DRC to Publish Mining, Oil Contracts Online

SteelGuru, Matsiko Mike

The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to publish all mining, timber, oil and gas contracts reached with companies to the public to show transparency and accountability in the natural resource sector beginning this year.

According to the statement, all concessions between government and companies will be made public in government gazette and government newspapers in a period of 60 days from the date of signing.

Analysts said that Congo's tin accounts for 5%–7% of global tin production, and it has large deposits of cobalt, copper, gold, tin ore, diamonds, among others. About 1.7 million people are displaced in DRC, mostly because of conflicts involving domestic and foreign-armed groups in the east—a region rich in minerals, such as gold, coltan, lithium, cassiterite and wolframite. Armed groups, including the DRC national army, FARDC, are heavily implicated in the industry.

Both international and local human rights organizations and the World Bank have been pushing for increased transparency in natural resource business in DRC by making contracts public, especially in volatile eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema.

Various stakeholders in the Democratic Republic of Congo's mining sector have signed a code of conduct designed to reduce fraud and increase transparency in an industry that has played a key role in the armed violence that has ravaged the east of the country for years but there is still concern about illegal mining and the military's role.

According to anti corruption and environmental watchdog, UK-based Global witness, eastern Congo is USD 24 trillion worth of precious minerals like tantalum, tungsten, gold and tin ore.