We call ourselves bandits, we denounce the mafias, we demand compensation, an advisor suddenly resigns … Gold smells of sulfur in South Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where companies with capital Chinese are waiting to know if they will be able to resume their activities, suspended in August by the provincial authorities.
Their future in the gold-bearing territory of Mwenga, about a hundred kilometers southwest of the chief town of Bukavu, is suspended after a parliamentary commission of inquiry and the decision of the Ministry of Mines.
“We are confident, we will bounce back and we even want to go further: we will be a pilot project in the traceability” of gold, assures Rudy Cornet, consultant for one of the six companies concerned, Oriental Resources Congo.
The opacity of the exploitation and sale of Congolese gold is regularly deplored, again last year by a group of UN experts who noted “volumes of smuggled gold significantly higher than those legally marketed ”.
Gold, among other mineral wealth abounding in the DRC, is also used to finance armed groups and fuel the conflicts that have plagued the eastern part of the country for more than a quarter of a century.
“Some operators are real bandits”, judge M. Cornet, but “we must not put everyone in the same basket”, he adds, contesting any violation of the mining code.
“We are going to pay”
On August 20, the governor of South Kivu ordered the suspension of the activities of half a dozen Chinese-owned mining companies in Mwenga territory, in particular to preserve “the interest of the local population and ‘environment “. Obvious and “multiple” “abuses” were noted, he assured.
According to various testimonies collected in Bukavu, these companies complied – their machines are at a standstill – while working to make their arguments.
“The companies have gone to Kinshasa, we have filed our defenses, and we are waiting,” said Me Eric Kitoga, Congolese lawyer representing the interests of Congo Blueant Minerals (CBM).
Chinese company employees accused of working with “tourist visas” “This is not true. “They say we haven’t compensated the peasants for their fields? It’s wrong. “” That we did not pay taxes. This is wrong, ”he lists.
“We are criticized for not having an exploitation permit” in Mwenga? “But the company has signed an agreement with a local cooperative that allows it to be there,” adds the lawyer.
Certainly, concedes Me Kitoga, CBM may have gone beyond purely “artisanal” mining, given the equipment used. “We also know that the environment has been destroyed” and that “it needs to be fixed,” he continues.
“We will pay,” said the lawyer, convinced that the dispute will be settled “with fines” and that the suspension measure taken at the provincial level will be lifted by Kinshasa. “You know, China has very strong relations with the Congo, we cannot ask everyone to close,” he said.
Even for the maintenance of the road leading to Mwenga, the local populations need mining companies, underline these companies.
“They devastated everything”
“They devastated everything: palm groves, cassava and rice fields, fish ponds! »Is carried away Laban Kyalangalilwa, president of the community of Banyindu, in the« chiefdom »(collectivity) of Luindi.
Even if “arrangements” are found, these farmers must first repair “what they have caused”, by compensating the peasants who have lost “their means of survival”, he asks.
“We are going to file a complaint against these companies, on behalf of our citizens, of the victims”, supports Mr.e Christian Wanduma, legal adviser to the neighboring chiefdom of Wamuzimu.
“The parliamentary mission noted the organized mafias in Mwenga, we are awaiting its conclusions”, he adds, predicting an “uprising” of the community if the government passes the sponge on the alleged misdeeds of the targeted companies.
On Monday, residents of several parts of the territory demonstrated “against the anarchic exploitation of minerals by Chinese companies,” said civil society activist Justin Mubarikiwa.
“The mining companies take and leave, the communities remain, their rights must be guaranteed,” said Safanto Bulongo, who has been following the Mwenga file since the end of 2020.
Questioned on October 18 in Bukavu, Mr. Bulongo, then “mining” advisor to the governor of South Kivu, promised to immediately look into gold mining in other areas of the province. His resignation was announced shortly after, without explanation.