DRC: CNPAV alerts Tshisekedi on Dan Gertler’s involvement in the KCC mine where he plans to inaugurate a new production unit

While the Head of State Félix Tshisekedi arrived this Wednesday, May 13 in the province of Haut-Katanga, where he was announced at the inauguration of a production unit at the Kamoto Copper Company sulfuric acid plant (KCC), The Congo is not for sale (CNPAV) alert on the involvement of Dan Gertler in this factory.

Indeed, according to various sources, on site in Kolwezi, Felix Tshisekedi will inaugurate in particular a branch of the Central Bank of Congo (BCC), the building housing the work office of the President of the Republic built just next to the hotel du government as well as a production unit at the Kamoto Copper Company sulfuric acid plant (KCC).

In his report entitled; “Billions lost: financial investigation into Dan Gertler’s transactions in the extractive sector”, published on Wednesday, May 13, CNPAV affirms that the Israeli Dan Gertler secretly collects royalties within KCC.

As a result, CNPAV spokesperson Jean-Claude Mputu called on President Félix Tshisekedi not to get involved in affairs where Dan Gertler’s shadow hovers.

“We reminded President Tshisekedi that Dan Gertler is under sanction. It is someone who plunders the Republic. To do business with him is to become corrupt yourself. The President of the Republic and his services are seized of the danger embodied by Dan Gertler. They should, if they love the Congo, audit an investigation and get Dan Gertler to go to jail to stop enjoying our wealth, ”said JC Mputu.

The CNPAV report specifically describes Dan Gertler’s involvement in the operation of KCC.

“Since 2009 and the“ revisiting ”of Congolese mining contracts, Gécamines has the right to collect royalties corresponding to 2.5% of KCC’s net copper and cobalt sales. Nevertheless, Gertler secretly collects these royalties in place of Gécamines from the first half of 201344. This substitution is initially justified by the repayment of a series of complex loans granted by Gertler’s companies to Gécamines between December 2012 and January 2015 », Indicates the CNPAV report.

Why special attention on Dan Gertler!

For Jean-Claude Mputu, the citizen control of civil society towards Dan Gertler is justified by the fact that for more than 20 years he has controlled the Congolese mining sector, the main source of income for the DRC.

“The CNPAV is not going after Dan Gertler. We denounce a lot of things. In particular, we demand the publication of all contracts in the sectors, whether in the mining sector or that of governance. In particular, there is the passport contract, which we are requiring to be published. We also demanded the publication of the contract on RAM with the ARPTC and the company 5C Energy. Dan Gertler is a Congo specific problem because no one in Congo over the past 20 years has had such an impact on the mining sector which is the DRC’s primary source of income. On his own, he made the DRC lose more than 2 billion USD, half of the state budget. It’s huge, ”he explained.

According to him, “Dan Gertler is not an investor. He made money because he serves as a link between multinationals and the Congolese government. He is in fact the accomplice of the authorities to sell the assets of the State ”.

The CNPAV spokesperson also made some recommendations to the competent authorities. He would like an administrative audit to be carried out to lead to the cancellation of all “illegal contracts” for the benefit of Dan Gertler.

“First, the recommendations are addressed to the executive authorities, the President of the Republic, the Ministers of Mines and Portfolios who are responsible for the assets of Gécamines. It is up to them to audit an administrative audit to cancel all illegal contracts to allow the State to recover its means. Secondly, the parliament in turn must set up a parliamentary commission of inquiry to shed light on all these matters, with the declarations of Albert Yuma, which sow confusion in public opinion. Thirdly, it is up to civil society, including the media, to denounce corruption, ”he suggests.