Félicien Mbikayi lives in the provincial capital Mbuyi Mai in the Kasai Province. This province has the largest diamond mines in Congo. Although the Kasai is far from eastern Congo, Félicien has a strong opinion on the role Congolese minerals play in the current conflict. ‘With the taxes my government is earning from the diamonds mined in my province, the conflict in the east is financed. They use this money not to create peace but to pay the army and buy weapons. We have conflict diamonds again in my country.
Félicien is founder of the non-governmental organisation GAERN. GAERN wants to improve the living and working conditions of diamond diggers who earn little money from the diamonds they dig out of the ground. Félicien and his colleagues teach the diggers which prices they should get for the diamonds and explain them the rights they have according to the Congolese mining law. GAERN also assist the diggers to form ‘cooperatives’. These groups work collectively to improve their working conditions, jointly investing their income in for example setting up agricultural projects.
Listen to podcast
Félicien spoke at the Fatal Transactions conference in Bonn, November 21 & 22. Hear his contribution in the panel discussion.