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Ambition Africa / Antoinette N'SAMBA KALAMBAYI, Minister of Mines of DR CONGO: "In this period of energy crisis, my country is full of everything that is necessary for France"
October 7, 2022
Mrs. Antoinette N'SAMBA KALAMBAYI, Minister of Mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo. © BF
Star guest of the IV Ambition Africa (4 and 5 October 2022) in Bercy, Mrs. Antoinette N'SAMBA KALAMBAYI, Minister of Mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo, made a real plea before French investors to encourage them to come and invest without delay in the DRC, where "French companies are welcome".
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Exclusive interview by Bruno FANUCCHI for AfricaPresse.Paris (APP)
@africa_presse
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APP - You are at the head of a large delegation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Bercy for this Sixth Ambition Africa. What are your expectations?
Antoinette N'SAMBA KALAMBAYI - We came to present, here in France, the opportunities that the Democratic Republic of Congo offers the world today in relation to my sector, which is mining.
We have indeed drawn up a list of all the mineral resources that the DRC is full of and, today, we are at a crossroads because it turns out that the DRC is a producer of all these green minerals that are part of the manufacture of electric batteries.
We therefore came to invite all potential partners who would like to invest in the DRC to come and operate, process and locally transform the products of the mining sector. In fact, we want to give added value to our minerals so that the Congolese population, which is poor today, can finally benefit from all the wealth of our subsoil.
APP - In the current energy crisis, the DRC appears as a "solution country", say...
Antoinette N'SAMBA KALAMBAYI - We are full of real potential for bio-diversity with the Congo Basin, which is the second largest forest in the world after the Amazon. Today, the DRC is being asked to be resilient to protect its environment because we have better ecosystems and we do not generate many greenhouse gases.
However, because of the war in Ukraine, oil has now become a rare good. We are in the energy transition and the DRC is therefore a "solution country": tomorrow, we will no longer have to use fossil fuels. We are switching to green energies and the DRC is this country that is full - as you know - with the majority of all these minerals essential to our life tomorrow. Due to the current crisis, we are well aware that the DRC represents a little "the hope of the world"!
The Minister of mines of the DRC, Mrs. Antoinette N'SAMBA KALAMBAYI, during her speech IVe Ambition Africa, in Paris-Bercy, on October 4, 2022.© BF
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APP - Your country has had serious governance problems in the past, but is currently making efforts to improve the business climate. Can you give us concrete examples in the mining sector?
Antoinette N'SAMBA KALAMBAYI - I confirm that today there is a clear improvement in the management of the public domain. The Head of State has re-enabled a structure that already existed: the General Inspectorate of Finance. With the IGF, the Court of Auditors has the mission to carry out ongoing checks on a daily basis so that, in administrations and public companies, everyone can better manage everything they have as finances at their disposal. The DRC is a member of regional and international organizations. We have in our legal arsenal all that there are conditions for good governance.
We are a member of the OECD and have been described as a "good student". We are a member of the EITI (Initiative for the Transparency of Extractive Industries), we have included this institution in the mining law and we extract our minerals from the well to the export, throughout the production and operating chain.
Thanks to the new mining legislation, everything has been done to ensure that things are now transparent by participating in the fight against corruption, removing illegal exploitation and regulating artisanal exploitation much better. To further increase this traceability, we publish all information relating to mining contracts on our ministry's website.
APP - Don't you also have the will - and this is relatively new - to now transform all products from mines locally?
Antoinette N'SAMBA KALAMBAYI - The revised mining law of 2018 imposes local treatment and processing. However, because of our energy deficit, we allowed companies to export crude oil anyway. But we are working with experts to see how much we will finally encourage mining companies to be able to create hydro-electric footprints themselves to overcome this energy crisis.
These companies will be forced to deal locally tomorrow. In partnership with the Ministry of Energy, we are working with a group of experts and I hope that a sustainable solution will be found within two years at the latest. I will then make the decision by decree to say to everyone: "Now in the DRC, you do not sell your products, you process them and process them on the spot".
We have just created a Center of Excellence and Research - with a real exploitation strategy - to give us all the ability to extract the wealth of our subsoil ourselves and thus create a real chain of values that benefits our economy, the development of the country and the improvement of the living conditions of our populations.
Everything was also planned for operators, both domestic and foreign, to be bound by a "plyte" that makes them responsible for participating in the development of local communities living near mining sites.
S.E. Mrs. Ruth TSHOMBE, Ambassador RD CONGO, with the Minister of Mines, Mrs. Antoinette N'SAMBA KALAMBAYI, together at the IVe Ambition Africa, in Paris-Bercy, on October 4, 2022. © BF
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APP - In terms of PPP, what can we do with your country?
Antoinette N'SAMBA KALAMBAYI - Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) have always existed. When an investor arrives, he approaches us to explain his approach.
We have many very different opportunities at home: you can come to Congo, for example, to create a diamond or gold buying counter, you can come to open a small mine or to set up and create a mining industry. If you follow all the procedures listed in the Mining Code, all initiatives are welcome and PPPs are of course of interest to us.
To date, moreover, all the flourishing mining companies we have are already in PPP contracts, whether the companies are Chinese or other nationalities... French companies are welcome at home!
APP - A final message specifically for French decision-makers and investors met in Paris-Bercy, where Ambition Africa is taking place?
Antoinette N'SAMBA KALAMBAYI - In his opening speech by Ambition Africa, Mr. Olivier Becht, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Attractiveness and French Abroad, recalled that Africa's vision towards France must change, and vice versa France's vision towards Africa.
In the past, we had a really unbalanced trade balance between us, but today things are about to change because we are full of everything that is necessary for France in this period of energy crisis.
You must switch from fossil fuels to green energies. However, you do not have cobalt (of which we are the largest producer), lithium, etc. in your basement. It is therefore in your interest to come to us to share your technological experience and we, in return, will let you exploit mines and deposits to reach a "win-win" partnership together.
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