In a note issued on Wednesday 16 August 2023, Congolese civil society organisations called on the Congolese government to remain within the framework of the provisions of the law on the distribution of mining royalties. They also called on the President of the Republic to postpone the initiative to redefine the distribution key for mining royalties established by law, by means of a prime ministerial decree.
On 11 August 2023, the Council of Ministers adopted a draft decree amending the rules for distributing mining royalties, as proposed by the Minister of Mines. For Congolese civil society, this draft decree violates Article 242 of the Mining Code. According to the Coordination of Advocacy Actions for the Governance of Natural Resources (Coordination des Actions de Plaidoyer pour la Gouvernance des Ressources Naturelles) and the Consortium Makuta Ya Maendeleo, this decision allows the government to deduct a percentage from the assets of the beneficiaries of the mining royalties in order to finance the Fund to support access to justice, reparation, autonomisation and community recovery for victims and their beneficiaries (Fonds chargé d’appui à l’accès, à la justice, à la réparation, à l’autonomisation et au relèvement communautaire des victimes et de leurs ayants droit – FONAREV).
The signatory organisations are asking the Government to find other ways of financing this fund. They urged the President of the Republic, as guarantor of the Constitution and regulator of the institutions, to postpone the initiative to redefine the distribution key for mining royalties established by law. If their concerns are not taken into account, they state that they reserve the right to lodge a complaint with the Council of State against any act aimed at violating the acquired rights of local communities affected by mining, as defined by the Mining Code.
Mines Actu Burkina
