Congo Governor Katumbi Blocks 300 Trucks From Zambian Border
2007-03-20 08:46 (New York)
By Geoffrey Kapembwa
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic Republic of Congo
provincial governor Moise Katumbi is blocking more than 300
trucks laden with copper and cobalt from crossing into Zambia in
a bid to stop illegal metal exports.
The trucks have been stranded at the Kasumbalesa border post
for more than two weeks, Jennipher Musonda, a permanent secretary
in Zambia's Copperbelt region, said today in a telephone
interview from Ndola, Zambia.
``We have cleared more than 200 trucks from our side, but our
counterparts from DR Congo have refused,'' Musonda said. Most of
the truck drivers have run out of money, she said.
Katumbi, governor of the country's mineral-rich Katanga, is
trying to stop illegal copper exports as well as encourage the
smelting and refining of concentrate in Congo. About 200,000
metric tons of copper ore is exported illegally from the province
every month, Katumbi said in an interview on March 8.
--With reporting by Godfrey Mutizwa in Johannesburg. Editor:
Lohoar. |
