DRC: nine companies of a Russian mining group excluded from the subcontracting market

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are waging a fight against companies that do not comply with the law on subcontracting.

According to the announcement made on Monday March 11 by the Subcontracting Regulatory Authority, the Russian group Kazakh Erg, active in copper mining, has been found in default. Several of its contracts were taken over by Congolese companies.

Legislation in the DRC stipulates that only companies with predominantly Congolese capital are allowed to subcontract, but many companies circumvent this law through fraudulent practices. This is the case of the Russian group Kazakh ERG which operates four copper and cobalt mines in the south-east of the country. In fact, the Congolese authorities revealed nine of its subsidiaries disguised as subcontractors and decided to exclude them from the market.

Miguel Katemb Kashal, director general of the Subcontracting Regulatory Authority (ARSP), declared during a press conference in Kinshasa: “In reality, these nine subcontracting companies, belonging to the Russian shareholders of the ERG group, which operate in four mines in the DRC, alone hold contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. 98% of these markets belong to them. We have put an end to this harmful situation which has long deprived Congolese companies of their legitimate share in the value chain, for the benefit of real companies with Congolese capital. From now on, we have put an end to these illicit practices and the markets will return to Congolese companies to promote our economic growth. »

“We acted in the same way with other companies such as the Canadian Barrick and the Chinese Sicomines. Our goal is for all companies to comply with the law on subcontracting”he added.