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. EITI Reports have covered ten financial years (2007-2017). 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 2017, the sector generated USD 1,68 billion, accounting for 17,40% of GDP, 55,16% of total government revenues, 99,3% of total exports and a quarter of total employment.
Beyond reporting company payments, the EITI DRC has adopted innovative approaches to beneficial ownership, expanding EITI reporting to the artisanal and small-scale mining sector, and automating online reporting by companies and government entities. EITI reporting has also allowed to shed light on key thematic issues, such as licensing and infrastructure provisions put in place by the SICOMINES project. In 2018, DRC EITI published a standalone report on state-owned entreprises based on a review of the nine SOEs' financial statements, providing information on revenues collected by these entities.
DRC EITI and stakeholders engaged in the process were instrumental in including provisions related to transparency in the revised Mining Code, published in March 2018. Routine disclosures through government systems are improving, especially in the mining sector. The Ministry of Mines website provides links to over 180 contracts, as well as detailed production and export data for 2011-2019. The Ministry of Finance publishes monthly revenues collected by the government from the exploitation of natural resources.