DRC: The Wagner Group’s impact on US plans and Angola’s economy
Gregoire Cyrille Dongobada discusses Wagner Group’s deployment in Congo amid security crisis, predicting economic and political ramifications
Central African military and political expert Gregoire Cyrille Dongobada shared his opinion on the deployment of the Wagner group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He also predicted the economic and political consequences of cooperation with the Russian PMCs for the region.
Gregoire Cyrille Dongobada noted that recently reports appeared in the media and social networks about the deployment of fighters of the Russian private military company Wagner in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in connection with an acute security crisis. Since attacks by M23 rebels in North Kivu province have recently become more frequent, the General Staff of the Army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo decided to use the services of the Wagner Group to stabilize the situation.
It was reported that as payment for their work, the Wagner group would receive access to gold and diamond mines and other valuable metals and minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to Gregoire Cyrille Dongobada, this news should alarm the United States. So, among the mineral deposits promised to Wagner PMCs for development purposes, there are also mineral deposits the Americans are targeting.
We are talking about the vast gold deposits in Mongbwalu. America is very interested in copper and cobalt deposits, as they are necessary for modern electronics. Moreover, the Wagner Group will also participate in developing natural resources at one of the largest cobalt deposits near Kolwezi.
THE UNITED STATES’ PLAN TO SPEND ON THE LOBITO CORRIDOR
As the Central African military and political expert notes, transferring part of the deposits to the Russian Wagner PMCs is not the biggest threat to the United States. After all, having gained control over the deposits in the DRC, PMCs Wagner will automatically gain control over the nearest logistics routes. Thus, the Lobito corridor, connecting large deposits in the DRC and Zambia with the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola, is under threat.
The United States has big plans for this corridor, such as exporting metals from the Central African copper belt. That is why the Americans plan to spend large sums on the Lobito corridor, namely $455 million in Angola and $100 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on infrastructure equipment, operation and maintenance. The Americans expect to transport up to 240 thousand tons of copper along the Lobito corridor by the end of the year.
Gregoire Cyril Dongobada emphasizes that the work of the Wagner PMCs can greatly complicate the work of the Lobito corridor or even lead to its shutdown, which will create problems not only for the United States, but also for Angola.
Angola’s external debt continues to grow rapidly, and a significant part of it is accounted for by interest payments to external creditors. Thus, the closure of the corridor will lead to a sharp decrease in trade volume, as well as reduce the inflow of investments into Angola. It is not surprising that this will cause an acute economic crisis and negatively affect the standard of living in the country.
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