MP Irène Wasso pleads for the dismissal of the governor of South Kivu and the withdrawal of all Chinese companies

The national deputies adopted the report of the parliamentary commission dispatched to South Kivu more precisely in the territory of Mwenga in order to gather information on the illicit exploitation of minerals by foreign companies. According to Christophe Mboso, the findings of the mission will be transmitted to the government.

This report revealed serious dysfunctions in the mining sector in the DRC. To quote only the case of Mwenga, several Chinese companies exploit gold without titles or qualities. There are, for example, companies which only hold exploration permits but which actually operate the minerals in complicity with local cooperatives.

Faced with this state of affairs, the national deputy Irene Wasso, elected from Mwenga demands the dismissal of the Governor and the expulsion of all Chinese companies working in Mwenga.

“We ask for the interpellation of the minister in charge of mines to enlighten us on the agreements that the Banro company has signed with all the companies which exploit the mining squares in the chiefdom of Wamuzimu, we ask for the interpellation of the minister of the interior by report to the implication of the governor of South Kivu as denounced by the population in this file and the population of Wamuzimu asked me to ask you Honorable President to transmit their message by requesting the departure of the governor of province of South Kivu ” said Irène Wasso in her speech during the plenary on Thursday 18 November.

And to continue:

“We ask that the government through the Ministry of Mines suspend illegal mining in Mwenga and that the exploration permit given to Banro be revisited and that the Ministry of Mines through its specialized service the CAMI, limit the artisanal exploitation zones created in the province of South Kivu in general and in the territory of Mwenga in particular.we finally ask for reparation for all the damage that has been committed in our chiefdom and that justice be done in the face of all these criminal offenses as included in articles 299 and 311 bis of the new mining code and we finally request the withdrawal immediate of all Chinese companies located in our chiefdom “

context

Mines in South Kivu hit the headlines a month ago. Videos shot in Kamituga showing official delegations barred from accessing careers run by Chinese entrepreneurs sparked an uproar. During the Council of Ministers meeting on Friday, September 4, Prime Minister Sama Lukonde called on the Government to crack down on the perpetrators of this situation “which is also facilitated by the presence of armed groups which prevent the control of State “.

The governor of South Kivu, Théo Kasi, had decided to suspend the activities of Chinese companies which illegally mine gold in the territory of Mwenga. But in Kinshasa, the Minister of Mines, Antoinette N’samba opposed this decision, specifying that it violates the mining code in particular. She asked the Deputy Prime Minister of the Interior to instruct the governor of South Kivu to revoke his order.