Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the economic factors of the rapid rural-urban transformation in the city of Manono, since the discovery of the largest lithium reserve. It aims at contextualizing and determining the conditions for the emergence of new economic and political-social phenomena with this advent.

Paper long abstract:

This article discusses the economic factors of rapid rural-urban transformation in the city of Manono, in the Province of Tanganyika, in the DRC. Drawing on political and socioeconomic analysis, the paper proposes an in-depth study of the case of Manono, since the discovery of the largest lithium reserve in the DRC. The article thus aims to better understand, contextualize, and determine the conditions for the emergence of new economic and socio-political phenomena in the region with the advent of the Lithium. A particular attention is given to the emerging influences from the central government and international investors on the local population in a context of booming development and urbanization.

On the one hand, there is the proactive role played by the central government for the benefit of relations with international investors. On the other hand, the ignorance of the simultaneous processes of decentralization creates a new arena for provincial governance, and involves all levels of government in the development of urban policies. As a result, there is a negative influence of the central power in a province of mineral abundance and a poor population.

Our reflection will therefore revolve around the following central question: how to explain the great poverty of the local population in a context of the mining boom (lithium) and rural-urban development?

At the outset, we will argue from the articulation of social relationships observed through the experience of the inhabitants of Manono. Next, we will follow the dynamics of urban growth influenced by the discovery of lithium.