The War for Green Energy: The Crisis in Congo Explained with Chakabars

Summary

Earn Your Leisure Podcast Summary

Episode: The War for Green Energy: The Crisis in Congo Explained with Shaka Bars
Release Date: February 26, 2025
Hosts: Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings
Guest: Shaka Bars
Duration: Approximately 12 minutes

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of the Earn Your Leisure podcast, hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings delve into the intricate and often overlooked crisis unfolding in the Congo. Titled "The War for Green Energy: The Crisis in Congo Explained with Shaka Bars," the episode sheds light on the geopolitical, economic, and humanitarian dimensions of Congo's pivotal role in the global green energy landscape.

Mineral Wealth and Its Global Importance

Shaka Bars, a seasoned expert with a decade-long on-the-ground experience in Congo, begins by elucidating the continent's unparalleled mineral wealth. He emphasizes, “[...] every mineral on the periodic table, apart from those two, Congo has in abundance” (08:25). This vast repository includes coltan and cobalt—crucial for manufacturing smartphones, GPUs, CPUs, and electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Key Points:

• Coltan and Cobalt: Essential for modern electronics and EVs.
• Global Demand: The surge in green technologies has exponentially increased the need for these minerals.
• Congo’s Dominance: Congo produces 160,000 tons of coltan and cobalt annually, dwarfing the rest of the world’s combined output of 40,000 tons.

Historical Conflicts Over Resources in Congo

Shaka provides a historical context, tracing back to the late 1990s when Congo was invaded for its mineral riches. He states, “Between 1998 and 2003, 6 million people died as a result of that grab for minerals” (03:42). This period marked a devastating civil war fueled by the competition over Congo's resources.

Key Points:

• Wakanda Analogy: Shaka references the fictional nation of Wakanda to highlight Congo's real-life mineral wealth.
• Disparate African States: The fragmentation of African nations complicates unified economic and political strategies, making individual countries more vulnerable to external manipulation.

Current Geopolitical Tensions

Fast forward to the present, Shaka discusses the intensifying geopolitical struggles centered around Congo’s minerals. He highlights Rwanda's aggressive expansion, noting, “Rwanda was exporting $540 million worth of gold... now they're exporting $1.6 billion and projected $3 billion annually” (04:44). This meteoric rise is directly linked to Rwanda’s occupation of the Rubaya mine—the world’s largest coltan and cobalt producer.

Key Points:

• Rwanda’s Expansion: From $540 million to $1.6 billion in gold exports signifies a strategic move to control mineral resources.
• Gigafactories Boom: The global push for EVs has led to the establishment of gigafactories reliant on Congo’s minerals.
• China’s Influence: With its massive population, China exerts significant bargaining power over smaller African nations, influencing resource extraction practices.

Humanitarian Impact

The relentless pursuit of minerals has precipitated a humanitarian disaster. Shaka recounts harrowing accounts of violence and exploitation: “20 young guys being executed in Congo by these M23 soldiers... raped and burned to death” (06:18). Such atrocities are often overshadowed by the economic narratives but have profound ramifications on the ground.

Key Points:

• M23 Insurgency: Portrayed as ethnic liberators, yet primarily motivated by control over mineral wealth.
• Massacres and Atrocities: Instances of villages being decimated, prisons emptied, and widespread sexual violence.
• Silence and Secrecy: The international community remains largely complicit or indifferent, allowing these human rights violations to continue unchecked.

Shaka's Humanitarian Journey and Efforts

Driven by personal tragedy and a desire for change, Shaka narrates his transition from community work in London to active humanitarian efforts in Africa. Inspired by the plight of Mama Masika—a woman who endured unimaginable horrors—Shaka states, “I never started doing this work in Congo in particular because I heard a story of a woman...” (09:00). His mission evolved from addressing local issues to tackling the systemic exploitation plaguing Congo.

Key Points:

• Personal Motivation: Witnessing extreme violence catalyzed Shaka’s commitment to humanitarianism in Africa.
• Community and Beyond: From grassroots initiatives in London to sustainable business models in Africa.
• Sustainable Solutions: Advocates for long-term strategies to empower local communities and mitigate exploitation.

Conclusion

The episode elucidates the multifaceted crisis in Congo, intertwining the threads of global economic demand, geopolitical maneuvers, and profound humanitarian suffering. Shaka Bars’ insights reveal that the narrative often portrayed in media—framing conflicts as ethno-tribal—masks the underlying economic motivations driven by the global thirst for green energy resources.

Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings successfully bridge the gap between complex financial models and real-world implications, offering listeners a comprehensive understanding of why the Congo’s turmoil is intrinsically linked to their daily lives through the devices they use and the technologies they depend upon.

Notable Quotes:

• Shaka Bars: “Oil used to be the metric used to be gold. Then it was oil, now it's data. And people want as many data points as they can on people to sell them products” (02:11).
• Shaka Bars: “How can the richest country in the world be the poorest country in the world at the same time” (09:00).
• Shaka Bars: “It's all follow the money game” (06:39).

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For those interested in exploring the depths of financial intricacies intertwined with global socio-political issues, this episode of Earn Your Leisure is an enlightening journey into understanding the true cost of green energy.

Transcript

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[Unknown]

Tracker Today before we start the show, we have somebody that is very knowledgeable here, and I thought it'd be a good idea for him to just have a few minutes to kind of educate us what's going on. Can we bring. Can we bring the gentleman up?

[Shaka]

Yeah, slot. Come on over, man. We're gonna. We're gonna shift.

[Unknown]

You never know. You never know who you're gonna see.

[Shaka]

Get him.

[Unknown]

Get over here, man.

I think we gotta move the other way now.

[Shaka]

We good, right?

[Unknown]

There you go. There you go. Shocker. Pause. Ladies and gentlemen, Shaka.

Yeah, man. Everything there, you need to be in Ghana, you know, you know how the weather is.

You know how everything is. So I know you're cold over there. I see what you were.

[Shaka]

I promise you.

[Unknown]

So. All right.

So, Shaka, like I said, I just wanted to get a couple minutes to kind of talk about some economic issues that's been going on the continent. And you kind of an expert on this because you've been on the. On the ground level. So this is Market Mondays, and we do talk about finances, so I think it's appropriate to talk about what's going on in Congo. So can you. Can you kind of just educate our audience for people that might not be fully educated on what's going on in Congo right now and why. Why it's important.

Well, I think that, you know, we.

We realize in the last 10, 15 years that now oil has been surpassed in value by data. Data is more. For the most part, data is more valuable than oil. Oil used to be the metric used to be gold. Then it was oil, now it's data. And people want as many data points as they can on people to sell them products, right? And data servers, crypto, and all of these things are being created by African minerals. And we've been sold this very poetic story about Wakanda and how, you know, there's this place in Central Africa which is full of vibranium and it's Congo.

And right now, what we have is we have an Africa that should really.

Be a United States of Africa, usa. But it's very disparate and very separate in the way that it does business, it does trade. So, like, for instance, if you want to go and speak to the USA, you got to speak to the whole of the USA. That's nearly 400 million people, or however many people is there.

If you want to go speak to.

Africa, you can speak to a country as small as Lesotho or a country as small as Ghana, which is 30 million people, right? And you'll be having a China speak to them. That's 1.4 billion people speaking to a country of 30 million people. So obviously, they have a. A lot easier way of being able to bargain.

And what happened is, we. Congo in particular, is that when the smartphone was invented, the minerals that were needed for the smartphone came from Congo. And so that was what happened in 1998 when Congo was invaded. And between 1998 and 2003, 6 million people died as a result of that, that grab for minerals. And you have a country like Rwanda, which has been historically the agents for their clients in Europe, who, under the guise of. And, you know, you see people like.

John Legend, who clearly don't care about genocide, going and performing a few days ago, global citizen in Rwanda. But then you have people like. You have sisters like Thames who are canceling their concerts because they understand that the geopolitical geostrategic battle that's going on in Africa right now is based on African resources. And I give you an example. When I was in Congo in 2022, so I've been going to Congo for nearly 10 years now. When I was in Congo in 2022.

Rwanda was exporting $540 million worth of gold, bearing in mind they don't have no gold, right? But now Rwanda is exporting $1.6 trillion of gold, and then they're projected to export annually, sorry, $1.6 billion of gold, and they're projected to export annually $3 billion worth of gold. Congo produces 160,000 tons of coltan and of cobalt Each year, right, the rest of the world combined is, is doing about 40,000 tons. So it cold ton is what is used for mobile phones and, and CPU processing units. Cobalt is what is used for batteries for EVs. So now you have all of these countries in basically saying hey, we want to catch up with China and we want to produce a bunch of electric vehicles. So they're building these GIGAF factories. They need all these minerals from Congo. So rwanda signed an MoU agreement to provide those minerals for the rest of Europe to be able to do this. And then at the same time they don't have these mines. So what do they do? They invade and they occupy a mine called Rubaya, which is the biggest colan cobalt producing mine in the world. And all of a sudden they got record exports of, of this mineral. So where is being touted as, this is being touted as an African civil war. Because you know when it's like oh.

Black on black crime. They created this racist term. We never say white on white crime, right? They created this black on black crime in America to try and dehumanize black Americans. They created tribalism and, and tribes in Africa to dehumanize Africa. So if it's a tribal war, it's like, well you know, they're killing each other so it doesn't really matter where. I'm looking at my phone this morning.

And I'm seeing 20 young guys being executed in Congo by these M23 soldiers who are being portrayed almost as liberators of ethnic Banya, Malenge, Tutsis in Congo. But the reality is they're there for minerals. It's all follow the money game. And, and Congo has been destabilized for all of this time just for the specific reason of minerals. There's no, there's no other reason to kill that many people indiscriminately. And where we saw a few weeks ago 3000 people killed in like 3 days or 4 days like my village in Congo that they, they came into the village in Congo. Everybody had to get out of the village in Congo. Thank God all the kids are back and everybody's safe. But they also had emptied a prison of five, no, 4,000 people and 160 women were raped and burned to death.

So these things that are happening are happening in almost silence and secrecy. But really the whole thing is just a minerals game. And Europe and China and everybody else is tacit complicit because they know if the situation stays the way the situation is, then they'll be able to keep getting a free stream of African minerals.

[Shaka]

So this is when you talk about follow the money and we talk about investments in the magnificent seven and all these, these tech companies, whether it's from a GPU standpoint or CPU standpoint, data centers, that's on the surface. But in order for them to have those products, it's kind of like goes down the line to the place on the planet that has. Probably every mineral on the planet Earth exists in Congo. Correct.

[Unknown]

Is only two that doesn't have californium and moscovium. So every mineral on the period periodic table, apart from those two, Congo has in ab.

[Shaka]

So this is one of these humanitarian situations. And I want to get into that because we've been around each other a lot, but I've never heard the root of it. Obviously the work that you're doing in Congo. We're here in Ghana. You have a school here. You're working in Ethiopia. When did the humanitarian efforts start for you?

[Unknown]

You know, I never. And I, I had this idea before Black Panther movie of Africa was Wakanda.

That was my, I was like, I was raised Rasta and I was raised with this back to Africa Marcus Garvey mentality. So I always believed that Africa was the, our motherland. Like I thought that was. When I get there, you know, it's going to be the promised land and people are rich and everything is cool. And I, I only started doing this work in Congo in particular because I heard a story of a woman called Mama Masika who, she was raped by 22 guys before she passed out. And her husband was chopped up and killed in front of her. And then she was raped on top of her husband. I'd never heard anything that crazy in my life. I was like, hang on, this happens on Earth? Like, how can this happen? Like, how can you even be aroused by like that type of destruction of a woman? And when I heard that story and I, I googled which is the richest country in the world. And Congo came up and then I googled which was the poorest country in the world. Congo came up as well. So like GDP, Congo's annual GDP per capita is $550. But there's 24. Oh, well, I say forget 24. That 24 trillion is the old number. It's like $40 trillion worth of mineral resources in the ground because of the way that you know that the resources, especially resources that are sought after, appreciate over time now these resources are becoming more and more valuable. And so how can the richest country in the world be the poorest country in the world at the same time. And this continues in and along the lines of the rhetoric of Africa is a breadbasket for the rest of the world, but can't feed itself. So I just was like, all right, cool. How can I go and help this woman and her family? Because I've saw what happened to her. And I did a boxing match. I used to box when I was in military. I did a. Did a boxing match and I took the money to go and give to her family to just. That was. That was the beginning of my journey in Africa. I'd always done things in the hood. In Leeds, where I grew up in. I did various things in London as well. So I did stuff in my own community first. Fitness, health, wellness, those type of things. But then I was like, I need to go over to Africa and see how I can be of use. But when I got here to Africa, I realized how many people are exploiting Africa, whether it's the politicians, whether it's the NGOs, neocolonialism. I've never seen anything like the amount of exploitation here as anywhere else in the world. So it started for me with. With that. But where I'm at now, it's like a sustainable business, I think is the only way to do things.

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