DRC Minister of Mines Addresses SACIM’s Diamond Marketing Challenges
In a correspondence submitted on Friday, September 15, the esteemed National Deputy Eric Ngalula Ilunga directed an oral question to Minister of Mines, Antoinette Nsamba.
This query pertains to Minister Nsamba’s decree, number 00049/CABMIN/MINES/01/2022, dated February 22, 2022, which establishes regulations governing mineral tenders overseen by the CEEC (Congolese Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) and its impact on SACIM (Ahnui Congo Mining Investment Company).
According to Deputy Ngalula Ilunga, the root cause of SACIM’s current financial troubles, which have led to the inability to pay employee salaries, is the aforementioned ministerial decree.
This decree restricts the exclusive rights to purchase precious stones to only five pre-selected Congolese economic entities. These entities have been observed to enforce comparatively lower prices when compared to prevailing rates in the international diamond market.
In line with the provisions of the current Mining Code, specifically Article 85, Deputy Ngalula Ilunga emphasizes that the free sale of mining products from operational zones is a fundamental principle.
Operating permit holders are granted the liberty to sell their products to customers of their choosing at mutually agreed-upon prices. SACIM’s inability to engage in open-market sales, as it once did, is a critical concern within this context.
Deputy Eric Ngalula Ilunga has posed a series of questions to Minister Antoinette Nsamba, seeking clarifications regarding the legality and rationale behind this ministerial order.
He also seeks insights into the DRC’s interests in limiting SACIM’s product purchases to only five local operators, the progress on establishing a precious substances exchange as purportedly related to the decree, and Minister Nsamba’s response to the ongoing challenges faced by SACIM.
SACIM’s operational location is situated at the Tshibwe site in the Miabi territory of the Kasaï Oriental province.
