02-21-2018, 11:24 PM
*** 22-Feb-18 World View -- Cobalt for Apple iPhones means more money and weapons for DR Congo's corrupt leader Joseph Kabila
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** DR Congo's corrupt leader, Joseph Kabila, seeks to cash in on rise in cobalt prices
****
![[Image: g180221b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180221b.jpg)
About 40,000 children, some as young as five years old, work as cobalt miners in DR Congo (Sky News)
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced last month that it
would be increase the royalty on cobalt exports from to 10% from 2%.
The new taxes would be paid by international mining firms operating in
DRC, including African miner Randgold Resources, China Molybdenum
Company Limited, Swiss firm Glencore plc, and MMG Ltd, an
Australian-Chinese venture.
However, these four multinational firms will be challenging the
royalty increases in court, based on a contractual relationship with
DRC that locks in the 2% rate, and can only be changed with ten years
notice.
DRC is the world's largest producer of cobalt, providing 58% of global
production. Other countries produce far less, including, in
decreasing order, Russia (5%), Australia, Canada, Cuba, Philippines
(3.6%), Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Zambia and New Caledonia (2.5%).
Demand for cobalt has been surging, because it's an essential
ingredient of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in iPhones and
other devices. And a big additional surge is expected in the next
three years, to provide for rechargeable batteries in electric cars.
A typical smartphone uses about 8 grams of refined cobalt, while the
battery for an electric car requires over 1,000 times more. The
result is that cobalt prices more than doubled in 2017.
In order to protect its supply of cobalt, Apple Inc. is in talks to
buy long-term supplies of cobalt directly from miners, such as
Glencore. Until now, Apple has left the business of buying cobalt to
the companies that make the batteries. Apple is seeking contracts to
secure several thousand metric tons of cobalt a year for five years or
longer.
However, other companies are believed also to be trying to lock up
cobalt supplies. Thus, Apple will be in competition with companies
like BMW AG, Volkswagen AG and Samsung SDI Co. AFP and Investing News and Bloomberg
****
**** Tanganyika province in DR Congo faces a humanitarian disaster of 'extraordinary proportions'
****
It seems that there's no end to the list of horrific stories about
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In the past, I've written about
the bloody wars in the southwestern Kasai region, where the armies and
militias reporting to the government of president Joseph Kabila are
committing genocide; about the bloody tribal wars in northeastern Kivu
region, causing massive refugee flows into Uganda; about the massive
corruption of Joseph Kabila, skimming billions of dollars out of the
treasury and providing it to his family and cronies; and of his
repeated stunts of refusing to hold elections, so that he can't be
replaced as president.
Now there's a new horrific story. In southeastern DRC in Tanganyika
province, there's a growing "humanitarian disaster of extraordinary
proportions," according to the UN. There have been bloody clashes
between militias of two ethnic groups -- the Luba, a Bantu ethnic
group, and the Twa, a Pygmy ethnic group. The violence has been going
on for four years, and surged in mid-2016, with killings, abductions
and rapes. Since January of this year, most of the violence has been
perpetrated Kabila's Congolese armed forces at road blocks.
Tanganyika province is three times the size of Switzerland with a
population of about 3 million, of whom 630,000 have been displaced by
the fighting, a number that has almost doubled in a year.
A report by the International Rescue Committee describes
the situation in detail, and provides the following historical
context:
<QUOTE>"The conflict in Tanganyika is rooted in the
long-standing marginalization of all the indigenous ethnic groups
commonly referred to as Pygmies in central Africa, of which the
Twa form one of the main groups. The Pygmies were the first
inhabitants of the DRC, living as nomadic hunter-gatherers at the
fringes of forest-savanna areas. However, Bantu tribes, primarily
relying on agriculture for their livelihoods, started migrating
into the Congo River Basin at the beginning of the first
millennium, progressively displacing Pygmies toward ever more
remote forest areas. Over time, the Bantu exerted their control
over land and established hereditary, hierarchized and
interrelated tribal power structures that excluded Pygmies.19
These tribal or customary power structures still underlie to this
day the configuration of local governments in DRC, especially at
the village and cluster levels, along with chiefdoms. This also
explains in good part the absence of the Twa from positions of
power in Tanganyika.
During colonial times and since independence, the cutting of
forests for logging, agriculture, cattle herding, and mining,
combined with the creation of national parks, gradually pushed the
Pygmies out of forests. This resulted in an accelerating trend
toward sedentary life for those populations. Sedentarization,
accompanied by a significant reduction in access to forest
resources, and limited access to land, has resulted in
systematically higher poverty for Pygmy populations relative to
the Bantu majority. Unsurprisingly, this led the author of a World
Bank report to summarize their situation in this manner: “Pygmies
in DRC can best be described as poor, vulnerable and
marginalized.” This higher poverty and vulnerability also
characterize the situation of the Twa in Tanganyika.
In Tanganyika, the majority of the Twa population is sedentary or
semi-sedentary. They are typically settled near roads and Bantu
villages, where they can work as agricultural day laborers and
maintain some access to forest resources. While some Twas have
fields and practice agriculture, land rights in DRC remain rooted
in the customary practices of Bantu chiefs. As a result, the Twa
have limited access to land that is contingent on Bantu customary
village chiefs allocating land in exchange for a customary tax
(typically a variable share of the annual crop). Bantu customary
chiefs also collect similar taxes for hunting, fishing or
artisanal mining activities."<END QUOTE>
The phrase "pushed out" can be assumed to be a euphemism for dozens of
bloody generational crisis wars, that have been going on for almost
2,000 years, according to the report. Pygmy groups such as the Twa
are at an enormous disadvantage in these wars because they're shorter
than their Bantu enemies. It appears that a generational crisis war
is going on at the current time, but that can't be confirmed without a
great deal of additional historical research.
It seems likely that what's tying the situation in Tanganyika together
with the story about cobalt is that Kabila is looking for new money
with which to buy weapons to kill people, or to provide to his family
and cronies. The United States has threatened to cut off aid to DRC
if there are no presidential elections this year, and Kabila may be
using the cobalt tax as a way of replacing the aid.
Reuters and Al Jazeera and International Rescue Committee
****
**** Thousands of children work as cobalt miners in DR Congo
****
UNICEF estimates that about 40,000 boys and girls, some as young as
five years old, work as cobalt miners in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC). Some dig holes and go down into the pits, while others
work above ground, sifting through leftover rubble and rock, searching
for bits of ore which they then sort and wash. Many children become
extremely ill from inhaling the dust from mining.
Most of the mined cobalt is sent to China, where it is used in the
manufacture of lithium-ion batteries which are then sold to companies
like Apple and Samsung. Sky News and Amnesty International (June 2016)
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC,
Joseph Kabila, cobalt, Glencore plc, MMG Ltd,
Randgold Resources, China Molybdenum Company Limited,
Apple Inc., BMW AG, Volkswagen AG, Samsung SDI Co.,
Luba, Bantu, Twa, Pygmy, Tanganyika province
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- DR Congo's corrupt leader, Joseph Kabila, seeks to cash in on rise in cobalt prices
- Tanganyika province in DR Congo faces a humanitarian disaster of 'extraordinary proportions'
- Thousands of children work as cobalt miners in DR Congo
****
**** DR Congo's corrupt leader, Joseph Kabila, seeks to cash in on rise in cobalt prices
****
About 40,000 children, some as young as five years old, work as cobalt miners in DR Congo (Sky News)
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced last month that it
would be increase the royalty on cobalt exports from to 10% from 2%.
The new taxes would be paid by international mining firms operating in
DRC, including African miner Randgold Resources, China Molybdenum
Company Limited, Swiss firm Glencore plc, and MMG Ltd, an
Australian-Chinese venture.
However, these four multinational firms will be challenging the
royalty increases in court, based on a contractual relationship with
DRC that locks in the 2% rate, and can only be changed with ten years
notice.
DRC is the world's largest producer of cobalt, providing 58% of global
production. Other countries produce far less, including, in
decreasing order, Russia (5%), Australia, Canada, Cuba, Philippines
(3.6%), Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Zambia and New Caledonia (2.5%).
Demand for cobalt has been surging, because it's an essential
ingredient of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in iPhones and
other devices. And a big additional surge is expected in the next
three years, to provide for rechargeable batteries in electric cars.
A typical smartphone uses about 8 grams of refined cobalt, while the
battery for an electric car requires over 1,000 times more. The
result is that cobalt prices more than doubled in 2017.
In order to protect its supply of cobalt, Apple Inc. is in talks to
buy long-term supplies of cobalt directly from miners, such as
Glencore. Until now, Apple has left the business of buying cobalt to
the companies that make the batteries. Apple is seeking contracts to
secure several thousand metric tons of cobalt a year for five years or
longer.
However, other companies are believed also to be trying to lock up
cobalt supplies. Thus, Apple will be in competition with companies
like BMW AG, Volkswagen AG and Samsung SDI Co. AFP and Investing News and Bloomberg
****
**** Tanganyika province in DR Congo faces a humanitarian disaster of 'extraordinary proportions'
****
It seems that there's no end to the list of horrific stories about
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In the past, I've written about
the bloody wars in the southwestern Kasai region, where the armies and
militias reporting to the government of president Joseph Kabila are
committing genocide; about the bloody tribal wars in northeastern Kivu
region, causing massive refugee flows into Uganda; about the massive
corruption of Joseph Kabila, skimming billions of dollars out of the
treasury and providing it to his family and cronies; and of his
repeated stunts of refusing to hold elections, so that he can't be
replaced as president.
Now there's a new horrific story. In southeastern DRC in Tanganyika
province, there's a growing "humanitarian disaster of extraordinary
proportions," according to the UN. There have been bloody clashes
between militias of two ethnic groups -- the Luba, a Bantu ethnic
group, and the Twa, a Pygmy ethnic group. The violence has been going
on for four years, and surged in mid-2016, with killings, abductions
and rapes. Since January of this year, most of the violence has been
perpetrated Kabila's Congolese armed forces at road blocks.
Tanganyika province is three times the size of Switzerland with a
population of about 3 million, of whom 630,000 have been displaced by
the fighting, a number that has almost doubled in a year.
A report by the International Rescue Committee describes
the situation in detail, and provides the following historical
context:
<QUOTE>"The conflict in Tanganyika is rooted in the
long-standing marginalization of all the indigenous ethnic groups
commonly referred to as Pygmies in central Africa, of which the
Twa form one of the main groups. The Pygmies were the first
inhabitants of the DRC, living as nomadic hunter-gatherers at the
fringes of forest-savanna areas. However, Bantu tribes, primarily
relying on agriculture for their livelihoods, started migrating
into the Congo River Basin at the beginning of the first
millennium, progressively displacing Pygmies toward ever more
remote forest areas. Over time, the Bantu exerted their control
over land and established hereditary, hierarchized and
interrelated tribal power structures that excluded Pygmies.19
These tribal or customary power structures still underlie to this
day the configuration of local governments in DRC, especially at
the village and cluster levels, along with chiefdoms. This also
explains in good part the absence of the Twa from positions of
power in Tanganyika.
During colonial times and since independence, the cutting of
forests for logging, agriculture, cattle herding, and mining,
combined with the creation of national parks, gradually pushed the
Pygmies out of forests. This resulted in an accelerating trend
toward sedentary life for those populations. Sedentarization,
accompanied by a significant reduction in access to forest
resources, and limited access to land, has resulted in
systematically higher poverty for Pygmy populations relative to
the Bantu majority. Unsurprisingly, this led the author of a World
Bank report to summarize their situation in this manner: “Pygmies
in DRC can best be described as poor, vulnerable and
marginalized.” This higher poverty and vulnerability also
characterize the situation of the Twa in Tanganyika.
In Tanganyika, the majority of the Twa population is sedentary or
semi-sedentary. They are typically settled near roads and Bantu
villages, where they can work as agricultural day laborers and
maintain some access to forest resources. While some Twas have
fields and practice agriculture, land rights in DRC remain rooted
in the customary practices of Bantu chiefs. As a result, the Twa
have limited access to land that is contingent on Bantu customary
village chiefs allocating land in exchange for a customary tax
(typically a variable share of the annual crop). Bantu customary
chiefs also collect similar taxes for hunting, fishing or
artisanal mining activities."<END QUOTE>
The phrase "pushed out" can be assumed to be a euphemism for dozens of
bloody generational crisis wars, that have been going on for almost
2,000 years, according to the report. Pygmy groups such as the Twa
are at an enormous disadvantage in these wars because they're shorter
than their Bantu enemies. It appears that a generational crisis war
is going on at the current time, but that can't be confirmed without a
great deal of additional historical research.
It seems likely that what's tying the situation in Tanganyika together
with the story about cobalt is that Kabila is looking for new money
with which to buy weapons to kill people, or to provide to his family
and cronies. The United States has threatened to cut off aid to DRC
if there are no presidential elections this year, and Kabila may be
using the cobalt tax as a way of replacing the aid.
Reuters and Al Jazeera and International Rescue Committee
****
**** Thousands of children work as cobalt miners in DR Congo
****
UNICEF estimates that about 40,000 boys and girls, some as young as
five years old, work as cobalt miners in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC). Some dig holes and go down into the pits, while others
work above ground, sifting through leftover rubble and rock, searching
for bits of ore which they then sort and wash. Many children become
extremely ill from inhaling the dust from mining.
Most of the mined cobalt is sent to China, where it is used in the
manufacture of lithium-ion batteries which are then sold to companies
like Apple and Samsung. Sky News and Amnesty International (June 2016)
Related Articles
- United Nations stunned as peacekeepers are massacred in DR Congo (09-Dec-2017)
- Democratic Republic of Congo issues farcical call for elections in December 2018 (07-Nov-2017)
- DR Congo's Joseph Kabila brings the art of power and corruption to new heights (24-Jul-2017)
- Massive government atrocities in DR Congo's Kasai threaten regional stability (21-Jun-2017)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC,
Joseph Kabila, cobalt, Glencore plc, MMG Ltd,
Randgold Resources, China Molybdenum Company Limited,
Apple Inc., BMW AG, Volkswagen AG, Samsung SDI Co.,
Luba, Bantu, Twa, Pygmy, Tanganyika province
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
