The NGOs are calling on the Congolese Government and its international partners to renegotiate, revoke or cancel the contracts inherited from the war and the transition in order to ensure that the Congolese people derive a fair share from the benefits of the exploitation of the country's mineral wealth.
On the eve of the arrival of Paul Wolfowitz, the President of the World Bank, in Brussels for an international conference organized by the Belgian Government on "Improving Governance and Fighting Corruption. New Frontiers in Public-Private Partnership", the organizations have published a memorandum that is highly critical of the joint venture agreements the transitional government entered into with private companies.
In the memorandum they analyze the agreements with Kinross Forrest Ltd (now owned by Katanga Mining Ltd), Global Enterprises Corporate Ltd (now owned by Nikanor Plc) and the Phelps Dodge Corp./Tenke Mining Corp consortium. These contracts tie up a large part of the Congo's mining resources for decades to come. A complete lack of transparency surrounded their negotiation and approval.
"The needs of the Congolese people are immense. Unless there is a fair division of the benefits from mining, the reconstruction and development of the country will be compromised" said Pere Minani of the Centre d'Etudes pour l'Action Sociale (CEPAS) in Kinshasa, speaking on behalf of the Congolese organizations.
"That's the reason the new Congolese Government must shed light on mining contracts inherited from the past". Speaking on behalf of international NGOs, Marc-Olivier Herman, of the Belgian development agency, Broederlijk Delen, stressed the need for the donor governments to help Congo revise and renegotiate the contracts.
"Liberia provides a prefect example", he said. "In December 2006, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, with international assistance, successfully renegotiated with the Arcelor-Mittal group, a very large mining contract that had been inherited from the transitional government and which was extremely disadvantageous for the country".
The appeal and the memorandum "Public Private Partnerships in the DRC's Mining Sector: development, good governance and the struggle against corruption?" are available from: www.11.be/fairshare.
The Appeal, A fair share for Congo! / Une part équitable pour le Congo! has been launched by the following organizations:
11.11.11.(Belgique)
Association Africaine de Défense des Droits de l'Homme - ASADHO/Katanga (RDC),
Bank Information Center -BIC (USA), Broederlijk Delen (Belgique),
Centre d'Etudes Pour l'Action Sociale - CEPAS (RDC),
Fatal Transactions (International),
NiZA (Nederland),
Rights and Accountability in Development - RAID (UK),
Réseau d'Organisations des Droits Humains et d'Education Civique d'Inspiration Chrétienne - RODHECIC (RDC)
For further information :
Marc-Olivier Herman, Broederlijk Delen
GSM +32 (0) 478 288047, marc.herman@broederlijkdelen.be or
Kirsten Hund at NiZA + 31 (0)6 41 207296 kirsten.hund@niza.nl
