AFRICA IS A COUNTRY
DRC - Rwanda
Peace under the seal of businessThursday 8 May 2025, by Paul Martial
The option of peace between the DRC and Rwanda is now becoming plausible, albeit fraught with obstacles. However, this is proving disadvantageous for Kinshasa.
Since 2021, Rwanda had activated and supported the M23 militia with weapons and men. It had succeeded in seizing a large part of the territories in the eastern region of the DRC, including the two regional capitals, Goma and Bukavu. African structures through mediation in Nairobi, Luanda and then Dar es Salaam had proved futile.
The involvement of the US
To everyone’s surprise, Qatar managed to bring together the presidents of the DRC and Rwanda, Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame, for a one-on-one meeting. A few weeks later, the two foreign ministers of the warring countries, under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, signed a declaration of principles in Washington. This recognises ‘respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each State and the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the other State.’ The two countries also commit to ‘ceasing all support to armed groups.’ This refers to Rwanda’s support for the M23, but also to the links between the DRC’s armed forces and the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), a group founded by Hutu génocidaires. All these commitments had already been made during previous meetings organised by African diplomats, but what is new is the economic aspect.
A stranglehold on minerals
Having failed to secure military support from African countries, Tshisekedi turned to the United States, proposing a deal: access to Congolese minerals in exchange for US protection. Trump showed interest and sent his special envoy Massad Boulos to begin discussions. As for Paul Kagame, he offered his country as a refuge for those expelled from the US. This was a similar proposal he had already made to the former Conservative government in Britain. As a sign of good will, the M23 withdrew from the town of Wakilake near the tin mine operated by Alphamin, a US company.
The agreement in principle includes ‘support for regional economic integration, in particular through transparency in the supply chains of critical minerals’. In addition, Trump has promised massive private and public investment in the region.
Numerous obstacles
This agreement is not necessarily to the advantage of the DRC because, in the value chain, the country risks being confined to a mineral reserve extracted by US companies, with Rwanda providing the logistics for export. But the situation is complex. The M23, which controls large parts of the Kivu region, is primarily concerned with securing land ownership for the Tutsi community. Negotiations between Kinshasa and the armed group have stalled because the latter is demanding integration into the army and, above all, into the institutions. In reality, the Kivu region would be economically integrated into Rwanda and politically controlled by the M23.
Chinese companies control the vast majority of the mining sector in the DRC, which means that the US will have to undertake lengthy and costly prospecting work and establish itself in territories controlled by the many existing militias. Finally, it is not certain that the other neighbouring country, Uganda, will welcome this agreement, which marginalises it. It could in turn be tempted to support armed groups.
8 May 2025
Translated by International Viewpoint from l’Anticapitaliste.
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Nigeria: against oil industry impunity
Saturday 3 May 2025, by Paul Martial
The Niger Delta has been totally devastated by decades of oil exploitation in Nigeria by the major Western oil companies. Huge tracts of land and mangrove swamps have been totally contaminated by oil, destroying all living things. People’s livelihoods, such as fishing and farming, have been wiped out. There is no longer any drinking water, and the air is polluted by the dozens of flares that burn continuously.
Shirking responsibility
The main oil companies are fleeing and selling their facilities to Nigerian companies. Their aim is to get rid of the wells, which have become less profitable and dangerous due to their obsolescence. It’s also a way for them to get away from their duty to clean up and compensate the Ogale and Bille communities. This is why TotalEnergies sold its assets to Chappal Energies for $860 million. Italy’s ENI sold its shares to Oando, and Exxon Mobile did the same for Seplat Energy. All these sales were made with the blessing of Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, a former accountant with Mobil Nigeria, whose nephew is a director of the company Oando.
The Shell trial
Shell was about to do the same, with the backing of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. The deal with Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, a consortium of four companies, was worth $2.4 billion, but parliament and the regulatory agency, under pressure from NGOs, opposed it. At the same time, members of the Ogale and Bille communities took legal action in London against the Anglo-Dutch company, which remains the largest in the Niger Delta. The case is now being heard by the UK High Court.
Shell’s defence is that most of the oil leaks that pollute the environment are due to hijackings by traffickers. To counter these arguments, Amnesty International, one of the parties involved in this battle, had to analyze tens of thousands of pieces of data showing the dilapidated state of the installations, in particular the corrosion of the pipelines. It was able to do this thanks to the mobilization of 3,545 volunteers from 142 countries to meticulously examine every document, every image. The demand is that Shell carry out clean-up work and pay compensation to the people who have suffered these serious consequences.
L’anticapitaliste 16 April 2025
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Zambia: people are victims of Extractivism
Thursday 1 May 2025, by Paul Martial
Despite recurring environmental disasters and the dangers to the population, the government of Zambia continues its extractivist policy. The southern African country has once again been hit by major pollution. 50 million tonnes of acidic sludge were discharged into the watercourse running alongside the Chinese company Sino Metals in Chambishi, which processes copper ores.
Ecological disaster
The accident occurred on 18 February 2025. A wall in a storage area containing the sludge gave way, allowing the toxic waste to flow into the Mwambashi River, which joins the Kafu stream. The latter meanders through five of the country’s provinces to join the Zambezi River.
The Zambian authorities did attempt to respond to the disaster by dumping 250 tonnes of lime to reduce the acidity; other aerial interventions involved the release of limestone. But none of this prevented the destruction of flora and fauna. Following the accident, the government stepped up inspections and closed the Ranging Mineral Processing Limited plant in Kalulishi for leaking sulphuric acid into the Kafue River. This is not the first time that Sino Metals has been involved in this type of accident. In 2011, and again in 2015, two similar problems occurred on its storage sites.
Mining at any cost
Zambia’s environmental laws are of a rather high standard. The only problem is that they are not enforced. What’s more, the country is heavily indebted, to the tune of 28 billion dollars. China holds $5 billion of this debt and is playing an important role in negotiations to make this financial burden less restrictive, hence the great leniency shown to mining companies by the Asian giant. But Chinese companies are not the only ones involved. Just 245 kilometres from Chambishi lies another mining town, Kabwe, considered to be one of the most polluted in the world.
For decades, lead and zinc have been mined here without any protection. This production has had harmful effects on the health of the local population, particularly children. Although the mine has closed, it has left a number of slag heaps in the open air. The government authorized a number of companies to work these stockpiles, extracting both lead and zinc residues. With the idea that “mining is the anchor of our economy, it’s the solution that will bring the most value, the most income”, as Jito Kayumba, economic advisor to Hakainde Hichilema, president-elect in 2021, puts it.
Children’s health sacrificed
As a result, truckloads of waste have been transported into the city itself, leaving some nine mounds scattered across the neighbourhoods. This exploitation has extremely serious health consequences. Experts believe that almost half of all children should receive emergency treatment for blood lead levels. Most of the companies are owned by leaders of the ruling party, giving them total impunity.
Clandestine miners also try their luck, extracting unprotected remnants of ore from the slag heaps and selling them to large companies specializing in processing. By making mining the alpha and omega of its economic policy, Hakainde Hichilema’s government is contributing to the deterioration of the environment and the health of many Zambians, without solving any social problems. The poverty rate is rising steadily, reaching 62%, a third of the population is malnourished, and at the same time the agricultural sector, which employs 60% of the population, is being neglected.
While the extraction of natural resources does little to create jobs, it does make the elite very rich. As proof of this, Zambia has one of the highest rates of inequality in
L’anticapitaliste 26 April 2025
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Paul Martial
Paul Martial is a correspondent for International Viewpoint. He is editor of Afriques en Lutte and a member of the Fourth International in France.
International Viewpoint is published under the responsibility of the Bureau of the Fourth International. Signed articles do not necessarily reflect editorial policy. Articles can be reprinted with acknowledgement, and a live link if possible.
Trump’s Tariffs & Trade War On South Africa & The Working Class With Patrick Bond
The imposition of tariffs on countries around the world has had a major impact on South Africa and many other countries in Africa. University of Johannesburg political economist Patrick Bond discusses the role of the Trump and Musk In South Africa.
Now is the Time for All Anti-Imperialists and All Justice-Loving People to Stand Unequivocally in Defense of Burkina Faso
It is no surprise to the Black Alliance for Peace’s (BAP) Africa Team and U.S. Out of Africa Network (USOAN) that aggression is stepping up against the countries in the anti-imperialist Alliance of Sahel States. This was reflected in the flagrantly baseless accusations against Burkina Faso’s leader Ibrahim Traoré. On April 3, 2025, U.S. AFRICOM Commander Michael Langley testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee and claimed without evidence that interim President Traoré is misusing the country’s gold mineral wealth in exchange for protection. Langley provided no details on how these supposed exchanges are carried out or from what Traoré needs protection.
The imperialist modus operandi is at play here and starts with demonizing and criminalizing the leader of a country as the war propaganda pretext for more direct intervention. We have seen this script before. Commander-In-Chief of Economic Fighters League of Ghana and Steering Committee member of the USOAN, Ernesto Yeboah refutes the liberal framing meant to arrest dissent against what is at stake:
This is not about military vs. civilian rule. This is about imperialism vs. liberation. This is about Africans standing up — finally — and saying: Hands off Africa.
The BAP Africa Team and USOAN are heeding the call emanating across Africa to unite in defense of Burkina Faso. And we further call on all anti-imperialist forces around the world, especially Black forces, to sound the alarm and publicly denounce these designs before this all too familiar strategy takes root. In 2011, Black anti-imperialist forces were unable to effectively counter the heinous plan of the U.S.-EU-NATO Axis of Domination to destroy the revolutionary Pan-Africanist nation of Libya. BAP’s USOAN refuses to allow this fatal mistake to be repeated.
This time the complicity of silence by ECOWAS, the African Union, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the African (Black) comprador class around the world must be exposed.
This is a pivotal time for the struggle against imperialism in Africa. The emergence of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and the revolutionary example of self-determination being set by the people of Burkina Faso represents a historic breakthrough for Pan-Africanism that the U.S. and NATO have been eager to eliminate. The U.S.-EU-NATO axis is desperate to re-colonize Burkina Faso and to halt any further influence across Africa set by the example of the Alliance of Sahel States. What the U.S is angling to undermine is a popular process of decolonization.
Under President Traoré’s leadership, Burkina Faso has advanced toward food sovereignty, established a national gold refinery, and taken critical steps to reclaim its resources for the benefit of its people. The vague and opportunistic accusations issued by AFRICOM are designed to undermine these gains and set the stage for imperialist subversion. When U.S. officials speak of “strategic interests,” they mean the unfettered right to plunder Africa’s mineral wealth, dominate markets, and exploit African labor, all without the consent of African peoples. We must not allow the absurdity of the U.S. and NATO, currently complicit in the genocide of Palestinians, to pose as moral arbiters in Africa.
BAP and USOAN call on all anti-imperialist forces to join in active defense of Burkina Faso, demand the expulsion of AFRICOM from the continent, and ensure that no African nation suffers the fate that befell Libya in 2011.
The time to act is now!
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