Congo mining firms underreport $16.8B, state audit finds

A state audit in the Democratic Republic of Congo looked at mining companies’ finances between 2018 and 2023 to find $16.8 billion underreported in revenue, according to Africa News via Reuters on October 9th.

This underreporting has cost the Congolese government and communities their development funds, which they are entitled to from an allocated 0.3% of mining companies’ revenue as per the 2018 mining code. The audit found that the companies declared $98.2 billion to tax authorities, but only $81.4 billion for the community development fund, resulting in a loss of $50.4 million in contributions. 

The report has named Glencore and CMOC, among other major mining companies, and the auditors have made recommendations to suspend non-compliant firms. Civil society groups said that the 0.3% levy was meant to fund better living conditions for the Congolese community and must be managed directly.

Africa News, Maghrebi.org