Miguel Kashal Katemb launches control in main and subcontractor companies in the DRC

The Director General of the Regulatory Authority for Subcontracting in the Private Sector (ARSP), Miguel Kashal Katemb, has officially launched the control of the rules of subcontracting in the main and subcontracting companies.

This activity comes after its announcement a few weeks ago.

Through an official message, the Director General Miguel Kashal makes it known that this campaign aims to apply the vision of the Head of State in the sector, to stop the system of nominees and the end of the phenomenon of vouchers. order which are given according to the waves and instead. The ARSP thus intends to ensure the promotion of real contracts among entrepreneurs. It is also a question of putting an end to the system of payment abroad of all the operations carried out in the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to avoid capital flight.

In addition, the Director General of the ARSP indicated that the banks are warned not to use their funds in order to divert the contracts of the subcontractors who have won the said contracts in good and due form.

Taking the example of South Africa, Ghana and Senegal which have applied the rules of subcontracting in good and due form, the Director General of the ARSP paid tribute to the Congolese Head of State for the implementation in the DRC of this vision which places particular emphasis on the promotion of the Congolese middle class.

An appeal is therefore launched to the main companies and subcontractors in order to facilitate the control which will be carried out by the inspectors trained for this purpose and who have taken an oath before the authorized judicial authorities.

Below, the full message of the Director General of the ARSP:

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE AUTHORITY FOR THE REGULATION OF SUBCONTRACTING IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR (ARSP) TO CONTRACTORS AND THE MAIN COMPANIES CONCERNED BY SUBCONTRACTING

Dear entrepreneurs and managers of the main companies involved in subcontracting in the Democratic Republic of Congo,

One hundred days since it pleased the President of the Republic, Head of State, His Excellency Mr. Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, to entrust us with the management of the “Regulatory Authority for Subcontracting in the private sector”, ARSP in acronym, we must indicate to the public the path towards which this public administrative establishment of the Congolese State is advancing.

In addition to this imperative of accountability, another reason is added to what motivates our communication today. It is that after having been received by several members of the government of the Republic concerned by subcontracting to discuss the issue, we realized, both the enormous expectation of Congolese subcontractors in relation to the task entrusted to the ARSP; but also the need to involve a wide range of sectors of activity in our country in the implementation and support of the vision of the President of the Republic in this sector, which consists in putting an end to the suffering of the Congolese, (suffering) to which he sympathizes, by activating the mechanisms likely to create rich Congolese.

You will remember, in fact, that he had clearly expressed the wish to see the creation of wealthy Congolese and had promised economic operators to protect them, to enable them to flourish and develop; this, with a view to creating a real middle class holding real shares in companies under Congolese law.

The implementation of this vision takes place in a particular context that we all know, namely: that of the aggression suffered by our country in its eastern part. Several thousand of our compatriots lost their lives as a result of this despicable and barbaric war, including several valiant members of our armed forces.

We join the entire Republic and its President in paying them the tribute they deserve.
We also sympathize with the thousands of internally displaced persons and other refugees, whose humanitarian situation is as indescribable as it is worrying, not to mention the raped women and war orphans.
We encourage the efforts made by the Head of State to put an end to this ordeal suffered by our compatriots living in the East of the Republic.

We also regret the negative impact of this situation on the implementation of the law on subcontracting in this part of the country.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
To return to the activities of the ARSP, we had already indicated that, over and above the missions of planning, consultation, control and settlement of disputes assigned to it by the Decree which established it, the general orientation of its action stems from the vision of the President of the Republic as defined above.

This is, for us ARSP, a structuring objective for all our action. We will pursue it unequivocally.

This is why, from the start of our mandate, we announced two important aspects of our action in this sector: both putting order in it and supporting Congolese subcontractors so that they can gain access to outsourcing. We would like to reassure that this last component is guaranteed. For this, we encourage subcontractors to join legally constituted federating structures such as the Federation of Enterprises of Congo, FEC in acronym, the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises of Congo, COPEMECO in acronym and the National Federation of Artisans Small and Medium Enterprises of Congo, FENAPEC in acronym, and other similar structures.

This will allow better monitoring and evaluation of their growth.
Under the “putting order” component, an appeal is made to the main companies to comply with the law on subcontracting and its implementing measures.

To do this, special measures are required and will be strictly applied, in particular:

1. The discontinuation of the nominee system, that is to say, the use of a person who claims to act on his own behalf when in reality, he is acting on behalf of a person who does not would not like to reveal the share that she takes in a business or in a company formally speaking, whereas in reality she is not involved in the management of the said companies;

2. The end of the purchase order system: Congolese subcontractors will no longer have purchase orders, but rather contracts. The reason is that with purchase orders, the markets are uncertain or just momentary according to the waves of opportunity, while the contracts give rise to permanent markets which allow subcontractors to bank them for secure them financially. A request is thus made to the banks under Congolese law to support the said contracts in collaboration with the Guarantee Fund for Entrepreneurship in Congo, FOGEC in acronym.

3 In line with these measures, we warn banks which, after learning about the markets of their customers (i.e. outsourcing companies), instead of protecting them, supervise and support them for their development in accordance with their mission, rather use their financial capacity to create competing companies. Finished this unfair practice which does not allow the emergence of the Congolese middle class.

Banks that continue to behave in this way will be denounced and severely punished, in accordance with the laws of the Republic.

This is the place to announce our frank collaboration with the National Financial Intelligence Unit, CENAREF in acronym, in order to control the transactions of the main companies with the subcontracting companies, it being understood that all the subcontractors must be paid. in the country.
Any payment made by the main companies within the framework of the subcontracting outside the country will not be tolerated, since the payment outside the country does not contribute to the broadening of the tax base of the Republic. Moreover, it violates the law on the repatriation of capital, thereby escaping the control of the Central Bank of Congo. Besides that it violates the emergence of national expertise and promotes the destruction of Congolese subcontracting companies.

With the General Directorate of Customs and Excise, DGDA in acronym, a memorandum of understanding will be concluded in order to control all imports of inputs and reagents.

These imports must be made by companies under Congolese law, not by other companies without them.

It follows that the main companies must go through their subcontractors for the import of inputs and reagents.
We warn, with the most solemn commitment, that those who do not comply with these measures will have exposed themselves to the rigor of the law and other regulations of the country relating thereto.

Should we remember that all these provisions as well as the laws and regulations which organize the subcontracting, did not start in Congo! They already exist in several African countries, including South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and many other countries.

We must not, moreover, lose sight of the fact that all of this is ordered in the fight against poverty and the promotion of inclusive growth, in which the activities of SMEs participate.

The ARSP is resolutely committed to this cause and wants to be the instrument of change, diversification of the national economy and development, as I have already had the opportunity to say in another context. We pay a proud tribute to the President of the Republic, Head of State, from whom all this vision comes.

We count in this task of the ARSP, enormously on the accompaniment of the honorable national deputies and senators as well as the provincial deputies; these, better than anyone, have an interest in the creation of wealth and that employment priority be given to the Congolese, in other words, their voters, their respective bases.

We salute the government’s involvement and substantial support for the materialization of the objectives set for the ARSP and assure it of our determination to achieve them.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is important to specify that the approach thus undertaken by the ARSP is not to be confused with Zairianization (questionable in several respects).

The ARSP, as part of the quest for more inclusive and sustainable economic growth, advocates the emergence of the Congolese middle class, the consolidation of national expertise and gives Congolese people the opportunity to join expatriates in 51% shares for nationals and 49% for expatriates.

Such an approach aimed at guaranteeing real shares to Congolese subcontractors is not in contradiction with foreign direct investment, which will continue to be encouraged, nor with the development of the main companies, which will benefit both from the necessary protection, as promised by the Head of State, but also a frank collaboration on our part.

Ladies and gentlemen

After having put into perspective the new vision that must now regulate the private sector of subcontracting, a control will follow to guarantee that the specific measures announced here are strictly applied. This control begins today. Our team of inspectors prepared for this purpose will be deployed on the ground. For this, we ask the players and companies concerned to prepare themselves usefully by complying, as of now, with the measures that we have just announced. We are counting on the good collaboration of all and strongly urge them to do so.
That said, all that remains is for us to ask the subcontractors, particularly our youth, to appropriate this subcontracting to make it the real armed arm of our nation’s economy.

The time has come to access subcontracting.

The Head of State gives you the opportunity to access markets.

Grab the ball because it’s now or never. Let’s support subcontracting to boost the national economy, in order to create wealth for the Congolese.
This is the challenge that the ARSP undertakes to take up together with Congolese entrepreneurs in general, and Congolese youth in particular, namely: To become Creators of Wealth for our Populations.

May God bless the Democratic Republic of Congo!
Long live subcontracting in the Democratic Republic of Congo! Long live the ARSP

Thank you.