Metro

Over 120 killed as flood submerge DR Congo capital, Kinshasa

Published

1 year ago

December 14, 2022

More than 120 people have been confirmed dead on Tuesday in the worst floods to have hit the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa, following torrential rainfall that started on Monday and continued all through the night, health authorities said in a provisional assessment report on.

The heavy rainfall also destroyed many homes, rendering thousands homeless and also cut off main roads and bridges linking the capital to other cities, the damage leaving a third of the city with no water and electricity, according to authorities.

Prime Minister Sama Lukonde who visited the affected neighbourhoods together with the city’s Governor, Gentiny Ngobila, said the government will pay all the funeral expenses for the deceased.

Local media reports that most of the dead were in hillside areas which suffered landslides, just as major roads in the centre of Kinshasa, a city of around 15 million people, were submerged for hours, and a key supply route was cut off.

“The death toll which was first estimated in the late afternoon to be at least 55, jumped to more than 120 by nightfall,” one report said.

“Many dwellings are shanty houses built on flood-prone slopes, and the city suffers from inadequate drainage and sewerage.

“A major landslide occurred in the hilly district of Mont-Ngafula, smothering National Highway 1, a key supply route linking the capital with Matadi, a port further down the Congo River and a crucial outlet to the Atlantic Ocean,” the report stated.

The government has announced three days of national mourning beginning Wednesday, a statement from Prime Minister Lukonde’s office released on Wednesday said.

Related Topics:Deaths Democratic Republic of Congo Featured Floods Kinshasa

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Metro

All my tough policy decisions are in Nigerians’ interest— Tinubu

Published

1 hour ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has insisted that all his tough policy decisions and reforms have been taken with the interest of Nigerians at heart.

Tinubu, who made the assertion in Hague, The Netherlands, during the business session of the bilateral meeting with the Dutch team led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, insisted that though some of the policies had brought hardship on Nigerian masses, he was not afraid to implement more of such policies as they would yield positive results in the end.

“I am a determined leader of my people. I am ever ready to take tough decisions in the best interest of the people, even if with initial pains,” Tinubu said.

“I have and will continue to take the difficult decisions that will benefit our people, even if there is short-term pain.

“We have gone through the worst of the storms. I am unafraid of the consequences once I know that my actions are in the best long-term interests of all Nigerians.

“The Nigerian naira is one of the world’s best-performing currencies today.

“We took the necessary risk, and all resilient Nigerians kept faith with us.

“They will be rewarded, and the reward will only be greater as we partner effectively with you on new opportunities for development.

“As leaders, we must make decisions for the benefit of our nations, and we cannot shy away from that.”

The President also noted that symbiotic economic ties remain the best long-term path to sustainable and mutual prosperity rather than one-sided relationships in which bilateral trade is skewed too much in one direction.

Metro

Nigeria govt cancels 924 dormant mining licences

Published

3 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s minister of mines said on Wednesday that 924 expired mining licences had been cancelled immediately.

The country now wants investors to apply for the affected permits, which will be given out on a “first come, first served” basis.

In a statement, Mines Minister Dele Alake said that 528 exploration licenses, 20 mining leases, 101 quarry licenses, and 273 small-scale mining licenses would be impacted.

As part of major changes in the mining industry, more than 1,600 mining titles were taken away in November for not paying the required fees.

Alake said that the action was taken to stop “licence racketeering,” which is when people or businesses buy titles to minerals that are worth a lot of money and then sell the licenses to the highest price.

“By creating a secondary, black market to pawn mineral licences, the unsuspecting and unwary investor is misled into believing that he can only obtain licence by patronising the black market. This discourages investment,” Alake said.

“It is our belief that this decision will sanitise the licensing system by penalising those who have commercialized the opportunities offered by the sector into a bazaar, he added.

Nigeria wants to attract investors to a mining industry that hasn’t been developed much in the past. To do this, they are giving incentives like not having to pay taxes on profits and sending them back to Nigeria in full.

Nigeria has had trouble getting value from its huge mineral riches because it didn’t invest in or take care of them.

After making it harder for foreign companies to get mining licenses last year, Africa’s biggest oil provider will only give them to companies that process their minerals in the country itself. The country is also rich in lithium, gold, and limestone.