The Quiet Move That Could Reshape Congo's Future!

[00:00:00]Congo controls arguably one of the most important minerals the world needs and that's cobalt. It's used in batteries, electric cars, phones, and much more.

[00:00:09]The DRC or the Democratic Republic of Congo is not some supplier. It's one of the world's most dominant producers of cobalt, and they're at the center of a very important supply chain.

[00:00:20]Interestingly enough, Congo seems to be tightening [clears throat] their control over the resource, something that's obviously needed if the country is ever going to be strong in the future. The Democratic Republic of Congo is withdrawing unused cobalt export quotas and reassigning them to a state controlled entity. In other words, if mining companies were given the right to export a certain amount of cobalt [music] but did not use that right by the deadline, Congo is then taking that unused quota back and placing it under state control. Congo ostensibly is asking one of the most important questions in modern African politics. If the world needs what's under African soil, why should Africans continue [music] receiving the smallest portion of the value? Undoubtedly, this isn't the first time the people of Congo thought of this. For what feels like centuries, Central Africa has been treated as a place where wealth is extracted, shipped away, [music] processed somewhere else, sold somewhere else, and ultimately turned into power somewhere else. Rubber, copper, uranium, diamonds, cobalt, the resource changes, yet the pattern remains the same. Africa supplies the raw material. someone else controls the price, the processing, and more importantly, the narrative. That's why this Congo news touches a nerve because on the surface level, Congo seems to be trying to take back control, and that can have a profound impact on not just Congo, but the African continent as a whole.

[00:01:49][music] What's going on African world? It's home team here and I'm back at it with another video of African history, culture, and worldview. I want to thank all of you guys for supporting the successful Kickstarter campaign to create the African Kings book. I'm happy to say that you guys made this happen and the book is now available for purchase. This book is a great resource for your kids, a gift for friends and family, and it's also something educators and [music] parents can use as a learning tool. If you'd like to support the work we're doing here, you can pick up a copy and support us on [music] Patreon. Links to Patreon and the African Kings book are in the description box below. Congo's goal is to manage supply, support prices, and push the country toward more local processing instead of simply letting raw cobalt flood the world market. It's a pro-Affrican approach, one could say.

[00:02:50]Congo doesn't want to be a warehouse for the world. They want more leverage and they want the value to remain in Congo.

[00:02:58]If Congo can use cobalt to force better terms, this could become a model for other African countries. The old bread basket model is being challenged to a degree. They don't want to simply watch foreign industries become rich from resources taken from their soil. Now, admittedly, that's the most optimistic perspective on Congo's motive. there was a more animical perspective once we consider all the moving parts. My honest take is this. Africans across the continent aren't blind, deaf, and dumb to the reality of their situation. For example, African empires were fully aware that their power was largely contingent on their control of foreign and domestic resources. So, it leads me to believe that there's a lot more moving parts to this. As I mentioned before, let's speak on Central African history for a moment. When we talk about the Kingdom of Congo and say the Luba Kingdom, we're talking about organized Central African states that understood power, territory, [music] wealth, and leverage. The Congo Empire, also known as a Kingdom of Congo, was located in West Central Africa and a region that included parts of Angola, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gabon. It was near important river systems, coastal access points, and trade routes that connected the interior to the larger world. The Luba Kingdom, on the other hand, was farther inland in the southeastern region of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was a region of inland trade, mineral wealth, political memory, sacred kingship, and networks that linked communities through tribute, exchange, and authority. Congo and Luba understood something very clearly. Whoever controls resources controls the terms of power. This idea isn't new or foreign to them. So when the kings of Congo controlled access to goods, they weren't simply collecting nicel lookinging things. They were controlling the flow of wealth. They were regulating exchange. They were strengthening royal authority. And they were building diplomatic leverage. This is why Congo could deal with foreign powers from a position of intelligence and strategy. They understood that resources created relationships and relationships created influence. The same logic applies to the Kingdom of Luba. So the real question is not whether Africans knew their resources were important. It's what happens when the scale of outside pressure, foreign capital, military interests, corporate power, and internal political weaknesses becomes larger than the old systems of power. Because Congo and Luba show us that central Africans had long traditions of resource management, political organization, [music] and economic strategy. They weren't passive observers of wealth. They were active managers of it. [music] And that makes the modern Congo situation a bit confusing on the surface level given that Congo leadership ostensibly are aware of this history. The issue was never that the land suddenly became valuable [music] when outsiders discovered it. This was always known.

[00:06:06]The difference is that today many of the resources that once helped build African power are now tied into global systems that often weaken African control. So when we talk about Congo today, we aren't just talking about minerals in the ground. We're talking about a long historical struggle over who gets to define value, who gets to control value, and who gets to benefit from that value.

[00:06:30]The question remains, who is Congo taking control from? Is Congo truly building African sovereignty, or are they just moving from one master to another? For years, [music] China has had enormous influence over Congo's mining sector and cobalt supply chain.

[00:06:48]Chinese companies and buyers have been [music] deeply tied to Congolese cobalt.

[00:06:53]But now, as Congo tightens cobalt exports, Western governments and companies [music] are also moving aggressively to secure access to these minerals. The US government describes the libido corridor as part of a strategy [music] to strengthen critical mineral supply chains and reduce dependence on China.

[00:07:10]>> [music] >> This is not just Congo versus foreign exploitation. It's China versus the West. And Congo is sitting right in the middle of it. Now, this does give Congo some power, but it also makes them vulnerable. Because if Congo only shifts from Chinese-controlled supply [music] chains to western controlled supply chains while the deeper structure stays the same, then the old [music] pattern continues. It could become yet another chapter in the same story. African resources, foreign competition, local suffering. [music] So, in the end, this Congo story is something we should be patient with. It could be a step toward sovereignty, or it could be another negotiation inside a system [music] that was never designed for Congo to win. But what we do [music] know is that Congo isn't poor because it lacks wealth. Congo is challenged because the world has learned how to turn [music] Congalles wealth into everyone else's power. And if that pattern is ever going to [music] change, control over the resources cannot be the final goal. The real victory is when [music] control turns into processing, industry, infrastructure, stability, and a better life for the Congolese people themselves. Well, I'm all out, guys. If you like these videos and want to help in this continued production, support the home team on patreon.com. [music] The link is in the description box below. Know thyself. Remember your ancestors. Peace.

[00:08:36]>> [music]