DRC: Jean-Pierre Kiwakana calls for transparency in the management of mining revenues
During the closing ceremony of the April 2021 session, held on Tuesday, June 1 at the People’s Palace, the President of the Economic and Social Council (CES), Jean-Pierre Kiwakana Kimayala, appealed to the government for transparency in the management of mining revenues, especially since mining is a sector likely to boost the development of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“The CES in its recommendations on the mining sector, encourages sustainable local development from the transparent and adequate management of mining revenues generated by the mining royalty, the 0.3% allocation and specifications as well as the 10% for the future generation. The application of these measures will have to reduce the poverty of the communities around the mining exploitation, to stimulate the community development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions. For the ESC, it is urgent to strengthen transparency, mobilize revenues, improve the budget base, allocate these revenues to actions aimed primarily at improving the living conditions of the population ”, declared Jean- Pierre Kiwakana in his closing speech for the April session.
In his opinion, the DRC abounds in important rich and varied natural resources likely to meet the needs of economic and social development of the country with one of the populations among the poorest of the continent.
The mining economy, he pointed out, by its intrinsically extroverted nature does not play its role of driving belt for the benefit of the Congolese private sector, but much more for the benefit of private companies with foreign capital established in the country which help channel operational financial flows outside the country for the benefit of foreign subcontractors.
“Industrial exploitation of copper and cobalt breaks production records every year. At the same time, we are witnessing the development of significant artisanal mining in the fields of gold, diamonds, coltan and cobalt in particular. However, the revenues for the State from mining activity are notoriously insufficient with regard to the value of legal exports observed due to the history of the mining sector in our country since the 90s. “East of the country, contributes more to instability and local insecurity through the financing of armed groups,” said Jean-Pierre Kiwakana.
For the ESC, the effective implementation of the new mining code could contribute to the objective of making the natural resources of the DRC both “the fuel necessary to finance the diversification” of the economy, but also its heart. industrial, at least for the next decades, capable of stimulating the creation of businesses and the middle class.
