The Special Committee of Katanga (french: Comité Spécial du Katanga, or CSK) was a
parastatal body created in 1900 by the
Congo Free State
''(Work and Progress)
, national_anthem = Vers l'avenir
, capital = Vivi Boma
, currency = Congo Free State franc
, religion = Catholicism (''de facto'')
, leader1 = Leopo ...
and the
Compagnie du Katanga
The Compagnie du Katanga was a concession company of the Congo Free State that engaged in mining in the Katanga Province.
History
The company was founded by Leopold II in 1891 to occupy part of the Free State in order to dissuade a British clai ...
. At first it was responsible for administering the huge
Katanga Province
Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914.
It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...
on behalf of the Free State and for exploiting the province's mineral resources. Mineral exploration and mining were soon delegated to separate companies. After the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
took over from the Free State in 1908, the CSK handed over its administrative powers to the provincial government. However, as a parastatal it remained responsible for many aspects of development in Katanga until independence in 1960, when it was dissolved.
Creation (1900)
The ''
Compagnie du Katanga
The Compagnie du Katanga was a concession company of the Congo Free State that engaged in mining in the Katanga Province.
History
The company was founded by Leopold II in 1891 to occupy part of the Free State in order to dissuade a British clai ...
'' was founded in 1891 to explore the southeast of the Congo Free State.
Under agreements of March 1891 and May 1896 the company was to occupy and develop Katanga, and in return gained full ownership of 1/3 of the land in
Katanga Province
Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914.
It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...
and a 99-year license to exploit the minerals in the granted land.
Given the difficulty of determining the land boundaries, in 1900 the ''Compagnie du Katanga'' and the Congo Free State created the ''Comité Spécial du Katanga'' (CSK) to manage all the territory, with profits shared between the ''Compagnie du Katanga'' (1/3) and the Free State (2/3).
The Congo Free State and the Compagnie du Katanga entrusted the CSK with their shared land and mineral rights, and authorized the CSK with managing this property.
The CSK was created with a 99-year term.
It was given economic and administrative rights over a territory of .
A decree of 6 December 1900 delegated the authority of the state to the CSK in Katanga.
The CSK was given all the mines in Katanga, which it could manage directly or subcontract to concessionary companies.
The CSK had complete powers of administration, management and alienation over the territory.
Early years (1900–1910)
In 1900-1901 the CSK signed an agreement with the entrepreneur
Robert Williams and the British
Tanganyika Concessions
Tanganyika Concessions Limited (TCL or Tanks) was a British mining and railway company founded by the Scottish engineer and entrepreneur Robert Williams in 1899.
The purpose was to exploit minerals in Northern Rhodesia and in the Congo Free Sta ...
(TCL).
TCL was authorized to prospect for minerals in Katanga for five years, and to exploit the mines that were found with CSK for 30 years.
The term was eventually extended to 89 years.
The CSK created the ''
Compagnie de Chemin de fer du Katanga
The ''Compagnie de Chemin de fer du Katanga'' (CFK) was a railway company in the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo between 1902 and 1952.
It held the railway concession that linked the port of Bukama on the navigable section of the Lualaba River t ...
'' (CFK) in 1902.
It had a capital of 1,000,000 francs.
The Congo Free State held 2,400 shares and Robert Williams held 1,600 shares.
The CFK was to build rail links to the region where the city of Elisabethville (
Lubumbashi
Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...
) would be founded.
One line would connect to the Rhodesian railways at
Sakania Sakania is a town in Haut-Katanga Province, in the Congo Pedicle, in the far south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, near the border with Zambia. It is located at an elevation of 1278m asl, therefore it has a cool climate.
Between 1935 and 1939 i ...
, while another would connect to the port of
Bukama
Bukama is a town in Haut-Lomami Province of south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 42,718.
Climate
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as a tropical savanna cli ...
on the
Lualaba River
The Lualaba River flows entirely within the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It provides the greatest streamflow to the Congo River, while the source of the Congo is recognized as the Chambeshi. The Lualaba is long. Its headwaters are in ...
.
Under the direction of
Jean Jadot
Jean Jadot (23 November 1909 – 21 January 2009) was a Belgian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as apostolic delegate to the United States (the first non-Italian to do so) from 1973 to 1980, and President of the Secretariat for ...
of the ''Société Générale de Belgique'', this bank participated in setting up three mining-related companies in the Congo Free State: the ''
Union Minière du Haut-Katanga
The ''Union Minière du Haut-Katanga'' (French language, French; literally "Mining Union of Upper-Katanga") was a Belgium, Belgian mining company (with minority British share) which controlled and operated the mining industry in the copperbelt r ...
'' (UMHK), the ''
Société Internationale Forestière et Minière du Congo'' (Forminière) and the ''
Compagnie du Chemin de Fer du Bas-Congo au Katanga
The ''Compagnie du chemin de fer du bas-Congo au Katanga'' (BCK) was a railway operator in the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and later in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zaire. Most of the lines were in the southern Katanga Province, wit ...
'' (BCK).
The UMHK was founded in 1906 to develop mines in Katanga.
It was also to participate in building a railway to carry material and equipment to the mines and to take away the extracted minerals.
The UMHK came from a compromise between the Free State and the Compagnie de Katanga as owners through the CSK, the TCL who had found the mines, and the TCL and ''
Société Générale de Belgique
The ' ( nl, Generale Maatschappij van België; literally "General Company of Belgium") was a large Belgian bank and later holdings company which existed between 1822 and 2003.
The ''Société générale'' was originally founded as an investm ...
'' who would fund their exploitation.
UMHK was founded as a joint venture between the
Compagnie du Katanga
The Compagnie du Katanga was a concession company of the Congo Free State that engaged in mining in the Katanga Province.
History
The company was founded by Leopold II in 1891 to occupy part of the Free State in order to dissuade a British clai ...
, the CSK and TCL.
The Compagnie du Katanga was in turn a subsidiary of the
Compagnie du Congo pour le Commerce et l'Industrie
The Compagnie du Congo pour le Commerce et l’Industrie (CCCI) was a private enterprise in the Congo Free State, later the Belgian Congo and then the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose subsidiaries engaged in a wide range of activities in the ...
(CCCI), which was controlled by the
Société Générale de Belgique
The ' ( nl, Generale Maatschappij van België; literally "General Company of Belgium") was a large Belgian bank and later holdings company which existed between 1822 and 2003.
The ''Société générale'' was originally founded as an investm ...
.
The BCK was founded on 31 October 1906 by the CSK', the Congo Free State and the ''Société Générale de Belgique'' to build a rail link from
Bukama
Bukama is a town in Haut-Lomami Province of south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 42,718.
Climate
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as a tropical savanna cli ...
in Katanga to
Port Franqui on the
Kasai River
The Kasai River ( ; called Cassai in Angola) is a tributary (left side) of the Congo River, located in Central Africa. The river begins in central Angola and flows to the east until it reaches the border between Angola and the Democratic Republi ...
, from where mining products could be shipped down to
Léopoldville
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
.
Jadot was made managing director of the BCK.
With the creation of he UMHK the CSK was no longer directly involved in mining.
It was also released from having to administer the territory, and became mainly concerned with asset management.
Émile Wangermée
Émile Antoine Marie Wangermée (1855–1924) was a Belgian civil servant and vice governor-general of Congo Free State from 11 April 1897 until December 1897.
Wangermée was Representative of the Comité Spécial du Katanga (CSK), effectively ...
was made representative of the CSK, effectively governor of Katanga, in 1906.
Later he became representative in
Kafubu.
In 1910 he became governor of Katanga, holding office until 1917.
State agency (1910–1960)
Belgium took over the Congo Free State in 1908.
In 1910 the state powers granted to the CSK were revoked, and local powers were handed over to the provincial governors.
Many of the CSK employees and leaders joined the colonial service.
After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
(1914–1918) the CSK provided support of demography, geology, forestry, agriculture, colonization, veterinary medicine and experimental farming.
From 1933 the CSK promoted all activities associated with colonization of Katanga, as well as agriculture, commerce and mining.
The CSK was the main shareholder of the UMHK (1906), ''
Compagnie Géologique et Minière des Ingénieurs et Industriels belges'' (GEOMINES, 1910) and the livestock company ''Compagnie Pastorale du Lomani'' (1928).
The CSK was dissolved in June 1960 when the Democratic Republic of the Congo became independent.
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:
1900 establishments in the Congo Free State
1960 disestablishments in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
Katanga Province
Belgian Congo
Congo Free State
History of Katanga