Yearbook 2011
Congo. A law to provide legal protection to indigenous peoples, including pygmies, came into force in February after being approved by Parliament’s two chambers at the end of 2010. According to Countryaah official site, the law, which took shape during seven years of debate, is the first in Africa to explicitly provide marginalized minority groups have the same right as the majority people for education, work and health care. However, even towards the end of the year, spokesmen for the indigenous peoples complained that the law had not yet begun to be applied in the way the legislators intended. Visit ABBREVIATIONFINDER for the acronym of ROC that stands for the country of Republic of the Congo.
During the year, Congo signed an agreement to lease more than 80,000 hectares of unused state land to South African farmers for at least 30 years. Both parties argued that the deal does not mean that the crops grown will benefit South African consumers but are intended for the Congolese market under normal commercial conditions. No export at all should occur during the first few years, South African spokesmen said, and then only if there is a surplus that the local market cannot absorb.
Rich countries, often large corporations, use of cheap agricultural land in poor countries – often with problems of malnutrition – to secure food supply for their own population has otherwise in recent years received harsh criticism.
Republic of the Congo Geopolitics
The Republic of Congo is a central African state and a former independent French colony since 1960. The political system is characterized by the almost absolute power of its president, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, who has dominated the national scene since 1997. The affirmation of the personalistic regime of Sassou-Nguesso took place both politically – with the co-optation of the antagonistic forces within the government – as militarily – through the annihilation of local rebel groups, such as the one led by Frédéric Bintsangou, known as Pastore Ntoumi. The greatest support for the president also derives from his own ethnic group, the m’boshi, concentrated in the northern part of the country. The only one, partial limit to presidential action is represented by the need to have the support of the Congolese Workers’ Party (PCT) – reconfirmed in the legislative of July 2012 as the first force in favor of the president – and other parties in favor of him, in order to approve the laws of the national assembly. The economy is mainly based on oil, which makes up about 90% of exports and 80% of revenues. A factor of wealth, oil is also the cause of tension, corruption and external interference. Investments in the sector which constitutes about 90% of exports and 80% of revenue. A factor of wealth, oil is also the cause of tension, corruption and external interference. Investments in the sector which constitutes about 90% of exports and 80% of revenue. A factor of wealth, oil is also the cause of tension, corruption and external interference. Investments in the sector non-oil – which in 2013-14 will reach 8% of total GDP – favored GDP growth in 2014 of around 6%. Other exported products are timber and sugar. The wealth of oil makes the Republic of Congo one of the states with the highest per capita GDP in Central Africa and it is estimated that the country will be able to maintain the current level of production (275,000 barrels per day), at least for the next twenty years.. The state of the infrastructures remains critical, in relation to both the transport network and industrial production. In particular, in the face of a high extraction capacity, the country has a low electricity production capacity which makes it dependent on the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for about two thirds of its needs. Both for historical reasons and for deep economic ties, France is the main ally of the Congo. However, China is emerging as an increasingly important partner and Chinese investment, directed at the commodity sectors, is expected to increase in the coming years. Congo is trying to forge stronger ties with various emerging economies, Asian and South American, to reduce commercial dependence on France, the US and the EU. From a strategic point of view, the DRC – given its condition of persistent belligerence – constitutes a potential threat to the Congo. Also on the regional level, Angola has been a privileged partner and primary supporter of the Congolese government since the 1997 armed intervention.