'War not the problem'
2003-10-13 08:25
Liesl Louw, Media24 Africa News
Gisenyi, Rwanda - Beautiful Lake Kivu lies on the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with its dense green forests, volcanoes, gorillas and a busy road.
This road carries treasures from the war-torn eastern part of the DRC to Kigali, capital of Rwanda. And it is here, on the Rwandan side of the border, that a small group of South Africans have been running a tin foundry for the past two years.
The ore is imported from eastern DRC and processed in an old warehouse dating from Belgian colonial times and then exported principally to South Africa and Malaysia.
"We prefer working in Rwanda," says Bruce Stride, co-director of Metal Processing Association, a Rwandan registered company, but run almost exclusively by South Africans.
"Rwandans are honest and the government is stable," says Stride, a man who has experience of mining operations in this dark heart of Africa.
He has intimate knowledge of the gold and copper mines of Lubumbashi in the south of the DRC, where avaricious officials live off bribes and where you can barely tell the difference between government officials, mercenaries and rebels: it all depends on who's paying.
'Informal' mining
He is also well informed about the "informal" mining operations in southern and northern Kivu, where fortune hunters from all over have decimated the forests, driven away gorillas and chased pygmies even deeper into the forest.
He lights another cigarette while we are driving west along hairpin bends from Kigali to Gisenyi. It is pitch dark. Now and again one gets a glimpse of banana plantations on both sides of the road.
Stride relates how he has lost everything in the DRC and is starting over again in a country he trusts. "War isn't the problem, governments are."
Overladen trucks pass us now and again. What kind of cargo are they carrying? Gold, copper, tin or coltan?
As we near the border we see increasing numbers of soldiers patrolling the plantations in groups of four to five. This was one of the most dangerous areas in Rwanda not too long ago when Hutu rebels killed hundreds of people in guerrilla attacks.
Goma, joined to Gisenyi, but on the DRC side of the border, is still the headquarters of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) rebels supported by Rwanda.
But on the banks of misty Lake Kivu with the Nyaragongo volcano as backdrop you are in a different world, somewhere similar to the green hills of Mpumalanga or the Knysna lagoons.
Challenge
Wynand Klaasen, his wife, Jackie and their son Quinton, 12, of Bronkhorstpruit have lived here in a house up on the hill with a lovely view of the lake for almost a year.
"I love it here. For my family, however, it's more of a challenge. They have to adjust to circumstances I have been used to for some time," says Klaasen, who, in the past, has worked for a company erecting cell phone pylons across Africa.
He and three other South Africans (his wife acts as secretary) run the smelting-works when Stride and his partner, Brian Christophers, are out of the country. They employ between 80 and 85 workers.
Things are not easy here.
"We made many mistakes initially. We imported expensive electronically controlled equipment at first, but it was of no use to us," says Stride.
The huge foundry is now suspended from the rafters by a sturdy mechanism and thick steel cables and most of the work is controlled manually.
"We knew absolutely nothing about tin. I had never seen smelting-works in my life before," he admits.
Huge adventure
Expert knowledge is required to run the intricate chemical process smoothly.
It is a huge adventure for Katot Meyer, 25, of Oudtshoorn. The former Stellenbosch University engineering student has been in Gisenyi for a year and a half.
Before that he worked as a driver and guide for an adventure travel agency, travelling widely in Africa.
"I have never wanted to work at an eight to five job."
Meyer is hugely attracted to the volcanoes, particularly Nyragongo, 3 462m above sea level, and which is visible on a clear day. His corner in the office has pictures of the volcanoes and he meticulously records data about them on his computer.
Stride notes on average seven 20 ton trucks travel from Gisenyi to Mombassa in Kenya per month. Of these three on average carry tin bars while the rest usually carry ore of baser quality.
This is exported to Malaysia where the ore is further purified.
Apart from constant power failures and staff problems, the South Africans also have to contend with the local mayor and a neighbour who has charged them with pollution. Stride says their new operation has been planned with the aim of limiting pollution to the minimum.
Influential
The South Africans are convinced their Rwandan partners protect them from the mayor. He is an influential businessman, dubbed the "cigarette magnate of the Great Lakes" and appears to have been a major financial contributor to the Rwandan Patriotic Front and president Paul Kagame the present president between 1990 and 1994.
A former partner, a Rwandan, meanwhile, left the company after a disagreement with Stride and Christophers and now accuses them of malpractice.
He has accused them of avoiding taxes and of not possessing legal working permits. He has now filed complaints with the Rwandan and South African governments.
Stride denies the accusations: "All our documents are in order. I have had the Rwandan receiver of revenue on my back for months; it is impossible to duck them," he says.
Gisenyi is quite remote. Shopping is done in Goma. Despite the volcanic eruption of last year, it is still much bigger than Gisenyi, with an airport, bank and a few shops.
I accompany Stride and wait while he goes to the bank. On the way back, one of his Congolese suppliers arrives. He is accompanied by an army officer. One of Stride's workers, who travelled with us, knows the officer as they were at university together.
Quite a coincidence. Knowing someone in the army is always an asset in this country where friends in high places can either make or break you.