Diplomatic World nummer 54

56
Congolese and foreigners. The Congo has the potential to
make this dream come true, because it is one of the richest
countries in the world. There is so much wealth in the
Congolese ground of which we are not taking advantage.
The Congo has 1100 raw materials and precious metals,
worth approximately 38.000 bn dollars. Today, we barely
use 30 of these 1100 precious metals and raw materials.
There is a lot of materials we could use to improve the
living standards of the people living in the Congo today.
The Congo has 125 million hectares of arable land, which is
good for agriculture. Today, we barely use 5% of this land, so
there is a huge potential to further develop our agriculture
and by doing so, feed everyone in the country, in the rest of
Africa and even export the food. The Congo has a potential
of 135 million hectares of forests. The trees in our forests
have a tremendous impact on the environment in Congo,
and in the rest of the world. We barely use 1% of our forest
land. We have hydroelectric potential, 100.000 megawatt of
hydroelectric power. Today, we barely use 1700 megawatt
and we don’t even have electricity in most of the country.
If we would, for example, exploit the Grand Inga Dam, we
would have enough electricity for the whole of the Congo
and Africa, and we could even export electricity to Western
Europe. The Congo has a potential water reserve of 53% with
good water, which is a 15% share of the water in the world.
My dream is to transform all those natural resources into
wealth, which can benefit the people of the Congo along
with the rest of humanity. It is feasible, if we have peace,
stability and the right men in the right place. It is feasible
if we work out a system with good governors and we start
investing heavily in our human capital, meaning giving
the people a proper education, maintaining their health
and feeding them properly. Then, we must develop good
relations not only with our fellow African countries, but
also with the rest of the world.
You have the potential to be the heart and
the lungs of Africa.
We don’t only have the potential to be the heart of Africa,
we are the heart of Africa. The Congo lies in the centre of
Africa, with an equal distance to North and South. If we
can jump start the economy of the Congo, the rest of Africa
will be jump started. We have the means to do that by
creating a vibrant economy in the centre of Africa.
One thing I want people to really understand about the
implementation of the Noël Tshiani’s Marshall Plan for the
Congo is that we are not only trying to solve the problem
of the Congo. Of course, the wellbeing of the Congo and
the Congolese is my primary responsibility, but we can’t do
this alone. Every opportunity we create for the Congolese
people, is an opportunity for the rest of the world.
For example, we want to develop a road network, a highway
network and a railroad network to link all the provinces in
the country together. We don’t have the technology to do
all of those things by ourselves. We will have to rely on our
relations with private companies in Belgium, in France and
in the United States. By trying to solve the problems of the
Congo, we are at the same time solving part of the problems
in the rest of the world.
What will you do to solve that problem? If we try to
implement this programme in the Congo, we will also call
upon the Belgian government and the Belgian private sector
to give us some workforces. By doing so, we are solving the
unemployment problem both in the Congo and in Belgium.
Same goes for France and for the United States. So, there is
a way of working on the development from which everyone
benefits.
At an international level, which continents are
most interested in collaborating? Do you have
preferences in this regard or would you say that
some partners are more committed than others?
I have found that there is a great interest in collaborating
with the Congo. The interest comes primarily from the
historically traditional bilateral partners, like Belgium,
France, the U.S. and Canada. But I found that there is also
interest coming from new partners, like Asian countries
such as China, Japan and South Korea. Also from other
African countries and Latin American countries. In my
opinion, the world has become a global village where
people are interconnected. When choosing who to
collaborate with, we are of course drawn to work with our
historically traditional partners. At the same time, I will
stress that there is a place for everyone, for Belgian, French,
American, Canadian and Asian companies. We have to
make sure that we don’t only do the right thing for the
Congolese people, but also treat our partners with dignity
and work transparently, so we can create an equal balance.
Today, we have to fight a lot of wars. Sometimes,
they are real wars. At the moment, the situation
within and around the Congo’s borders is very
tense.