Another day, another article claiming that Rwanda is "smuggling minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo”. If we were to be charitable, about the article in Al Jazeera, we could say that just like so many of its kind that target Rwanda, it suffers from a reliance on disinformation about the country, and inevitably ends up misinforming its readers.

Another kind of interpretation is that its author, Lorraine Mallinder, is another agenda-driven anti-Rwanda Western journalist, of whom there are several examples. The rot sets in from the outset. "EU plans to secure supplies for green revolution from Rwanda are likely to support smuggling of conflict minerals from DR Congo” the article asserts. From then on, no fact is allowed to interfere with the story.

The article completely ignores the fact that in signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Rwanda, the European Union did so on the basis of an established understanding of which minerals Rwanda has or does not have. Instead, it relies on an unsubstantiated script from Congolese leadership; that Rwanda is responsible for Congo’s ills.

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The EU press release of February 19 made it clear that Rwanda "is a major player on the world's tantalum extraction— produces tin, tungsten, gold and niobium, and has potential for lithium and rare earth elements.” The communique underscored: "Rwanda with its favorable investment climate and rule of law can become a hub for value addition in the mineral sector. One gold refinery already exists, while a tantalum refinery will soon be operational. Rwanda also has the only active tin smelting plant in Africa.”

A gram of ore myth

Soon after the EU-Rwanda MoU, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi publicly criticized the deal as a "provocation of very, very bad taste", and claimed Rwanda "doesn't even have a gram of these so-called 'critical' minerals in its subsoil".

He said the EU was heading to be complicit in a "looting or fraud” of his country’s minerals, since there are "clever little people” who have fun taking DR Congo’s materials across the border, to Rwanda, and selling them there. In his statement, he asserted that "Rwanda doesn't even process them. So, it exports them and gets dividends from that, on the blood of our compatriots. And that's unacceptable." To take this for fact, one has to believe that the Earth is the center of the universe, or that geological formations are restricted by territorial borders.

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In a feature article of almost 1,700 words, there is nothing about the causes of the never-ending crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is as though the thought of DR Congo’s mineral wealth robs Western journalists of all reason, and they can see nothing but minerals. Tanzania has the same 3T minerals. The country’s Kyerwa mining site in Kagera region started operating in 1925. In Rwanda 3Ts mining started in the early 1930s.

In the referred to article, unreliable sources and data further compound the problem, making it difficult for readers to discern fact from fiction. On a such a complex issue, probing politicians’ statements, due diligence in verifying the accuracy of their sources, and corroborating information from multiple reputable sources, to ensure the reliability of the provided information is key.

Unfounded claims

Unsubstantiated allegations against M23 rebels come from an anonymous "doctor” from Bukavu in South Kivu Province, so far away from the region where M23 rebels are based, and from unidentifiable "human rights activists”. Cross-border trade between Rwanda and DR Congo is entirely through land but the article tells about "moving the goods over Lake Kivu”.

Congolese finance minister Nicolas Kazadi is cited saying, in 2023, that "his country’s economy was losing $1bn a year in minerals through the illicit trade.” Two years earlier, one report revealed the country was loosing close to $4bn in a mineral related scam.

The writer rightly says that DR Congo "should actually be one of the richest nations in the world” because it is "sitting on untapped reserves.”

One would have also expected to read searching enquiries and concerns on critical matters such as: who is to blame for the illicit trade; when, where, and how it started; sources of the amount of lost money mentioned, and more. Instead, without any evidence whatsoever, Mallinder jumps to a conclusion with faults heaped on Rwanda as the cause of war and the EU "actively going after the spoils.”

Poor rich country

The World Bank recognizes that DR Congo "holds almost half of the world’s mineral reserves,” with more than 1,000 different substances, including 20 strategic ores. The world’s fifth-largest copper producer also produces more than 70% of the mined global output of cobalt. With 5.6% average growth over 2002-2021, the country’s economy is among the fastest-growing in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the World Bank, DR Congo’s hydropower potential could supply the current energy consumption of the entire African continent.

Pervasive poverty remains because of the country’s history of colonialism, conflict and political volatility ...undermined state capacity and deep-rooted corruption hinder the delivery of basic services to its people.

Historian Dan Snow in his article published in 2013 observed: "The Congo's apocalyptic present is a direct product of decisions and actions taken over the past five centuries.”

The problems of DR Congo are deeper than mineral trade and fraud. The origins of insecurity and state inefficiencies may need more attention than the ongoing hullabaloo, left and right, over symptoms but nothing on the causative agent.

Conclusion

Way before M23 insurgency arose in 2012, DR Congo was still crying over its minerals being smuggled by neighbours, and Rwanda in particular.

Nonetheless, DR Congo is incapable of proving Rwandan mining or smuggling activities beyond animosity and suspiciousness. The failure for DR Congo to regulate, control and develop its mining sector like every other sectors in the country, including infrastructure, health, and education, cannot be suddenly, and recklessly, made the responsibility of Rwanda.

Up to 95 percent of Congolese minerals are exploited in Katanga and exit through Zambia and other SADC countries. How about their accountability on wealth creation and transparency? What happens to the diamond and gold in Kasai and Ituri provinces, respectively, which do not border Rwanda? Comprehensive investigations and problems assessment are essential before making false allegations to scapegoat a country and its leaders to appease Kinshasa.

A day before Marrinder’s article was published, one economic analyst justly observed that: "Corrupt governments can make a very rich nation into a poor one.” DR Congo is such a good example!