AVZ Discussion 2022
- Thread starter GazDix
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Frank
Top 20
Jules Alingete is one of the most feared men in the DR-Congo.
He climbed all the levels of a career dedicated to the control of public finances: after studying economics, he became a certified public accountant, adviser to the Ministry of the Economy and tax specialist.
For three years, he has been Chief Inspector General of Finance of Congo (IGF) with the status of judicial police officer, which allows him to initiate legal proceedings in the event of violations.
Its reports are addressed directly to the Head of State.
What are the missions of the General Inspectorate of Finance?
Examining how public funds are managed, we note the facts of embezzlement and corruption.
We carry out audits, checks and verifications of all public services, companies, provinces, local entities, ministries in order to verify the proper use of public goods and funds.
Our checks can take place on past facts, but they also relate to current facts.
We even work a priori, before the act is performed, with the aim of prevention and education.
What are the biggest cases you have had to deal with?
I would pinpoint five, related to corruption and the embezzlement of public funds.
The control of the Central Bank of Congo is the first: we discovered credit cards held by officials, politicians.
Directly connected to the general account of the Treasury via commercial banks, these cards could be used at any time.
The State account could thus be debited for extremely high amounts, amounting to 10,000 dollars per day and purchases could reach the same amount.
The Congolese Treasury has thus lost a lot of money.
The audit of the forest sector of the DR-Congo - a process related to the moratorium to which the Congo had adhered - is the second case.
Despite commitments made to the international community, logging permits continued to be issued by members of the government in charge of the forestry sector.
Following our report, the current Minister of the Environment canceled logging concessions.
The audit of the mining sector was the third important case: the examination of all the contracts concluded between 2010 and 2020 by Gécamines (the General Society of Quarries and Mines) revealed serious facts of the selling off of mining assets.
The modus operandi of fraud and selling off in this mining sector having been better understood, measures have been taken.
Between 2010 and 2020, Gécamines made nearly $2 billion in profits and 97% of that amount was squandered on operating expenses and snacks.
While Gécamines had to renew its production tool and relaunch its activities, no investment was made and the company has a very heavy social debt.
In addition, nearly 612 million dollars, paid by Gécamines to the Congolese State in respect of taxes due in 2010 and 2019 and paid into the Treasury account, have disappeared at the level of the Central Bank of Congo.
The affair of Chinese contracts, opaque and unbalanced, is resounding…
The audit of Chinese contracts is the fourth outstanding mission.
This contract, called "minerals for infrastructure", was concluded following an agreement signed in 2008 between the DR-Congo and a few Chinese companies: under the terms of this contract, the DR-Congo was to give mineral-rich deposits to companies Chinese.
In return, the latter had to provide the financial means allowing the exploitation of these deposits.
It was agreed that the two parties would share the gains resulting from this exploitation.
The evaluation of these contracts revealed, to the detriment of the DR-Congo, disparities in the distribution of the benefits generated by the agreement.
The distribution of capital in the common exploitation is an example: the Congo, which had brought the bulk of the business - that is to say its richest mines, whose value was estimated at more than 90 billion dollars -, received 32% of the shares during the constitution of a joint venture, Sicomines.
The Chinese side, which had contributed nothing, received 68% of the shares.
The company thus created operated on the basis of loans which were contracted with Chinese banks at too high rates, around 12% interest, loans that Sicomines had to repay.
The Chinese took advantage of the laxity of some Congolese who insolently enriched themselves.
Since the real contribution of Chinese companies has not been traced, we have never understood how the Chinese side was able to secure 68% of the shares...
The distribution of earnings from Sicomines has been unbalanced: according to studies conducted by the IGF, the total earnings, after 15 years of operation, were estimated at 10 billion dollars.
While in principle, Sicomines should have given the Congolese state 32% of the gains resulting from the exploitation of the mining sites, the Congolese state only received 822 million dollars.
This sum should have been used to repay the loans that the State had contracted to build the infrastructure.
The value of the planned infrastructure was estimated at $3.2 billion, in the form of schools, roads, hospitals, universities.
Admittedly, loans were contracted, but the funds freed up by the Chinese contracts were not allocated to carrying out the promised work.
It is now a question of rebalancing the advantages between the parties.
Some Congolese have enriched themselves thanks to these contracts: if the funds have not ended up in the state coffers, it is because they have been used for other purposes...
You also discovered infrastructures that had been financed both by Sicomines and by the Public Treasury, so much so that today, we do not know who financed what...
Added to this is the problem of the quality and price of these infrastructures: counter-expertise revealed over-invoicing ranging from simple to double, the quality of certain roads proved to be below average.
The DR-Congo was practically set aside during the control of Sicomines: the president of the company was a Chinese as were 70% of the members of the Board of Directors.
As for the daily management of the company, the general manager was Chinese as well as the three main directions, production, finance and marketing.
The deputy managing director, a Congolese, only had a ceremonial role, the managing director had his residence in China and in his absence, it was the commercial or technical managing director who acted as interim.
How, in such circumstances, could we have given reliable information on the commercial policy or on the functioning of Sicomines?
This company behaving like a state within a state, it was impossible to access its financial data.
It took ten years for this company to agree to file its financial statements with the Congolese authorities in 2021.
Whether it was finance, production, trade policy, the Chinese managed everything, it was in Chinese that their instruments were configured.
Congolese engineers did not control the situation...
In addition, since Sicomines' production is sold to Chinese companies, the selling price was estimated to be half the normal price.
I conclude that the ten billion generated by Sicomines in fifteen years in fact represent only half of the reality...
These elements explain why the President of the Republic decided that this Chinese contract should be revisited in order to rebalance the advantages between the parties.
The audit of the civil servants' payroll file was also another important file for you.
1. 426,000 civil servants were concerned and their salary represented 350 million dollars per month.
The audit revealed many dysfunctions: people had several registration numbers and were therefore paid several times, others had the same numbers as other agents and they were therefore fictitious, some were paid on the lists of several services, for example the Ministry of Education or that of the Plan, other beneficiaries were not known by the service supposed to employ them...
A quarter of the names on the files being questionable, the IGF asked for the general cleaning of these files.
The Ministries of Finance, Budget, Labor will take care of this task and then the Ministry of Finance will report to the government.
Do you have any idea how much money was lost in all these cases that could be recovered?
The equivalent of 70 million per month was recovered from the pay of state agents!
In fifteen years, Chinese contracts have caused us to lose 10 billion US dollars because of the mismanagement of our agreement.
More than 50 other major mining contracts containing serious irregularities were examined.
Gécamines, responsible for managing all of these mining contracts, has collected royalties reaching 10 billion dollars.
But 97% of this amount was squandered on operating expenses and placed on investments.
And this when the company should have renewed its production tool and financed its revival...
This explains the “social debt” represented by the arrears to be paid to staff.
As for the credit card business, it caused us to lose between 50 and 60 million dollars.
In addition, nearly $612 million paid in taxes to the Central Bank of Congo was not returned to the central account of the Public Treasury; that money is gone...
We have not yet audited the operating costs of the army, the national police, the intelligence services, these two structures having internal inspection bodies.
As for the teachers, they were paid because they have priority.
Faced with this generalization of corruption, who do you incriminate?
These corruption problems merit analysis over time.
The DR-Congo has long lived in a system where corruption was considered normal; people did not realize that this practice mortgaged the development of an entire nation.
The current president wanted to revitalize all public finance control services.
Since 2020, three services have been fighting against the embezzlement of public funds.
The strategy of the monitoring bodies is to publish reports right away, which causes a public outcry.
It is then up to the courts to examine the files and decide.
Justice being independent, we must refrain from commenting on its decisions, among other things when great dignitaries find themselves whitewashed...
In general, we need to rebalance the advantages between the parties in order to be able to embark on the reconstruction of the country.
The Chinese made do with the laxity they found in the Congo.
It is up to us to make the contracts advantageous for all parties.
It will be up to the courts to establish the responsibilities of the Congolese themselves...
How did you react to the Congo Hold-up investigation, carried out by a consortium of investigative journalists including those of “Le Soir”?
This case concerned the embezzlement of $43 million belonging to the Central Bank of Congo but lodged in its accounts with the BGFI Bank.
What was not correctly pointed out was that the IGF had participated in the Congo Hold-up investigation!
On several files we shared the same conclusions.
However, for the IGF, the 43 million dollars that had disappeared from the accounts of the Central Bank of Congo with the BGFI had been stolen by this commercial bank.
On the other hand, for the media involved in the Congo Hold-up investigation, the BGFI had taken this money to serve the Kabila camp.
The IGF had no evidence to support this claim.
The difference between the investigations of services such as ours and those of NGOs often lies in the production of the material evidence of the assertions.
At the IGF, we must remain apolitical and the results of our investigations must be supported by conclusive material evidence.
To date, the BGFI Bank has already acknowledged the facts charged to it by the IGF and it has even already reimbursed nearly 40 million dollars to the Central Bank of Congo.
Our only element of reference is the fact of touching public funds: whoever you are, we, without political consideration, will be interested in you...
mediacongo
Winenut
Go AVZ!
Frank
Top 20
Mining attractiveness: the DRC ranked 82 out of 83 countries in the Fraser Institute report
The latest Fraser Institute annual report ranks the DRC at the bottom of the world ranking of the least attractive states for investment in the mining sector.
Out of a total of 83 countries studied, the DRC ranks 82nd in the mining policy index.
It is Venezuela that closes the world ranking, thus being the only country listed behind the DRC.
On the list of the worst ranked African nations, there are mainly Zambia, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea.
According to the Fraser Institute 2022 Report, the investment climate in the mining sector in the DRC is simply unattractive.
With more than 20 mining companies producing copper, the main mineral exported by the DRC, we expected a better score.
Indeed, the country is now seen as one of the key players in the global energy transition, due to its impressive reserves of cobalt, copper, lithium and bauxite.
Based on the two main indicators of the Report, namely the investment attractiveness index and the public policy perception index, the entire African region is in a disadvantageous position.
Despite proven potential natural wealth, several African countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea are lagging behind.
The lack of competitiveness of the African continent could have serious repercussions on the expected heavy foreign investments.
The West would then be forced to review its strategy to counter the ubiquitous China in the region.
Fraser Institute is a Canadian think tank that has earned its stripes in the annual production of studies on social themes.
In addition, it is at the service of decision-makers.
Every year, structure experts publish a report on the attractiveness of mining investments in the world.
After this long-awaited publication, the time is now for a frank and taboo-free debate at the national level.
A certain opinion recalls, for example, the strategic place of the DRC in the global energy transition.
In addition, mining represents the growth sector of the Congolese economy.
The latter is driven more than 30% by mining activity.
The Ministry of Mines indicates a continuous increase in mining revenues for more than a decade.
In terms of sanitation, the big step was taken with the implementation of the revised Mining Code in 2018, a very controversial piece of legislation that promotes a win-win partnership.
Adherence to several international traceability and certification mechanisms would have made it possible, according to the Ministry of Mines, to tackle head-on the problems of corruption, fraud and illegal exploitation of mineral resources.
To this must be added the creation and functioning of the national commission for the fight against mining fraud.
Obviously, this new ecosystem, theoretically more competitive, did not improve the index of perception of mining policies, according to Fraser Institute.
Following a field visit between August 23 and December 30, 2022, their experts interviewed 1,966 exploration, development and other mining-related companies.
They ended up with this very negative rating due to several destabilizing factors, mainly the unilateral increase in the royalty rate.
The other pinpointed factor is the lack of clarity on the limits of mining exploration concessions and cases of corruption.
However, the report insists on a rather positive fact for the country, namely the attractiveness for investment in exploration.
On this point, the DRC is in 24th place.
This is small consolation.
mediacongo.net
Winenut
Go AVZ!
Keep going
I distinctly remember you said something ....I can't quite pin point what.....it was all cloudy and convoluted and seemed to add to the general confusion???
It doesn't matter....probably not important....let's focus on the stock
John Reed
Regular
It’s only logical that IGF findings concluded just under a week before the granting of mining minister decree April 25 2022 means AVZ is granted the license and Zijin out.
AFR’s Tom leaves this understated causality out.
At most he said recently “rivals” nothing on “above the law miscreants’. This is because that’s not exciting gossip
AFR through a selective lens is still pursuing the destruction of AVZ among its Australian audiences at the very least. AVZ needs local media support deep to climb out of this
Lately AVZ’s contrarians on twitter have weighed in in support. after the Damages claim. “Mastermines” David Gillam, AJM consultant and stockswami come to mind. There’s likely more, and it’s reassuring
at school now….
Winenut
Go AVZ!
It's clearly touching nerves when my posts are reported and moderated
Be very careful folks.....the ones who keep talking about an insular environment and echo chambers here are not LTH's friends
There's a narrative of opening up ideas, and different points of view from them but it's not genuine
It's purely an agenda to disrupt, deflect, provide doubt and divide
Stay on track
Look to the company announcements for the best insight into the truth and at all times call out corruption, bullshit, mysterious convoluted grandstanding posts, posters who purport to have intel and actually share nothing and above all recognise the shithouse orchestrated attempts by multiple "personalities" here who have zero interest in your wellbeing and even less interest in the success of AVZ
Be very careful folks.....the ones who keep talking about an insular environment and echo chambers here are not LTH's friends
There's a narrative of opening up ideas, and different points of view from them but it's not genuine
It's purely an agenda to disrupt, deflect, provide doubt and divide
Stay on track
Look to the company announcements for the best insight into the truth and at all times call out corruption, bullshit, mysterious convoluted grandstanding posts, posters who purport to have intel and actually share nothing and above all recognise the shithouse orchestrated attempts by multiple "personalities" here who have zero interest in your wellbeing and even less interest in the success of AVZ
100%
It seems that this thread has been targeted by multiple posters for deliberate disruption. Barely a native English speaker amongst them
That disruption includes reporting anyone outside of their camp and having posts moderated ( in my case for "potentially baiting" - go figure ) and the thread further disrupted, not to mention annoying and thus provoking genuine users.
I called some of them out yesterday, but am now reverting to my usual tactic of ignoring them so as not to aid the disruption
Winenut
Go AVZ!
Admin would do well to correlate some data and discover the pattern between the recently emerged or re-emerged posters in the last week or two and the number of reports or moderation requests they initiate against the backdrop of the regular LT posters and the number of reports or requests for moderation from them on an averaged medium term timescale
There will be an abundance of "intentional"confabulation and malfeasance that becomes apparent in the data I assure you....
There will be an abundance of "intentional"confabulation and malfeasance that becomes apparent in the data I assure you....
Last edited:
Thunderpony
27 µg per 100 mL
Dear Journal,
Today, I delve into the depths of darkness, plotting my underhanded scheme to bring the AVZ mining to a grinding halt. The fools in power believe they can exploit our Chinese land, our resources, without consequence. But they underestimate the power of a true villain.
In this clandestine journal, I document my devious plan, knowing that all shall stumble upon these pages. The first step is to gather a network of shadowy figures, individuals skilled in the arts of deception and manipulation. They will be my pawns, ready to do my bidding without question.
Secrecy is paramount. I will cloak myself in anonymity, my true identity hidden behind layers of masks and false trails. No one shall know the face behind the wicked machinations, the mind that orchestrates chaos.
Bribery, the weapon of choice for the cunning villain. Money talks, and those in power have their price. I will find their vulnerabilities, their darkest desires, and exploit them to my advantage. Blackmail, coercion, and promises of power will be the currency that seals their fates. They will dance on the edge of my strings, mere puppets in my twisted theater.
But bribes alone are not enough. Fear must accompany my dark allure. I will unleash a wave of terror, unsettling the very foundation of their belief in security. Anonymous threats, eerie messages, and unexplained accidents will haunt their waking moments and torment their dreams. Their grip on power will falter as paranoia consumes them.
To stall the mining project, I must strike at its heart. Sabotage will be my ally. Machinery will burn, accidents will befall the paperwork, and rumors of cursed mines will spread like AFR wildfire. Delay will cripple their progress, leaving them stranded in a web of uncertainty and doubt.
Oh, how sweet it will be to witness their downfall, to revel in their despair. Their dreams of wealth and progress will crumble before their eyes, shattered by the relentless force of a villain's wrath. The darkness shall prevail, and their ambitions shall wither into dust.
As I write these words, a twisted smile creeps across my face. The journal serves as a testament to my malevolent genius, a chronicle of my rise to infamy. The world shall tremble at the mere mention of my name, and my legacy shall be etched in the annals of villainy.
Today, I delve into the depths of darkness, plotting my underhanded scheme to bring the AVZ mining to a grinding halt. The fools in power believe they can exploit our Chinese land, our resources, without consequence. But they underestimate the power of a true villain.
In this clandestine journal, I document my devious plan, knowing that all shall stumble upon these pages. The first step is to gather a network of shadowy figures, individuals skilled in the arts of deception and manipulation. They will be my pawns, ready to do my bidding without question.
Secrecy is paramount. I will cloak myself in anonymity, my true identity hidden behind layers of masks and false trails. No one shall know the face behind the wicked machinations, the mind that orchestrates chaos.
Bribery, the weapon of choice for the cunning villain. Money talks, and those in power have their price. I will find their vulnerabilities, their darkest desires, and exploit them to my advantage. Blackmail, coercion, and promises of power will be the currency that seals their fates. They will dance on the edge of my strings, mere puppets in my twisted theater.
But bribes alone are not enough. Fear must accompany my dark allure. I will unleash a wave of terror, unsettling the very foundation of their belief in security. Anonymous threats, eerie messages, and unexplained accidents will haunt their waking moments and torment their dreams. Their grip on power will falter as paranoia consumes them.
To stall the mining project, I must strike at its heart. Sabotage will be my ally. Machinery will burn, accidents will befall the paperwork, and rumors of cursed mines will spread like AFR wildfire. Delay will cripple their progress, leaving them stranded in a web of uncertainty and doubt.
Oh, how sweet it will be to witness their downfall, to revel in their despair. Their dreams of wealth and progress will crumble before their eyes, shattered by the relentless force of a villain's wrath. The darkness shall prevail, and their ambitions shall wither into dust.
As I write these words, a twisted smile creeps across my face. The journal serves as a testament to my malevolent genius, a chronicle of my rise to infamy. The world shall tremble at the mere mention of my name, and my legacy shall be etched in the annals of villainy.
you missed a word between completely and escapes
Dreddb0t has language like this for a bit of fun. As you might guess from the name… Dredd. Nobody is hardly about to be permanently banned from just a single post being moderated. And even if there was numerous, the bans or mutings are temporary. It takes a great many moderations before Dreddb0t to hand out a permanent ban.
So to the poster who was concerned, “take a joke” - the language is simply themed like Judge Dredd but rest assured it’s not going to spray your brain matter over the wall over a single infringement, like the real Judge Dredd.
Chase
Regular
You a ledgend
..you keep it real around here, I greatly appreciate your input.Wtf? Are you 12?
The personality name etc. chosen for the AI which assesses any content on this forum in accordance with the rules, once it has been reported, was something that was voted for by the forum members who took part in that process some time ago.
I suppose you may see the humour if you imagine the bot is typically only assessing posts written by trolls.
The simple thing I have to say is that there are rules here. There are no sides taken when assessing the rules, otherwise this would be a biased process. The rules are pretty straight forward and when followed the AI will take no issue.
If this is something you cannot reconcile - that is, unbiased moderation and even application of rules - then I suggest you have misunderstood the point of difference of this forum. Typically, it is biased moderation that people run from and arrive here to get away from.
Chase
Regular
Hit the nail on the head wino
Just received this from ZB, which concludes our discussion:
"Just a note - the rules are 100% consistently applied however only posts which are “reported” using the report function are assessed. This is 99% the reason behind any appearance of a lack of application of the rules. People don’t report them first…
Have a nice day also."
So yes, there is a deliberate and concerted policy of reporting posts in order to disrupt.
So be careful what you post and play the same game with the trolls. Report
However, what is more interesting to me is why this has all begun/escalated in the last week or so?
Trolls or their employers getting VERRRRRY worried methinks.
"Just a note - the rules are 100% consistently applied however only posts which are “reported” using the report function are assessed. This is 99% the reason behind any appearance of a lack of application of the rules. People don’t report them first…
Have a nice day also."
So yes, there is a deliberate and concerted policy of reporting posts in order to disrupt.
So be careful what you post and play the same game with the trolls. Report
However, what is more interesting to me is why this has all begun/escalated in the last week or so?
Trolls or their employers getting VERRRRRY worried methinks.
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