Le projet d’exploitation du lithium de Manono, dans la province du Tanganyika, piétine. Et la Société civile, évoluant dans le secteur des ressources naturelles, n’hésite…
econewsrdc.com
The Manono lithium exploitation project in the province of Tanganyika is trampling. And Civil Society, operating in the natural resources sector, does not hesitate to name the culprit: the Cominière (Congolese of Mining), this company of the State Portfolio born from the remains of Zaire-Etain.
In a statement, made simultaneously, on November 20, 2022, in Kinshasa, Kolwezi, Lubumbashi and Bukavu, these Civil Society Organizations note that "the management of Cominière SA must stop blocking Manono's development and undermining the presidential energy policy and the development of 145 territories by multiplying strategies to block Dathcom Mining".
From the outset, these Civil Society Organizations specialized in natural resource issues say they note "agitation and maneuvers on the part of certain administrative and judicial government services as well as the Cominière SA in order to freeze the notification of the Dathcom Mining SA Operating Permit and communicate to it the total amount of the surface rights owed to the State. This constitutes serious damage not only for the Congolese part (Congolese State with its 10% of its shares due to it as well as those of the company of the State Portfolio, Cominière SA), but especially for the population affected by this mining project, which had already to conclude the specifications for community development to combat current poverty. It also prevents the start of mine construction work and the production of this mineral prized in the manufacture of essential electric batteries in the fight against global warming against which the DRC is positioning itself as a "solution country" for the global energy transition".
They base their conviction on documented investigations with the ministry that manages electricity in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"Taking into account these known facts of the Directorate of Cominière SA and the string shooters to be identified", these Organizations recommend "urgently and patriotically" to the country's authorities to make every effort to remove all the locks that block the effective start of the Manono lithium project.
Especially to the President of the Republic, these Organizations are waiting to see him: "ensure that the climate of trust reigns among the shareholders of Dathcom Mining SA so that operating operations begin urgently; give orders to the state services for Dathcom Mining SA to be notified and that the 10% of the State's share be effectively recorded in the register of the mining Cadastre in accordance well the interests of the State in Dathcom Mining SA, United Cominière SA and other partnership companies at Cominière SA; prohibit any interference or interference of certain members of the government, institutions and firms at the national level and in the provinces with direct or indirect interests with this state enterprise."
Completeness of their press release.
Econews
THE ORGANIZATIONS AND PLATFORMS OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY OF THE DRC
CDH, ESPOIR ONGDH, GANVE, JUSTICIA Asbl, LICOCO, MAX
IMPACT, MDR, POM, RCEN, RND Asbl, CERN/CENCO, TPRDC.
Avenue Libenge, Number 216 C/LingwalaRfc MUSHI KINSHASA
Phone: 0994075131-0816049837-0810526141
0812115834-081169770-0810348785-0810002980-0998666992
Email: drcongo.matters@gmail.com
JOINT PRESS RELEASE NO. 002/OSC/RN/11/2022
THE DIRECTION OF COMINIERE MUST STOP BLOCKING THE
DEVELOPMENT OF MANONO AND SAPER THE PRESIDENTIAL POLICY
ENERGY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF 145 TERRITORIES IN
MULTIPLYING STRATEGIES TO BLOCK DATHCOM MINING.
Kinshasa-Bukavu-KoKinshasa-Bukavu-Kolwezi-Lubumbashi, November 20, 2022.
Our national civil society organizations specialized in natural resources issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, signatories of this press release, invite His Excellency Mr. President of the Republic, Head of State Félix-Antoine TSHISEKEDI TSHILOMBO and the Government led by His Excellency Prime Minister Jean-Michel SAMA LUKONDE KYENGE to be concerned about the normal functioning of the joint
Our organizations note unrest and maneuvers on the part of certain administrative and judicial government services as well as Cominière SA in order to freeze the notification of the Operating Permit of Dathcom Mining SA and communicate to it the total amount of surface rights due to the State; this constitutes serious damage not only for the Congolese part (Congolese State with its 10% of the shares due to it community development to combat current poverty; it also prevents the start of mine construction work and the production of this mineral, which is popular in the manufacture of electric batteries essential in the fight against global warming, against which the DRC is positioning itself as a solution country for the global energy transition.
Since September 2022, the General Management of Cominière SA, of which a member is supposed to sit on the Technical Committee for Monitoring the work of the Mpiana-Mwanga power plant rehabilitation project, has launched a call for tender claiming that the said plants are abandoned. At a meeting organized by the communities of Manono on Saturday, November 12, 2022 on Dathcom Mining SA, the Cominière SA delegate publicly stated that they "selected the Chinese Zijin group for the rehabilitation of Mpiana Mwanga's hydroelectric plants within three years and unconditionally", according to the information in our possession received from a participant in the said meeting. While the official documents in our possession (including the ministerial decree of which we publish a copy in this press release) prove the opposite.
The signatory organizations find in this an unhappy maneuver to block the start of the mining project of Dathcom Mining SA which will contribute to the development of Manono and its surroundings in the province of Tanganyika as required by His Excellency Mr. President of the Republic and His Excellency the Prime Minister through the ambitious program of the development of our 145 territories by the base, with positive benefits and training
Our organizations remind the Cominière SA and the Ministry of the Portfolio that one of the reasons that motivated the government to sign the agreement with AVZ POWER SAU is the announcement made by this private company to rehabilitate the relevant plants in compliance with the country's laws and international standards in the sector in order to provide energy to Dathcom Mining SA for its mining operations as well as to Mpiana-Mwanga. This vision of things is part of the development policy of His Excellency Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Republic and Head of State, to electrify our villages and cities through public-private partnerships.
After documented surveys with the Ministry that manages electricity in the Republic
Democratic in Congo, our organizations have managed to establish the following chronology of the known facts of the Cominière SA that they wish to share with public opinion:
-On June 04, 2019, AVZ POWER SAU sent a letter of Expression of interest on a hydroelectric development project at the Mpiana-Mwanga site at least 87kms from the city of Manono in Tanganyika;
-On June 13, 2019, there was a meeting convened by the Ministry of Energy sanctioned by a
"Verbal Council of the technical meeting for the rehabilitation of the "Mpiana-Mwanga" hydroelectric power plant drafted by the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity;
-On June 21, 2019, a Collective Service Order referenced No.ERH/SG/0/036/B9/NB/19, the
government sends a technical mission on site to the Manono Territory;
-In July 2019, a mission "Report" carried out at the Mpiana-Mwanga hydroelectric plant on the Luvua River as part of the rehabilitation project by AVZ POWER SAU from 24 to 03 July 2019 at the expense of the Project;
-On July 29, 2019, there was a document referenced No. ERH/4/SG/0/08681/G9/LK/19 and entitled "Transmission Mission Report - Mission carried out in Mpiana-Mwanga in the territory of Manono in the province of Tanganyika";
-On January 13, 2020, the "Protocol of Agreement between the DRC and AVZ POWER SAU on the rehabilitation of the Mpiana-Mwanga I and II hydroelectric plants" was signed by the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity for the Minister.
-On March 25, 2020, there was "Transmission of the feasibility study of the Mpiana-Mwanga hydroelectric plant in the province of Tanganyika in Manono" to the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity (Government) under reference 001/AVZP/MD/PERTH/03/202, followed by the acknowledgement of receipt on March 27, 2020.
On October 30, 2020, there was an "Information Note to His Excellency the Minister of State, Minister of Water Resources and Electricity" on the "Mission requested by AVZ POWER SAU as part of the technical and environmental assessments of the Mpiana-Mwanga hydroelectric power plant" under reference RHE/4/SG/0/1321/G20/SMW/2020.
-On October 30, 2020, there was "Transmission of the report of the service mission carried out in Manono in the province of Tanganyika" according to the order of mission or service referenced RHE/0/SG/070/B9/SM/2020 of September 15, 2020" to accompany the technical agents of the companies Congo Energy SA, Blue Phoenix, Stucky, CREC Ltd and Tramico SARL as part of the technical and environmental assessments of the Piana Mwanga I and II plants, under reference RHE/4/SG/0/1322/G9/ALS/2020.
-In October 2020, there was a "Mission Report" carried out in Manono by Engineer Timoleon EYUMA, a ministry executive responsible for coordinating all the work.
In December 2020, the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity shared with the parties its "Mission Report" carried out, from November 24 to December 09, 2022, at various sites in the Territory of Manono, in the province of Tanganyika for an exhaustive evaluation for the planning of the rehabilitation work of the Mpiana-Mwanga I and II power plants.
-On January 22, 2021, there was transmission to the Ministry of the report of the service mission carried out in Mpiana-Mwanga on the collective service order No.RHE/4/SG/0/114/B9/SMW/2020
-29 JANUARY 2021, the Minister of Energy has signed Ministerial Decree No. 129/CAB/MIN/RHE/EMM/2021 of 29 "creation of a Technical Committee to monitor the project to rehabilitate the hydroelectric power plants of Mpiana-Mwanga I and II" in which a representative or delegate of the Cominière SA sits. On the same day, the Minister signed Ministerial Decree No.130/CAB/MIN/RHE/EMM/2021 appointing the members of the Monitoring Committee for the rehabilitation project for the Mpiana-Mwanga I and II hydroelectric power plants.
-On March 12, 2021, there was "Transmission of Minutes and Report" from the workshop for the validation of feasibility studies relating to the renovation of the Mpiana-Mwanga I and II hydroelectric plants on the Luvua River in the province of Tanganyika under reference RHE/SG/0/0389/B8/SM/2021.
-On April 09, 2021, there was appointing members of the Monitoring Committee.
-On April 24, 2021, by its letter referenced MOMENTUM/KIN/CL/002/APRIL/2021, the Consulting firm of AVZ POWER SAU wrote to the Minister of Energy to express to the government the satisfaction of its client following the letter from the Minister of Energy referenced CAB/MIN/RHE/BMP/209/AAM/21 approving the feasibility studies for the
-On May 03, 2021, the letter from the Secretary General of the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity referenced RHE/SG/0/0652/G/NB/2021 appointing the member and Chief Executive Officer, representing the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity in the monitoring committee.
-On May 03, 2021, the letter from the Secretary General of the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity referenced RHE/SG/0/0653/G/NB/2021 notifies the representative of the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity of his appointment in the monitoring committee.
-On May 20, 2021, the Coordination of the monitoring technical committee sends a Technical Note to the Minister of Trustees on the current state of the project to rehabilitate the Mpiana-Mwanga hydroelectric plants.
-On May 27, 2021, the Technical Monitoring Committee sent an Information Note to the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity on the project.
Taking into account these known facts of the Directorate of Cominière SA and the snipers of the strings to be identified, our organizations urgently and patriotically recommend:
1.
TO THE INTERIM MANAGEMENT OF COMINIERE SA
- To comply with the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government of the Republic and AVZ POWER SAU for the rehabilitation of the Mpiana-Mwanga hydroelectric plants, and of which a representative was to sit on the Technical Monitoring Committee of the said project;
- To take into account the conclusions of the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) on its management and the sale of the assets of this state-owned company, and to draw the consequences by resigning.
2.
TO THE MINISTER OF HYDRAULIC RESOURCES AND ELECTRICITY
- To ensure that the work is carried out normally in view of the agreement signed with AVZ POWER SAU which commits the entire government and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- To ensure with his colleague from the Portfolio that the Directorate of Cominière SA ceases to create another blockage against the effective start of the work on the Dathcom Mining SA lithium mining project expected by the populations of Manono, the province of Tanganyika and the whole country.
3. TO THE MINISTER OF THE PORTFOLIO
- To stop causing confusion and play a role that blocks the development of Dathcom Mining SA's mining project and to take into account the conclusions of the IGF's roadmap (Report) on its poor role in the illegal sale of the 15% of the shares to a Zijin company as well as the sale of Cominière SA's assets by its interim management, and then draw all
- To respect and support the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Government of the Republic, through the Minister in charge of the energy sector, and AVZ POWER SAU for the rehabilitation of Mpiana-Mwanga power plants;
- To stop taking sides for a private company (Dathomir Mining Resources SARLU) in its commercial dispute with AVZ International Pty Ltd or for the Chinese group Zijin, beneficiary of a sale of the shares of the Cominière SA classified as illegal by the Report of the General Inspectorate of Finance, with all the risks of undermining the efforts made by His Excellency the President of the Republic
- To proceed urgently, in the name of the best interests of the nation and in accordance with the vision of the Head of State, to the recruitment by selective test of State representatives who can rationally manage with productive governance this state mining company whose assets serve only a small group of individuals identified by reports from other non-governmental organizations
4. TO HIS EXCELLENCY, MR. PRIME MINISTER, HEAD OF GOVERNMENT
- To put order in the management of Cominière SA, which has been left for years in the hands of two people (the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and the Technical Director) who impose their will to it to it to the detriment of the interests of local communities and the Republic, and to ask the Minister of the Portfolio to urgently recruit by selective test the new agents to manage this public undertaking, taking
5. TO HIS EXCELLENCY, MR. PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, HEAD OF STATE
- Ensure that a climate of trust prevails among the shareholders of Dathcom Mining SA so that operating operations begin urgently;
- Give orders to the state services so that Dathcom Mining SA is notified and that the 10% of the State's share is actually recorded in the mining register in accordance with our mining legislation;
- Ensure that governance within Cominière SA is really strengthened and implemented;
- Ensure that the people proposed by the Ministry of the Portfolio are in-person and will defend the interests of the State in Dathcom Mining SA, United Cominière SA and other partnership companies at Cominière SA;
- Prohibit any interference or interference by certain members of the government, institutions and cabinets at the national level and in the provinces with direct or indirect interests with this state enterprise.
[end article]
Different people telling MoP and Cominiere to do their fucking jobs; not enough people being frog-marched out of the offices…
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