The Democratic Republic of the Congo is looking to create an International Fund for Reconstruction of Infrastructure in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Infrastructure: roads, railways, airways, waterways and electrical powerlines, they are the lifeblood of any nation and their economy. This is also true for the DRC and our trillions of untapped mineral wealth. Without infrastructure, no public or private organisation could ever hope to unearth and export the wealth in an efficient manner.

We have our own reasons for this fund, plenty, and they will be laid down for all to consider. However, we are not asking for a charity. There will be compelling reasons to invest and if we set aside differences or the desire for short term profit, we can achieve more economic benefit than if you were to purchase your coltan and cobalt through illegal routes, bloodied minerals, products of civil conflict. We want:

• To attain a unified internal market and internal food and power self-sufficiency.
• To decrease the relative distance between the fringes and the centres of power,
  • making rebellions more difficult.
  • making increasing government revenue easier.
  • making extortion of locals by locals around mines more difficult.
• To combat unemployment.

Why you and other investors want this:

• To import goods (and minerals) from and export to the DRC cheaper and faster.
• To be able to invest in a more safe and secure country reliably without fearing for rebels hurting your economic interests.
• It is cheap: local labour and material costs for roads and railways are nothing compared most countries. You do not need to invest hundreds of billions to see significant change - we do not have that kind of funds, we do not expect you to, but if a Congolese man is willing to do back breaking labour for a dollar a day in the mines of a rebel militia, you can imagine road construction would not be significantly more expensive, even with a wage meeting the international poverty line.

Because you would be investing your money, the DRC understands hesitations regarding corruption. We are not a bottomless pit, but every investing party would be informed as a member of the fund of all expenses and given updates on progress. All projects could be stopped by a proportional majority of the members if corruption is suspected.