News24
13 Nov 2018, 14:37 GMT+10
A German state-owned bank has found itself at the centre of a battle in the Democratic Republic of Congo over agricultural land dating back to the Belgian colonial period, AFP learned Monday.
Representatives from nine communities in the DRC last week called on DEG - a branch of public development bank KfW - to activate a dispute resolution mechanism over land farmed for palm oil.
They say that palm oil producer PHC, owned by Canada's Feronia, has "illegally stolen" ancestral lands and forests for three plantations and factories, depriving them of "the means to feed and shelter their families," according to a statement by several non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
DEG helped finance PHC's operations in the African country, some of which are on land bought from Anglo-Dutch giant Unilever in 2009 - including "a portfolio of contested plots with a total surface area of more than 100 000 hectares," the statement said.
The land was part of "a gigantic tract of a million hectares unilaterally granted to British Lord Leverhulme" by Belgian colonial authorities in 1911.
on Twitter and Facebook
A spokesperson for the German bank told AFP "it is to be welcomed" that the plaintiffs have turned to the dispute mechanism it set up with Dutch development bank FMO.
"An international group of independent experts will now rule on whether the request can be heard," he added.
A cross-section of experts on environmental, social, legal and financial questions will offer an opinion within 25 working days.
Feronia's PHC subsidiary employs around 9 000 people in the DRC, but the local plaintiffs say the workers' conditions have worsened since the Canadian firm has been in charge.
Cologne-based DEG finances investments by private companies in developing countries. It plans to issue around $1.9 billion in new loans worldwide this year.
Get a daily dose of Toronto Telegraph news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Toronto Telegraph.
More InformationLONDON, UK - The UK has been rocked by the apparent failure of 32-year old regional airline flybmi which ceased ...
NEW YORK, New York - Visa and Mastercard are planning to lift commissions on credit card transactions processed by U.S. ...
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar - Almost 10% of the population of Myanmar is now resident overseas. Migrant workers from the country have ...
DUBLIN, Ireland - One of the major international credit rating agencies S&P Global Ratings this week inaugurated their new European ...
NEW YORK, New York - With a total 7.07 billion shares traded on Friday, U.S. stock exchanges were light on ...
NEW YORK, New York - The Big Apple has lost out on its bid to host a new headquarters for ...
PanARMENIAN.Net - Memory and thinking skills naturally slow with age but now scientists are peeking inside living brains to tell ...
Toronto [Canada], Feb 15 (ANI): 41-year-old Roopesh Rajkumar was arrested by law enforcement after his 11-year-old daughter, Riya Rajkumar, was ...
Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew says the federal Liberal government's treatment of Jody Wilson-Raybould in the SNC-Lavalin scandal has done ...
A B.C. couple is suffering from serious burns after strangers threw some corrosive substance on their face and bodies. ...
There have been more than 4,450 claims received in the wake of the spills but the vast majority of those ...
Coastal GasLink has suspended pipeline work amidst claims that Indigenous artifacts have been discovered on site. ...
DUBLIN, Ireland - Following its successful acquisition of Hollywood-based Blindlight, Irish video-gaming company Keywords Studios has now announced its latest accomplishment. Keywords r ...
Read More