BOLD SOLUTIONS FOR DR CONGO'S CONFLICTS!

The abiding misfortune of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is that providence blessed it with such unimaginable mineral wealth. That wealth, has acted as a magnet, to attract an assortment of adventurers, throughout its modern history, over the last four centuries.

And there is a long list, of such individuals, and corporate entities: starting with King Leopold of the Belgians: who, incredibly, was able to enslave the Congolese people, and make their country his personal fiefdom, in 1885, by posing as someone who was on a civilising mission in Africa, in his quest, to control the Congo, at the Berlin Conference - at which European powers carved up Africa, by parcelling it out, amongst themselves.

Today, the rulers of its neighbours, Uganda and Rwanda, acting through Congolese proxies, are following in King Leopold's footsteps, too: secretly fuelling conflicts, in the Eastern DR Congo: and enriching themselves enormously, in the process.

And they have also backed key dissident political figures, in the country - instead of prevailing on them, to put aside their selfish personal ambitions, in the overall interest, of the long-suffering Congolese people.

And in between those three heads of state, from Belgium and Eastern Africa, over the centuries, there has been a steady flow, of an assortment of ruthless individuals, many driven simply, by unfathomable greed, on the troubled Congolese landscape - and in whose interest, it also is, that the DR Congo, remains unstable, and a very dangerous place: so that they can continue buying precious minerals cheaply and smuggle them out of the country, successfully.

In the meantime, tragically, over 5 million Congolese citizens have been killed, as a result of the conflicts of the last two decades: fuelled by the greed for money, of all those actors, in this African equivalent, of a Greek tragedy, who, over the yeas, have sought to purloin the vast untold wealth, of that huge country - the third largest, in Africa.

The DR Congo's tragedy, is also all of Africa's tragedy - for, apart from the potential economic importance, which its mineral wealth bestows on it, it also possesses, the potential, to produce enough renewable energy, to easily power the whole of the continent.

And, that the AU and Africa's leaders, have not understood the urgency, of acting collectively, and rapidly, to ensure the peace and stability of that nation, sadly, shows their lack of imagination.

It also demonstrates vividly, the dearth today, of African leaders, of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's calibre. For, Nkrumah, who was an original thinker, would have used his usual "thinking-outside-the-box" approach, to solving problems, to tackle the DR Congo's monumental problems - chief amongst them, being the debilitating and chronic insecurity, of the eastern part, of the country.

Although many people around the world, have rightly condemned the outsourcing of military action, in Iraq, by the Pentagon, to private corporations, like that of the American businessman, Erik Prince's Blackwater Corporation, there is absolutely no harm, in the DR Congo (and friendly nations like Libya), paying for the outsourcing, of its pressing need, for a disciplined, well-equipped, and highly-effective fighting force - made up entirely of world-class special forces!

For, by outsourcing its military requirements to enable it enforce law and order all over the country, (particularly in its eastern region), the central government in Kinshasa, will be able to provide an important requirement for economic development, in any nation: peace and security, for all its people.

And that force, should be made up, of the special forces, of five of the most respected and disciplined military forces in Africa, that of: Ghana; Nigeria; South Africa; Morocco and Libya: whose mission, will be to ensure that the insecurity in the region ends, once and for all - by dealing firmly, and ruthlessly, with the Rwandan-backed Tutsi rebel, General Nkunda, and his forces; as well as the Rwandan Hutu rebels.

Africa must also make available to the DR Congo, some of its best technocrats from across the continent, to man and run the state machinery of the DR Congo, together with the country's own technocrats, to speed up the immense task of national reconstruction - and as an effective way of dealing with its shortage of suitably-trained technocrats.

In short, the AU must treat the rebuilding of the DR Congo, as an African equivalent of the rebuilding of nations like East Timor; Bosnia and Kosovo, by the UN.

Clearly, nothing short of an African equivalent, of America's Marshall Plan, for Europe, which made the reconstruction of Europe possible, after WW11, is what is needed today: to enable the DR Congo, to get back on its feet; so that it finally assumes the role, which destiny carved out for it, in Africa - powering the rapid economic development, of all of Africa.

And by fully financing such bold initiatives (and perhaps also persuading some of the wealthy Arab states of the Gulf, to contribute to it, too!), to help the DR Congo, become a peaceful nation, the Libyan leader, Colonel Qaddafi, will, at last, get the opportunity, to do what he says he has always wanted to do: help in the process of uniting Africa.

And, above all, Libya and any contributing Gulf states, will never lose out, in the end: as they can always get their money back, in long-term sovereign bonds, issued by the government of the DR Congo, can they not, dear reader? Certainly, food for thought!