Non-compliant miners have 15 days to repatriate 60% of export earnings to their DRC held accounts

Mining companies that have not yet repatriated 60% of their export earnings have 15 days to do so under penalty of sanction, demands the Council of Ministers of Friday August 28 on the instructions of the President of the Republic, Félix. Tshisekedi.

According to the data put forward by the Head of State during this 46th meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Friday, August 28, an amount of approximately 1.5 billion USD has not been repatriated to the Democratic Republic of Congo by certain companies. mining during the period from June 2019 to date.

 “At this, the Republican President urged the Government that all the mining companies concerned which have not yet regularized their situation in relation to this legal obligation of repatriation, to do so within fifteen days. If they exceed this deadline, the competent services of the Central Bank and the DGRAD will have to apply severe sanctions against the offenders ”, reports the report of the Council of Ministers made by the spokesperson of the government.

Under the terms of article 269 of the Mining Code, the holder of a mining title who, during the amortization phase of his investment, exports the merchantable products of the mines is: authorized to keep and manage in his main account and his accounts foreign debt service revenues from its export sales up to 40% ; required to repatriate into his account opened in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 60% of export earnings within fifteen days from the date of receipt in the main account provided for in article 267 of said Code.

The repatriation by the miners of their export earnings enables the financial system to be supplied with foreign currency. During this period of health crisis, the DRC experienced a significant drop in the supply of currency due both to the non-compliance with this requirement of the Mining Code on the repatriation of 60% of export earnings but also to the absence of the air traffic by airline companies. This has caused the scarcity of currencies on the foreign exchange market and the appreciation of the dollar in recent months in the DRC.