Tshisekedi demands clear explanations of embezzlement allegations at Gécamines
The President of the Republic, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, during the Council of Ministers on Friday May 22, indicated that he is aware of several reports of large-scale funds diversions at the Générale des quarries des mines (GECAMINES) .
The head of state said he was also in possession of a memo from the company’s general management which rejected all these accusations. The explanations provided in this document did not light the lantern, says Félix Tshisekedi who has requested for clearer explanations.
“Regarding the third point relating to the sale of GECAMINES assets, the Head of State indicated that he was receiving more and more denunciations, sometimes documented, on cases of fraud or undervaluation on during the sale of GECAMINES assets. The President of the Republic said that he also received a memo from GECAMINES, which clarifies his position on this subject. The amounts of lost profits at stake are enormous. While the explanations provided to refute such accusations have not dissipated all the grey areas on this affair. Hence the need to shed more light on this affair,” reports the report of the council of ministers.
Félix Tshisekedi is yet to respond to Gecamines and has asked the portfolio minister for a detailed report of the facts for new directions.”The Head of State will officially reply to the memo sent to him by the GECAMINES management. The President of the Republic has requested the Minister of the Portfolio to submit a detailed report on these facts to the next Council of Ministers, the elements of which will help The Council of Ministers to determine the guidelines to be given to this dossier “, added the report.
Several suspicions of embezzlement have weighed on the leaders of Gécamines for quite some time, notably its Chairman of the Board of Directors, Albert Yuma. Jean Claude Muyambo an opposition leader and a lawyer accuses the later of having embezzled 260 million US dollars.
“There is a diversion at Gécamines. We want to know where the money from this company is going. The releases of Panda and Shituru to Likasi should have brought in, according to the World Bank, $ 300 million. The evaluation had already been done. Yet curiously Gecamines only benefited a mere 40 million dollars, documented and the rest of the money totalling 260 million dollars disappeared in thin air. This is where Albert Yuma must tell us the truth. They have had created parallel accounts within the company. As proof, Gecamines has its own account and its managers have another parallel account. This is deplorable and constitutes a huge loss for the country. From 2017, according to our information the Gecamines received $ 600 million from its partners who operate its sites. All of this money has been squandered without trace,” said Jean Claude Muyambo on April 27.
The campaign “Congo is not for sale” had opposed the sale of STL’s assets to Gecamines, putting forward notably as an argument the fact that the directors of this public enterprise are the subject of legal proceedings in courts and tribunals.
The new leaders appointed to Gécamines by Félix Tshisekedi have never taken office for a year.
