Middlemen and local militias are stealing billions from the Democratic Republic of Congo's cobalt and coltan trade, fueling conflict and leaving the nation poor. The DRC produces 70% of the world's cobalt, but nearly $1 billion vanishes from the legal supply chain each year. The illegal trade involves mixing illegally sourced minerals with legally certified ones, harming responsible sourcing and financing armed groups.
Middlemen and local militias steal billions from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s cobalt and coltan trade, fuelling conflict and leaving the nation poor, according to a political analyst.
“The absence of a strong government presence means legal and illegal cobalt quickly mingle,” Ojewale said Monday by phone from Dakar, Senegal. “This system channels profit to armed groups and middlemen while depriving the DRC of its rightful revenue.” “Long-standing grievances and fierce competition for power and resources are equally to blame,” Ojewale said.will continue in the hardest-hit provinces this year. This will worsen a crisis that affected 27 million people last year. They faced conflict, food shortages, climate shocks, and epidemics. The DRC is the global epicentre of the Mpox outbreak, recording the highest number of cases worldwide, according to the agency.
Ramaphosa accused the Rwandan Defence Forces of propping up M23. Rwandan President Paul Kagame says the DRC is unable to control the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a militia linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. A one-sided ceasefire declared by the Congo River Alliance—which includes M23—failed to calm the conflict as the Southern African Development Community and the East African Community scrambled to hold Saturday’s peace summit.
CONFLICT MINERALS DRC CORRUPTION POVERTY
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