- In the light of allegations that Democratic Republic of Congo is likely to lose almost $3.7 billion in shady mining and oil deals with controversial Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, the President Félix Tshisekedi has sought a review of some mining contracts with foreign companies.
- According to a coalition of lobbyists consisting of Congolese and international organisations, DRC has already lost out on nearly $2 billion in revenue by selling mining and oil assets to Mr Gertler.
In the light of allegations that the Democratic Republic of Congo is likely to lose almost $3.7 billion in shady mining and oil deals with controversial Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, the President Félix Tshisekedi has sought a review of some mining contracts with foreign companies. According to a coalition of lobbyists consisting of Congolese and international organisations, DRC has already lost out on nearly $2 billion in revenue by selling mining and oil assets to Mr Gertler.
The lobby estimates that Companies owned by Mr. Gertler, who is under US sanctions for alleged corruption in Congo, stand to gain $1.76 billion in the next 20 years from copper and cobalt projects in the country. In a recently published report the lobby urged the Congolese government to take stern actions to ensure that Congo’s mineral wealth benefits the DRC Treasury and its people and called for a thorough investigation into all mining deals involving Mr Gertler. According to its calculations based on reports published in 2013 by former UN Secretary-General the late Kofi Annan-led Africa Progress Panel, DRC lost $1.95 billion in revenues between 2003 and 2021. A further $1.76 billion in future royalty payments to Gertler’s companies will have been paid by 2039.
Globally, DRC is the largest source of cobalt and Africa’s biggest copper producer. Mr Gertler’s companies own royalty streams from three of the world’s biggest cobalt projects have the capacity to produce more than 70,000 tonnes of cobalt a year – about half of total global output in 2019. His companies took over the royalties from state-owned miner Gecamines in a series of transactions over a decade which are being scrutinised by activists and foreign regulators from the US, UK and Switzerland. They alleged that Congo lost out $1.36 billion through the under-pricing of mining assets bought by companies linked to Mr Gertler.
Over and above these mines, Mr Gertler’s companies also control oil and gold permits in northeastern Congo. The sanctions against Gertler have complicated the development of those projects. President Tshisekedi in his bid to revive the country’s battered economy is taking steps to reverse some of the deals that were badly negotiated.
