Miners who do not repatriate 60% of export earnings in the DRC government’s crosshairs

An ongoing hunt will be organized for mining companies that do not repatriate 60% of their export revenues to the DRC. The challenge is to supply the foreign exchange market in dollar and mitigate the volatility of the Congolese franc following the effects of the covid-19.

The Council of Ministers has already instructed the Central Bank of Congo (BCC) to identify mining companies that do not repatriate export revenues to the tune of 60% as required by the Mining Code.

“We are witnessing a significant decline in the supply of currency in the market. Those who are purveyors of foreign exchange who are miners who export our minerals must repatriate as stipulated in the Mining Code. We sent letters to these mining companies because for 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, the assessment of currency repatriation had not yet been done. We do not want to penalize these miners. We are writing to them asking them to fix this currency repatriation situation,” the Governor of the Central Bank of Congo said on Friday (July 10th) at the traditional press conference following the sixth meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee.

The monetary authority is concerned about exchange rate volatility in the market. One of the reasons is the decline in supply, which makes the U.S. currency scarce in the market causing the outbid. As a long as, the government and the Central Bank are putting pressure on miners to repatriate their export earnings to support the supply of foreign currency in the domestic foreign exchange market.

“Control is being prepared. Those who do not comply with the Mining Code with regard to the repatriation of export revenues will be punished. We did not want to do an improvised check with the mining companies. They were asked to prepare and arrange the situation. In the meantime, we’re going to send in control missions. This is one of 48 measures recommended by the government to mitigate the effects of the health crisis on the national economy,” warned Déogratias Mutombo.

During the “The Great Debate” broadcast on Top Congo radio on 25 July, Marcelin Bilomba, Senior Advisor to the Head of State in charge of the economy and finance, lashed out at the actions of mining companies, who, it is believed, do not repatriate 60% of the currencies to the DRC, as required by law.

According to the Senior Adviser to the Head of State Félix Tshisekedi, if mining companies repatriated 60% of the country’s foreign exchange, the DRC would have a sufficient currency mattress to provide credit under the right conditions.

“Mining companies that export are supposed to repatriate 60% of the country’s foreign exchange. Some people don’t repatriate. And it is the Central Bank that usually checks in mining areas. We know how it ends. If mining companies repatriated currencies, we would have a currency cushion to provide credit under the right conditions. They (mining companies) don’t,” he said.

It should be noted that Jean-Louis Kayembe, Director General of the Central Bank of Congo in charge of monetary stability and banking and Leny Ilondo, chairman of the Industry Committee at the Federation of Congo Enterprises (FEC), also participated in this debate on the depreciation of the Congolese franc and the national economy during this period of covid-19.