Another major problem in the DRC is that transnational corporations are financing rebel groups and government militias to monopolize coltan, which is creating a constant power struggle and conflict over the control of these mines (Carpenter 2012:9). The conflict that occurred in Kilwa with the Canadian mining corporation Anvil and the Congolese troops is a perfect example of a transnational corporation supporting Congolese troops in order to protect a valuable mining facility.
The widespread demand for coltan to make technological devices is causing many corporations to finance rebel groups to extract and ensure coltan is able to be delivered to these corporations. The scholarly authors Mullins and Rothe claim that although there are ethical, political, and ideological motivations that drive the surrounding violence in the DRC, the main drive that fuels the conflict is the drive of transnational corporations to control the mineral fields (ibid 9).
The transnational corporation’s exploitation of the DRC’s resources is the main factor in the huge conflict because they have economic interests in continuing the civil war in the DRC and fuel the fighting so they can maintain control over the extraction of coltan in the DRC (ibid 9). The demand for coltan by transnational corporations that they use in phones, computers, and medical technology is funding the rebels and civil war that is killing millions of people.
The act of what transnational corporations are doing in the DRC by supporting rebel groups can be classified as the ‘resource curse’ because transnational corporations are gaining all the profit from the extraction of coltan whereas the DRC people are not benefiting from their own resources and are facing large scale poverty, displacement, and casualties. Although many advocates of foreign mining argue that it creates local employment, provides economic opportunities, and that mining companies often invest considerable resources in improving local health and education services. (Littlewood 2014: 40).
This is not the case for the DRC because the results of the ‘resource curse’ in the DRC have led to a catastrophe where; 5. 4 million people have died in the conflict from 1996 to 2010 and 45% of these deaths have been children, an additional 45 000 people still die each month, and 1 million people have been displaced from their homes (Carpenter 2012: 11). Rebel soldiers are using rape as a tactic on women and children in order to terrorize communities hoping that these people will leave the land so that it will be able to be freely mined, as a result HIV and rape is at a high in the DRC (ibid 12).
The DRC’s wealth of resources is flowing into transnational corporation’s pockets while 60 million Congolese are bearing the atrocities of the civil war (ibid 12). As a direct result of the ‘resource curse’ the DRC stands out as 154 out of 174 with regards to per capita annual income and its GDP declined 5. 8% per year from 1997 to 2000, and in some cases, miners in the DRC mines are subjected to forced labour where they are not compensated at all (ibid 12).
Thousands of children are being forced to join these rebel groups, work in the harsh conditions of mines, and as a result seventy percent of children in the DRC don’t go to school (ibid 12). All of the atrocities that the DRC is facing is a direct result of the ‘resource curse’ because transnational corporations are fueling rebel groups inside of the DRC in order to allow for easy access of the extraction of coltan; this is resulting in transnational corporations gaining profit whereas the DRC is ravaged by civil war and poverty.
The source of conflict that the DRC is experiencing is coming from transnational companies such as Anvil. The mining sector in the Congo is creating civil wars between rebel groups because of the need for the valuable mineral coltan, which is leading to poverty, death, and rape. Anvil and many transnational corporations need to face responsibility for the acts they have committed in the town of Kilwa. Companies that are mining for coltan need corporate social responsibility to ensure that these conflicts will not continue to ravage on in the DRC.
Heledd Jenkins defines Corporate social responsibility (CSR) as social progress that recognizes the needs of everyone; effective protection of the environment; prudent use of natural resources; and maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth (Jenkins 2006: 271). If transnational corporations took these steps and insured their corporate social responsibility to not harm the DRC then the DRC would improve and not have low economic development and high poverty rates.
If transnational mining companies like Anvil took initiative in corporate social responsibility, then they could make progress though dimensions of sustainable development: economic development- investment by generating revenues to ensure the future development and long-term livelihood of the communities (ibid 271). With economic growth and jobs more infrastructure can be built like schools to educate children in the DRC and more hospitals to be built that will help people that are injured in armed conflicts.
Also the environmental impact of natural resource exploitation should be minimized so that lands can be cultivated for more usage and such that the DRC is benefiting from their own resources not only transnational corporations (ibid 272). With these changes to coltan mining in the DRC, the DRC can hope to obtain a future where war and poverty does not ravage the country. Another accountability issue is the filtering down of wealth to the Congolese people because the DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world with little income per capita and a low GDP.
If the wealth filtered down the income per capita would increase and therefore the poverty levels would subside quite substantially. If the transnational corporations allowed the DRC to make profit from coltan mining instead of being greedy then money would be able to boost their GDP where they would have more money for infrastructure purposes and they would also have more money for spending. Also as consumers we need to be wary about the products we use and buy like the cell phone technology because it is fueling the ongoing conflict by creating demand for coltan.
When consumers buy products that contain coltan in them, they are ultimately fueling the raging conflict in the DRC. Based on the criteria presented by Richard Auty on the ‘resource curse’, Udaya Wagle’s definition of poverty, and the American Economic Development Council definition of economic development it can be concluded that the Democratic Republic of Congo falls under the ‘resource curse’. The DRC is experiencing an increased amount of poverty and low economic development from the exploitation of resources by transnational corporations.
The DRC has a vast amount of natural resources, but they are not benefiting from these resources because transnational corporations are exploiting resources like coltan and the DRC is not gaining any profit which is leading to low levels of GDP and income per capita. Also transnational corporations are fueling the conflict by arming rebel groups and Congolese military troops in order to protect and extract coltan from mining sites.
The arming of rebel soldiers has led to violence and conflict because the rebels are fighting over coltan so they will receive support from transnational corporations. The fight over the extraction of coltan has caused millions of deaths, rapes, and displacement of people in the DRC which is an unsafe environment for many innocent civilians. Corporations need to take corporate social responsibility in order to fix the problem in the DRC or else millions will continue to be impoverished and face human rights abuse.
