Economic performance

Land transport in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where AngloGold Ashanti’s subsidiary Ashanti Goldfields Kilo (AGK) operates an exploration project, is a challenge. The under-developed road infrastructure is one legacy of the conflict that has gripped the region for years, and which has constrained investment and kept what infrastructure there is in a state of serious neglect. Local Congolese have traditionally depended on the water transport system of rivers and waterways, but this is often inefficient.

This lack of infrastructure has affected Ashanti Goldfields Kilo’s exploration programme at Mongbwalu. Until recently, the 85 kilometre trip from Bunia, the district capital and site of the nearest commercial airport, was a three-day journey. In 2006, in partnership with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Bunia (MONUC), Ashanti Goldfields Kilo began a programme to upgrade the road. The total cost of the joint project to date is about $1.5 million – a significant investment given that this is an exploration operation, and is not yet generating any revenue. However, the benefits are beginning to be felt by both the company and the people of the area.

With the road upgrade, the three-day journey has been reduced to a three-hour drive, with three-quarters of the road compacted and smoothed. This has significantly reduced the amount of time wasted by employees who often have to make the journey. Also, explains Community Affairs Manager, Thando Njoko, “Travel to various areas in the Ituri province by the local community affairs team and our social development programmes implementing partner, PACT, has increased, as has the level of interaction and contact we have with local communities.”

For the local communities, the impact has also been socially and economically significant. For example, before 2005 and the road upgrade, a kilogram of rice, which had to be transported all the way from Bunia, cost FC750 (Congolese Francs) and it now costs FC400. Similarly, a litre of Coca Cola has dropped in price from FC900 to FC450. The roads have served to connect people, improving relationships between trading partners.

The road has provided easier access to schools, farms and hospitals for the delivery of foreign aid items, and for members of the UN peacekeeping force who are able to reach remote areas to carry out their essential services.

“The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Bunia has improved in service delivery because their vehicles have easier access. In the past it was expensive to transport goods from Bunia to Mongbwalu, but now people have televisions in their homes, access to medical facilities and are experiencing a growing agricultural economy,” said Joseph Chihota, Environmental Manager of AngloGold Ashanti’s Africa Region. “And having vehicles on previously underdeveloped roads has allowed for ill people or pregnant women to receive emergency medical assistance.”

The newly developed roads do present problems too, however, as Chihota points out. The cutting down of wide swathes of forest along roads to open the roadway to sunlight is probably the most significant impact: affecting the forests and the animal species that inhabit them. The 85 kilometre road between Bunia and Mongbwalu has also contributed to increased levels of crime, and easier access to the sex and drug trades. Concerns that drug lords now have easier access into the community to grow their businesses and popularise prostitution have been expressed by the communities.

Tailings Project Manager at AGK, Jean-Claude Kanku, explains that the new road has made artisanal and small-scale miners access to AngloGold Ashanti’s lease area a lot easier too.

Artisanal and small scale mining presents challenges in terms of non-compliance with the Environment Health and Safety policy and issues concerning smuggling, the use of child labour and an increase in human rights abuses such as rape, extortion and murder.

The maintenance and proper use of the roads is important. “The majority of the users of the road, besides AGK and United Nations personnel, are the motorcycle drivers who ferry people and goods between towns and villages. Most of them are not aware of the rules of the road and road safety, and thus often display unsafe driving practices,” says Njoko. “Part of the planned solution to alleviate these dangers would be to put more road signage in place and possibly conduct awareness sessions for the communities and AngloGold Ashanti’s drivers to ensure that everyone is properly trained.”

In some rural communities it is not uncommon for a road accident involving people, livestock or property to cause outrage, but in Mongbwalu, there are particular sensitivities given the presence of ex-militia who live in the area, and the recent conflict that continues to plague the area.

However, a positive consequence has already manifested as a result of the project: local communities are operating two tollgates along the road. The funds go back into community structures and provide a potential source of income for road maintenance and further development activities.

At present, the maintenance of the Bunia-Mongbwalu road project is managed by Anglo Goldfields Kilo. Without the partnership and input of local and provincial government, however, and their willingness to take over full ownership and responsibility for the road eventually, a question mark hangs over the sustainability of the project.

In 2008, AngloGold Ashanti signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Action Agro Allemande (AAA), an international non-governmental organisation based in Ituri, to handle the maintenance of the roads. In terms of the one-year renewable contract, AngloGold Ashanti will provide three-month allowances and tools to support the project, while AAA will supervise the maintenance to the satisfaction of AngloGold Ashanti. This provides an interim solution, but long term sustainability will require broader support.