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PRESS RELEASE...
'The well-kept mess in this area. the excess of zeal sometimes shown by the Regulatory Authority for subcontracting in the private sector (ASR"), in addition to political interference, cannot in any way promote the new economic and social class targeted by the law on subcontracting nor ensure the development and sustainability of the mining industry, the backbone of the Congolese economy, indicates Maitre Timothée MBUYX President of JUSTICIA Asbl
According to several Congolese economic operators, you must have political, friendly or family ties in the high echelons of political power to claim subcontracting contracts in the mining sector.
These days, subcontracting is akin to a modern form of slavery to the extent that there are unacceptable differences in treatment between the workers of the main company and those of the subcontractor for whom the end of contract can intervene at any time without substantial compensation. From this point of view, subcontracting appears as a mechanism for enriching the owners of subcontracting companies to the detriment of workers who have no social protection.
C. Difficulties affecting mining companies
Several companies have had trouble, particularly with Congolese authorities and for purely political reasons. These are mining companies in which political figures who are not members of the Sacred Union are suspected of holding stakes in the share capital.
Some companies were suspended and others saw their operating permits withdrawn following strong political pressure allegedly exerted by members of the family of President Félix TSHISEKEDI on the mining administration. Other companies have been shaken because they are suspected of contracting with subcontracting companies allegedly owned by political opponents. Even some company CEOs who resisted these pressures were forced to tiptoe out of the country.
E. The opacity of mining operations: an obstacle to community development
In recent years, although efforts have been made to fight for transparency in the management of revenues from mining companies, other, much more important issues still remain and some bad practices are hard to come by. These include, among other things, the signing of mining contracts and agreements between the Congolese government and its partners without taking into account the populations living near the mining sites or allowing them to directly benefit from the fallout from certain positive negotiations.
for JUSTICIA Asbl, for example, within the framework of the agreement reached between Gécamines and the Chinese group CMOC, the government should clarify the share which would accrue to the inhabitants of Fungurume and Tenke of the sum of 800,000,000 S that TFM would pay at Gécamines.
It is the same for what the inhabitants of Kolwezi would gain in the jackpot of 7 billion US dollars that SICOMINES would pay following the renegotiation of the contract with the DRC as the Head of State announced in his speech. inauguration of January 20, 2024.
F. Insufficient energy and inadequate mineral evacuation routes
The development of the mining industry goes hand in hand with the supply of electrical energy. On this precise point, the DRC is lagging behind unimaginably despite its great hydroelectric potential.
By 2018-2022, the Congolese government intended to continue providing production units with access to electricity for urban and rural populations. To date, apart from the Busanga hydroelectric dam and a few micro-dams built by private parties, the action of the Congolese government to improve electrical energy supply is almost non-existent.
The National Electricity Company, being a shadow of itself, the Inga 2 and Inga 3 projects are still suffering from implementation and the Government seems not to be able to finance and support micro-dam construction projects. which would support the mining sector.
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