Sources: AllAfrica.com, Radio Okapi, CongoForum.be
March 12 2007
-African Diamonds has acquired a 35% share in Bugeco (SouthAfrica), a private Belgian company. The key asset of Bugeco is a joint venture with De Beers on 21 licences in the DRC, covering 807 000 hectares of prospective diamondiferous ground. Chairman of African Diamonds, John Teeling said that 'this is a rare opportunity to take a stake in a highly prospective diamond play where new diamond-bearing kimberlites have already been found and more discoveries are expected. The DRC is one of the most prospective diamond areas in the world and Kasai province is long renowned for its diamond resources.'
March 13 2007
-Moto Mines Ltd , an Australian gold mining company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, has found itself in the thick of an embarrassing controverse with autorities in the DRC over a gold mining contract into with the state-owned Okimo Mines Lt. The company, which operates in Congo under a local subidiary, Borgakim Ltd, has been accused by the Congo government of misrepresenting to the markets the true value of the rights granted to it over some 8 mines within the KiloMoto area in Ituri district.
-Assistant Minister for Mineral Exploration, Victor Kasongo, sais that the Congo government wants the mining industry to contribute $ 1 billion in revenues in the next 12 month. To achieve this, he further said, the government is reviewing all mining contracts. Although Congo is endowed wth significant minerals and known reserves, its annual budget is only $ 2,5 billion.
March 22 2007
-UN Special Representatitive to the Secretary General in Congo, William Swing, spoke at a press conference of the enduring instability in the east, especially Ituri and the Kivu provinces.
March 23 2007
-Guards of Bemba and the soldiers of the army, the FARDC, have been shooting to each other. The clashes, which were sparked off by an attempt by government forces to disarm Bemba's guards, were concentrated around the city centre of Kinshasa. "Bemba has committed infractions such as having entertained militias, looting and high treason", DRC general prosecutor, Tshimanda Mukenda, said. This month tension rose after Bemba refused a government directive to remove his men and accept police guards.
March 28 2007
-Exxaro Resources and First Quantum are to be considering whether to take legal action to uphold their Rights over the Kipushi (Katanga) zinc and copper deposit in Congo. The Kipushi dispute emerged last August when Gecamines, the Congolese government's mining company said it was putting the property out to tender. Kipushi is in Congo's main copper zone, near Lubumbashi in the south and the border with Zambia. Initial estimates are that is has about 400 000 ton of copper and 3-million ton of zinc.
April 9 2007
-A coalition of non-governmental organisations from Europe, the DRC and the United States launched an international appeal for the exploitation of mineral wealth in Congo to yield a fair share of benefits for the Congolese people and not only for the big foreign mining companies. The coalition calls on NGO's, civil and public institutions all over the world to sign the appeal, which will be delivered to the president of the World Bank, the DRC government and the partner countries of the DRC on the occasion of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, on 14 and 15 April in Washington.
April 10 2007
-The Congolese Ministers of Finances and Budget and the Central Bank Governor are in Washington to meet the representatives of the World Bank and the IMF. Congo needs the support of these institutions for its budget 2007, but the fear exists that the conditions of IMF are so strong that the social programm of the Gizenga government must be offered up to macro-economic measures to be executed by the government.
April 18 2007
-On a press conference in Kinshasa MONUC explained that it continues to assist the Congolese authorities in securing the two Kivu's. In North Kivu, the Rwandese FDLR carried out an ambush on the Congolese army (FARDC) on 13 April. After this incident, MONUC installed a Mobile Operating Base at Kishero, north east of Goma. In South Kivu, 15 attacks have been carried out by the FDLR and de Rasta since 8 April, resulting in the displacement of 73 people.
April 21 2007
-The Congolese delegation of Ministers has left Washington and returned to Kinshasa to declare that during their meeting with the Bretton Wood Institutions they have understood that the budget of the DRC will not be support very soon by the international financiel institutions. The Congo government has first to produce a new economic programm for the next three years, the so called FRPC (Programm to faciliate the Reduction of Poverty)
April 26 2007
-OCHA (the humanitarian agency of the UN) reports that more than 26 000 people are on the move in territory Rutshuru (North Kivu) because fighting between the mixed brigades of the FARDC en Fdlr..
April 27 2007
-In Uvira (South Kivu) a demonstration has been taken place against the continuing insecurity in the region. The situation of insecurity is according to the demonstrants the outcome of the presence of soldiers who refuse to take part in the "brassage" of the army.
May 7 2007
-Authorities in Kigali (Rwanda) said to be keen to work with their counterparts in Congo to solve the problem of the FDLR. Kagame, who had sent in the past troops into the DRC, said an incursion into the DRC was currently not necessary.
May 9 2007
-The military bases in Kitona and Kamina will be rehabilitated in connections with plans of the USA government to install military anti-terrorist commando posts in Africa, for which these two Congolese bases perhaps are appointed.
May 14 2007
-The Congolese vice-minister is accusing the UK-based copper producer CAMEC (Central African Mining and Exploration) of practices "not in alignment with international corporate governance standards". CAMEC said it had made a significant contribution to Congo after its $150 m investment in the Luita copper-cobalt metallurgical facility in Katanga.
May 16 2007
-The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of MONUC till 31 December 2007. 800 new blue helmets will be stationed in North Kivu. 3500 MONUC soldiers are at the moment already present in Goma.
May 18 2007
-The minister of Finances has presented the government budget 2007, figured out as $ 2 billion 137 million, specified as follows: $ 900 million for current expenditures, $ 671 m for the payment of exterior debt , $ 441m for investments, and $ 116 m for exceptional expenses. 40% of the budget must be received from donors.
May 22 2007
-Two weeks ago, Haywood Securities Inc., which is the original financier of Moto Goldmines project in Ituri, put out a detailed research report to shareholders. In the report, Haywood projected a rosy picture of the project making no mention of the fact that the Congolese government had suspended implementation of new mining projects, pending a review of all mining contracts.
May 23 2007
- MONUC announced that allegations that a number of its peacekeepers based in Congo /Ituri have engaged in gold and weapons trafficking are under investigations.
May 24 2007
-MONUC section demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration (DDRRR) in North Kivu reports that dissident general Nkunda is reinforcing his army in Masisi, adding Rwandan soldiers to his troops.
May 28 2007
-Seventeen villagers were killed in their houses by a brutal attack near Kaniola in territory Walungu (South Kivu). Another 12 bodies were found in surrounding forests.
- Archbishop Mgr Maroy Rusengo of Bukavu has published a memorandum about the insecurity in his province South-Kivu. He is afraid of a new war in eastern Congo.
June 1 2007
Minerals Company Chrometco is compelled to move its planned copper and cobalt refinery from South Africa to Congo. Chrometco said it already has a joint venture partner in Congo with whom it had been discussing constructing a concentrator to upgrade copper ore mined by artisanal miners at Kawama in Katanga. It is the result of the efforts of Moise Katumba, the governor of Katanga, whose politics is to have more income for his province thanks to the promoting of refinery industry. In early March, he closed the border post to Zambia to trucks carrying unrefined copper and cobalt due to be processed exterior. Mining trucks said the Congo was blocking more than 5000 tons a day of unrefined copper and cobalt due to be processed in Zambia.
chronicle 9, september 29 -october 12 1997
chronicle 10, october 13 - october 26 1997
chronicle 11, october 27 - november 9, 1997
chronicle 12, november 10 -november 23 1997
chronicle 13, november 24 -december 7 1997
chronicle 14, december 8 1997 - january 4 1998
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