LICOCO warns of attempts to undermine revision of Chinese contract in DRC, praises IGF report on SICOMINES
The Congolese League Against Corruption (LICOCO) has issued a statement warning of the presence of individuals “clearly aligned with the Chinese cause” in the preparatory work for the revision of the Chinese contract. These individuals are suspected of working to undermine the efforts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to reach an amendment to the SICOMINES convention, as desired by the President of the Republic and the head of state. LICOCO is an NGO that campaigns against corruption in the DRC and has praised the report of the Inspectorate General of Finance (IGF) on the SICOMINES contract.
In its statement, LICOCO notes that the IGF report has exposed the predatory actions taken against the interests of the DRC by certain Congolese individuals who have shamelessly enriched themselves at the expense of SICOMINES. Work has been ongoing for a week to establish a negotiating roadmap with Chinese companies. This work involves various state structures under the leadership of the Chief of Staff of the Head of State. During a Council of Ministers meeting on March 17, 2023, Felix Tshisekedi had suggested revisiting the Chinese contract in order to rebalance the benefits between the DRC and Chinese companies.
However, LICOCO has expressed concern about attempts by some individuals to discredit the commendable IGF report during these preparatory works. The NGO alleges that such individuals are working against the decision of the head of state and the will of the Congolese people, and are seeking to delay the much-desired revision of the contract through dilatory tactics such as soliciting another technical audit of the SICOMINES convention. LICOCO also highlights the fact that since the existence of the convention, no state structure has been able to obtain financial and operational data from SICOMINES, which has acted like a “state within a state”.
Finally, LICOCO has called on the intelligence services, particularly the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), which is participating in these preparatory works, to take action to prevent the activities it has denounced.
