{"id":2758,"date":"2022-03-22T12:29:43","date_gmt":"2022-03-22T10:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org\/news\/?p=2758"},"modified":"2022-03-22T12:29:43","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T10:29:43","slug":"rwanda-eyes-the-spoils-of-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/rwanda-eyes-the-spoils-of-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda eyes the spoils of war"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: Presidency of Rwanda on Twitter \/ @UrugwiroVillage<\/p><\/div>\n

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When Rwanda sent its army to help Mozambique battle the insurgency in the north, many wondered what it might be getting in return for its largesse<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Luis Nhachote in Maputo<\/strong><\/p>\n

NDP, a major civil engineering group in Rwanda owned by the ruling party of President Paul Kagame, is reportedly\u00a0in the running to win a big contract on Mozambique\u2019s huge liquefied natural gas project in the country\u2019s troubled north. The move has raised questions over what Rwanda, or its politicians, are getting in return for providing military assistance in Mozambique\u2019s insurgency-hit north.<\/p>\n

Paris-based news site Africa Intelligence reported at the end of February that NPD had joined Italian, South African, and Portuguese contractors in bidding for the contract on the TotalEnergies-led project \u2013 added to the short-list at the last minute, the report said. The work would involve clearing<\/p>\n

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the site and doing structural work at the project. TotalEnergies did not respond when asked for comment by the The Continent.<\/p>\n

In July last year, Rwanda deployed to Mozambique\u2019s north-eastern province of Cabo Delgado a 1,000-strong military and police force, which has since doubled in size. In the face of much speculation that the deployment was being paid for by France or French oil major TotalEnergies, which operates the gas project there, President Kagame said in an interview with state broadcaster RBA that \u201cno one is sponsoring\u201d the military support in Mozambique.<\/p>\n

Maputo has since appealed to the European Union for financial support for the continuing deployment, which has been broadly successful in returning Palma and Moci\u0301mboa da Praia, the two key districts for the gas project, to government control.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re using our means,\u201d Kagame said in September. \u201cWe have decent means, which we are also ready to share with friends and brothers and sisters. So there is no one who sponsored us for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rwanda\u2019s High Commission in Mozambique told The Continent: \u201cThe first step of help is military. Second is development for the Cabo Delgado province, with high interest from Rwandan companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRwanda has a track record of benefiting economically from its military interventions,\u201d journalist Michela Wrong told Zitamar. At least part of the answer now seems apparent. NPD is a subsidiary of Crystal Ventures (CV) \u2013 which, according to Dr Phil Clark of the School of African and Oriental Studies in London, is the investment arm of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, Kagame\u2019s ruling party.<\/p>\n

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Clark said there was \u201can ever- revolving door between senior Rwandan government positions and CV management … it is entirely plausible that CV has tendered for a job on the back of the RDF\u2019s involvement in Mozambique\u201d.<\/p>\n

Edson Cortez, director of the Mozambique\u2019s Centre for Public Integrity, said the entry of NDP was a sign that \u201cthere are no free lunches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is understandable that the government of Rwanda had some kind of gains from the investments made in the security of Cabo Delgado,\u201d he told The Continent \u2013 \u201cand it may be that the form of payment arranged was this\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe regret,\u201d Cortez added, \u201cthat local content is again being relegated to the background, because the work that this company will carry out could be carried out by Mozambican companies that will pay taxes in Mozambique, and pay salaries to Mozambicans.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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According to Fidel Terrenciano, an academic and dean of the Arco Iris University based in Pemba, Cabo Delgado, the entry of the NDP company in the gas business in Palma was another step in the increasing rapprochement between Mozambique and Rwanda \u2013 but also a sign of the close relationship between Rwanda and TotalEnergies.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a reliability point of view, Total trusts Rwanda more, to the detriment of face-to-face negotiations with the Nyusi government,\u201d he said. \u201cMore business will be managed by Rwandan companies in the coming years. Let\u2019s keep our eyes open.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clark agrees. \u201cWith close links between Crystal Ventures and the Rwandan military, as well as the deepening economic and military ties between Rwanda and Mozambique over the last three or four years, it makes sense that CV would see vast opportunities in Mozambique,\u201d he said. \u25a0<\/p>\n

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Analysis<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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How Rwanda is exporting its military- industrial complex<\/h2>\n

War is expensive. Someone has to pay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When Rwandan President Paul Kagame visited his troops in Mozambique last year, he admitted that the intervention had been \u201ccostly\u201d. Butdespite much speculation to the contrary, he insisted that Rwanda was carrying those costs itself \u2013 a remarkable feat for a nation which remains among the 25 poorest countries in the world.<\/p>\n

But now things are starting to add up: a Rwandan company with close links to the ruling party is in the running for a slice of Mozambique\u2019s $60-billion gas bonanza, after being added to the bidding list at the very last minute.<\/p>\n

A similar dynamic is at play in the Central African Republic, where Rwanda maintains two separate troop deployments: 2,189 security personnel are there under the auspices of the United Nations peacekeeping mission, while another battalion \u2013 of undeclared size \u2013 has been deployed as part of a bilateral agreement with the Central African government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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According to a recent report in The East\u00a0African, Rwandan soldiers played a crucial role in protecting Bangui, the capital, from a rebel advance. And they provide security for the country\u2019s president.<\/p>\n

In return, Crystal Ventures \u2013 the same company that is bidding in Mozambique \u2013 has signed a deal to use 70,500 hectares of fertile land. Crystal Ventures is the business arm of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front.<\/p>\n

But it is in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo that Rwanda\u2019s links between conflict and profit are most obvious \u2013 and most disturbing. In a report last year, the United Nations accused Rwanda of smuggling minerals such as gold and coltan out of the conflict-ridden eastern DRC, and thenexporting them from Rwanda. If true, this would violate international regulations governing \u201cblood minerals\u201d. Coltan is a critical ingredient in cellphone batteries.<\/p>\n

Rwanda\u2019s links between conflict and profit are most obvious in the DRC<\/h1>\n

One American mining group, which pulled out of Rwanda over these concerns, estimated that 90% of all of Rwanda\u2019s coltan exports actually originates in the DRC.<\/p>\n

The Rwandan government dismissed these allegations as \u201cbaseless and scurrilous\u201d \u2013 even as it reported record gold and coltan exports in 2021. \u25a0<\/p>\n

This article was original publication at The Continent\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Rwanda sent its army to help Mozambique battle the insurgency in the north, many wondered what it might be getting in return for its largesse Luis Nhachote in Maputo NDP, a major civil engineering group in Rwanda owned by the ruling party of President Paul Kagame, is reportedly\u00a0in the running to win a big […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[284],"tags":[266],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510.jpeg",825,510,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510.jpeg",825,510,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510.jpeg",825,510,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510-250x155.jpeg",150,93,true],"medium":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510-400x247.jpeg",300,185,true],"large":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510-650x402.jpeg",650,402,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510.jpeg",825,510,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510.jpeg",825,510,false],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510.jpeg",18,12,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510-150x93.jpeg",150,93,true],"retina2x":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510-800x495.jpeg",800,495,true],"retina3x":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510.jpeg",825,510,false],"retina4x":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510.jpeg",825,510,false],"retina5x":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510.jpeg",825,510,false],"retina6x":["https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/knyusi.tt_-825x510.jpeg",825,510,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Reda\u00e7\u00e3o CJIMOZ","author_link":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/author\/hcuambe\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Analise<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"When Rwanda sent its army to help Mozambique battle the insurgency in the north, many wondered what it might be getting in return for its largesse Luis Nhachote in Maputo NDP, a major civil engineering group in Rwanda owned by the ruling party of President Paul Kagame, is reportedly\u00a0in the running to win a big…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2758"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2758"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2760,"href":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2758\/revisions\/2760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjimoz.org.mz\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}