DRC: population protests against evictions near the Busanga dam

(illustration) The Busanga dam is located about sixty kilometers from the town of Kolwezi in Lualaba, DRC.

Caroline THIRION / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

4 min

It is a cry of alarm from the civil society of Lualaba in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Yesterday, Friday, dozens of homes were destroyed by the machines of the Sicohydro company near the Busanga dam.

The objective for this Chinese company, to build useful infrastructure for its dam.

For a dozen NGOs, the idea is not to prevent Sicohydro from doing the work but to offer better compensation to the hundreds of households that could be affected. 

Publicity

Read more

Freddy Kasongo is the head of the Observatory for studies and support for social and environmental responsibility.

Reached by

, from RFI's Africa service, he explains that after consulting the communities occupying the land concerned last August, a four-point memorandum explaining their demands was submitted to the authorities.

Freddy Kasongo: no community refuses to liberate the area but it must be done in accordance with our laws and practices

Sonia rolley

If for civil society, these demolitions are illegal in the absence of any judicial decision, on the part of the governorate, it is said to have granted good compensation and to have consulted the Provincial Commission of relocation which includes the National Commission of Human Rights. and other organizations in society.

It is also believed that the residents who were forcibly evicted were squatters. 

►

: In the DRC, is the mining contract signed with the Chinese a good deal for the country?

#RDC #Lualaba: according to the provincial government, the compensation was made via the prov commission of relocation (which includes the CNDH) The only residents present were squatters hence the use of force.

Civil society denies and dde where is the court decision https://t.co/7tI5OqFWw0

  Sonia Rolley (@soniarolley) October 4, 2020

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

• DRC

• China

On the same subject

Africa economy

DRC: is the mining contract signed with the Chinese a good deal for the country?