This Belgian company put its facilities, such as labour camps, plants and residential neighbourhoods, in vicinity of the mines in the area. As these mines were somewhat spread out, the city was initially scattered too.The mining industry needed workforce, so people flocked in and as the city gradually grew, these voids were closed. As such, the mining’s mark was clear. By the time Kolwezi was proclaimed urban area, in 1937, four-fifths of the town was in the hands of UMHK.
It soon appeared that UMHK was blocking its own development. Although the newly built areas were initially situated in the voids between the different mining areas, it turned out that they were located right on top of rich mineral soil, undiscovered before. As such, the residential neighbourhoods, the modest commercial centre and one of the labour camps (the current cité Gécamines) impeded the mining of this soil.
A plausible solution for this problem, seemed to be to bluntly move the city of Kolwezi elsewhere. In order to clear the rich soils and open them up for exploitation, different projects were dreamt or drafted throughout time. Before independence, rumours about a possible relocation already circulated among expatriates, but nothing really happened. By 1974 though, on behalf of the company that had then become Gécamines, the Bureau d’Études d’Aménagement Urbain (BEAU) in Lubumbashi drew up a masterplan which outlined the removal of Kolwezi some 20 km eastwards, on the shores of Lake Zilo. However, this “Schéma directeur de Kolwezi II” was never realised, presumably by lack of necessary funds. Moreover, it was not clear what was supposed to happen to the few areas that did not belong to Gécamines. In 1986, a “Schéma métropolitain de Kolwezi” was suggested to solve this issue, whereby only one part of the city would be relocated, whereas the non-mining part would remain right where it was. Once again, the project did not go beyond the planning stage.
Today, the uneasy location of the city shows again, and the mining industry is slowly swallowing up its fringes. Indeed, since six months ago, things literally move near the “Mine de Kolwezi.” UMHK abandoned these open mine decades ago; it was inundated and turned into a greenish lake, a favourite spot for touristy trips during colonial times. Recently, this “mine eau verte,” as the Kolwéziens call it, was taken over by a mining company that first dewatered it, and then proceeded with the production phase. These mining activities cause light tremors that affect the homes at the outskirts of cité Gécamines, the township that UMHK built for its workers in 1937. These tremors not only cause cracks in the walls, but many houses have simply crumbled, forcing inhabitants to set up home elsewhere.
A local unionist takes me on a tour throughout the neighbourhood. The houses next to the open mine have all collapsed; it is easy to read their former existence through the few (pieces of) walls that still stand up. Other houses have been marked by a red cross, meaning that its inhabitants too, will have to move in due time, and the house will be destroyed. Most of the residents had become the owners of their homes through a financial scheme that UMHK/Gécamines provided, and are not very eager to leave the area.
The house of a local employee of Gécamines – a pastor in his spare time – bears such a cross since a year or so. He does not like the idea. It is “the Chinese” who came and told him he had to move, he says. The city authorities, too, had outlined the fate that awaited the inhabitants during evening meetings. Still, he is unpleased, as he thinks the compensation the inhabitants receive – ranging from 40 000$ to 80 000$, so it appears – is way too little.
In the meanwhile, the Chinese company COMMUS (Compagnie Minière de Musonoï) continues its activities near cité Gécamines, and the Kolwéziens complain and count their blessings at the same time. Indeed, the mining industry remains the main provider of jobs, and it pays fairly well, creating a class of well-offs too. On top of this, the soil seems inexhaustible, as the latter ponder at their homemade bars, inlaid with malachite.