DRC Miners repatriated USD 8.081 billion between June 2018 and July 2020, which is 64.31% of export earnings

The Secretary General of Mines, Yombo Y’Apeke, in a correspondence dated August 3, 2020 and addressed to the Minister of Mines, revealed that the mining operators have repatriated to the Democratic Republic of the Congo 8 billion 81 million 836,524.5 USD on the revenues of ‘exports valued at USD 12 billion 567 million 204,218.31 during the period from July 2018 to June 2020, i.e. an estimated repatriation rate of 64.31%.

Here is in detail the breakdown of export earnings and repatriation operated by mining companies in the DRC between July 2018 and June 2020.

However, the General Secretariat for Mines, through its Department of Mines, and the Central Bank of Congo, expect to carry out their control, surveillance and verification missions to “encourage” the holders to repatriate in their accounts in DRC, 60% of export earnings within the time limits prescribed by the mining law and exchange regulations, on the one hand, and sanction defaulting exporters by applying the sanctions provided for in article 306 bis of the Mining Code, d ‘somewhere else.

The publication of these data comes as the Central Bank of Congo announced last July that it is imminently sending control missions to mining companies that do not repatriate their export earnings to the DRC.

The DRC is experiencing a decline in the supply of currency on the foreign exchange market, resulting in the volatility of the exchange rate. According to the government and the Central Bank, this scarcity of foreign currency was due in particular to the non-compliance by certain mining operators with the requirement to repatriate 60% of their export earnings to the DRC but also due to the crisis. health covid-19 which has grounded the aviation companies that are lowing foreign currency in the DRC