Civil society groups in the DRC report a $132 million loss tied to a 2008 infrastructure deal with China. The Congo is Not for Sale (CNPV) highlights excessive tax exemptions to Chinese firms as a primary issue. With potential losses of $7.5 billion over the next 17 years, the agreement, despite its contention’s lack of legal grounding, persists beyond the scope of the Congolese Mining Code, raising concerns about fiscal management.
Civil society organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are expressing serious concerns regarding a $132 million financial loss linked to a 2008 infrastructure-for-minerals agreement with a Chinese consortium. In a report released on March 5, 2025, the group Congo is Not for Sale (CNPV) highlighted this shortfall for 2024, despite attempts to renegotiate the deal last year, as reported by local media Actualite CD.
The report criticizes extensive tax exemptions granted to Chinese firms, which have continued to erode the DRC’s financial benefits from the agreement. The CNPV specifically points out that the contract’s exclusion from the Congolese Mining Code permits the continuation of these fiscal privileges unchecked. Reportedly, the DRC incurred approximately $443 million in losses from tax and parafiscal exemptions in 2023 alone, comprising 16% of the nation’s total tax expenditures.
During the presentation of the report, CNPV member Baby Matabishi cautioned that, if the current exemptions persist, the DRC could suffer total losses up to $7.5 billion over 17 years. These potential losses arise from Law No. 14/005, which provides broad tax, customs, and parafiscal exemptions for collaborative agreements, including the Sino-Congolese contract. “This contract has remained structurally imbalanced since its inception,” Matabishi remarked, further emphasizing the need to address the disproportionate nature of these exemptions and the contract’s management outside standard governmental oversight.
Despite the original agreement being established in 2008 without a robust legal basis, the Congolese government defended the exemptions as essential for repaying loans utilized for infrastructure development and mining operations. Importantly, even after a new Mining Code was introduced in 2018, the contract continues to function separately from this framework, maintaining its distinct tax regime.
In summary, civil society organizations in the DRC have voiced significant concern about the long-term financial repercussions of the country’s agreement with the Chinese consortium. As articulated in the CNPV report, ongoing tax exemptions could lead to substantial projected losses, highlighting the inadequacies of the contract’s management and legal grounding. Continued scrutiny and potential reforms may be necessary to safeguard the nation’s financial interests.
Original Source: globalsouthworld.com
