CORRUPTION IN THE DRC

Dave Evans

Regular
NOTHING APPEARS TO HAVE CHANGED SINCE 2017

ASSESSMENT OF CORRUPTION RISKS IN THE AWARDING OF MINING RIGHTS IN THE DRC PDF


https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...ChAWegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw0kM-taVquP0amGjdMt-PT_


THE FOLLOWING REPORTS ARE FROM DRC NGO AND CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS INCLUDING

GLOBAL WITNESS, ZOOM ECO.NET, AFRICA INTELLIGENCE, REUTERS,
COPPERBELT KATANGA MINING, 7SUR7.CD, ECONEWSRDC.COM, MINES.CD,
MAGAZINE LA GUARDIA, IWEBRDC, CONGO-NOUVEAU, ACTUALIT.CD IVYPANDA.COM
AFRICANEWS.COM, FRASERINSTITUTE.ORG, LESOIR.BE, REUTERS.COM, KONGO PRESS


14/12/2021
Investigation sounds alarm on risks in Congo’s nascent lithium sector

A new investigation by Global Witness looking into the Democratic Republic of Congo’s nascent lithium sector sounds the alarm bell on a swathe of potential supply chain risks.

MINING.COM Staff Writer | December 14, 2021 | 5:06 am Battery Metals Africa Lithium

A report by Global Witness states that concessions on and around DRC’s lithium deposits are or were held by or involved people with close business relationships with former President Joseph Kabila.​

www.mining.com


12/08/2022
The Episcopal Commission for Natural Resources of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CERN-CENCO) organized, this Thursday, August 11, 2022, a conference under the theme: "How can lithium from Manono in the DRC contribute to the energy transition? Multi-stakeholder reflection on the sidelines of the pre-COP27”.


Initiated under the cover of the Ecclesial Network of the Congo Basin Forest (REBAC), this conference brought together several stakeholders, including partner companies such as COMINIERE, AVZ and other shareholders.

zoom-eco.net​


05/09/2022
DRC UNITED STATES
US disillusioned over failure to turn DR Congo away from Beijing. Ever since Félix Tshisekedi took power, Washington had hoped he would curb China's huge influence in the country. Four years later, the United States is bitterly disappointed that it has failed to break Beijing's hegemony in strategic mining issues.

www.africaintelligence.com


09/10/2022
Financial crime watchdog adds Congo to money laundering watch list

KINSHASA, Oct 8 The Financial Action Task Force plans to put Democratic Republic of Congo on a list of countries subject to increased monitoring. Congo, a major cobalt and copper producer, will go on the global financial crime watchdog's so-called "grey list" of deficient countries no later than Oct. 21 for shortcomings in stamping out financial corruption, including money laundering and anti-terrorist financing.

The Financial Action Task Force plans to put Democratic Republic of Congo on a list of countries subject to increased monitoring, the country's Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya said on Saturday.

www.reuters.com


29/10/2022
DRC: UC SAS denounces a mining fraud of more than USD 10 million estimated at 60 tons of Coltan and Cassiterite, perpetrated in Manono and Malemba-Nkulu


A mining fraud of more than 60 tons of coltan and cassiterite, valued at more than USD 10 million, is allegedly perpetrated in the territories of Manono and Malemba-Nkulu, in the provinces of Haut Lomami and Tanganyika. This company accuses a certain Hadley Nathus and a Canadian subject named Eric Allard (chairman and CEO of the company TANTALEX) who, acting in complicity with the leaders of COMINIERE, would be in collusion with some authorities of the country, to cover up this large-scale mining fraud. UC SAS alerts the authorities to monitor this situation.

In addition, this company accuses by name the Ministry of Justice of having taken a decision contrary to the rule of law by instructing the Single Window for Business Creation (GUCE), through its letter number 2160/LW10130/APP/CAB/ME/MIN/J&GS/2022 of September 20, 2022, technical service under its supervision, to cancel a legal transfer of shares for the benefit of a Canadian subject "yet condemned on Congolese soil by judgments that have become final". The company UC SAS notes that the instruction of the Ministry of Justice given to the GUCE "violates the laws of the country and proceeds from an abuse of power, insofar as it operates on the judgments that have become final about this assignment: RP19203, RCE 7495, RPO 10247/10267, as well as a pre-law under RAC 2942". In addition, it deplores the "sabotage" of the efforts made by the President of the Republic Felix Tshisekedi, to establish good governance in the DRC, marked by, among other things, respect for the principle of separation of powers and the improvement of the business climate. "The DRC must avoid being influenced by crooked individuals, so-called investors, while recognized speculators, at the risk of tarnishing the image of the entire country, and particularly the Sama Lukonde government...", deplores the UC SAS in its statement.

https://copperbeltkatangamining.com...ing_wp_cron=1681782116.9836490154266357421875



20/11/2022
DRC - Mines: COMINIERE SA accused of blocking the Manono Lithium production project, this mineral prized in the manufacture of electric batteries (Civil Society)


The Congolese state portfolio company COMINIERE SA is accused of continuing to multiply illegal manoeuvres to block the effective start-up of Dathcom's lithium mining project in Manono, Tanganyika province.

President Tshisekedi called to ensure the integrity of the leaders of the COMINIERE

Based on this observation, civil society asks President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi to ensure that the climate of trust reigns between the shareholders of the joint venture Dathcom Mining SA so that operating operations begin urgently and to give orders to the state services for Dathcom Mining SA to be notified and that the 10% of action of the State are effectively registered in the register of the Mining Cadastre, in accordance with mining legislation.

Leaders of the COMINIERE called to resign

Finally, the leaders of COMINIERE SA are called upon to resign taking into account the conclusions of the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) on their management and the sale of the assets of this state enterprise. The organizations and platforms of civil society in the DRC that signed this press release are: CDH, ESPOIR ONGDH, JUSTICIA Asbl, LICOCO, MAX IMPACT, MDR, POM, RCEN, RDN Asbl, CERN/CENCO AND TPRDC.

7sur7.cd​


20/11/2022
Civil Society points to the culprit and mobilizes to save the Manono lithium mining project


The lithium mining project in Manono, in the province of Tanganyika, is stalling. And civil society, evolving in the natural resources sector, does not hesitate to name the culprit: Cominière (Congolese mining company), this company of the State Portfolio born from the vestiges 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 resources issues say they note "agitation 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. Faustin KUEDIASALA 0

econewsrdc.com

21/11/2022
DRC: La Cominière in the sights of the 12 NGOs


A dozen national organizations accuse the public company Cominière S A of blocking the Manono Lithium project. Indeed, to start the exploitation of this strategic ore, there is a prerequisite, it is access to electrical energy

magazinelaguardia.info


28/11/2022
DRC: this is why civil society organizations specializing in mining issues are asking Tshisekedi to dismiss the portfolio minister


In a joint press release, Congolese civil society organizations and platforms specializing in mining issues (Justicia Asbl, LICOCO, RND Asbl, POM, MDR, GANVE, CDH, ESPOIR ONG, RCEN, CERN / CENCO, TPRDC, MAX IMPACT) , who have been monitoring the exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo, ask the President of the Republic to dismiss the Minister of Portfolio of the Government of the Republic By Gilbert Ngonga

iwebrdc.com​


30/11/2022

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mines.cd​


19/12/2022
Sale of the mining assets of Cominière SA: Technical director Célestin Kibeya accused of complicity and usurpation of competence


Congolese civil society organizations and platforms specializing in mining issues (Justicia Asbl, LICOCO, RND Asbl, POM, MDR, GANVE, CDH, ESPOIR ONG, RCEN, CERN/CENCO, TPRDC, MAX IMPACT), monitoring exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo, accused, in a press release, the technical director Célestin Kibeya Kabemba of being no stranger to the selling off of the mining assets of the Congolese mining company (Cominière SA). Worse still, the man exercises the functions of interim Director General without presidential order, nor decree of the ministry of supervision, that of the Portfolio, even less a report of the Board of directors. "Already on October 26, 2022, when the interim Managing Director Mwamba Athanase was not yet in the hands of Congolese justice, the same Mr. Kibeya had co-signed as '' Managing Director ai '' on behalf of Cominière SA a press release press attributed to UNITED COMINIERE SAS with Eric Allard, a convicted person in Lubumbashi for forgery and use of forgery, and Michel Kitwa Nelkin. “, denounce these NGOs.

congo-nouveau.info


11/04/2023
DRC: CNPAV asks Felix Tshisekedi to reconsider his letter to Joe Biden requesting the lifting of sanctions against Dan Gertler


The Congo is not for sale (CNPAV) sends a letter to the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Félix Tshisekedi to express his "deepest dismay" following the discovery, in the columns of the New York Times newspaper, of his letter dated of May 05, 2022 addressed to his American counterpart Joe Biden, requesting the lifting of sanctions against Dan Gertler. According to CNPAV estimates, the losses for the Congo in cases linked to Dan Gertler amount to more than $2 billion.

actualite.cd


15/04/2023
Corruption in Infrastructure of the Democratic Republic of Congo Research Paper


While the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) emerges from a long period of violence and instability, it also faces a legacy of deep-rooted bribery at all levels of society, threatening social and political institutions with failure. DRC has suffered from modest bribes to high fraud through shady financial dealings. As a result, corruption exists in various sectors, including the police, legal system, public administration, and mining or extractive industry, despite the country’s anti-corruption initiatives.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) corruption exists in various sectors, including the police, legal system, public administration, and mining industry.​

ivypanda.com


28/04/2023
Financial Patrol: The IGF flushes out an industrial quantity of duplicates, forgers and cheats among civil servants and agents of the State!


According to the IGF, 145,604 paid agents have incorrect, fanciful and fabricated registration numbers for payroll purposes; 53,328 agents alone have more than one registration number in the file with the same name; 93,356 agents share the same registration number with other equally paid agents; 43,725 agents are paid without their names appearing on the declarative lists from their original departments; while 961 payroll officers are on the payrolls of several departments and many of them are on more than 15 payrolls.

The IGF informs that already, certain cases of obvious irregularities are the subject of deactivation and warns at the same time that the list of 961 agents responsible for processing the payroll involved in the mafia network will be transmitted to the judicial authorities for embezzlement of public funds. It should be remembered that the control of the number of civil servants and agents of the State remains a cancer that has seriously eaten away at the public treasury for decades. Despite all the efforts made by successive Ministers of Public Service, the problem remains very deep.

scooprdc.net​


28/04/2023
The Democratic Republic of Congo's Inspectorate General of Finance (IGF) has revealed massive fraud in the public payroll department, where dozens of fictitious employees cost the state nearly $800 million a year.


According to the findings of an audit of the government's payroll, the IGF noted numerous irregularities, with tens of thousands of fictitious employees. Each month, "the monthly loss of earnings suffered by the Treasury is 148,999,749,440.95 Congolese francs (or 66.2 million dollars)," said the IGF in a statement dated Thursday, concerning the audit conducted by its services. The Congolese public finance watchdog says that more than 145,000 paid agents have "incorrect, fictitious and fabricated registration numbers for payroll purposes". Also, more than 40,000 agents are paid without their names appearing on the declaratory lists from the services that employ them, while more than 90,000 agents "share the same registration number with other agents who are also paid.

https://twitter.com/africanews

DRC: nearly $800 million a year escapes the public treasury | Africanews

According to the findings of an audit of the government's payroll, the IGF noted numerous irregularities, with tens of thousands of fictitious employees.

www.africanews.com


04/05/2023

Mining attractiveness: the DRC ranked 82 out of 83 countries in the Fraser Institute report


The latest Fraser Institute annual report ranks the DRC at the bottom of the world ranking of the least attractive states for investment in the mining sector. Out of a total of 83 countries studied, the DRC ranks 82nd in the mining policy index. It is Venezuela that closes the world ranking, thus being the only country listed behind the DRC. According to the Fraser Institute 2022 Report, the investment climate in the mining sector in the DRC is simply unattractive. Following a field visit between August 23 and December 30, 2022, their experts interviewed 1,966 exploration, development and other mining-related companies. They ended up with this very negative rating due to several destabilizing factors, mainly the unilateral increase in the royalty rate, the lack of clarity on the limits of mining exploration concessions and cases of corruption.

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/annual-survey-of-mining-companies-2022.pdf


12/05/2023

Fraud and corruption in the DRC: damning revelations from the head of the General Inspectorate of Finance​

I would pinpoint five, related to corruption and the embezzlement of public funds. The control of the Central Bank of Congo is the first: we discovered credit cards held by civil servants, politicians. Directly connected to the general account of the Treasury via commercial banks, these cards could be used at any time. The State account could thus be debited for extremely high amounts, amounting to 10,000 dollars per day and purchases could reach the same amount. The Congolese Treasury has thus lost a lot of money.

The audit of the mining sector was the third important case: the examination of all the contracts concluded between 2010 and 2020 by Gécamines (the General Society of Quarries and Mines) revealed serious facts of the selling off of mining assets. Between 2010 and 2020, Gécamines made nearly $2 billion in profits and 97% of that amount was squandered on operating expenses and snacks. In addition, nearly 612 million dollars, paid by Gécamines to the Congolese State in respect of taxes due in 2010 and 2019 and paid into the Treasury account, have disappeared at the level of the Central Bank of Congo.... The affair of Chinese contracts, opaque and unbalanced, is resounding…

www.lesoir.be


16/05/2023
World Bank suspends $1 billion worth of project funding in Congo


KINSHASA, May 16 (Reuters) - The World Bank has suspended funding for humanitarian and development projects in Democratic Republic of Congo worth more than $1 billion after the government dissolved the project fund without warning, the lender said.

The letter also said that the bank was still waiting for documentation on the status of $91 million which had already been advanced for the projects out of the total $1.04 billion.

Four of Congo's main opposition politicians wrote to the leaders of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the African Development Bank last week asking them to conduct an audit of their funds in Congo, saying they suspected misuse.

www.reuters.com


07/06/2023
The National Business Climate Barometer (BNCA) survey, covering four hundred and three companies in thirteen sectors of the national economy, gave the Democratic Republic of Congo a satisfaction rate of 37% in this sector.

At this stage, the BNCA gives a satisfaction score of 37%. This survey, which took place from January 24 to March 27, 2023, involved 403 companies in 13 sectors of the national economy

"Indeed, whether it is the quality of relations between the public administration and economic operators, corruption and security disturbances, infrastructure, legal and judicial security, the tax and parafiscal system, access to financing for companies,... they have exposed the scourges that plague and gnaw at our economic environment," added Mr. Tshisekedi.

This summary report presenting the opinions of business leaders on the changing business climate, while highlighting the factors that have most influenced the business environment

The National Business Climate Barometer (BNCA) in the DRC was launched on February 15, 2023 by the Business Climate Cell, a structure of the Presidency. It is a tool for promoting public-private partnership that is used to periodically assess the degree of satisfaction of economic operators with the reforms and other practices related to the business environment in the DRC.

www.radiookapi.net


11/06/2023
DRC excluded from the list of investments of the French group ERAMET, following the blocking of the PE of lithium of Manono by the government


It was last March that the DR Congo and the EU announced an agreement on rare minerals such as copper, cobalt and lithium, the two parties initiated negotiations for a partnership on the exploitation of rare minerals and strategic, for the next few months a "win-win" memorandum of understanding and a roadmap are announced on this cooperation and investment agreement in a mining sector in the DRC, so the EU intends to fight the Chinese monopoly in the DRC , reduce its dependence on China and accelerate its ecological transition.

The EU is focusing above all on the development of a value chain in the DR Congo and the creation of a market for the battery, electric vehicle and renewable energy industry, as pointed out by Mrs. Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships :
“We want to create value in the DRC, local added value. Not just exporting your raw materials to Finland, Europe and then refining them in Europe. We do n't want to create dependency, nor do we want neocolonialism. We really want to create local value and we want to create a win-win partnership. »

During the visit of President Emmanuel Macron to Kinshasa, the two countries notably concluded an agreement for the mapping and sustainable management of the mining resources which abound in the Congolese subsoil, French companies and institutes will be invited to map and invest in the mining sector of the DR Congo according to this partnership. But here is following the blocking of the delivery of the exploitation permit 13359 by the Congolese government to DATHCOM, of which the group AVZ MINERALS owns 75%, which must allow the start of the exploitation of the lithium of Manono, the French group, ERAMET has just excluded the DR Congo from its investment strategy in Africa for the time being.

Geoff Streeton , director of strategy for the company, and Christophe Thillier , in charge of exploration, have also drawn a line under the DRC for the moment, despite having identified its lithium potential.

The difficulties encountered by the Australian AVZ MINERALS on its Manono project in Tanganyika in the south-east of the country gave the French company some food for thought, which has chosen to focus its investments in this sector on its Centenario-Ratones project in Argentina," said the media, Africa Intelligence. ERAMET is a French mining and metallurgical company with a workforce of 9,090 employees spread over 17 mining and industrial sites in 15 countries. In 2022, it achieved a turnover of 5.014 billion euros. On November 8, 2021, ERAMET announced the launch of its lithium mine project in the Andean highlands of northern Argentina. The construction of a plant will start in early 2022 and end in 2024 with the aim of producing 24,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year. Much of its lithium production will supply the European battery construction sector.

June 11, 2023Kiki Kienge
kongopress.com
 
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Dave Evans

Regular
12/07/2023
Violations of the mining code in the DRC: Éric Ngalula challenges the Minister of Mines

Introduction:

In a context where mining represents a major economic challenge in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), compliance with the mining code and the rules governing the marketing of mineral substances is essential.

However, MP Éric Ngalula believes that a flagrant violation of the mining code was committed through a ministerial decree. In a written question addressed to the Minister of Mines, Antoinette N'Samba, he asks for an explanation of this decision which compromises the interests of the Congolese people.

Non-compliance with the mining code called into question:

Éric Ngalula points out that ministerial decree n°00049/CABMIN/MINES/01/2022, dated February 22, 2022, contradicts article 85 of law n°007/2002 on the Mining Code revised in 2018. According to this article, only the holders of the exploitation title have the right to market the mining products. However, the ministerial decree challenges this freedom by establishing a tender system for the sale of mineral substances supervised by the CEEC (Economic Commission for Employment and Consumption).

A deplorable situation for players in the sector:

This intentional violation of the mining code has harmful consequences for players in the mining sector, in particular the company SACIM. By limiting the freedom to sell mineral substances, the ministerial decree prevents the company from selling its products to the best bidder and at prices corresponding to the current market. Éric Ngalula considers this situation to be deplorable, because it goes against the interests of the Congolese people.

The request for explanations from the Minister of Mines:

Faced with this violation of the mining code, the deputy Éric Ngalula asks the Minister of Mines, Antoinette N'Samba, to revoke her ministerial decree. He also wishes to know the reasons which led to this decision which goes against the legal provisions in force. Determined to ensure compliance with the legal texts, Éric Ngalula affirms that in the event of non-response from the Minister or the maintenance of the decision, he will take the necessary measures to enforce the law, whether by interpellation or by supporting other Members who will go down this road.

Conclusion:

The violation of the mining code in the DRC, as denounced by the deputy Éric Ngalula, raises essential questions on the respect of the rules which govern the exploitation and the marketing of mineral substances. This situation compromises the interests of the Congolese people and requires explanations from the Minister of Mines. It is essential to ensure that the legal provisions are respected in order to ensure transparent and fair mining for the economic development of the DRC.

July 2023
Foreign Direct Investment in the DRC


The DRC business climate is especially poor, and foreign investors are facing a number of challenges (corruption, lengthy administrative procedures and administrative fees) in establishing their businesses in the DRC.

While there laws protecting investors in the country, the court system is often slow, so disputes can extend for years.

In 2018, the mining code was amended, increasing taxes and royalties, requiring that at least 10% of the capital of mining companies be owned by indigenous citizens, and severely restricting the export of unprocessed minerals under new mining permit.

In addition, the humanitarian and conflict situation in the east of the country and the stormy relations with neighbouring countries (Rwanda, Uganda and Angola) are factors which contribute to persistent insecurity in the country.

In recent years, some of the biggest Chinese mining companies have heavily invested in the country, especially in cobalt and copper mines, with Chinese companies currently owning 15 of the 17 cobalt operations in the DRC.

Weak Points
Several factors hinder the Democratic Republic of Congo’s business climate:
- a difficult business climate (predatory tax agencies, limited access to capital, difficulties enforcing contracts due to the weak judicial system, weak banking sector)
- endemic corruption at all levels of government
- a shortage of skilled labor
- political uncertainty, with ongoing armed conflict in the eastern part of the country
- weak infrastructure (transport, energy, telecommunications)
- high level of poverty
- political instability



21/08/2023
Since receiving $180m from Glencore, the Congolese government has not fulfilled its commitments to its legal team from the South African legal firm Centurion Law Group - which NJ Ayuk heads - and has decided to file for arbitration before the ICC. [...]



25/08/2023



Translation
RDC – Scandal: Ministers Adèle Kayinda, Antoinette N'samba and Nicolas Kazadi involved in a mineral mafia which is causing the country to lose $500 million/month (UNC Deputy Alfred Maisha) via @InfosdirectC
 
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Dave Evans

Regular
07/09/2023

DRC: the NGO Justicia ASBL concerned about the ministerial decision to forfeit mining permits​


20230207091259957701_IMG-20230206-WA0104.jpg


Antoinette Nsamba Kalambayi, Minister of Mines of the DRC

Radio Okapi/Ph. Cynthia Bashizi

Justicia ASBL, an organization for the promotion and protection of human rights and development, is deeply concerned about the decisions taken by the Minister of Mines, concerning the forfeiture of operating permits granted to a few mining companies operating in the provinces of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba.

This NGO expressed its concern in a statement published on Wednesday, September 6 in Lubumbashi.

The coordinator of Justicia ASBL, Me Timothée Mbuya, says that this decision aims in particular to satisfy the interests of some Congolese political figures close to the presidential family:

"This decision is not based on any legal or legal basis but rather on political motivations because according to the investigations we have conducted, there are members of the family of the Head of State who are interested in these operating permits and who employ with the help of the Republican Guard and elements of the 22nd military region, mining cooperatives on this site and therefore in a completely illegal and undue way".

Me Mbuya fears that in the event that there is no dialogue, the partners Boss Mining and COMIDE, concerned by this decision, may refer the matter to the international bodies of the arbitration committee, in which case Congo would lose.

 
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Dave Evans

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08/09/2024



Translated from French by
Everything that happens to us in the DRC, this humiliation, this suffering, this misery, this citizen irresponsibility, this sick repetition of the same errors, this political inertia, this structural failure, this patriotic resignation, this culture of mediocrity, this mentality of men and cave women, this permanent maintenance of Stockholm syndrome is only the fruit and product of the mediocracy of our elite, AND MAINLY OF ITS POLITICAL CLASS!!!
 
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Dave Evans

Regular
14/11/2023
In the DRC, the development of the Manonolithium deposit – stalled by a dispute involving Australian and Chinese mining companies – has raised numerous corruption red flags.

The project appears to have generated as much as US$28 million for shell companies held by middlemen implicated in previous corruption scandals involving ex-President Joseph Kabila.

Furthermore, a senior official in current President Felix Tshisekedi’s party reportedly received $1.6 million in ‘commission’ from Zijin Mining when it acquired shares in the project. The state-owned mining company that signed the Manono deals has been accused by DRC’s anti-corruption agency of selling lithium rights at a “cut price” and “squandering” the proceeds.




01/02/2024
The DRC among the 15 most corrupt countries in the world in 2023, according to Transparency international | Radio Okapi"


On Tuesday January 30, the NGO Transparency International placed the DRC in 162nd position out of 184 countries in its corruption perception index report in 2023.

According to this international organization, the DRC, as in 2022, was among the 15 most corrupt countries in the world in 2023. A note which worried the Congolese League for the Fight against Corruption (LICOCO).

The president of this structure, Ernest Mpararo regretted that the fight against corruption has not made any progress in the DRC


12/04/2024

Mining: fraud and corruption are increasing in the CU-CO mines of the former Katanga!
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The former Katanga, in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is one of the richest copper and cobalt-producing regions in the world. However, the population of Katanga, like the rest of the DRC, remains extremely poor, and the state has failed to provide most of the province with basic public infrastructure and services, especially in rural areas.

The mining sector in the former Katanga is characterized by widespread corruption and fraud at all levels. A significant proportion of copper and cobalt is extracted informally and exported illegally.

Government representatives are actively in connivance with commercial companies to circumvent control procedures and the payment of taxes.

Profits are used to fill the pockets of a small but powerful elite: politicians and businessmen who exploit the local population and divert natural wealth for their own purposes.


Large quantities of precious minerals leave the country undeclared, which represents a huge loss for the Congolese economy and a wasted opportunity to reduce poverty and strengthen development.

A local source estimated that at the end of 2005, at least three-quarters of the minerals exported from Katanga were leaving illegally. The mining industry in the former Katanga includes two parallel sectors: the formal sector, where foreign and multinational companies use industrial extraction methods, and the informal or "craft" sector, where tens of thousands of individuals extract minerals independently, in a totally unregulated environment.

Most products extracted by hand are exported raw, usually in the form of heterogenite, which contains copper, cobalt and a range of other minerals, or, increasingly, in the form of malachite, an important copper ore. This means that even when these exports are declared, the DRC loses the higher prices it could get if it processed the minerals before exporting and selling them. Instead, the transformation takes place in Zambia, South Africa or the final destination country - most often China or other Asian countries - offering a considerable economic gain for these countries but little added value for the DRC.

This report updates a Global Witness report entitled "Rush and Ruin: The Devastating Mineral Trade in Southern Katanga", published in September 2004. This report is mainly based on field research conducted by Global Witness in Katanga in November and December 2005.

Global Witness Witness researchers interviewed a wide range of people in and around Lubumbashi, the provincial capital; in the mining areas of Likasi and Kolwezi; in Kasumbalesa (border post between the DRC and Zambia); in the Congolese capital Kinshasa; and in Zambia, a neighbor to the southeast of the DRC, through which minerals are exported. Interviewees included minors, intermediaries known as traders, carriers, representatives of mining and commercial companies, government and security forces officials, trade unionists, members of non-governmental organizations.

Katanga in 2005, but noted a number of worrying developments concerning the major mining contracts concluded. Under the transitional government of the DRC.
This report sets out concerns about some of these contracts signed since 2004.

These mainly concern the complaints expressed by the inhabitants of Katanga about the unbalanced nature of these contracts, which ensure disproportionate shares of profits to foreign or multinational companies and a negligible amount to the State.

Local perceptions of imbalance and injustice have been reinforced by the lack of transparency surrounding these contracts and the lack of public debate and consultation. This situation has aroused deep resentment among the population of Katanga who see the potentially huge profits from these mining operations leaving the country, with little or no change in their standard of living.

The report also highlights the involvement of high-level political actors in the negotiation of these contracts and in the diversion of the profits of the trade in minerals in Haut - Katanga, the heart of President Joseph Kabila.

The situation in the former Katanga has implications far beyond the province. Unlike other parts of the country, the southern part of Katanga, where copper and cobalt mines are located, was not the scene of violent fighting during the war in the DRC and remained under government control.

Despite this, widespread corruption, abuse and illegal practices have persisted in the mining sector, and the relative stability of the region has not brought any of the expected benefits of natural wealth. The former Katanga should serve as a severe warning for the future of mining areas in the least stable regions of the DRC.

More in-depth research was conducted in Zambia and South Africa in January and February 2006. This report focuses mainly on the artisanal mining sector. The exact number of artisanal miners in Katanga is not known - there are no precise registers or statistics - but at the end of 2005, their number was estimated at about 150,000 or more.

This report documents the ruthless exploitation of artisanal miners by the government and officials of security forces and commercial companies.

At the local and provincial levels, officials of various ministries, including the Ministry of Mines, police, customs, intelligence services and local administrations, all extort large sums of money from miners as part of an institutionalized corruption system.


The association that claims to represent artisanal miners, the Artisanal Mining Operators of the former Katanga (EMAK), also extorts money from miners instead of protecting their interests. Traders are financially exploited by the commercial companies to which they sell the minerals and are forced to accept prices that do not correspond to the real value of the products.

In addition to their financial vulnerability, artisanal miners from the former Katanga work in difficult conditions, without clothing, equipment or protective training.

Dozens of miners die every year in preventable accidents, most often when trapped by the collapse of mine wells. No one investigates or takes responsibility for these deaths or the well-being of artisanal miners. However, miners continue to take these risks, because there are very few alternative sources of income for them.

The formal mining sector of the former Katanga has also not been free from corruption, exploitation and abuse.


Global Witness did not conduct in-depth research on the formal sector in Katanga in 2005, but noted a number of worrying developments concerning the major mining contracts concluded under the transitional government of the DRC.

This report sets out concerns about some of these contracts signed since 2004. These mainly concern the complaints expressed by the inhabitants of Katanga about the unbalanced nature of these contracts, which ensure disproportionate shares of profits to foreign or multinational companies and a negligible amount to the State.

Local perceptions of imbalance and injustice have been reinforced by the lack of transparency surrounding these contracts and the lack of public debate and consultation. This situation has aroused deep resentment among the population of Haut - Katanga who see the potentially huge profits of these mining operations leave the country, with little or no change in their standard of living.

The report also highlights the involvement of high-level political actors in the negotiation of these contracts and in the diversion of the profits of the trade in minerals to the former Katanga, the heart of President Joseph Kabila.

The situation in the former Katanga has implications far beyond the province. Unlike other parts of the country, the southern part of Katanga, where copper and cobalt mines are located, was not the scene of violent fighting during the war in the DRC and remained under government control. Despite this, widespread corruption, abuse and illegal practices have persisted in the mining sector, and the relative stability of the region has not brought any of the expected benefits of natural wealth.

Katanga should serve as a severe warning for the future of mining areas in the least stable regions of the DRC. If the government could not or did not want to reform the management of natural resources in an area over which it has retained firm control, the chances of introducing such reforms in conflict-affected areas of the country could be even lower. The Congolese government and donor governments should take rapid measures to reverse this situation in order to avoid a new drift towards chaos.
Prosperity / MCP, via mediacongo.net

 
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Dave Evans

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04/05/2024

Moïse Katumbi Exposes Corruption Scandal in Congolese Mining Sector 1
Mining in DRC

MOÏSE KATUMBI EXPOSES CORRUPTION SCANDAL IN CONGOLESE MINING SECTOR​

MAY 3, 2024 CONSTANCE

Moïse Katumbi, a prominent Congolese opposition figure and former governor of Katanga, has raised concerns about a corruption scandal involving the public mining company COMINIERE and a mysterious Congolese NGO in the lithium exploitation project in Manono with Australian firm AVZ.

According to Katumbi, after the sale of shares in COMINIERE, a significant sum of $70 million was transferred to the accounts of an NGO, whose president is an administrator of the public company. He highlighted that $40 million of this amount mysteriously disappeared.

Katumbi implicated a Chinese subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group in the bribery scheme and criticized the neglect of justice and transparency institutions like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in addressing the issue.

Expressing concern for the well-being of the Congolese people, especially those in the East, Katumbi urged an end to the “shameful looting” of resources and demanded accountability to secure the future for the country’s children.

This accusation of corruption adds to a series of scandals tarnishing President Félix Tshisekedi’s governance. Katumbi, with presidential ambitions, called for national mobilization against corruption and impunity.

Notably, COMINIERE has faced accusations of favoring the Chinese group Zijin Mining Group over the lithium project in Manono, despite hopes raised by AVZ Mineral Limited’s initiative within the local community.

SOURCE:mines-cd.

 
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Dave Evans

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05/05/2024



Translated from French by
#RDC : STEVE MBIKAYI* Open forum 42 Inaptocracy has settled in the DRC* Increasingly, the political class is made up of people who have never worked. Under family influence or by the corruption of election organizers and judges, unemployed people, students or new graduates are bombarded with deputies, senators, governors, representatives, ministers... Without ever having worked or paid taxes and without any professional experience, you begin your career with a presidential order or an elective mandate. What can we expect from this phenomenon? Because we are sitting on the state coffers, we use it to save space for different members of the family by applying for all positions with the idea of making a pass to a son, a wife, a brother (Substitutes). If it is true that we cannot refuse the latter to occupy different positions as Congolese, there is however reason to denounce the fact that those who manage, use state money to propel a lot of inexperienced family members. As a result, around 60% of elected senators are national deputies, ministers, governors, provincial deputies… With substitute parents without known backgrounds who will find themselves senators, national deputies or careerist ministers. So, both rooms will be occupied by the same families who will have ramifications in the government and in public companies. Public opinion is helplessly witnessing the resurgence of an oligarchy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The people murmur and may one day scold. In our capacity as elected representatives of this people, we must not turn a deaf ear. We must anticipate and propose solutions to address their concerns. He says no to this caste which has just settled in the country. In order to mitigate this phenomenon, when the time comes, we will introduce an amendment to the electoral law. In the event of the incapacity of an elected official or his appointment to other functions, his substitute must be the deputy candidate who was on the same list as him, who had campaigned and who came in useful order in terms of votes obtained rather. than offering the party's mandate to a substitute who has not contributed any votes to the list with a view to reaching the threshold or the electoral quotient. Thus, it will no longer be our women, our children and our neophyte brothers and often unknown to the party, who will come to replace us with a view to keeping the large number of our compatriots under the yoke of a privileged class constituted by cunning and without no merit. Also, before aspiring to high positions (Government, Parliament, companies, etc.) you must prove that you really have real and known professional experience (Not provide false certificates of services rendered). You must also prove that as a good citizen, you had to work and pay taxes. Thus, we will begin to end the system of “luck eloko pamba”, in other words inaptocracy. That is, the system of government where those least able to govern are elected by those least able to produce and where other members of society least able to provide for themselves or succeed are rewarded (bought) by goods and services which were paid for by the confiscation and misappropriation of the wealth and labor of a continually decreasing number of producers . ( Jean Lefèvre d'Ormesson). We will also insist that it be prohibited in law to make donations and offer money to voters at all levels. This practice established unfair competition which saw all members of the government and governors being elected to different functions to the detriment of those who did not have the opportunity to take control of the state coffers. In any case, this time, it is very blatant and shameful. This has to change.
 
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Dave Evans

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11/05/2024



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Dave Evans

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13/05/2024

MINES.CD - First Congolese media in the mining sector > Blog > CONTINUOUS > DRC: The Minister of Mines called to clarify the embezzlement of USD 70 million involving an administrator of the Cominière
CONTINUOUS

DRC: The Minister of Mines called to clarify the embezzlement of USD 70 million involving an administrator of the Cominière​

MinesPublished May 12, 2024

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The Cominière company is at the center of a scandal of proven corruption and embezzlement of about US$70 million. According to the Coalition Congo N'est à Vendre (CNVAP), this is an endowment that would have been carried out by Zijin Mining for the benefit of a non-governmental organization (NGO) led by Mr. Jean E'ngazi, who is also a member of the board of directors of this company in the state portfolio.

Reminder of the factsDaniel Bawuna
According to the CNPAV coalition, this observation is only the most recent of a succession of worrying information on the opaque management of lithium assets of the country by the Cominière - a company in the state portfolio. To do this, this anti-corruption platform requires a formal investigation and that senior officials involved in the mismanagement of the country's resources be held liable.

In particular, the Minister of Mines, Antoinette N'Samba is called upon to clarify the embezzlement of this sum of USD 70 million involving an administrator of the Cominiere.

"The funds for social interventions granted on the sidelines of the conclusion of a strategic mining contract should be managed by the Congolese State and not by a private entity. Worse, the transfer of $70 million to a non-profit organisation whose president is a member of the Cominière board of directors who participated in the discussions for access to this mining permit, could constitute an act of corruption, "revealed the CNPAV coalition.

Further on, this platform, which campaigns against anti-values, considered that these payments could create conflicts of interest through an illicit enrichment of the members of the board of directors of the Cominière and indeed constitutes a misappropriation of funds to the detriment of the Congolese population who live in extreme poverty.

"This practice is contrary to the code of conduct for career officers and public administration. The members of the Cominière Board of Directors are responsible for important decisions concerning the valuable mining assets of the DRC, decisions that could clearly be influenced by significant payments to the private organizations of the members of the board of directors by an investor, "denounced the CNPAV coalition.

Faced with the above, the Congo is for sale calls on the Minister of Mines to take urgent measures to shed light on this case and punish those responsible for this embezzlement.

The CNPAV calls on the Government of the Republic and the control institutions to launch an official investigation into the mismanagement by the Cominière and the Ministries of Mines and the Portfolio of the Kitotolo-Manono lithium deposit;
In the same vein, the Congo Is Not for Sale coalition has made some recommendations, including:
  • Register this issue with the Council of Ministers and invite the Minister of Mines before the press as part of the government's accountability;
  • Invite the Minister of Mines before parliament to ask her an oral question with debate on the Cominière file.

Reminder of the facts

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has one of the most strategic lithium deposits in the world, including the Kitotolo-Manono deposit in Tanganyika. In the context of the energy transition, this ore is highly coveted because of its use in electric vehicle batteries. The Manono lithium deposit has enormous potential to help the DRC develop economically. However, he has been at the center of many accusations, including corruption and mismanagement.

This deposit was the subject of strong competition between investors and belonged until 2022 to Dathcom, a joint venture controlled by an Australian company AVZ Minerals. In April 2022, the ministry requested the retrocession of the northeast part of the deposit, and then cancelled the permit for Kitotolo-Manono completely in February 2023. Given the strong interest of investors in the site, the government should have organized a call for tenders to negotiate an agreement in a position of strength. Instead, the ministry seems to have allowed La Cominière to negotiate by mutual agreement with Zijin Mining that remains unpublished until today.

In October 2023, the Cominière signed a new joint venture contract with Zijin Mining effectively giving it control of the northeast section of the Manono deposit by creating a joint venture called Manono Lithium SAS. It was announced that under this agreement, Manono Lithium would make a donation of $70 million to support humanitarian efforts in the East and Northeast of the DRC On April 19, 2024, Africa Intelligence reported that Zijin Mining had made this donation to a relatively unknown NGO called "Le Bouclier", and that the president of this NGO is Jean David E'Ngazi, member of the board of directors of La Cominière.

Daniel Bawuna

 
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Dave Evans

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13/05/2024

DRC: Congo Is Not For Sale requests an investigation into the controversial management of the Manono lithium deposit by Cominière​


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Lithium samples at the Manono development site, operated by a subsidiary of the Australian AVZ Minerals. © AVZMINERALS


Lithium samples at the Manono development site, operated by a subsidiary of the Australian AVZ Minerals. © AVZMINERALS

ECONOMY
Saturday May 11, 2024 - 09:55

In a statement on Friday, May 10, the Congo Coalition is Not for Sale (CNPAV) demands an official investigation into the management of the Kitotolo-Manono lithium deposit by the Cominière, a public mining company in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which reportedly received $70 million from Zijin Mining, a Chinese company headed by Jean David E'ngazi, at the same time also a member of the Cominière's board of directors.

According to Congo is not for sale, this "donation" was made as part of a joint venture agreement for the exploitation of the Kitotolo-Manono lithium deposit in Tanganyika, which has enormous potential to help the DRC develop economically, in view of its role in the context of the "energy transition" and the high lust to which it is subject because of its use in the batteries of electric vehicles. This Manono lithium deposit, regrets the CNPAV, is the subject of many accusations, including corruption and mismanagement.

For the CNPAV, the required investigation must be extended to the Ministries of Mines and the Portfolio, which have an active look at mining management in the DRC.
"The CNPAV also calls for disciplinary action against the members of the board of directors involved in the transaction to the NGO Le Bouclier, to proceed to the return of funds to the public treasury and to initiate an independent audit of the funds already received and spent by Le Bouclier, to use the results of the IGF investigation for legal actions against the persons involved in the file,... invite the Minister of Mines before parliament to prepare an oral question with debate on the Cominière file and ensure the publication of the Manono Lithium SAS contract in accordance with the requirements of the Mining Code", can be read in the press release.
The Cominière has already been accused by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) of "selling" the State's assets and "squandering" profits. The allocation of the Manono deposit to AVZ Minerals in 2016 has also been the subject of controversy.

For Congo is not for sale, the Congolese government should have organized a call for tenders to negotiate an agreement in a position of strength, because "this deposit was the subject of strong competition between investors and belonged until 2022 to Dathcom, a joint venture controlled by an Australian company AVZ Minerals". This structure regrets that instead, the government has allowed the Cominière to negotiate an agreement with Zijin Mining by mutual agreement.

Bruno Nsaka

 
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