Chinese Miners in Africa

[MoneyBags1348]

17/02/2023

Chinese contracts: the IGF shouts at the sell-off of the country's mining resources and reveals the mafia network!

What everyone feared in what has since been called "Chinese Contracts" has just come true.

A report by the General Inspectorate of Finance, IGF, highlights that the Republic has sold off its resources in its contracts concluded under Kabila.

In fact, not having fresh capital to boost the development of the country, the regime had entered into a partnership with Chinese companies, in particular for the construction of basic infrastructure against the exploitation of deposits used for this purpose.

A joint venture had been created, SICOMINE to manage the interests of two parties.

Only then, after several years of implementation of this contract and exploitation of Congolese resources, the General Inspectorate of Finance comes to the conclusion that the resources of the Republic have been sold off and squandered against minimal achievements.

In the IGF report, the Chinese side has already exploited mineral resources worth 10 billion US dollars while the infrastructure built in return is valued at around 800 million dollars only and its impact is not visible.

To do this, the IGF simply recommends revisiting them.

"It is a question that the agency responsible for monitoring this program can begin a process that will lead to the revisiting of this agreement.

The glaring imbalance that has been observed, the selling off, the squandering of our minerals observed in this contract has been also the work of many misguided sons of our country who have accompanied Chinese companies in this macabre work against our country.

So now, by the will of His Excellency the President of the Republic, Head of State, the process is set in motion through the agency so that there is a rebalancing of the gains, advantages and charges in this agreement.

The DRC has made deposits available to the convention; deposits whose value is estimated at more than 90 billion USD.

Regarding the constitution of the company Sicomines, the DRC only had 32% of the shares while the Chinese part monopolized 68% for an undervalued capital of 100 million USD.

On the other hand, in the operation of this agreement, Chinese companies have already received a gain estimated at nearly 10 billion USD, while the DRC has only benefited from 822 million in terms of infrastructure.

Will it be necessary in the 822 million that we enter in depth to realize that there is no visibility of these 822 million", denounced Jules Alingete, inspector general, head of service of the IGF.

To convince us of the correctness of its argument, Alingete cites the example of the Cinquantenaire hospital, which is found in infrastructures of the order of 114 million USD when everyone knows that this hospital already existed and that it it was just a finalization that was done.

mediacongo

 

[MoneyBags1348]

18/02/2023

Congo demands $17bn more in infrastructure investments from China deal​

Congo’s state auditor has demanded an additional $17 billion of investments from a 2008 infrastructure-for-minerals deal with Chinese investors that is currently being renegotiated, documents seen by Reuters on Thursday showed.

President Felix Tshisekedi’s government has been revisiting the deal struck by his predecessor Joseph Kabila under which Sinohydro Corp and China Railway Group Limited agreed to build roads and hospitals in exchange for a 68% stake in Sicomines, a cobalt and copper joint venture with Congo’s state mining company Gecamines.

Under the Sicomines deal, the Chinese investors committed to spending $3 billion on infrastructure projects, but the state auditor – Inspection Generale des Finances (IGF) – demanded that commitment be increased to $20 billion, to reflect the value of the mining concessions that Gecamines contributed to the deal.

He has previously defended the deal, saying it had driven development for Congo’s people and that Sicomines would invest more as production increased.

So far, Sicomines has only spent $822 million on infrastructure investments, according to the IGF report seen by Reuters.

The auditor also called for an “immediate” $1 billion investment from Sicomines, and a commitment to 50% of the workforce on infrastructure projects being Congolese.

Among a list of 16 demands, the IGF called for the “renegotiation of the Convention to adjust and balance the duties and benefits of both parties and bring them into line with the value of their respective contributions”.

The auditor also demanded that Gecamines be given a bigger stake in Sicomines.

It currently has a 32% holding.

Congo’s finance minister Nicolas Kazadi told Reuters last month that the government expects to reach an agreement on the Sicomines deal this year.

mining.com

 

[MoneyBags1348]

18/02/3023
@Frank Posted
Chinese contract: the IGF report is not "credible", retorts the Chinese Embassy

We regret to note that the report, whose content is full of prejudice, does not correspond to reality, cannot be considered credible and has no constructive value”.

It is in these terms that the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Democratic Republic of Congo reacted this Friday, February 17, following the publication of a report by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) denouncing a "imbalance" in the contract signed between the Congolese government and the group of Chinese companies, in the management of certain natural resources of the DRC.

According to the spokesman of the Chinese Embassy, "many tangible achievements prove that the Congolese side has effectively benefited from this cooperation".

The collaboration agreement between the Congolese government and the group of Chinese companies was signed in 2008 and gave rise in particular to the creation of a joint Sino-Congolese company, Sicomines.

Based on an agreement supposed to lead to a “natural resources against infrastructures” program, Sicomines was launched with a share capital of 100 million dollars.

According to the conclusions of the IGF report, this amount was simply disproportionate to the corporate purpose of the joint venture.

He believes that everything is unbalanced and that from the outset it was necessary to assess the contributions of mineral deposits made by Gecamines and this imbalance continued in operations, said the Inspector General of Finance, Jules Alingete, in his report.

Below is the reaction of the Chinese Embassy in the DRC:

 

[MoneyBags1348]

17/02/2023
@Misfits Posted

Mines versus infrastructure: after audit, the IGF exposes how China has fooled the DRC​

February 16, 2023

The General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) made public on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 its audit report on the implementation of the Chinese contract. The Supreme Review Body paints a bleak picture of the implementation of the infrastructure-for-minerals contract concluded between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and China in 2008.

This report comes after calls from civil society and Westerners calling for the contract to be revised. Although the Government has repeatedly expressed its intention to renegotiate this major contract, in practice nothing has yet changed.
Below, in 11 points the main conclusions of the General Inspectorate of Finance:

1. The constitution of SICOMINES in 2008 was carried out in violation of Article 1 of the Royal Decree of 22 June 1926. The share capital not proportionate to the purpose of the company and not indicating the mineral deposits as a contribution from the Congolese party. USD 100,000,000.00 set by the GEC (Chinese Group of Enterprises) was very insufficient and therefore disproportionate to the corporate purpose.

2. No evaluation of the mineral deposits contributed by GECAMINES S.A. has been made and therefore, failure to integrate the value into the share capital: while its minimum consistency was known and listed in Annex A of the Agreement of 22 April 2008 and Annex B of the Joint Venture Agreement of the same date: 10,616,070 t/cu and 629,619 t/co worth USD 90,936,120,000, at the rates on the day of conclusion of the agreement.

3. Arbitrary, discriminatory and illegal nature of the fixing and distribution of the share capital at USD 100,000,000.00 at the rate of 68% of the shares for the GEC and 32% for the Gécamines Group. This capital was set at USD 100,000,000.00 (while SICOMINES held assets of USD 90,936,120,000.00) and it was decided that Chinese companies would have 68% of the shares against 32% for the Congolese side. The Chinese contributed USD 68 million and lent GECAMINES S.A USD 32 million, which it repaid with interest of USD 10,979,566.00 through deductions on its dividends.

DRC: big disillusionment on Chinese contracts

4. Significant financial imbalance to the detriment of the DRC between the advantages granted to the Chinese side and the commitments to be borne by it as well as the gains expected by the Congolese side: USD 90,936,120,000.00 to the Chinese against commitments borne by them of USD 6.2 billion, i.e. a gain for the Chinese of USD 84,736,120,000.00 to which must be added the tax and customs exemptions provisionally estimated at the lowest rates at USD 2,163,623,850.15. Even determining the net present value (NPV) based on the elements included in the 2021 Feasibility Study, the NPV is USD 76,573,723,516.28 which constitutes the gain in favor of the Chinese side because the NPV involves the deduction of CAPEX and OPEX from turnover. USD 76 billion gain for the Chinese side against 3 billion infrastructure for the DRC

5. In six years, from 2016 to October 2022, SICOMINES disbursed from one of its overseas accounts, in this case Main Account No. 100001700001077 housed in the books of BANK OF CHINA DUBAI BRANCH, a total amount of USD 9,677,613,625.15 to Chinese companies and itself for various unsubstantiated reasons. Illustrative cases of sales return for USD 1,564,280,538.68, contract payment for USD 1,506,989,864.14 and other debit transactions without giving reason for USD 3,827,943,282.32.

6. Lack of visibility and impact of the work carried out and its unjustified selectivity in violation of Annex C of the Convention of 22 April 2008. Eligible work performed: USD 534,902,461.66 Ineligible work performed: USD 287,287,598.42

7.Glaring weakness and modicity of infrastructure investments: SICOMINES has mobilized, in 14 years, financing totaling USD 4,471,588,685.14 and has allocated only USD 822,190,060.14 for the financing of infrastructure works, i.e. 18.38% of the total financing mobilized

8. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement and the joint venture agreement, the GEC was responsible for mobilizing resources for the financing of mining and infrastructure investments (USD 6.2 billion) for which SICOMINES was to be reimbursed. Instead, it was the SICOMINES Joint Venture that took on debt, to the tune of USD 3,341,948,821.85 to finance both mining and infrastructure investments. But at the same time, she paid herself, from 2016 to October 2022, USD 5,464,880,564.06 in her main account in DUBAI for the benefit of one or more other accounts not yet identified;

9. Failure to repatriate export earnings and fines of 5% due by SICOMINES: Following an erroneous interpretation of the contractual stipulations enshrining the freedom of transfer of funds, SICOMINES did not repatriate export earnings totalling USD 2,004,167,489.24 over the period from 2016 to October 2022. As such, it owes fines of 5%, i.e. USD 100,280,374.46

10. Imbroglio maintained in investment repayment periods This imbroglio was used to reduce the amount of infrastructure investment from USD 6.5 billion to USD 3.0 billion. Article 12 of the Convention provided that during the second period the total reimbursement should not exceed USD 3 billion in principal. It is curious. We probably wanted to delay the repayment and therefore the clearance of the DRC's debt vis-à-vis Chinese investors;

11. Irregular and unjustified payment of 4.8% of the amounts of the works under "Amount to be valued": For all works reported by the Congolese Agency for Major Works (ACGT), these costs amount to USD 37,256,434.59. The legality of such a levy and the destination given to the funds thus collected are problematic. It is therefore probably a way to remunerate oneself in a different way.

 

[MoneyBags1348]

19/02/2023
@Frank Posted

 

[Panther22]

Mind boggling reading but when are these IGF reports going to get some credence and some action taken on their contents?
I see a lot more Twitter posts in AVZ favor by DRC locals which can only be a good thing.
I am just confused as to when this all comes to a head. Is it
1/ ICC hearing?
2/ Removal of Ministers and new ones put everything back on track?
3./ Felix takes action and finally rights all the wrongs?
4/ Negotiation?
5/ Waiting game, one party relents?
6/ Reapply for mining decree and best offer wins?

If there isn't a resolution process how does it come to a head?
I spend far too much of my day following this saga as do most of you. Really appreciate the informative posts that educate me on the process and where its all at but desperate for a finish line.

The counter is brilliant, excellent work Spike. Thanks to Moneybags for amount of time, effort and research you put into your posts.
Others who are in the same boat as us thank you too.

Non holders, why do you feel the need to add your two bobs worth? Down rampers, l hope the pay is good because you look rather silly a lot of the time. Best you stay anonymous.

I am well into the 7 figures for number of shares held. Obviously life changing should it all work out, not so good if it doesn't.
Off to the pub for Sunday beers.
GLTAH

 

[MoneyBags1348]

22/02/2023
@Sammael Posted


#RDC : After the report of the IGF putting pressure on Chinese companies, the DG of the Government Agency for Monitoring the Chinese Contract, announces the agreement which has just been signed between the 2 parties. Payment to the DRC of 500 million USD in 2023 for infrastructure.

 

[MoneyBags1348]

23/02/2023
@Sammael Posted

Leaders - Au cœur de la bataille pour le contrôle du lithium de Manono par la Chine en République Démocratique du Congo :

Que veut en réalité l’entreprise chinoise Zijin chez la congolaise Cominière SA et chez Dathcom Mining

leaders.lu

At the heart of the battle for control of Manono lithium by China in the Democratic Republic of Congo:​

February 19, 2023 Jeef Kazadi

• What does the Chinese company Zijin actually want from the Congolese Cominière SA and Dathcom Mining?
• Who are the key players in a hostile takeover that looks like a toxic robbery? Decryption

(By Simon Bofunga, Jeef Kazadi, Ben Khaya)

China first, Congolese people ignored​

As in the copper, cobalt and zinc sector of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where this Chinese company is at Kamoa-Kakula and Kipushi Company with Ivanhoe Mines, at Compagnie Minière de Musonoie with Gécamines as well as other Chinese GEC who control the industrial copper and cobalt of the country at Sicomines (Chinese Contract or Contract Mines against Infrastructures) and block the General Company of Cobalt to continue to also control copper and cobalt crafts, by the Chinese from Kolwezi called ''SOLEIL'' (he is reputed to be the true king of mining crafts and casions in upper Katanga and Lualaba, according to LICOCO which carried out a survey in the two provinces with the Presidential Anti-Corruption Agency– APLC for at least six months), with Congolese accomplices who are members of the institutions of the Republic, Zijin who never invests in mining exploration and research, like any good Chinese in Africa, but excels in violations of laws and of human rights in China and in host countries, wants to help China get its hands on Manono's lithium thanks to Congolese service and non-patriots interested in the illicit enrichment facilitated by the famous Chinese of the country.

From Perth to Manono: Max Pro 1.0 remake of the battle for control of KML at KCC​

After failing to buy several stock shares of AVZ on the Australian Stock Exchange in Perth and after failing to pressure other shareholder Chinese companies ( Huayou and CATHL ) to enter the shareholding of Dathcom Mining by irregularly buying shares of Cominière SA to control the largest lithium deposit in the world thanks to the vigilance of the Australian stock market regulator – AVZ has more than 21,000 shareholders from several nationalities and continents including Americans, Australians, Europeans, Chinese, etc. .-, and after having failed in its attempt to directly buy 15% of Cominière SA in Dathcom Mining SA thanks to the right of first refusal ofAVZ Minerals which would ultimately benefit the Republic and Cominière SA if the accounts of the shares are well done without emotions, Zijin has decided to proceed with its malicious and toxic offer, which is in reality a criminal OPA (Public Takeover Offer) and policy supported by politicians including the Chinese ambassador in Kinshasa, the Minister of the Portfolio Adèle Kayinda in collusion with some political dignitaries who have been members of the Union for the Congolese Nation since 2021 known to all those who are interested in the file, reminding insiders of that which Glencore made against the Forrest Group for the control of Katanga Mining Limited and Kamoto Copper Company(KCC of Kolwezi) almost fifteen years ago with the support of politicians who considered themselves strong men of the regime if not immortal untouchable demiurges.

Klaus Eckoff's 2020 AJN Resources skirmish at Sokimo​

However, Zijin 's takeover is more like a robbery against the mining assets of First Quantum Minerals (FQM) by a third party with the help of politicians and technicians from the companies concerned and the mining cadastre.

Some official actors in the administration of mines have not changed heads and methods, although a similar takeover bid by the German and Canadian company AJN Resources of Klaus Eckoff failed in 2020, on the assets of Sokimo to raise 20 million Canadian dollars, thanks to the decisive vigilance of the NGOs and media members of the "TOUS POUR LA RDC" coalition , which had welcomed the salutary and patriotic decision of the Head of State Félix Antoine Tshisekedi taken thanks to the explanations of some ministers of the time (Ilunga Ilukamba Government) including Mr. Lite, Mwabilu, Kambinga and Kabanda while those of the mines, Kitobo and Portfolio, Kwete did not play fair and had an ambiguous attitude.

The United States of America and Canada opposed to Chinese control of the lithium supply chain since 2022​

Indeed, allowing Zijin to succeed in its takeover bid for Cominière SA 's 15% stake in Dathcom Mining for 33.4 million US dollars despite the denunciations of the IGF or giving it the northern part of Dathcom Mining 's operating license as says a so-called “confidential” document with content published by Congolese media including EcoNews , Sphynx.cdand others means undermining the efforts of the President of the Republic Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi against corruption, the selling off of mining assets and the cleaning up of the sector according to his vision; but it is above all to oppose the government of the Republic and President Tshisekedi to the American administration and the Canadian government which do not want China to control critical minerals, mainly lithium and rare earths, and strategic after cobalt and the copper.

La Cominière SA and all official supporters of Zijinmust thoroughly research the Executive Order signed in 2022 by US President Biden and the measures taken by the Canadian government of Trudeau against Chinese and Chinese-invested companies in this regard and avoid put Westerners on the back of the President of the Republic who is doing a remarkable job in the mining sector.

All official members of the parliamentary and government coalition must avoid repeating against Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi what the late Katumba band (some are still in post at strategic services of the Ministry of Mines) had done at First Quantum Minerals (FQM ) and at Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) by putting on the back of Joseph Kabila in 2009-2010 Canadians and Europeans on the eve of the general elections in the country. We must not repeat the evil, especially in the strategic lithium sector for the benefit of China (through Zijin , reputed to be a great violator of laws and human rights in Kolwezi and elsewhere) which already controls more than 90% of the copper and cobalt of the DRC bySicomines, TFM, Kamoa, Compagnie Minière de Musonoie, Ruashi Mining, AMC Kinsevere, Huachin Mabenda, etc.

Who are the key players in Zijin's lithium heist of Manono, Dathcom Mining and AVZ Minerals?​

The question seems banal or vulgar but it is rather important, fundamental. The answer to this helps to understand everything that is happening in easy French for dummies in the mining sector of the DRC and the geostrategic stakes, because the actors of what looks like a game of chess or the Strategootherwise who loses wins are recruited in several circles, in several places. After investigations, cross-checking of data and testimonies, analysis of various documents, the rest of our publications look into it.

As a reminder, history will remember that on May 20, 2022, the international media Citya.m was already talking about '' a Chinese plot to take control of the Congolese lithium mine '' .

This media affirmed in its publication with premonitory paces this:
"A plot by a coalition of powerful Chinese battery makers to take control of the world's largest lithium mine is threatening to depress the share price of Australian mining company AVZ Minerals, it said. a mysterious short seller.

AVZ Minerals could lose control of the Manono lithium mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and end up with a minority stake of 36%…, if a plot led by Chinese businessman Simon Cong succeeds, has said Boatman Capital Research in a new report.

The report comes amid a battle for control of the DRC mine between AVZ Minerals and Chinese miner Zijin Mining, which has seen AVZ voluntarily suspend trading of its own shares on the Australian Stock Exchange.

In its new report, Boatman Capital Research claims that AVZ is ''deliberately ousted from the Manono project''…''
Simon Congo is the Chinese called Cong Mao Huai, known as the owner of Fleuve-Congo Hotel in Kinshasa; owner or manager of SOPECO which manages the main tolls in the DRC; headliner of Dathomir (shareholder with Guy Loando Mboyo's family in Dathcom Mining ) denounced in the IGF report on Cominière SA ; headliner of mining companies HongKong Excellen Mining Investment Congo and HongKong Yisen (in which the name of Guy Loando was among the shareholders according to the documents consulted by the investigators), having benefited in an irregular and mysterious way from the mining permits of Dathcom Miningaccording to reports fromthe General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) from 2022 and the Superior Council of the Portfolio from 2021, and other mining and various operational companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo. File to follow, file to read.

(A survey conducted by NGOs and Congolese Civil Society Platforms CDH, CERN/CENCO, ESPOIR ONGD, JUSTICIA, MAX IMPACT, LICOCO, POM, RCEN, RND, TPAMC, TOUS POUR LA RDC and the media Congo Nouveau, Leaders, MNM who follow the Cominière Dossier and Dathcom Mining)

 

[MoneyBags1348]

22/02/2023
@Sammael Posted

SICOMINES, des chiffres imaginaires sur le troc du siècle Chine/RD Congo gagnant/perdant ! - Kongo Presse

Par Kiki Kienge Que fera la Justice Congolaise fasse a ce rapport de l’IGF, va-t-elle réagir pour les droits du peuple Congolais, ou le rapport sera aussi enfermé dans des…

kongopress.com

“The cobalt and copper deposits of the contract are valued at more than 90, China 97% and DR Congo 3%. »

SICOMINES, imaginary figures on the barter of the century China / DR Congo win / lose!​

February 21, 2023
Kiki Kienge

By Kiki Kienge
What will the Congolese Justice do to this report of the IGF, will it react for the rights of the Congolese people, or the report will also be locked up in the territories of the institutions as usual following political pressure.

“The misfortune of the Congolese people is their political class. The majority, more than 90% of the people who are part of the political class, promote mediocrity, promote hooliganism, public governance through corruption. » Jules Alingete, chief inspector of the IGF.

Namely, one of the levers that remains in the DR Congo to put pressure on the consortium of Chinese companies, is the non-renewal of the operating permit at Sicomines.

According to Mr. Alingete, chief inspector of the IGF (General Inspectorate of Finance), the Sino-Congolese agreement is not a contract between two states, Chinese and Congolese. But a Congolese government contract with Chinese companies.

The cobalt and copper deposits of the WIN-WIN contract are valued at more than US$90 billion. On assets, China has 97% and DR Congo 3%. Chinese companies in exchange should build 5,000 social housing units, 145 health centers, 31 hospitals with 150 beds, 3,500 km of rail and the same km for roads, rehabilitation and construction of at least 4 airports, construction of 2 universities, construction of 2 hydroelectric dams…

Sicomines has declared that in 15 years it has built infrastructures of the order of US$822 million, of which in reality it is only worth US$300 million, given the over-invoicing and non-realizations. The stadiums of Goma, Bukavu and Bunia declared already realized for a value of 30 million $US, have never been built to date.

The CEO of Sicomines is a Chinese citizen, the CEO a Congolese. But then when the CEO is absent, he leaves the interim and the signature to a Chinese director who must order his Congolese CEO.

Chinese companies in 15 years have already collected more than US$10 billion. 9 billion US$ of revenues (earnings) from the exploitation of Congolese cobalt and copper in Greater Katanga, were found in an account in Dubai which was used to pay Chinese companies.

Sicomines notably sells its production of Congolese minerals at half price (50%) to Chinese barter partner companies (win-win), which resell them in China at 100%, the Congolese State has lost more than US$7 billion on this merry-go-round.

The DR Congo to bring cobalt and copper deposits from Katanga worth US$90 billion, Chinese companies should bring in fresh capital for the exploitation of Sicomines, but they went to raise funds on the stock market and others with the Sicomines contract for only the construction of infrastructures, when the fresh capital should be used for the operation of Sicomines. Reimbursement of funds for the construction of infrastructure should be reimbursed on the part of the Congolese State would gain in the exploitation of cobalt and copper.

Jules Alingete, the chief inspector of the IGF, noted in particular that there would be programs included in the Sino-Congolese contract signed in 2007, which today in 2022 and 2023 would be financed by the new government of Sama Lukonde and even other programs under the Felix Tshisekedi regime. .

 

[MoneyBags1348]

23/02/202
@Charbella Posted

Zigin corruption in Colombia

Editorial Opinion: The Sad Case of Zijin Mining In Colombia

Zijin would do well to earn the hearts and minds of the locals rather than demanding that distant politicians fight its battles.

www.financecolombia.com

 

[MoneyBags1348]

23/02/2023
@Frank Posted

Sino-Congolese contract: "Stop politicizing the Sicomines affair"

“We send a message to all those who want to do political recovery of the Sicomines affair: stop.

The General Inspectorate of Finance has produced a technical report.

This mission started 6 months ago.

It is not because there are elections today that we have to stop working", declares, guest of the Special Edition on Top Congo FM, Jules Alingete, head of the services of the General Inspectorate of Finances (IGF), about the "misguided sons of the DRC" who accompanied (by passivity or complicity) Chinese companies in the selling off of natural resources within the framework of what were then called "Chinese contracts" signed in April 2008.

"Let those who are agitated, stop. My brothers Congolese politicians who were agitating, you are not concerned. Do not be afraid.

Be with us to defend the interests of the Congo, don't play into the hands of these Chinese companies who put forward to make believe that this is a problem between Congolese.

Stop your useless agitations”, he urges.

"The message I send them is that we have no problem with you. We understand the circumstances in which you acted. We say to you (simply): Congo first", reassures Jules Alingete.

"The report is technical and can be summed up in one thing: what we were promised in the agreement has not been given to us. We are only asking that we be able to give it and that in addition, we revisit the agreement to rebalancing the benefits, just that," he insists.

The Chinese didn't execute the convention alone?

"There are also many Congolese, Congolese structures that have intervened, but I do not want to put them on the dock.

I would simply like these Congolese to be with us to ask, in the interest of Congo, the Chinese side, its companies, to fulfill their commitments.

A point, a line", pleads the chief inspector.

“We ask Chinese companies involved in the convention to fulfill their commitment.

Subsequently, we ask these companies to sit down with the agency responsible for monitoring and coordinating their activities to examine the review of this contract which is totally unbalanced", he explains.

What about the status quo?

And in the case of China or at least its companies did not move one iota, Jules Alingete begins by noting "that the Congolese government has done what it promised.

They (Chinese companies) have promised infrastructure, it's a commitment.

They have to keep it (as long as they) recognize that we are at 822 million dollars instead of 3 billion over 15 years”.

And it is precisely "where we can say that the Congolese have abused, it is in the 822 million dollars of infrastructure that we estimate to have been overcharged.

In this Congolese part, there is the Agency for Major Works which was responsible for monitoring", he reveals, before returning to the hypothesis where the Chinese part does not run.

"The operating permit is renewable by the government", begins by recalling this senior public official.

Already, “next year, it will have to be renewed.

The government may not renew the permits.

These are coercive measures to lead to negotiation.

It's not just that (need to know).

Today, they no longer have exemptions.

There are other measures we can take," he said.

The political class, a misfortune

However, "these are partners and we are within the framework of a convention.

Let's not set fires.

We ask them (simply) to fulfill their commitment and that we can examine the agreement to see which provisions will have to be revisited", resumes Jules Alingete before going there with his clear and absolutely sharp peak: "The misfortune of the Congolese people is their political class".

Certainly, "it is true that in this political class, we have values, but the majority, nearly 90% of the people who are part of the Congolese political class promote mediocrity, to paraphrase Cardinal Mosengwo", formulates he.

“I go even further: they promote hooliganism.

That is to say public governance by corrupt people.

We must be patriots, we must love Congo.

If we do not defend the interests of Congo, there is no one who will come to do it in our place", he says.

mediacongo

Chinese contract unpacked: Jules Alingete scratches and puts pressure, Sicomines already drops 700 million dollars!

Jules Alingete played and won the DR-Congo, which lost billions in the deal with China presented as the "contract of the century" which should be "win-win".

The investigation into this contract, carried out by the brigade of inspectors of the General Inspectorate of Finance -IGF- under the leadership of Alingete, revealed a flagrant imbalance in favor of Chinese interests.

The gain of the Grouping of Chinese companies -GEC-, born following the conclusion of the "contract of the century" in 2008, was evaluated at USD 76 billion by the IGF while the DR-Congo only obtained USD 3 billion.

In the end, revealed "Jeune Afrique", which got its hands on a still confidential part of the audit submitted to President Félix Tshisekedi, the Chinese side has only mobilized USD 4.47 billion in 14 years, of which only 822 million were used to finance the construction of infrastructures, moreover "invisible".

The IGF report caused an outcry on the web, not without putting "pressure" on the negotiations started last November between the GEC and the DR-Congolese State, represented by the Agence de pilotage de coordination et de follow-up of collaboration agreements -APSC.

The latter, created in March 2022 to monitor the various collaboration agreements between the DR-Congo and its private partners, replaced the Coordination and Monitoring Office of the Sino-Congolese Program - BCPSC.

The Director General of the APSC, Freddy Yody Chembo, during his speech on the airwaves of Top Congo, announced that the Sino-Congolese mines -SICOMINES-, one of the companies of the GEC, will release a total of USD 700 million this year for the construction of infrastructure for the benefit of the DR-Congo.

Thanks to this same intervention, Freddy Yody Chembo acknowledged that “the IGF report has increased the pressure” on Chinese companies which have already dropped USD 500 million while negotiations continue.
This sum will be released in two stages: first USD 350 million and then USD 150 million.

It will, according to the director general of the APSC, be injected into projects “to be carried out by the Ministry of Infrastructure”.

The DR-Congolese party, he said, has requested an additional USD 200 million which will bring the total amount to be paid into the Treasury account this year to USD 700 million.

"The negotiations being in progress, it is likely to go beyond these 700 million which will allow the Republic to regain its rights", an observer told AfricaNews, while welcoming the "work of the titans" carried out by Jules Alingete, head of the General Inspectorate of Finance -IGF-, to "give a necessary push to the negotiations so that the Chinese contract can really benefit the DR-Congolese".

For Alingete and its inspectors, this contract, in its initial form, represented “unacceptable economic colonization”.

This, given that the country has lost 3,500 km of road, as many kilometers of railway, 31 hospitals and 145 health centers.

These various infrastructures should be built by Chinese companies in return for the exploitation of the DR-Congolese mines.

They should cost 6.5 billion.

To President Félix Tshisekedi, the IGF handed over a list of requirements to correct the “glaring imbalance” found in the Chinese contract.

These include the revision of the distribution of the capital of SICOMINES by taking into account the value of the deposits provided by Gécamines, the revaluation of the amount of infrastructure to be financed by the Chinese party to USD 20 billion USD.

mediacongo

 

[MoneyBags1348]

23/02/2023
@Frank Posted

Sino-Congolese contract: Matata defends himself and charges the Kabila presidency

Has the government been tricked into the contract signed in 2008 with the group of Chinese companies?

According to the report of the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF), the answer is affirmative.

Based on the “natural resources against infrastructure” program, this contract only benefited the Chinese side.

For the Congolese Minister of Finance, "it is clear today that this Chinese contract is not to our advantage".

In its report, the IGF revealed: “Chinese companies have already received a gain valued at nearly 10 billion US dollars, while the Republic has only benefited from 822 million dollars in terms of infrastructure.

Will it still be necessary, in the 822 million, that we go in depth to realize that there is no visibility of this sum?

Some Congolese authorities also participated in this game.

"The glaring imbalance that has been observed, the sell-off, the squandering of our minerals observed in this contract was also the work of misguided sons of our country, who accompanied Chinese companies in this macabre work against our country", said lamented the IGF.

Cited among those who "betrayed" the Republic, Augustin Matata Ponyo defends himself.

“I have never signed Chinese contracts,” he said.

The declared presidential candidate of December 2023 recalled that these contracts "were signed in 2008" when he was director of the Central Coordination Office (Bceco) "and not Minister of Finance".

Matata charges the Kabila presidency.

“The execution of these contracts was done exclusively by the Chinese Contracts Monitoring Office which depended on the presidency and not on the government”.


Patrick Muyaya on the Chinese contract: "We must not consider that we want to bully the Chinese...

The Congolese Minister of Communication and Media and Government Spokesman, Patrick Muyaya, was quick to deliver his version of the facts on the public outcry observed after the publication of the report of the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) on the famous Chinese contract.

“The intention of the Government is not to seek to bully the Chinese, but rather to ensure that the Congolese have their share of the cake. “, said Patrick Muyaya during a briefing held on Monday, February 20, 2023.

According to him, "the government's strategy is to look wherever we need to glean resources to deal with the problem of the Congolese".

For Minister Patrick Muyaya, the Chinese contract was signed in 2006 and had to be revisited, it is work that has already begun.

“We do not want to react to the words of the Chinese Embassy, but we want to look at the interests of the Congolese.

What we can say in relation to the objectives assigned to this contract where we had to trade mines for infrastructure, we did not benefit much in this direction.

This is how the IGF went to dig into the figures that were invested in this sector. We can't help but want to see more clearly what was being done. “, affirmed Patrick Muyaya.

And to add: “When the IGF, which is committed to this task, makes assessments, we must not consider that we want to bully the Chinese, but we simply want to make sure that the contract meets Congolese requirements. “, he insisted.

For his part, the Minister of Finance, Nicolas Kazadi, clarified that this is not the first time that we have expressed the wish to take a close look at this Chinese contract.

“The Council of Ministers has come back to this several times.

The report of the Minister of Infrastructure and that of Mines also mentioned it, but fundamentally, the work of the IGF goes deep with numbers.

We had already announced to our Chinese partners that there are things to review, now that there are detailed figures on the table, we will discuss with them.

China remains an important partner for the DRC.

We don't want to get angry with them, but we have the right to defend our interests, our vision, our strategy.

We have to say it, the Chinese contract today is not to our advantage,” he blasted.

The Congolese financier pointed out that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has received just under one (1) billion USD in investments while it has exempted China from many charges and taxes.

Meanwhile, China has generated a lot of revenue that exceeds US$10 billion.

Nicolas Kazadi took this opportunity to remind SICOMINES to respect its commitments.

“But beyond this Chinese counter-mine investment contract, there is today a dispute with SICOMINES for the superprofit which is not affected by the exemptions.

Unfortunately, SICOMINES does not want to pay the 200 million USD demanded of it as superprofit.

It must pay it because this tax is not part of the taxes exempted under the convention. ", he said.

Recall that the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) has made an alarming finding on the Chinese contract.

This, following its fact-finding missions on the collaboration agreement of April 2008 between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the group of Chinese companies commonly known as the “Chinese Contract”.

According to the IGF, the Congolese state has only benefited from 800 million dollars out of revenues estimated at 10 billion dollars in the operation of the SICOMINES project.

However, this report is disputed by the Chinese side.

In a press release published on February 17, 2023, SICOMINES challenged both the jurisdiction of the IGF, the procedure followed (in violation of SICOMINES law) and the content.

 

[MoneyBags1348]

23/02/2023
@Frank Posted

Sino-Congolese contracts: when Adolphe Muzito deplored an "injustice" against the Congolese people

The publication, last week, by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) of the report on the execution of the Agreement between Chinese companies and the Congolese government continues to be debated.

In this report, the IGF noted the fact that of the 12 billion dollars already generated in this deal, only 822 million benefited the Democratic Republic of Congo with regard to the infrastructure component.

A year ago, the former Prime Minister, Adolphe Muzito, had come to the same conclusion and the same figures.

In an interview with the South-China Morning Post media in March 2022, he already indicated that of the three billion planned for infrastructure, “only 800 million dollars have been disbursed, but still no infrastructure in sight”.

For Adolphe Muzito, this constitutes an "injustice" against the Congolese people.

He thus pleaded for the revision of this agreement so that it "guarantees the rights of investors and the Congolese people".

These so-called "win-win" contracts were signed a few months before the appointment of Adolphe Muzito as head of government in 2008.

Its implementation began in 2012, when the latter had already left the Prime Minister's Office.

mediacongo

 

[MoneyBags1348]

18/02/3023
@Frank Posted
Chinese contract: the IGF report is not "credible", retorts the Chinese Embassy

We regret to note that the report, whose content is full of prejudice, does not correspond to reality, cannot be considered credible and has no constructive value”.

It is in these terms that the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Democratic Republic of Congo reacted this Friday, February 17, following the publication of a report by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) denouncing a "imbalance" in the contract signed between the Congolese government and the group of Chinese companies, in the management of certain natural resources of the DRC.

According to the spokesman of the Chinese Embassy, "many tangible achievements prove that the Congolese side has effectively benefited from this cooperation".

The collaboration agreement between the Congolese government and the group of Chinese companies was signed in 2008 and gave rise in particular to the creation of a joint Sino-Congolese company, Sicomines.

Based on an agreement supposed to lead to a “natural resources against infrastructures” program, Sicomines was launched with a share capital of 100 million dollars.

According to the conclusions of the IGF report, this amount was simply disproportionate to the corporate purpose of the joint venture.

He believes that everything is unbalanced and that from the outset it was necessary to assess the contributions of mineral deposits made by Gecamines and this imbalance continued in operations, said the Inspector General of Finance, Jules Alingete, in his report.

Below is the reaction of the Chinese Embassy in the DRC:
View attachment 29944

View attachment 29945

24/02/2023




Cruiser Posted
Translated from French by Google
https://miningreview.com/battery-metals/avz-minerals-and-drc-ministry-of-industry-to-develop-sez/…

How many Special Economic Zones for electric batteries in the DRC? Kinsevere, ZES of Manono announced by PR05
@fatshi13 at Mining Indaba, Chinese ZES of Mr. Paluku


Julien Paluku

Translated from French by Google
#RDC - #CHINE :
After the installation of the Congolese Battery Council, working session today with ZHU JING, Chinese Ambassador. On the menu: the interest of Chinese companies (including CATL) in the electric battery value chain project and the Chinese SEZ

AVZ and DRC Ministry of Industry to develop SEZ​

Feb 18, 2020

AVZ Minerals has executed a binding MoU with the Ministry of Industry for the development of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Manono, in the Tanganyika Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The purpose of the MoU is to set up the terms for collaboration and negotiation between the Ministry of Industry and AVZ with a view to establishing the “Manono Special Economic Zone” in the Tanganyika Province and the development of basic infrastructure within the same.

Development of the Manono Lithium and Tin Project and associated infrastructure for mining operations including the export of product, would be at the core of these developments.

Read more about mining in central Africa

AVZ management team, led by Balthazar Tshiseke, Serge Ngandu and Christian Lukusa, on behalf of its 60% controlled subsidiary Dathcom Mining SA, presented the Manono Lithium and Tin Project to a panel of delegates from the Ministry of Industry, the Special Advisor to the President on Infrastructure and the Head of the Special Economic Zone Agency.

In essence, a Special Economic Zone provides for an “investor to enjoy exemptions or reductions, either permanently or temporarily, in a degressive or non-degressive manner, with or without the possibility of renewal or extension, on direct or indirect taxes, domestic duties and taxes, national, provincial and municipal royalties, import or export duties payable in Democratic Republic of Congo”.
AVZ as the developer of the SEZ, would be eligible to additional benefits from the Congolese Government as opposed to being purely an investor in the SEZ.

AVZ intends to secure the services of a suitably qualified manager to run the SEZ under contract which will be a joint venture between the Government, a financier, a manager and AVZ. Further terms for this joint venture will be discussed.

The MoU has a 12-month term and can be terminated in the event of non-performance by either party. Within four months of executing the MoU, AVZ will commit to defining and delineating the geographical area of the “Manono Special Economic Zone”.

The defined geographical area will initially include all essential infrastructure such as water, power (the Mpiana Mwanga hydro facility) and roads including the Manono Lithium and Tin Project licences (PR13359, PR4029 and PR4030) to facilitate a successful mining operation.

Read: AVZ Minerals DFS study expected end-March

A special workshop including the respective government representatives, has been organised in March to address these matters, including the framework for development and satisfaction of all conditions for the SEZ.

Under the MoU, the Ministry of Industry of the DRC commits to:

• Grant all necessary legal authorisation for the completion of the SEZ;
• Make all relevant information available to AVZ and facilitate team missions;
• Engage with AVZ in a Public Private Partnership; and
• Support AVZ in its administrative process to develop basic infrastructure including the Mpiana Mwanga hydroelectric power plant, communication channels (Roads, Rail, lake transport, etc.) that would contribute to the promotion of the industrialisation in the Manono SEZ and, in particular, to that of the lithium industry in the DRC.

AVZ’s MD, Nigel Ferguson, said: “We are extremely excited by this major step forward for the Manono Lithium and Tin Project. The Congolese Government has executed on what they stated they would do in support of the Manono district and they clearly agree with us, in that AVZ’s Manono Lithium and Tin Project can be a major catalyst for the redevelopment and invigoration of the Manono district to its former glory.”

At the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, the Minister for Industry, the Honourable Minister Julien Paluku, stated: “Industry must now be a factor of stability and peace with the creation of wealth and jobs…” because “we intend to change the perception and transform this ‘triangle’ into a ‘triangle’ of industrialisation that will result in job creation…”

Ferguson said: “AVZis very much onboard with the redevelopment of the province to allow what was once a bustling industrial and mining community to again be allowed to shine through direct investment in infrastructure, job creation and the education of its residents on the back of the Manono Lithium and Tin Project being commissioned.”


@MoneyBags1348 Posted

It’s fucken sickening how these corrupt Chinese actors including Chinese mining companies and ambassadors lie, bribe and conspire to get what ever they want in the DRC…. And weak and corrupt DRC politicians allow it to happen.

Shameful behaviour from Adele Kayinda (Minister of Portfolio), Julien Paluku (Minister of Industry and Infrastructure), Guy Loanda (Minister of Whatever) and other officials who allow the Chinese to try and blackmail their way into Dathcom and insult Jules Alingete (The Inspector General of Finance)

The corruption in the DRC is obvious to the whole world

 

[MoneyBags1348]

Frank Posted

We must fight against economic and financial colonization" (Jules Alingete)

Since the accession to the supreme office of Félix Tshisekedi, the General Inspectorate of Finance has been strengthened in capacity and means in order to track down the perpetrators of economic crimes in the DRC.

In line with the vision of the Head of State, Félix Tshisekedi to put an end to embezzlement and corruption in the DRC, Jules Alingete refuses to back down on this.

Indeed, he believes that the same energy that will have enabled the DRC to free itself from the colonial yoke should motivate the Congolese to "fight against the financial colonization imposed by internal and external predators in order to bequeath to our children a country where it will be a good life, ”wrote the financial policeman on his Twitter account.

State coffers have been bleeding for many years because of the financial and economic predation committed by Congolese political actors.


mediacongo

 

[MoneyBags1348]

Frank Posted

Chinese contract: in the absence of an amicable solution, four NGOs suggest the nationalization of Sicomines

The report of the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) on the contract signed on September 17, 2008 between the DRC and a group of Chinese companies (GEC) is still in the news.

This Wednesday, March 1, four civil society organizations, namely the Public Expenditure Observatory (Odep), the African Association for the Defense of Human Rights (Asadho), the Congolese Association for Access to Justice (Acaj) and the Economic Governance and Democracy Network (Reged), while welcoming the IGF's report, called for the review of the contract deemed unbalanced.

The IGF report highlights significant disbursements made to Chinese companies established in the DRC, but very low investments in infrastructure for the benefit of the country as agreed in April 2018 when the said agreement was signed.

In the absence of an amicable solution at the end of these discussions, these organizations recommend to the President of the Republic, to the government, to the Courts and tribunals to suspend, then to cancel this agreement, or even to nationalize Sicomines.

They said so in a statement read by Professor Florimond Muteba, PCA of Odep.

These organizations also demand legal proceedings against all those involved in the signing and in the management of this convention and ask President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi not to leave unpunished the perpetrators of what they describe as "economic crime".

They also plead for the respective responsibility of all the public authorities who were involved in the conclusion and management of the aforesaid Convention to be engaged, from the President of the Republic, to the executives, through the prime ministers, the ministers whose sectors are concerned, the Congolese negotiators, the coordinator of the project as well as the persons in charge of the Congolese Agency of great works (Acgt) and those of Gecamines.

To the control institutions, they ask to undertake or continue the control of all the agreements, in particular mining, in which the DRC is bound, to safeguard the interests of the Congolese people.

These organizations urge Chinese partners to encourage their companies to submit to the duty of accountability and to encourage those arrested to present their means of defense through legal channels.

To the political actors, these organizations ask to refrain from politicizing this file, in order to allow the Congolese people, owner of the national resources, to receive all the clarifications on the way in which their wealth is managed and to persuade any person in charge arrested in this file to present its means of defense by all legal means rather than attacking the IGF "which is only carrying out its legal tasks".

mediacongo

 

[MoneyBags1348]

03/03/2023

 

[MoneyBags1348]

08/03/2023

Actualité | Contrat Chinois: quels sont les conclusions de l'IGF ? | mediacongo.net

1. Constitution de SICOMINES en 2008 en violation de l’article 1er de l’Arrêté Royal du 22 juin 1926 Le capital social non proportionné à...

www.mediacongo.net

 

[MoneyBags1348]

08/03/2023

More facts relating to the Chinese ripping off the DRC when it comes to building infrastructure. I just edited a small part of it here as it’s a fair bit of reading


SICOMINES: the CREFDL unveils the list of infrastructures out of the US$824.5 million, the revised list of 2010 cannot be found
By Kiki Kienge

"CREFDL notes that the budgets for these infrastructure projects are irrational and lack credibility. ”

After the report of the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) on the contract of the century between the DR Congo and the Chinese consortium (GEC), SICOMINES, the Congolese political world, the administrations linked to this contract and even the Chinese Embassy in DR Congo found themselves in a storm, looking for how to better respond, but above all to whom to unload the weight of the "

The Centre for Research in Public Finance and Local Development (CREFDL) has just published figures and achievements from 2008 to 2018, highlighting the revision of the infrastructure carried out following pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

COMMUNIQUE N°004/CREFDL/DG.MV/2023
Chinese contract: the 40 infrastructures, which cost $824.5 million.

After analysis, CREFDL congratulates the IGM for this important work, which contributes to the improvement of public finance governance in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

After cross-checking this information, CREFDL finds that the budgets for these infrastructure projects are irrational and lack credibility.

We also have doubts about the effectiveness of the implementation of the work on the works declared by the Congolese Great Works Agency (ACGT) and the quality of the infrastructure delivered to the Government.

So recommend to the Government:

1) To postpone negotiations on the use of a probable disbursement of US$500 million announced by the Chinese side.

2) To the higher supervisory bodies, including the General Inspectorate of Finance and the Court of Auditors: to begin the audit of the list of 40 infrastructures as soon as possible

SICOMINES : le CREFDL dévoile la liste des infrastructures sur les 824,5 millions $US, introuvable la liste revisionnée de 2010 - Kongo Presse​

Par Kiki Kienge « CREFDL constate que les budget de ces projets d’infrastructures sont irrationnels et manquent de crédibilité. » Qui est ce David Copperfield de la politique Congolaise qui aurait réussi…

kongopress.com

 

[MoneyBags1348]

14/03/2023
Frank Posted

Chinese contract: "The business climate should not be confused with predation", Jules Alingete responds to Chinese companies

In a letter sent on March 5 to the President of the Republic, Félix Tshisekedi, the Union of mining companies with Chinese capital -USMCC-, created in 2017, claiming 42 members including 25 mining companies and 17 mining service companies, the production in 2022 of 1,850,000 tons of copper and more than 85,000 tons of cobalt, representing respectively 80% and 76% of national production for 3 billion dollars as well as the creation of 60,000 jobs, protests against both the Presidency of the Republic, the Parliament, the Minister of Finance, the financial authorities and the General Inspectorate of Finance -IGF-, all accused of pursuing Chinese companies, referring in particular to the Tenke Fungurume Mining and Sicomines cases, and crying out about the deterioration of the business climate.

The letter also accuses the tax authorities and even the partners and the Parliament of imposing astronomical fines on them even though they have no reason or proof of a violation.

Chinese companies also say they were shocked by the February 15, 2023 release of the IGF China Contract Report.

“We found that this report makes many baseless accusations against Chinese companies without mentioning any of the benefits that the Chinese Contract has offered to the Congolese side such as helping DR Congo to overcome its financial difficulties, the promotion of the return of international investors to the DRC, the considerable increase in Congolese mining production capacity, the establishment in a strategic market of China, the significant dividends paid to the Congolese party, the creation of many local jobs and the construction of a large amount of infrastructure”, described the president of this structure, a certain Gong Qingguo, not otherwise identified.

Then: "Furthermore, the publication of this report caused enormous media hype, which not only damaged the friendly atmosphere of Sino-Congolese cooperation and seriously tarnished the image of Chinese enterprises, but also undermined the confidence of our member companies in their investments in the DRC.

Due to the publication of such a report by a public institution of a friendly country that is the DRC, we cannot help but worry deeply about the deterioration of the business climate in the DRC”.

Mesh starting with all!

Gong Qingguo prays to Felix Tshisekedi “to properly settle differences and help companies solve problems in order to achieve common development”.

But, in reality, he does not want to admit that Chinese companies have trouble with all the services mentioned because of their behavior refractory to the laws of the country.

For example, Chief of Staff Guylain Nyembo is tracking China Molybdenum Co for manipulation of finances in its partnership with Gécamines in Tenke Fungurume Mining.

Connoisseurs advance 5 billion dollars.

The Minister of Finance, Nicolas Kazadi, claims super profits from Chinese companies operating in the mining sector.

The financial authorities complained about their fiscal incivility when the General Inspectorate of Finances -IGF- published a report damning the Chinese contracts, deemed unbalanced and unfavorable to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and another on the selling off of the shares of la Cominière undervalued for the benefit of Dathcom Mining, before launching, at the beginning of March, a vast control on the receipts of tolls managed by the Chinese companies SOPECO and SGR.

The first official to react to this missive, the Inspector General of the IGF, Jules Alingete Key, reserves a firm response to these tendentious accusations from Chinese companies, while ensuring that he has no particular anti- Chinese and sweeping away the thesis of the deterioration of the business climate.

Rather, he argues, in an interview with AfricaNews, "the patriotic, legitimate feeling of defending, regardless of the Regime, the interests of the Democratic Republic of Congo before all national and international predators, whatever their origin".

“There is no anti-Chinese sentiment. Nor is there any deterioration in the business climate.

The business climate should not be confused with predation.

It only exists for serious investors and not for fraudsters," he asks, asking why these Chinese companies are experiencing exponential enrichment when their contribution to the State Budget in terms of tax is very insignificant and , worse, decreasing.

“Why do these companies not pay the duties due to the State?

According to them, the business climate is the ease of defrauding and not paying taxes in a country? tolls on the roads of the Democratic Republic of Congo without building anything in return but to finance their private investments in the mining sector.

The Sicomines with a contract qualified as a new form of colonization, the funds for the tolls of the roads of the Republic with the Chinese companies SOPECO and SGR as well as the company Dathcom, the IGF swears, for its part, to engage in a fierce struggle to defend the interests and rights of the common country.

“The business world has only interests as a language.

We must at all costs defend the Democratic Republic of Congo against predation and hunt down its perpetrators, regardless of their origin.

This is the work of the IGF”, certifies and hits Alingete.

Gong Qingguo and his legion had better watch out, while at the Presidency, at Finance, at the IGF as well as at the DGI and the DGRAD, the reaction was unanimous: "Chinese companies must stop behaving as licensed fraudsters and to comply with the Laws of the country".

Why the IGF is scaring the hunted Chinese like never before…

The IGF seems to scare Chinese companies.

Since the advent of Jules Alingete, she has published two shocking reports on La Cominière and the Chinese Contracts at the origin of the birth of Sicomines.

The first led to the arrest and imprisonment, since November 2022 in Makala, of the Director General of Cominière, Athanase Mwamba Misao, and its Technical Director, Célestin Kibeya, two agents accused by the IGF and prosecuted by the Prosecutor. general to the Kinshasa/Gombe Court of Appeal for illegal transfer of Cominière's undervalued shares in Dathcom Mining and poor management of dividends estimated at 33.5 million dollars.

Devoted to Chinese Contracts and Sicomines, the second IGF report overwhelms the Chinese side, which did not respect its commitments but alone swallowed up more than 10 billion dollars against less than 800 million dollars for the Democratic Republic of Congo, before denouncing the overbilling of the infrastructure markets linked to this deal.

Thanks to this pressure from the IGF, Sicomines, unpacked, agreed to let go of a piece, i.e. 500 million dollars payable in two installments, just for the year 2023, while the IGF is calling for negotiations to lead to the payment of 1 billion dollars by the Chinese.

At the same time, Justice, refusing to remain passive in the face of such abuses and anti-values, decided to track down the perpetrators of the overbilling of Chinese contract work.

In the viewfinder of the Attorney General in charge of the case: the Congolese Agency for Major Works -ACGT-, the Works Monitoring and Coordination Office, formerly headed by Moise Ekanga, currently staying in Brussels, and Sicomines.

Alingete does not cross his arms.

Driven by his flair, he undertook, this time, to scratch the toll rights installed on the National 1 Kinshasa-Matadi-Boma in Kongo Central, the Lubumbashi-Kasumbalesa road in Haut-Katanga and the road linking Lubumbashi to Kolwezi, capital of the province of Lualaba.

In Kongo Central, the management of these rights falls to SOPECO and for Grand-Katanga this responsibility lies with the SGR.

On March 6 in the capital, Alingete brings together the managers of these two companies to announce the start of the mission of the IGF spread over the revenues made during the last 12 years, i.e. between 2010 and 2022.

In 2021 in Kongo Central, the president of the Provincial Assembly, Jean-Claude Vuemba, already castigated the poor management of SOPECO staff and demanded his departure.

“If nothing is done, there will be serious measures against this company managed by the Chinese”, thundered the president of the deliberative body of this province.

The same year, the NGO Congo is not for sale -CNPAV- warned of a major conflict of interest in the management of the Lubumbashi-Kasumbalesa toll, pointing the finger at a monk from the former presidential family.

According to CNPAV, the management of this strategic section, the main export route for copper and cobalt ores, has long opposed Sicomines to the interested party.

Some time later, Sicomines withdrew in favor of the latter's company, which continues to benefit and collect the money from this toll.

Dathcom Mining, SICOMINES, SOPECO and SGR have one thing in common: Chinese tycoon Simon Cong.

"In addition to these four companies, Sieur Cong has interests in Tenke Fungurume Mining, the Hotel du Fleuve and various other mining operations across the country", reveals a source at the General Directorate of Taxes -DGI-, specifying that this man of business and its companies are reluctant to pay taxes and duties due to the state, suggesting that the IGF must have detected unorthodox clues and established shady connections between these companies before launching its investigations.

From the Dathcom affair to the tolls, the chief cop of the IGF begins to poke his nose too much into the opaque affairs of the Chinese wealthy, of his financial empire and to discover their modus operandi.

Chased and cornered like never before, Chinese companies seem to be stunned.

They are forced to defend themselves... awkwardly, by shifting the debate, by wanting to present the Inspector General, head of the IGF as this personality who maintains and cultivates anti-Chinese sentiment in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

mediacongo