At the height of the commodity boom in 2007, when the DRC began implementing the EITI, decades of conflict, political instability, corruption, looting and mineral smuggling had decimated the mining sector, which used to be DRC’s engine of growth, and left the government with large liabilities for its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that had become practically insolvent. Despite the country’s vast natural resources, 63% of the 75 million Congolese citizens were living below the poverty line of less than one dollar per day in 2012, according to the World Bank.

In this context, the government of the DRC committed to implement the EITI to attract foreign direct investment to revive the mining sector and ensure that revenues are well managed for the benefit of all citizens. Apart from a slight decrease in 2009 due to low commodity prices, EITI Reports have covered eight financial years (2007-2015) and shown a steady increase in government revenues. Revenues collected in the mining sector surpassed that of the oil and gas sector in 2010, when 63% of the USD 875 million came from mining companies. In 2015, the extractive sector generated USD 1,7 billion, 82% of which came from the mining sector.

Beyond reporting companies payments, the EITI DRC has adopted innovative approaches to beneficial ownership, expanding EITI reporting to the artisanal and small-scale mining and forestry sectors, and automating online reporting by companies and government entities. EITI reporting has also allowed to shed light on thematic issues, such as the barter agreement put in place by the SICOMINES project.  

The 2015 EITI Report shows that more than half of the privately held mining companies disclosed their beneficial owners. Information was not disclosed for three companies operating in the oil and gas sector, including PERENCO, the country’s largest tax payer of that sector. The disclosures often include details about the identity of the owners, such as the date of birth or residential address. Previous reports have revealed beneficial owners that were both politically exposed persons and owners whose birth date is more recent than the year covered by the EITI Report.

The evaluation report from DRC's participation in the beneficial ownership pilot notes that the major challenge in obtaining beneficial ownership disclosures was the lack of legal requirements for extractive companies to report their beneficial owners. According to the report, “the absence of a law on the beneficial ownership contributed to suspicion amongst the companies, who questioned the concept of beneficial ownership and the relevance of beneficial ownership disclosures. Despite the tremendous efforts undertaken by the MSG and the secretariat to improve the perception of the concept of beneficial ownership, some companies preferring to limit their disclosures to the legal owners, which, according to them, is what they are required to disclose in accordance with Congolese law and company Statutes". The government is now working on the legal and institutional framework for further beneficial ownership transparency.

Natural resources

DRC is the world's largest producer of cobalt, which is used in the production of batteries for cell phones and other consumer electronics. The country holds more than half of the world’s cobalt reserves according to the US Geological Survey. In addition to cobalt, DRC produces large quantities of copper, diamonds, gold, oil, tin, tantalum, tungsten and zinc. 

Source: Production figures are from the 2015 DRC EITI Report. Identified reserves are from the U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2018.

The 2015 EITI Report shows a resilient mining sector, characterised by increased production of certain commodities, such as cobalt and gold, and revenues amounting to USD 1,72 billion. USD 1,17 billion or 82,2% of collected revenues went to the Treasury, of which 20,6% were withheld by SOEs and other government agencies collecting taxes on behalf of the government.

Article 175 of the Constitution stipulates that 40% of the national revenue should be allocated to the province. Article 242 of the Mining Code provides for a sharing mechanism of mining royalties paid to the Treasury by holders of mining exploitation titles. The sharing arrangements are as follows:

• 60% of the revenue of income kept by Central Government.
• 25% of the revenue should be paid to an account designated by the Administration of the Province where the project is located and 15% of the revenue should be paid to an account designated by the City or the Territory within which operation takes place.