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DEMOCRATIC RUNNING

MINISTRY OF MINES

RIGHT OF RESPONSE FROM THE MINISTER OF MINES

On September 6, 2023 at 12:49 p.m., Jeune Afrique published an article written by Marwane Ben Yahmed. The said article contains the following untruths for which this right of reply is exercised:

-<< On July 31, an order signed by Michel Kibonge Nyekuma, director of the minister's office

of Mines, canceled the exploitation rights of 29 companies on deposits in the DRC.

This statement is devoid of logic and meaning for these reasons:

First, the Director of Cabinet does not sign an order, the author should have informed himself about the ABCs of Congolese public law before holding his pen. Rather, it is 61 Orders signed by the Minister of Mines that I am; then, it was not a question of canceling the mining rights. Rather, the holders were stripped of their rights to these permits for legal reasons. Forfeiture does not affect the validity of a mining right when the forfeited holder has filed an appeal.

"(...) the Congolese State has not formally justified the reasons for this decision." This statement sufficiently demonstrates that the author of the article did not have access to the criticized decisions: the Orders were indeed justified, the forfeiture was based on the failure to draw up the specifications for social responsibility .

These clarifications made, all the caricatured comments which followed denote a desire to tarnish the image

of the mining sector of the DRC, for reasons that only the author of this article understands.

This is the place to note that certain mining companies operating in the DRC show no concern for the environment or the local communities impacted by their mining projects, notwithstanding the legal system governing the mining sector in the country. For example, there have been several reports of loss of life at Boss Mining sites.

Everyone is aware that companies are today evaluated on the basis of ESG criteria, with regard to the consideration of sustainable development and long-term issues in the strategy of economic players.

The Government of the Republic had no other choice than to activate legal mechanisms to force mining operators to comply with environmental and social requirements, in the face of environmental damage and recurring social disasters.

Done in Kinshasa, September 15, 2023

Antoinette N'SAMBA KALABAYI

Minister of Mines

Kinshasa - Democratic Republic of Congo

4 Level, Government Building, Place Royal, Boulevard du 30 Juin Website: www.mines.gouv.cd

E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected]