OEARSE Criticizes DRC Mining Companies for Environmental and Social Oversights
In a press release dated Monday, June 10, 2024, DESKECO.COM received a statement from the Observatory for Studies and Support for Social and Environmental Responsibility (OEARSE).
The organization expressed concerns that many mining companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have not heeded the lessons from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) assessment report regarding their social and environmental obligations. OEARSE warned that these companies might hold questionable social licenses.
The EITI evaluation, conducted in March 2023 in the regions of Haut-Katanga, Lualaba, and Haut-Uélé, reviewed 93 mining companies. The findings were troubling:
-Only 10 companies (11%) provided proof of payment for financial securities.
-Just 5 companies (5%) submitted Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) and Environmental and Social Management Plans (PGES).
-Merely 4 companies (4%) submitted summaries of their ESIA/PGES.
The EITI report concluded that the compliance with environmental obligations among these companies was rated below 10%, indicating a “weak” performance.
OEARSE emphasized that these findings should provoke a national reflection on the responsibilities of extractive companies and the inaction of state services in managing the mining sector.
Despite the publication of the EITI report over a year ago, numerous ESIA, ESMP, and PAR summaries remain absent from the website of the Technical Committee for the Coordination and Planning of the Mining Sector (CTCPM), violating Article 42 of the mining code.
“The non-publication of the summaries of ESIAs, ESMPs, and PARs since 2018 raises doubts about their existence and the accuracy of the information they should contain,” stated Freddy Kasongo, Executive Secretary of OEARSE.
“The silence of the environmental investigation services could be seen as withholding information and complicity.”
OEARSE highlighted the urgent need for stakeholders to enhance the governance of the mining sector, particularly given the global rise in demand for energy transition minerals.
They called for systematic disclosure of information to enable citizens to evaluate environmental obligations and ensure that companies meet their contractual commitments.
The absence of over 80% of ESIA, ESMP, and PAR summaries from the public domain hampers citizens’ ability to monitor and assess the environmental obligations of mining companies in the DRC.
OEARSE stressed that state services must improve oversight to ensure private actors comply with national environmental protection laws.
“This situation should concern every Congolese citizen and represents a barrier to transparency by many mining companies,” OEARSE stated.
“These companies claim to produce energy transition minerals responsibly and transparently at major mining forums, including the DRC Mining Week.”
