Latest news with #SoniaRolley
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Congo faces rising military costs, tax shortfall in revised 'combat budget'
By Sonia Rolley (Reuters) - Congo is grappling with soaring military costs and declining tax revenues due to an offensive by Rwandan-backed rebels, who now occupy much of the country's eastern borderlands, a revised wartime budget under consideration by lawmakers showed. The International Monetary Fund said this month that the fighting was straining public finances, citing the closure of revenue collection offices in areas controlled by the M23 rebels and elevated security spending linked to the conflict. Initially expected in mid-March, President Felix Tshisekedi's cabinet approved the budget bill on Friday. It now goes to parliament for debate and voting. It includes slightly decreased spending of $17.2 billion, according to the minutes of the cabinet meeting, and reflects a drop in tax revenue to 12.5% of GDP from 15.1% expected under the original budget approved in December. The finance ministry announced in March it was doubling salaries for soldiers and police in an apparent bid to boost morale. That move is expected to cost $500 million this year, a military official and a government source told Reuters. Exceptional security-related expenditures cost the government estimated $1 billion in the first four months of 2025, two government sources said. All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to disclose the figures. A government spokesperson did not immediately respond on Tuesday to questions about the budget and military spending. The domestic budget deficit widened to 0.8% of GDP in 2024 and is projected to reach 1.2% this year, Rene Tapsoba, the IMF's resident representative for Congo told Reuters. The conflict and loss of control of territory in the east, which is home to lucrative gold, tin and coltan reserves, could account for a 4% shortfall in expected tax revenue, he said. While noting that exceptional security expenditure was "very high", Tapsoba said the government had sought to reduce its operating expenditures by cutting the budgets of ministries and the salaries of the heads of institutions. Despite ramped-up security spending, army officials still report persistent shortages of food, ammunition and basic equipment. Much of the funding appears to have gone to arms procurement, one Congolese general told Reuters. "The bulk of these funds are handled outside the formal budget framework," a senior official at the finance ministry said, asking not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to media. "We don't have full visibility either." The war in the east has spotlighted entrenched problems in the military. According to a Senate report this month, the army counts 268,602 personnel, including 74,000 deployed in combat zones. More than 36,000, however, are classified as inactive - among them, 3,618 retired soldiers awaiting $145 million in unpaid benefits. The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing the rebels and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of Rwanda's 1994 genocide. (Additional reporting by Ange Adihe Kasongo in Kinshasa; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Joe Bavier)
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US-led peace talks could boost Rwandan processing of Congo minerals, sources say
By Sonia Rolley and Daphne Psaledakis (Reuters) -Congolese minerals such as tungsten, tantalum and tin, which Kinshasa has long accused neighbouring Rwanda of illegally exploiting, could be exported legitimately to Rwanda for processing under the terms of a peace deal being negotiated by the U.S., three sources told Reuters. Kinshasa views the plundering of its mineral wealth as a key driver of the conflict between its forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo that has intensified since January, accusing Kigali of smuggling tens of millions of dollars worth of minerals over the border each month to be sold from Rwanda. Washington is pushing for a peace agreement between the two sides to be signed this summer, accompanied by minerals deals aimed at bringing billions of dollars of Western investment to the region, Massad Boulos, U.S. President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa, told Reuters earlier this month. He said on X last week that the U.S. had provided the first draft of a deal to both sides, though its contents have not been disclosed. Two diplomatic sources and one U.N. source briefed by U.S. officials told Reuters that the negotiations could lead to minerals from what are now artisanal mining zones in eastern Congo being refined and marketed from Rwanda. "Their (Washington's) point of view is simple: If Rwanda can legitimately benefit from Congo's minerals through processing, it will be less tempted to occupy its neighbour and plunder its minerals," one of the diplomats said. "And for Congo, industrialization would increase its revenues, improve traceability, and combat the armed groups that currently live off the miners." A government spokesperson for Congo, which has long said it wants to move away from raw exports and towards local processing, referred questions to the foreign ministry, which did not respond. A Congolese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no cooperation on minerals could happen without the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and "their proxies", a reference to M23, which controls more territory than ever in eastern Congo. The official said Rwanda would also need to respect "our sovereignty over everything, including our minerals." For Rwanda, the negotiations could bring a massive inflow of cash that could help it clean up what has until now been a largely illicit sector of its economy. The U.S., for its part, would be able to secure for itself and its allies deeper access to Congolese mineral assets that are dominated by China. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that in a declaration signed in Washington last month, Congo and Rwanda had committed to creating "transparent, formalized, and licit end-to-end mineral value chains (from mine to processed metal) that link both countries, in partnership with the U.S. government and U.S. investors." Details of the exact scale of investments, and who would be making them, are as yet unclear, but Boulos told Reuters last week that U.S. officials had engaged with "probably up to 30" U.S. investors about "doing business in Rwanda in the mining space," including downstream processing activities. He said separately that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation - a body tasked with mobilising private capital to further U.S. foreign policy and national security goals, offering support like debt financing - would "provide full support on these transactions and investments". The region's long history of violence underscores the risk that any companies taking the leap could be exposed to losses. ROOT CAUSES The minerals projects alone won't halt a conflict that stretches back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the sources said. "A mining agreement cannot bring peace. These projects will take three, five or 10 years," another diplomat said. "There are immediate problems and root causes that need to be addressed." Congo, the U.N. and the U.S. have repeatedly accused Rwanda of profiting from the illegal exploitation of Congolese mineral resources, allegations Kigali denies. A previous attempt to foster deeper official mining cooperation between Rwanda and Congo four years ago failed. In June 2021, the two sides signed deals including a memorandum on the joint exploitation and commercialization of Congolese gold between state-owned Sakima and private Rwandan firm Dither. But Kinshasa suspended the deal in June 2022, citing Rwanda's alleged military support for M23 and the rebel group's capture of the strategic border town of Bunagana. Rwanda has denied backing M23 but acknowledges deploying "defensive measures" in eastern Congo against Rwandan Hutu militias. Analysts say the most commonly cited group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, no longer poses much of a threat. One diplomatic source said that from Kigali's point of view, Kinshasa is not a reliable negotiating partner. "The collapse of the Sakima deal bothered them," they said of Rwandan officials. "Neither country trusts each other," said William Millman, an independent consultant on the tantalum-niobium industry who has visited mines in both countries. "So unless you've got somebody with a big club, like the United States, they're not going to honour agreements."
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Congo and M23 rebels resume peace talks in Doha, sources say
By Andrew Mills and Sonia Rolley DOHA (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have restarted peace talks in Qatar, sources said on Tuesday, part of a diplomatic effort to end fighting in Congo's war-ravaged east. The two sides last met in Doha in April to discuss a deal that would end fighting this year that has killed thousands, displaced hundreds of thousands more and raised fears of a wider regional war. An official with knowledge of the talks in Doha told Reuters that the latest round began on May 3. "The negotiations are being held in a positive atmosphere, and both parties have expressed optimism about the dialogue," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous. However, two rebel sources said M23 had sent a lower-level delegation than in the earlier round last month, and complained that government delegations had not been empowered to make any decisions in Doha. They also said government officials had not done enough on confidence-building measures such as the release of suspected M23 members held by Congo. A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. A source in Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi's office said Kinshasa's priority was peace and it was open to amnesty in some cases. In statements released after last month's talks, both sides committed to ending acts of violence and hate speech and called on the Congolese people to support a ceasefire and help create a constructive environment for dialogue. However, participants complained that the talks had quickly become bogged down in technical details. Fighting in eastern Congo has since continued. The U.N. humanitarian office said on Tuesday that armed clashes in North Kivu province had displaced at least 30,000 people since Friday. WASHINGTON EYES MINERALS DEALS Qatar has been involved in talks to end the ongoing flare-up of violence in eastern Congo, part of a conflict that goes back decades and is rooted in the Rwandan genocide, since brokering a surprise meeting between Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in March. The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. Washington is also trying to broker peace between Congo and Rwanda, pushing for a deal along with bilateral economic packages with each country to be finalised by July. Massad Boulos, U.S. President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa, has said the bilateral deals would bring billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in critical minerals. (Reporting by Andrew Mills and Sonia Rolley; Additional reporting by Ange Adihe Kasongo; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Aidan Lewis)
Japan Today
25-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Congo and Rwanda sign pathway to peace in U.S.-brokered agreement
FILE PHOTO: Members of the M23 rebel group mount their vehicles after the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d'epargne du Congo (CADECO) which will serve as the bank for the city of Goma where all banks have closed since the city was taken by the M23 rebels, in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo By Sonia Rolley and Jessica Donati Congo and Rwanda vowed to come up with a draft peace deal by May 2 and refrain from providing military support to armed groups, according to an agreement signed in Washington on Friday as part of diplomatic efforts to end violence in eastern Congo. The agreement, reached amid an unprecedented advance by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in Congo, is expected to bring significant U.S. public and private investment to the region, which is rich in minerals including tantalum and gold, the final text said. It raises hopes that the latest cycle of violence in a decades-long conflict rooted in the Rwandan genocide might ease. However, previous ceasefire calls have not produced a sustained break in the fighting. Both parties also agreed to explore a joint security coordination mechanism to crack down on armed groups and criminal organizations. The two countries' foreign ministers signed at a ceremony with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also signed as a witness. "To our countrymen and women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially in the east, we know you are watching this moment," said Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner. "You have every reason to expect more than promises," she added. Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said it opened the door to a definitive peace agreement. "We are discussing how to build new regional economic value chains that link our countries, including with American private sector investment," he said. Building on the investment potential outlined in the agreement, Washington is in talks to invest billions of dollars in minerals in Congo, which has vast deposits of not only tantalum and gold but also copper, cobalt and lithium, used in mobile phones and electric cars. Separately, Rwanda said this week it was also speaking to Washington about a possible minerals deal. "A durable peace in the Great Lakes region will open the door for greater U.S. and broader Western investment, which will bring about economic opportunities and prosperity," Rubio said at the ceremony. "Our firms are good corporate citizens, American firms, and they'll bring good governance and ensure responsible, reliable supply chains for things like critical minerals." The agreement is a "declaration of principles", which a diplomatic source described as "very broad objectives to work towards". Both sides will finalise the specifics in a few months and then sign the agreement, the source said. Congo has seen a surge in violence after M23 launched a major offensive in January that led to the capture of the two largest cities in the east. The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. Both Qatar and the U.S. have shown an interest in mediating a resolution. Qatar in March brokered a surprise sit-down between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame during which the two leaders called for a ceasefire. Qatar has also hosted talks between Congo and M23, and this week the two sides issued a statement vowing to work towards peace. The Qatari foreign affairs ministry said the agreement signed in Washington was a "positive and important step toward fostering peace and stability". The Trump administration has taken a special interest in Congo since a Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal this year. Washington wants greater access to minerals that are currently exploited predominantly by China and its mining companies. The State Department has said the U.S. is interested in a deal and expects any agreement to involve private sector partners. Already positioned to support a partnership is prominent Trump backer Erik Prince, who agreed earlier this year to help Congo secure and tax its vast mineral wealth. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Congo and Rwanda to sign accord in US on peace pathway, sources say, amid talks on minerals deals
By Sonia Rolley and Jessica Donati (Reuters) -Congo and Rwanda plan to sign an agreement in Washington on Friday to promote peace and economic development, sources told Reuters, part of a diplomatic push to end violence after an advance by Rwandan-backed rebels in eastern Congo. The agreement raises hopes that the latest cycle of violence in a decades-long conflict rooted in the Rwandan genocide might ease, with both countries hoping to attract significant U.S. investments in minerals. However, previous ceasefire calls have not produced a sustained break in the fighting. The two countries' foreign ministers are expected to sign at a ceremony with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Washington is in talks to invest billions of dollars in minerals in Congo, which has vast deposits of copper, cobalt and lithium, used in mobile phones and cars. Rwanda said this week it was also speaking to Washington about a possible minerals deal. Congo has seen a surge in violence after Rwandan-backed M23 rebels launched a major offensive in January that led to the capture of the two largest cities in the east. The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. Both Qatar and the U.S. have shown an interest in mediating a resolution. Qatar in March brokered a surprise sit-down between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame during which the two leaders called for a ceasefire. Qatar has also hosted talks between Congo and M23, and this week the two sides issued a statement vowing to work towards peace and professing a "commitment to an immediate cessation of hostilities." 'VERY BROAD' A diplomatic source said the agreement to be signed on Friday aims to foster a "pathway to peace, stability, and integrated economic development" in eastern Congo and "the resumption of normal bilateral relations". Another source briefed on the agreement said it was intended to build investor confidence. It amounts to "a declaration of principles - very broad objectives to work towards," one diplomatic source said. "Both sides will finalize the specifics in a few months and then, hopefully, a peace agreement will be signed." The Trump administration has taken a special interest in Congo since a Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal this year. Washington wants greater access to minerals that are currently exploited predominantly by China and its mining companies. The State Department has said the U.S. is interested in a deal, and expects any agreement on minerals to involve a range of private sector partners. Already positioned to support a partnership is prominent Trump backer Erik Prince, who agreed earlier this year to help Congo secure and tax its vast mineral wealth. (Additional reporting by Ange Kasongo; Writing by Jessica Donati; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet, Alison Williams, Alexandra Hudson)
