The curtain fell this Saturday, July 10, in Kinshasa on the third day of the States General on Mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They make up the bulk of the country’s exports, but do not earn enough in the treasury. More than a hundred recommendations came out of this meeting, written by the hundred participants, the authorities and the managers of mining companies, to make the mining sector “the engine for growth and socio-economic development”.
as reported from Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa
Panelists made this observation: all mining companies in the state fail. They recommended that they be restructured according to the Chile and Botswana model.
From extraction facilities to exports and marketing to home transport of income at home, the entire sector has come under scrutiny at the government building in the capital. Among the 113 recommendations, some Ministers noted Antoinette Nsamba.
“Ask the Central Bank of Congo to present a plan for resuming artisanal gold-buying activities as part of the fight against fraud, prioritizing local processing of mining products as part of the local value chain of the mining sector,” the minister said.
That’s not all. For Paul Mabolia, of the Technical Coordination and Planning Planning Unit of Mining, it is necessary to “consider acquiring a satellite specific to the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to accelerate research in the sector, in order to limit holders of mining rights from earlier. 2018 to update feasibility studies in accordance with the relevant Directive, encourage the establishment of gold refineries in Ituri and elsewhere ‘.
The “hypocrisy” of craft mining
For his part, Al Kitenge, one of the invited experts, discouraged public craft mining, which has so far been acknowledged by the authorities: “I am one of those who rejects hypocrisy. Our craft mining is a kind of modern slavery. I’m talking about working conditions, but we still dedicate it. This is particularly unacceptable as the mining industry feeds the 140 armed groups operating [dans l’est du pays]. And it happens in front of us. ”
According to the Ministry of Mines, the sector is unlikely to benefit the country or its population due to a fraudulent chain observed from the production to the marketing of these minerals. There are also other predatory factors such as poorly negotiated contracts. If the country is described as a geological scandal, the authorities do not know all the resources. Less than one-fifth of the country’s geological potential is known, but it represents 20% of GDP and less than 10% of formal employment.
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