Kinshasa, 28 October 2019 Greenpeace Africa welcomes a new report from Resource Matters and Congo Research Group confirming suspicions that the $14 billion Inga III hydroelectric project in the Democratic Republic of Congo may not benefit the Congolese population at all.

The report echoes concerns expressed by Congolese civil society for years. In September 2018 forty local NGOs led by Association africaine de Défense de Droits de l’Homme (ASADHO) and Coalition des organisations de la société civile pour le suivi des réformes et de l’Action Publique (CORAP) denounced the “total absence of transparency” of a project that would produce electricity mainly for South Africa and the benefit of the DRC mining industry.

An August 2018 petition from local people whose concerns have been met with silence by DRC authorities since 2014 denounced the complete absence of Free prior informed consent – and of even the most basic consultation.

“It is unacceptable to break up an ecosystem like that of the Congo River just for exports, miners, and local elites. Dear politicians: let’s keep Congo’s resources for the Congolese. Congo’s natural resources belong to its people – not multinationals,” said Dr. Raoul Monsembula, Central Africa Regional Coordinator for Greenpeace Africa.

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