William Clowes
@WTBClowes
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Bloomberg reporter covering mining & metals in Africa. Formerly in Nigeria & DR Congo. Opinions my own. Contact me at wclowes @bloomberg .net
Joined April 2015
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The fight vs corruption has been a top campaign issue in Nigeria’s last 2 presidential elections, but the history of graft allegations around the main candidates means neither is likely raise it this time A rundown of their baggage below
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Atiku's team, trying to debunk rumours he's jetting overseas for medical treatment, say actually he's off on a European business trip and then a family visit to Dubai, which still doesn't seem the best way of trying to persuade Nigerians to let him be their president.
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Bola Tinubu, national leader of the ruling APC, said he deserves to be the party's presidential candidate for his role putting Muhammadu Buhari in power. It was the ex-Lagos governor’s most direct challenge to the president so far.
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In 1993, Tinubu settled a lawsuit with the US government, which had seized c$2m in his bank accounts arguing "probable cause" they held proceeds of heroin trafficking. He disputed the US's right to seize the money but agreed to forfeit $460k.
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As of last June, the EFCC had an open investigation into Tinubu. The agency wouldn't confirm if it is active or closed.
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Tinubu is accused in an ongoing Lagos court case of secretly controlling the company his government gave a contract 20 years ago to collect the state's taxes and retain a 10% commission. His spokesman has called the claims "unsubstantiated".
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UN documents indicate that the $1 billion Ogoniland cleanup -- financed by Shell & managed by the Nigerian government -- is making one of the world's most polluted places even dirtier w/
@neiLmunshi
&
@VidyaRoot
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A US Senate report in 2010 said one of Atiku's wives helped him bring >$40m of "suspect funds" into the US while he was Nigeria's VP, inc. a bribe from Siemens. Atiku and his ex-wife have previously denied wrongdoing.
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Neither candidate responded to our requests for comment.
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During the 2019 campaign election, Atiku was granted a temporary suspension of a US travel ban connected to bribery allegations.
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In 2009, a Louisiana congressman was convicted for accepting bribes from companies trying to win contracts in West Africa. He had told a cooperating witness that then VP Atiku had agreed to take a bribe in exchange for his assistance. Atiku has previously denied the allegation.
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what a laughable end of term stunt this was
Nigeria Air: MD Confirms Unveiled Aircraft Was Hired Ethiopia Flight
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Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is pushing lawmakers to let him add an unpaid $50 billion overdraft from the central bank to the country’s public debt pile despite concerns about the legality of the borrowing
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@JohnAshbourne
"Sanwo-Olu commissioned the blue line in December, but it couldn’t start operations because a facility to power the tracks wasn’t ready. The metro will now use a diesel locomotive for four weeks until the power plant is ready to connect to the tracks." according to my colleague.
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As of today, a wellhead on Nigerian producer Eroton E&P's OML 18 has been spilling crude into the Niger Delta for two weeks. The government says the contractor hired to contain the leak should be on site before the end of the week. Echoes of Aiteo E&P's 5-week spill in late 2021.
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After 3.5 years covering Nigeria, which have been immensely rewarding, I am moving on to cover metals & mining in Africa -- still for Bloomberg. Still reachable at wclowes
@bloomberg
.net so get in touch about minerals, energy transition, electric batteries etc (and ofc Nigeria).
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Adversaries in a Nigerian lawsuit in which Bola
#Tinubu
, a leading presidential candidate, is accused of secretly controlling the private company that collects taxes in Lagos state, which he once ran, are discussing an out-of-court settlement
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Our story today about Indian brothers whose oil business in Nigeria is flourishing, even as the authorities back home in New Delhi say they’re fugitives that scammed public banks & owe lenders >$1.7 billion
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🧵on how the brother of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal got a helping hand-& possible route out of financial trouble-from Nigerian taxpayers, after the government paid his firm $496M to end a dispute over a deal a previous government said was tarnished by fraud
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A quick story on the pretty remarkable notion that it can be your "turn" in a country of 200+ million people.
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Driving the Lubumbashi-Kolwezi road, what never ceases to amaze (other than very high risk driving) is the incredibly visible absolute poverty of the villages that are on top of or next to the world’s richest copper-cobalt deposits, alongside one of DRC’s busiest transport routes
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#CongoHoldUp
Investigation into how Chinese mining companies routed millions of $$$ to the family & friends of Congo's then president as China's firms took control of the country's mineral riches w/
@mjkcongo
@TheSentry_Org
@PPLAAF
@Mediapart
@EICnetwork
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In 2018, Muhammadu Buhari, the then Nigeria president, boarded a gleaming new train linking the capital, Abuja, with its airport. Buhari hailed the railway as “evidence we are a government that delivers on its promises.” Five years on, the line sits idle.
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Good point. Infrastructure achievements claimed by Buhari are finishing Abuja-Kaduna & building Lagos-Ibadan. But one down for months & other not offering most of the service promised. All the while, govt pays back $1.8b ($2.3b if you add non operating Abuja light rail) in loans.
"The Abuja-Kaduna railway remains grounded, the Lagos-Kano railway was suspended for security reasons, and the Lagos-Ibadan railway is operating at just over 30% capacity over diesel price hikes."
We still have to pay up all the debt incurred. Sigh
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He's delighted to be alive. Looks like the flight was terrifying.
À l'atterrissage de l'avion le Président
@MartinFayulu
embrasse le sol sacré de la terre du Kivu et remercie le ciel.
#RDC
#Lamuka
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NNPC says Tompolo will be working with security forces to stop pipeline theft. Tompolo seems to think it's the security forces he needs to stop.
EXCLUSIVE: NNPC, Security Operatives Uncover Illegal Pipeline Used To Steal Oil For Nine Years
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@Ambrosia_Ijebu
they confirmed he did during the US investigation but said he would never being handling that amount of money on their behalf
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NEW: The largest ever leak from Africa shows how the Kabilas, who ruled Congo for >20 years, used a private bank to divert at least $138m in state funds to themselves and their friends
@BBGAfrica
@mjkcongo
@PPLAAF
@Mediapart
@EICnetwork
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Aaaaaand Vital Kamerhe will support Felix Tshisekedi in the presidential election. It's a three way contest: Shadary/FCC vs Fayulu/Bemba/Katumbi vs Tshisekedi/Kamerhe. Shadary starts with obvious advantages (& some disadvantages) but those are two serious opposition challengers.
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The surreal moment when Kabila's chosen successor, Shadary (front, grey suit), along with a crowd of ministers, presidential advisers and FCC members, nearly couldn't get into the electoral commission to register as a candidate--the lock was jammed--and nearly got squished.
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I interviewed
@nnpclimited
CEO
@Mkkyari
on his plans for the state energy company in its new form
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Kinshasa has awoken to an almighty storm straight out of the bible. Let’s hope it clears up because travellimg to polling stations in this furore will be very difficult.
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Wise words on the radio from
@thomas_m_wilson
,
@StanysBujakera
and
@jasonkstearns
on the DRC's elections
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On my way out of Congo after 4 yrs & attention now towards Nigeria but very interested to see how Tshisekedi reacts to this Glencore move. Under Kabila, it was mixed. Accommodating of decision to suspend KCC in 2015, but went to war with Glencore in 2018
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Tesla's cobalt deal with Glencore to generate millions for sanctioned Gertler via DRC royalty rights. Despite being blacklisted by Treasury since Dec. 2017, he'll benefit from a US company's payments (Tesla->Glencore->Gertler)--with
@mjkcongo
&
@wildfranz
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It's all going on in the APC. Chairman told top party committee Buhari had settled on Lawan, a northerner. Northern governors insist Buhari hasn't named a preferred candidate & say it should go south. A day out & I have no idea who's going to win.
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At 4.30am, Martin Fayulu addressed the press. He said he was "serene" but CENI's announcement was "an unacceptable electoral fraud". He urged CENCO to "reveal to the Congolese people the name of the person who truly incarnated the choice of our people".
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Switzerland investigates metal trader over Congo war allegations
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Nigeria’s secret police are investigating central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele for alleged financial crimes related to the nation’s multibillion-dollar public lending programs, according to a previously unreported affidavit it filed to a court in Abuja
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Tshisekedi’s remarks in the US on the “dictatorial system” he inherited rebuked by Kabila’s allies — who also happen to be the president’s coalition partners
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Rapid electronic transmission of polling unit results to the electoral commission's portal -- a new innovation designed to boost trust in the collation process -- is not working as planned
#NigeriaElections2023
#NigeriaDecides
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Tinubu offered his support to Buhari on the condition that he “will not abandon the Yoruba people,” he said. “This time around, it’s the turn of the Yorubas and if we’re picking the Yorubas, it’s my turn.”
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Many in the Tshisekedi & Kabila camps are hoping that Fayulu's support will dissipate but it's still out there. I was on same flight yesterday as Fayulu from Addis to Kinshasa & when he appeared briefly in economy from his seat in business the plane's passengers went pretty wild.
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@MichaelTshi
Not where I visited in Limete the morning after. Tshisekedi had won at most polling stations but not by as much as expected.
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The international community--UN, AU, EU, SADC & the talkative embassies--have told the opposition for well over two years to give govt & CENI the benefit of the doubt, to avoid the streets, to stick to formal channels. Interesting to see what they say if there's a further delay.
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The judge singles out small payments - $5k, £5k, 220k naira, $3k etc - to a government official as key to his findings of "irregularity" in how award was obtained. Nigeria alleged "bribery of epic & industrial scale" but the decision seems to have rested on something less grand.
A very good day for Nigeria's government as an English judge rules that P&ID obtained its vast arbitration award - worth >$11b - through fraud -
@upmanyutrivedi
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My interview with President Kabila covering his future political plans, EU sanctions on his chosen successor, Dan Gertler and the new mining code
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Martin Fayulu has been stuck behind this police blockade on the edge of Kinshasa since 3pm & is currently prevented from entering the city. We were allowed to cross to talk to him.
@MartinFayulu
says Kimbuta's decision is illegal and he won't accept any delay to the polls.
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Congo UDPS opposition party says Tshisekedi is "presumed" election winner
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Je me demande comment Kingakati a réagi ...
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rude, could at least get my name right
By Temitope Ajayi Williams Clowes, the Bloomberg hitman on Nigeria, feels that his only journalistic obligation is to dredge up negative stories about Nigeria and Africa. In his latest drivel on Ni…
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US State Department & DRC. On Jan. 23, the US "welcomes" the constitutional court's "certification" of Felix Tshisekedi's victory. On Feb. 22, the US sanctions bosses of electoral commission & const court for "significant corruption" of electoral process
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South Africa May Double Power Purchases From Congo Hydro Plant SA govt informed DRC just before the election that it's interested in doubling its commitment from Inga 3 -- a key step in making the scaled-up plant feasible, the developers say.
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If you’re interested in what the new DRC prime minister was doing before, here’s the alarming audit of the World Bank-financed (apparently very unsuccessful) rehabilitation of the SNCC, Congo’s state railway company, which was run by the PM 2014-2019
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Kinshasa's landlords will be horrified.
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Our story about what happened at the Congolese branch of a Cameroonian bank after the U.S Treasury sanctioned an Israeli mining magnate -- with
@wildfranz
&
@mjkcongo
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Damning, comprehensive. NYT does some great stuff in the UK, often about the impacts of the deliberate defunding of the state
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After Pompeo yesterday, there's a real security focus for President Tshisekedi during the next two days of his visit to the US. Today he's scheduled to meet Central Intelligence Agency Director Gina Haspel and tomorrow White House National Security Adviser John Bolton.
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The Trinity Spirit, an oil production and storage ship that blew up off the coast of Nigeria last week, has left a slick in the ocean stretching for miles, according to an image from the European Space Agency processed by Kayrros SA --
@pburkhardt
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More China, Congo & Kabila: A dive into the road that exports the country's copper & cobalt. Audits allege that the toll collectors, inc. one founded by the ex-president's family, can't account for $238 million -- w/
@markets
@mjkcongo
#CongoHoldUp
@PPLAAF
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Congo Approves Oil Deal That May Encroach on World Heritage Site Kabila validated the deal, first signed 11 years ago, in December. One block is inside Salonga National Park where E+P is forbidden but last govt was studying declassifying parts (& Virunga)
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Our story today is about Indian brothers whose oil business in Nigeria is flourishing, even as the authorities back home in New Delhi say they're fugitives that scammed public banks & owe lenders > $1.7 billion
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Watching state tv, RTNC, amid speculation presidential results may come overnight. It’s a “special edition” called “The extension of sanctions against Ramazani: Is the EU looking for chaos in the DRC?” The programme featured a five minute denouncement of CENCO.
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Unnamed MONUSCO official said "we are artificially maintaining the life of a regime that would by now be kaput" & current mandate is "impossible".
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My favourite Twitter. Congolese public figures wishing themselves a happy birthday.
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Congo's estimated 2018 copper production up 13% to 1.23 million tons and cobalt output up 44% to 106,000 tons. Key to understanding recent behaviour of cobalt price.
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Congo Court Confirms Tshisekedi As Next President
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SADC Urges Congo Presidential Vote Recount
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International -- often western -- service companies, consultants and lawyers are all over this, lubricating & enabling the whole thing. As always, it's never just about a powerful individual in an African country exploiting their influence.
#Angola
:
@PPLAAF
and
@ICIJorg
behind the
#LuandaLeaks
that reveal the inside story of how hundreds of millions of dollars were channeled through an important galaxy of companies and subsidiaries for the benefit of
#IsabelDosSantos
and her family.
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Big deal. Bemba is declared ineligible for presidential election by CENI (joining Katumbi) and has until 4 September to appeal--with the final decision on 19th. Tshisekedi and Kamerhe left as major opposition contenders. Also excluded are former PMs Gizenga, Muzito and Badibanga.
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I spoke to a FCC heavyweight this week who thinks it very improbable the coalition will survive as a political organization without the presidency to hold it together. "They are goats and lions ... and cows and leopards ... and elephants."
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A mining company in the Democratic Republic of Congo backed by commodity trader Trafigura has put itself up for sale after a slump in the cobalt price left it struggling to finish key projects scoop w/
@mjkcongo
@jfarchy
@megacontango
@mattstephenhill
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Voila! The government decree designating Congolese cobalt, coltan and germanium as "strategic minerals" and therefore subject to a 10 percent royalty. It took them longer than expected to pull the trigger but it's done.
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US says Tshisekedi is Congo’s “first truly democratically elected president”. That’s a bit sassy towards Tshisekedi’s predecessor & coalition partner. Also ... is the US saying Kabila didn’t really win in 2006?
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SKILLZ.
Garder le contrôle du ballon requiert discipline, concentration et technique.
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Congo Court Says State-Owned Miner Gecamines Owes Billionaire $168 Million Gertler vs Gecamines’ bosses? A surprising dispute? Whats behind it? What’s more, the deal seems to have attracted the attention of the most senior judicial authorities in the land.
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US State Dept's Africa chief: The election was the "best" Congo has had & the USA looks forward to working with Tshisekedi, yet sanctioning those who managed the election is "very coherent" & more may be targeted in the "near future" 🤔
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Congo Mines Minister says cobalt will be designated "strategic" in the "coming days", meaning a 10% royalty rate will be applied to the mineral. The decree won't be popular with Glencore, China Moly and other producers. Lithium and germanium also likely.
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This whole performative business where previously unheard of groups appear to buy presidential nomination forms for >$200k, supposedly without the authorization of the supposed candidate, and sometimes to their alleged irritation, is quite odd, no?
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After Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler was put on a U.S. sanctions list, accounts at a small bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo began to swell. The influx transformed the bank, but would blow up the lives of two employees who blew the whistle.
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A transfer of lucrative cobalt and copper assets by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state mining company enabled a little-known investor to make $40 million within weeks My latest with
@mjkcongo
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A third-party candidate is the top choice to become the next president of Africa’s most populous country, according to a new opinion poll conducted for
@BloombergAfrica
by
@premisedata
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Congo government looking daft. "We really want to arrest him but he can't enter the country."
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Investment interest is up in Congo under Tshisekedi but huge challenges remain
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Standoff on edge of Kinshasa between young fayulu suppprters and heavily armed police. First teargas just fired. The candidate's convoy is apparently blocked on the other side. Very tense.
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A new first: had to interrupt a local ANR chief (Congo's intelligence agency) during his Sunday church service to get his signature authorising me to visit a power plant. That's the sixth signature from three government agencies this trip has required.
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Congolese cartoonist Kash has gone big on Kabila's meeting with the mining bosses this week. Flattering to neither party.
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Today's launch of a 35-member association of Chinese mining companies active in Congo, an initiative of the Chinese ambassador himself with full support of DRC mining minister. Western miners (except Glencore) increasingly irrelevant in Katanga? Obvious impact on EV future.
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A big twist from the African Union, which calls for confirmation of DRC election results to be suspended due to doubts about their veracity. All the more surprising after SADC rowback earlier in the day.
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Big job for UDPS's Fabien Mutomb as new boss of state railway company. Recent audit of World Bank's $400m rehab project said SNCC is "bankrupt", "even further away" from viability & had poor management. Overall: "highly unsatisfactory". DRC's new PM was SNCC's CEO at this time.
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This is where govt spokesman Lambert Mende this morning, or this afternoon, will, or will not, reveal the name of the FCC candidate, which will not, or will, be Joseph Kabila. Mende left to meet the president about an hour ago.
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Tshisekedi’s cortège just brought the Boulevard du 30 Juin to a halt as he returned from Kigali: 10 police motorbikes + 18 4x4s. Anecdotal obviously but I don’t remember Kabila’s ever being as big.
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