South Kivu Governor Orders Immediate Suspension of All Mining Activities
The governor of South Kivu, Professor Jean-Jacques Parusi Salumu, has issued an order signed on July 18, 2024, suspending all mining activities throughout the province.
According to the decree, “Article 1: All activities related to mining throughout the entire province of South Kivu carried out by all companies, businesses, and cooperatives of any kind are suspended, whether operating de facto or de jure in the province of South Kivu, until further notice.
Article 2: All companies, businesses, and cooperatives referred to in the preceding article are required to leave the sites and premises within seventy-two hours following the signing of this decree.
All previous provisions contrary to this decree are repealed. The provincial ministers in charge of the Interior and Mines, respectively, are responsible for the execution of this order, which enters into force on the date of its signature.”
The governor explained that the order was issued based on the recommendation of the provincial assembly’s commission of inquiry, which investigated the management of South Kivu from 2019 to June 2024, and on the proposal of the provincial Minister of Mines, Energy, and Environment.
The provincial executive justified the measure by citing the “need to restore order to mining throughout the province and to preserve not only human lives but also the traceability of mineral production in this site in accordance with the law and legal instruments on the subject.”
