Atlanta: Soyia Ellison, soyia.ellison@cartercenter.org
DRC Extractive Industries Governance Program: Daniel Mulé, daniel.mule@cartercenter.org
KINSHASA — Â鶹´«Ã½ and its Congolese civil society partners will present key findings from fiscal analyses of five major mining projects in Democratic Republic of Congo at an event that will run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, at the Sultani Hotel, 30 Avenue De La Justice.
Representatives of the Congolese partners will present key conclusions from their case studies of Kibali Goldmines (owned by Randgold Resources), Twangiza Mining (Banro Corporation), Frontier SA (Eurasian Resources Group and, previously, First Quantum Minerals), Kamoto Copper Company (Glencore), and Mutanda Mining (Glencore). Â鶹´«Ã½ will present a new analysis synthesizing significant findings from these studies entitled, “.”
“This event, which brings together representatives from Congolese civil society, the DRC state, and extractives companies, is a unique opportunity to launch an open debate on the fiscal challenges of the mining sector and potential solutions,” said Daniel Mulé, the Â鶹´«Ã½’s extractive industries governance program manager. “This kind of inclusive dialogue, based on objective analysis of data, can play a key role to help DRC take action to increase transparency and accountability.”
The Congolese partner organizations conducted their research after receiving mining-sector tax trainings from the Center, with support from the Fiscal Transparency Innovation Fund of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development; the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency; and the U.K. Department for International Development, which is also providing support for Tuesday’s event.
The case studies are available through the links below:
They identify challenges to good fiscal governance of DRC’s mining sector, including mining royalties not shared with provincial governments; minimization of profit tax payments; underpriced sales of mining assets by state-owned companies; a lack of transparency around the uses of state-owned mining companies’ revenues; and a failure to publish company financial statements and all contracts, annexes, and amendments related to mining projects.
Â鶹´«Ã½ urges the Congolese government, mining companies, and civil society to work together to address these challenges and ensure that the mining sector contributes to sustainable and equitable development in DRC.
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