Sicomines: Jules Alingete aims to revise the contract to $20 billion

The Inspectorate General of Finances (IGF) is pushing for the Chinese Sicomines contract, initially worth $3 billion, to be revised upwards to $20 billion. The aim is to restore a better balance between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Groupement des Entreprises Chinaises (GEC). Jules Alingete Key, head of the IGF, is insisting on a binding commitment from the GEC to invest an additional $17 billion.

Sicomines is currently in the spotlight. Faced with Jules Alingete's inflexibility, Sicomines' Chinese managers are threatening to put a large number of Congolese staff on technical leave.

• Friendship, yes, but no easy compromises, stresses the IGF

During the tense negotiations on the revision of the Chinese contract, which covers mining as opposed to infrastructure, President Félix Tshisekedi recommended taking account of the Sino-Congolese friendship that has always existed. However, Jules Alingete Key, the uncompromising head of the Inspectorate General of Finance (IGF), does not seem ready to give in to the Chinese firms' charm tactics. In his view, the Chinese are complicating matters by resisting all amendments.

These negotiations, which began in June 2023, appear to be progressing slowly.

• Yellow threat

On 10 July, the usually level-headed Jules Alingete expressed his displeasure at the arrogant attitude of delegates from the Chinese companies Crec, Sinohydro and Exim Bank. He described this attitude as "yellow neo-colonialism" to which the Congolese people should not submit. The report by the Inspectorate General of Finances, published at the end of February, had already criticised the unbalanced nature of the Chinese contract, signed 15 years ago under President Joseph Kabila. Not only has Sicomines, a joint venture set up by the Groupement des entreprises chinoises (GEC) and Gécamines, failed to deliver the "several billion dollars" that Prime Minister Matata Ponyo touted in May 2012 before the National Assembly, but many of the planned infrastructures, for which the Chinese had the right to mine cobalt and copper in the Katangan Copperbelt, and probably other related undeclared minerals, have not seen the light of day.

• Non-compliance with commitments -

This infrastructure includes 3,000 km of railways, 31 hospitals with 150 beds and 145 health centres, one in each of the DRC's 145 territories. The initial value of all the projects agreed in this contract was $6.5 billion, before being reduced by more than half to $3 billion due to pressure from the IMF and Western influence behind the scenes. However, Jules Alingete deplores the fact that the DRC has granted tax exemptions to Chinese companies that have not produced the expected results. Chinese companies have already made more than $10 billion in profits from this partnership, while the DRC has so far only received infrastructure worth $822 million, which the IGF says has been overpriced.

According to Jules Alingete's department, given the contributions of each party to Sicomines, it is clear that the DRC has been adversely affected, with only 32 % of shares compared with 68 % for the GEC.

• The DRC claims its rights

This is why Jules Alingete and the IGF are urging the strategic committee in charge of negotiations with the Chinese not to give in, because the DRC's demands are justified. The strategic committee includes the Ministers of Infrastructure, Budget, Finance and Mines, Gécamines, the Agence de pilotage de coordination et de suivi de la convention de collaboration signée entre la RDC et les partenaires privés (APCSC), the executive secretariat of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and, of course, the IGF. Jules Alingete insists on the need to obtain substantial financial compensation for grievances relating to the Chinese contract. These damages must also be accompanied, first and foremost, by a change in the distribution of shares and profits within Sicomines.

Secondly, the mining joint venture must be based on a new balanced distribution of responsibilities and a significant increase in Chinese investment in infrastructure, at least doubled from 3 to 6 billion dollars in the short term, before reaching 17 billion dollars.

Thirdly, it must be guaranteed that the agreed deadlines for the construction and delivery of infrastructure will be met. On the Chinese side, in the absence of a veto on Jules Alingete's demands, it seems that they are more interested in preserving the advantages acquired during the Kabila era. However, the IGF retorts that times have changed, and we have to adapt to new standards.