KINSHASA: In crisis-hit Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), people in the capital increasingly turn to street hawkers to feed themselves and their families cheaply, but the makeshift option is often not a hygienic one.
From civil servants and students, to construction workers and parents with their children, hungry Kinshasa residents depend on so-called malewas, or street food sellers, whose numbers have grown as the economy has worsened.
“Here, I eat my fill for under 2,000 Congolese francs ($1.1),” said Jose Bangamba, a 29-year-old taxi driver.
Leaning over a plate of chicken in gravy, which cost him just 1,500 francs, Bangamba also tucked into a side dish of fufu, a traditional recipe made from cassava flour that cost 400 francs.
“In a normal restaurant, this meal would have cost me at least 10 times more. How can I possibly afford that?” he said.
DR Congo has been mired in political and economic unrest for years. A fall in commodity prices that hit the country’s mining industry, leading to mass job losses, sparked a crisis in mid-2015.
The slump in production left the government without a much-needed source of revenue. The situation has been further compounded by high inflation after a fall in the Congolese currency.
Since December, the political crisis has also worsened, with President Joseph Kabila refusing to step down despite his mandate coming to an end. Though the vast central African nation is rich in mineral wealth and water, it has long been one of the continent’s poorest nations and rising unrest has only deepened the economic malaise.
For the past year and a half, malewas have become massively popular in Kinshasa, home to 10 million people.
And it is not just those looking for a cheap meal who are turning to malewas; it is also housewives like Marie Aloka Hioma, who have started selling hot food in front of their Kinshasa homes.
Better known as Mama Marie, the 48-year-old mother of eight said she set up her malewa six years ago “to pay my children’s school fees.”
Customers for her malewa stand in line from 5 a.m. every day, waiting to be served from pots of fish, chicken, meat and pondu, a local dish made from cassava leaves and vegetables.
DR Congo’s street food mushrooms as crisis grows
DR Congo’s street food mushrooms as crisis grows
Saudi Arabia approves over 1k chemical permits, awards 172 mining licenses
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia processed more than 1,000 chemical permit requests in November and awarded exploration rights for 172 mining sites in what the government described as its largest licensing round on record.
The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said it handled 1,095 chemical clearance requests during the month, including 1,041 approvals for non-restricted chemicals and 54 for restricted substances, covering 2,081 product classifications, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
It forms part of ongoing efforts to accelerate the discovery and development of mineral resources valued at over SR9.4 trillion ($2.51 trillion), aligning with Vision 2030’s objective to position mining as the third pillar of the national industrial sector.
Ministry spokesperson Jarrah Al-Jarrah explained that the chemical clearance service enables industrial investors to obtain import or export permits for chemicals used in manufacturing through the “Sanaei” digital platform.
“He clarified that the service aims to ensure that chemical clearances for industrial facilities are granted through streamlined procedures and in a timely manner, thus serving investors and facilitating the entry of their materials through ports of entry,” the SPA report stated.
Al-Jarrah explained that the service plays a critical role in enhancing industrial output by developing and automating permit procedures for production-related chemicals as part of the ministry’s digital services.
In a separate development, the ministry announced that 24 domestic and international companies and consortiums won exploration licenses across 172 mining sites in Saudi Arabia, with 76 of those sites awarded through a multi-round public auction.
These sites span three mineral belts in the Riyadh, Madinah, and Qassim regions, with committed exploration spending exceeding SR671 million during the first two years of project implementation.
The ministry described this licensing round as the largest mining tender in the Kingdom’s history.
The competition covered more than 24,000 sq. km across regions known for strategic minerals including gold, copper, silver, zinc, and nickel.
Additionally, the ministry noted that 26 qualified companies participated through the electronic bidding platform, progressing through a transparent process that began with prequalification and culminated in competitive multi-round auctions.
The ministry confirmed that these investments aim to develop untapped exploration zones and enhance the utilization of Saudi Arabia’s mineral wealth, strengthening global supply chains.
It also announced plans to launch further exploration license tenders covering 13,000 sq. km across Madinah, Makkah, Riyadh, Qassim, and Hail, with additional opportunities to be revealed at the 5th Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh from Jan. 13 to 15.
These efforts, the ministry stated, reflect a broader mining strategy focused on maximizing resource potential, attracting foreign investment, creating employment opportunities, and integrating value chains to establish Saudi Arabia as a global mining hub.
