we to close the door to them when we don't have water or electricity? If China doesn't come [to Congo], we're in big shit." The Chinese say, 'We need minerals for growing, and you need infrastructure.' So we have the same interests." Il fact, the Chinese are long on cash and short on rules. One can't help wondering if Westerners ever really had a chance to compete in Congo. After all, what Western nation (or company) could take on such gargantuan risk -- especially in a country the World Bank ranks as the very worst place in the world to do business? As China's ambassador to Congo, Wu Zexian, has said, China won the contract because its no- strings offer.: Chinese are " unbeatable. Unbeatable by far. There won't be any competitors."
Kasongo: l' homme à abattre With occasional help from Ernst & Young, Rothschild of Paris, and the U.S.-based (Jimmy) Carter Center, Kasongo's deputies were reviewing every detail, a process that has now taken a year. "Every contract is significantly flawed," a British adviser to Kasongo tells me. "Many of the deals were corrupt, and patently so." Kasongo explains that only 5 of the 60 deals were producing minerals, while 6 projects were still in the feasibility-study stage. "And 49 are sitting there waiting for ... what, I don't know," he fumes. "Expertise? Financing? Investors? A better time to market?" Congo urgently needs those mines to come on line, he says, in order to keep the economy moving, however slowly. But 22 of these "partners" aren't actively mining at all -- they're riding the spike in raw-material prices, "making a fortune with rising share prices" on stock exchanges from Vancouver to New York to London to Johannesburg. "They are mining the stock exchanges, not the mines!" Kasongo exclaims. "We can demonstrate that $17 billion of [stock-market value] is built on a lie to the world.
Kasongo despises the old-style patronage deals in Congo, but he's also a realist; and everyone knows there are protectors inside the government. "His political position is delicate," says one insider. "Half the mining world wants him dead. There is a limit to how far Victor can talk about corruption on his side. But he can change the deals."
Since February, Kasongo has been trying to renegotiate the most egregious of the old contracts in the ministry's portfolio. He's besieged by the old guard on one side, which still has plenty at stake in the existing deals, and the World Bank on the other, which is expressing concern that the China deal is corruption-prone and may saddle Congo with still more unsustainable debt on top of the $14 billion already owed to the West.