A couple of recent articles from the Alternative Mining Indaba DRC.
Au cours de la 7ème édition de l’Alternative Mining Indaba qui s’est ouverte hier mardi 26 septembre à Kinshasa, les panélistes tout comme les participants ont tous insisté sur l’implication de tout un chacun pour lutter efficacement contre la corruption, un fléau qui freine secteurs d’activités...
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ECONOMY
At the 7th edition of the Alternative Mining Indaba DRC: Rose Mutombo, Jean Jacques Kayembe and other panelists for the fight against corruption
Byuser1Posted
on September 27, 2023
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COMMENTS
During the 7th edition of the Alternative Mining Indaba, which opened yesterday Tuesday, September 26 in Kinshasa, panelists and participants all insisted on the involvement of everyone to effectively fight corruption, a scourge that hinders sectors of activity of Congolese society.
Speaking at this forum, the Minister of State in charge of justice and keeping her seals, Rose Mutombo, tried to demonstrate that corruption is a gangrene that kills the judiciary. But she is working on it to overcome this phenomenon.
"Also having the government's criminal policy in the responsibilities, I am setting up a database," she said before pointing out that her teams have already gone down 6 provinces to see in the courts and tribunals the offences that are relevant in the fight against corruption and that are brought before the judges. "You may be surprised. In any case, the rate of corruption cases is almost 0% referral in the 6 provinces," she revealed.
According to her, corruption does exist in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the elements of corruption are clearly visible in Congolese communities and with the authorities. "We note that when courts and tribunals deal with these offences, the majority of cases end either with a filing without follow-up or with une-established files. While the fact brought to the attention of the judges sufficiently proves that there has been corruption," she lamented.
These practices pose a serious problem in the country and challenge more than one person. "This is where we say that it is important that the judiciary can really process these files so that the corruption that plagues our community can find answers," said Minister Rose Mutombo, who believes that the fight against corruption can only succeed with the help of magistrates with the help of magistrates. This is very important. And it is true that there is the judiciary but all institutions must work to find this gangrene that is destroying the country.
Also in this panel, the national coordinator of the Initiative for Transparency in Extractive Industries (EITI), Jean Jacques Kayembe, also intervened to present the work he is doing in the fight against corruption in the mining sector. Above all, he wanted to explain that mining operators enter the DRC through two mechanisms. This is either by signing mining contracts or by obtaining mining titles. "It is in these links of the chain that we must see if there are no risks of corruption. Do the mining contracts signed in 2009 and today not involve risks of corruption?" he wondered.
At the same level, the EITI appreciates that the law on the fight against corruption raises the issue of mine ownership. Are they the real people who enjoy mining in the DRC? "When we establish a register of the real owners of the sites, we could identify the risks of corruption," he explained, adding that the EITI also addresses the issue of politically exposed people. When we talk about mines in the DRC, there is a risk that there will be collusion with politicians and made magistrates. "That is why we were asked to draw up another list of the real people who own the mines. And that we can detect the signs of corruption, "said Jean Jacques Kayembe.
Djodjo Mulamba
Les acteurs du secteur minier se sont rassemblés à Rotana Hôtel pour réfléchir sur le secteur minier en République démocratique du Congo. C’est à l’occasion de la 7 ème édition d’Alternative Mining Indaba dont l’ouverture des travaux a eu lieu mardi 26 septembre. Cette 7 ème édition qui se...
geopolismagazine.net
Alternative Mining Indaba: Brainstorming in Kinshasa to clean up the mining sector
Byuser1Posted
September 27, 2023
Mining sector actors gathered at Rotana Hotel to reflect on the mining sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was on the occasion of the 7th edition of Alternative Mining Indaba whose work opened on Tuesday, September 26. This 7th edition, which closes this afternoon, focuses on the theme "Promoting good governance and mobilizing mining tax revenues in the context of the energy transition in the DRC". The two-day work program includes 4 plenary sessions and 2 special sessions.
Already, for the work on Tuesday, September 26, the debates revolved around this question: "Is the DRC sufficiently prepared to seize the opportunities that the energy transition should bring?" Although Professor Raphaël Matamba, coordinator of the Technical Cell for Mining Coordination and Planning (CTCPM), who represented the Minister of Mines at this mining conference, replied that "Congo is prepared to play its role and profit in a win-win approach", the debate was not decided.
Experts recalled the global context where fossil fuels are gradually being abandoned in favor of clean, more ecological energies. This is the energy transition. For this transition, the DRC has a role to play. The country holds more than 60% of the world's cobalt reserves. Congo also has the 7th world copper reserve, two components (copper and cobalt) essential in the energy transition. The mining sector in the DRC as a whole had a turnover in 2022, US$30 billion. In 2022, copper production in Congo peaked at more than 2 million tons, and annual cobalt production in 2022 was 115,000 tons.
However, this growth has not produced the expected impact on communities, in terms of development. The mining sector remains undermined by fraud and corruption. On Tuesday, during the debates, 3 challenges were identified to increase tax revenues. There are tax challenges, governance challenges and technical challenges, as highlighted by Professor Raphaël Matamba.
For the second and last day (this Wednesday), the debates will focus, among other things, on the link between the energy transition and mining crafts. It will be a question of scrutinizing to understand to what extent this change that is coming in the extractive industry will be an opportunity in mining crafts.
At the end of the work, recommendations will be made.
Patrick Ilunga
