Vol 54 No 14 | EQUATORIAL GUINEA As the oil goes, the gas arrives 5th July 2013 At international conferences on Equatorial Guinea, oilmen often praise its Mines Minister, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima. However, his recent spate of contract-signing could be undone in the succession...
Vol 6 (AAC) No 9 | CONGO-KINSHASACHINAINDIA Help for the East 2nd July 2013 With European security support to be reduced in 2015, Kinshasa is counting on China and India to help the UN mission and Congolese troops India and China are offering to help President Joseph Kabila’s government secure its eastern borders following a series of bilateral meetings in June in Kinshasa. These offers follow...
Vol 6 (AAC) No 9 | CONGO-KINSHASA Human rights abuses in Katanga 2nd July 2013 Amnesty International publishes a damning report on the results of mining operations in Congo-Kinshasa ‘Mining operations in the DRC have resulted in decades of abuse against artisanal miners and the neighbouring communities,’ according to Audrey Gaughran, Director of Global Issues at Amnesty...
Vol 6 (AAC) No 9 | GABONCHINA Tax troubles but business buoyant 2nd July 2013 Despite the legal actions and environmental problems, relations between the governments of Gabon and China are still strong Punitive action against a Chinese oil company following a tax dispute has not undercut Libreville-Beijing ties. Although the government revoked Sinopec-owned Addax Petroleum’s oil permit in Obangue in...
Vol 6 (AAC) No 9 | EQUATORIAL GUINEA Chinese contractors’ delight 1st July 2013 Multiple major contracts are handed out but the details of the deals remain obscure China Dalian International Economic and Technical Cooperation Group (CDIG) is the primary beneficiary of the close ties between Beijing and Malabo. With no debate about costs or transparency,...
Vol 6 (AAC) No 9 | EQUATORIAL GUINEA Obiang loves China 27th June 2013 Billions in non-transparent contracts have gone to Chinese companies and the opposition claims that Beijing is supporting the regime’s oppressive tactics China stands accused of cooperating with the government of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo to limit civil rights in Equatorial Guinea and to suppress the political opposition.... READ FOR FREE
Vol 54 No 13 | CONGO-KINSHASA The real power politics 21st June 2013 The latest plan to harness the Congo River is gigantic, internationally important, expensive and politically driven A meeting of officials and investors in Kinshasa, hosted on 17-18 June by Energy Minister Bruno Kapandji Kalala on financing the Inga III Dam signals the government’s new...
Vol 54 No 13 | CONGO-KINSHASA Dam good connections 21st June 2013 South Africa’s financial and political commitment to the Inga III Dam and the international support has galvanised and given new life to this pet project of successive Congolese...
Vol 6 (AAC) No 8 | CONGO-KINSHASACHINA Too great expectations 31st May 2013 The Sicomines deposits contain smaller copper reserves than predicted and some detect deep problems in the partnership with China In early May, Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo Mapon sent shockwaves through Kinshasa when he told the United Nations-backed Radio Okapi that the partnership between Congo-Kinshasa and China...
Vol 6 (AAC) No 8 | CONGO-KINSHASAASIA Dam number three at Inga Falls 31st May 2013 Kinshasa seals a deal with South Africa for the third dam in the series Chinese, South Korean and Spanish companies are among those competing for the contract to construct Inga 3 after Congo-Kinshasa announced on 18 May that it has clinched a...