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PRESS RELEASE...
In the following lines, we attempt to provide an overall diagnosis of the causes underlying the decline in mining activity (1), before formulating recommendations (2).
1. THE CAUSES OF THE DECLINE IN MIMERE ACTIVITY
The causes of the decline in mining activity are largely linked to the gloomy political and social context from which the DRC has suffered for decades. Without going into detail, we highlight some more recent causes below:
A. Injunctions from the Congolese government to mining operators to pay taxes in advance for the fiscal years 2024-2025
The Congolese government is using mining companies to pay advances on taxes3 and taxes for the years 2024 and 2025. According to our investigations, these colossal sums would help finance the urgent activities of the institutions resulting from the elections of December 2023. Several sources confided to JUSTICIA Asbl that these practices are commonplace and previous governments had used them to finance projects (quick impact finance such as the recent so-called 100-day projects implemented when President Félix TSHISEKEDI took office in 2019. However, several mining companies do not have enough liquidity to respond favorably to the Congolese government's request.
B. Poor management of subcontracting in the mining sector
The Congolese government has made the exclusivity of the Congolese in mining subcontracting4, governed by law no. 017/001, its real hobby horse.
Following the revitalization of the Regulatory Authority for Subcontracting in the Private Sector (ASRP), its new Director, visibly dynamic but also having personal interests in the mining field through nominee companies, would have imposed on large mining companies a list of around 40 so-called Congolese companies for subcontracting. Around thirty of these companies would be non-viable and would have neither the expertise nor the financial and technical resources necessary to provide quality services to mining operators. While the other ten companies would be made up either of his own companies or those of members of the family of President Félix TSHISEKEDI or other personalities who are members of the political parties in power.
These companies, most of which were created recently, also do not have proven experience in their sectors of intervention, but have the advantage of benefiting from some high-ranking political support and can take advantage of this to obtain loans from of the Industry Promotion Fund (FPI).
As a result, mining companies are often forced to award subcontracting contracts to these unqualified companies as part of the implementation of their mining operations. Certain projects, such as the paving of Route Munua, an extension of Golf Faustin in Lubumbashi, which have been financed for almost two years without any work having begun.6 Certain Asian companies, on the other hand, have reportedly found mechanisms to circumvent the law on subcontracting by placing a few Congolese as nominees in front of companies created by themselves.
Article 220 of the new Mining Code lists taxes. taxes. rights and royalties that taxpayers are required to pay to I in accordance with the terms provided for by the Code.
Ministerial decree nool 14/CA.MlN. OF April 17, 2013 relating to the subcontracting of mining activities in
DRC
Read the article from I Afrique Intelligent on this subject entitled DRC: In I Zex Katanga. the far-west mining of the Tshisekedi clan05,02/2024.
In its citizen control bulletin-lRDH, '202003/004. I TRDH gives as an example: the Annex Commune where the mining companies CDM Mining and (Société Minière Katanga) are located. the funds for the construction of the Kipopo wall • have been collected every year since 2019 by a certain company TC of a certain Miguel Kasha[ But it is still impractical. workers remain in the phase
and a little more attitude 
