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The commercial motivations behind SANDF deployment to the DRC . PART 1
The M23 rebels supported by Rwanda have been capturing the cobalt rich Rubaya Mines in North Kivu. The orginal mining licence to the area was granted to Edouard Mwangachuchu, a Tutsi man from Rwanda,aligned to Kagame, and posing as a DRC national which led to the military court (late 2023) charging him for treason including ownership of war weapons, and ammunition. Rwanda is the biggest exporter of cobalt and coltan in the world and those minerals are from the DRC,the best grade and major quantities are coming from Rubaya ,particularly from the series of coltan mines.
The SANDF deployment has been to the Masisi area north of Kivu where Rubaya Mines is located , a clear instruction being to recapture the area from M23 rebels. This has led to a direct confrontation between SANDF and M23 rebels leading to the former suffering casualties. The number could be higher than the reported one. BUT what exactly is South Africa's interest in the DRC?
The truth is that the SANDF deployment is about strategic recapture of DRC territory for both political and commercial interests. For DRC president it is must protecting DRC territory and preventing Rwanda from exploiting it and eventually annexing it. For South Africa, the primary interest is the same cobalt mining that Rwanda is exploiting . DRC President Felix Tshisekedi , has given South Africa an offer it can not resist, and that is access to the Rubaya Mines. The relationship between Ramaphosa and Tshisekedi has been characterised by all manners of cooperation on business and military pacts. Ramaphosa has made multiple trips to the DRC and so has Tshisekedi to SA.
But who are the main players from South Africa side.
1. Bridgette Radebe, sister to Patrice Motsepe and wife to Jeff Radebe. Cyril Ramaphosa's wife is also Patrice Motsepe's sibling. Bridgette is the President of the South African Mining Development Association which is reported to be targeting Rubaya Mines was one of the keynote speakers at the DRC Mining Week in 2023. She also owns Mmakau Mining. Bridgette's brother Patrice Motsepe owns Africa Rainbow Minerals. As CAF President, Patrice recently said he would be excited for DRC to host one of the upcoming AFCON competitions, this after some senior DRC government officials complained about DRC fans wielding anti war protest banners being censored.
2. Cyril Ramaphosa recently appointed Bridgette Radebe's husband Jeff Radebe as his Special Envoy to the Great Lakes. It is Jeff Radebe who accompanied Cyril Ramaphosa to the recent inauguration of Felix Tshisekedi as DRC President for a 2nd term.
3. The DRC has made South Africa as its preferential "contractor" for the building of a lithium battery manufacturing facility in the the DRC. Felix Tshisekedi has also delayed the taking off of Great Inga Dam project which has Fortesque Metals owned by Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest as the main investor. The tactic pulled by Tshisekedi is that he wants African companies to also have a stake, and by that he is referring to South African companies. Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund could be one the companies eyeing the project based on its proximity to Ramaphosa.
The SANDF that has been deployed to DRC for commercial interests is the same SANDF that was in 2023 deemed to be cash strapped with 85% of its equipment down due to lack of funds for maintenance amongst other things. This deployment is costing the country billions but the ROI (only investment is influence)for the commercial actors is going to be in trillions.
Note: South Africa refers to European owned companies and their black fronts.
When that DJ Durban Gogo many years ago made a series of tweets about her father Jeff Radebe being the real ganster she was not joking.
The DA, just like the ANC is a political party that only caters for a specific group of individuals, rather than the entire collective. A soulless political party driven by greed & capital.
The slogan 2024 is our 1994 means exactly that, after 1994 the minority got even wealthier than ever, while the majority fell deeper into poverty. Creating the most unequal condition in the world.
If we don’t treat 2024 like 1994, and undo mistakes made then, we should forget about any majority prosperity in South Africa.
What the minority is planning on doing after 2024, won’t be undone by the 2028 national elections, it will be too late.