Congo lost $750m in mining revenues

GOMA: More than $750 million (R9.7bn) of mining revenues paid by companies to Congolese state bodies were lost to the treasury between 2013 and 2015.

This is according to the environmental watchdo g Global Witness.

The losses deprived the state of funds that should have been used on public services, it said.

The country is the continent’s top producer of copper and the world’s biggest supplier of cobalt.

It also produces other minerals including coltan, diamonds, tantalum, tin and gold.

At the same time, it is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 64% of the population living below the poverty line in 2012, according to the World Bank.

More than $750m paid by companies to state bodies in taxes, royalties and other payments disappeared into the state-owned mining company Gecamines, as well as into national tax agencies, Global Witness said.

Documentation gathered by the watchdog indicated that at least some of the funds were distributed among corrupt networks linked to President Joseph Kabila’s regime.

Engaged in the exploration, research and production of Congo’s mineral deposits, Gecamines is “haemorrhaging money in suspect transactions ... while simultaneously failing to make any substantial contribution to the national treasury or invest in its own mining operations”, said the report.

Gover nment spokesman Lambert Mende said the judiciary would handle corruption cases. – dpa