In what has been called the richest patch of earth on the planet, its riches have also blighted the DR Congo. This vast country, gripped by the abundance of mineral resources, has been facing one of the bloodiest violence and conflicts of our time –its wealth an impetus for war, implicating many.
In 2014, after years of conflict minerals, one would imagine that it would be emptied of its wealth, abundant, the “business of war” in the eastern DR Congo continues. Besides the afflictions of war, the people of the Congo benefit the slightest while the world market reaps millions.
Gold is said to be one of the biggest source of conflict mineral trade and most responsible for the ongoing bloody conflict. Recently, Kevin J. Kelley, special correspondent for The East African spotlights the latest 276-page United Nations report that assesses “the gold smuggling racket by Uganda and other East African countries”, and how the money is being used as a “source of financing the wars raging in the eastern DR Congo”.
Writing on how “gold worth $400 million was smuggled out of the DR Congo to Uganda and other East African countries in 2013,” the article, according to the UN report, highlights how “armed conflict, corruption, poor quality of life for citizens and illegal mineral exploitation and interference from neighboring countries in pursuit of mineral wealth remain major sources of instability in the DR Congo”.
More on this perspective here.
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