Congo launches review of shifty mining contracts

Jun 11, 2007, 15:31 GMT

Kinshasa - The Democratic Republic of Congo launched a government commission on Monday to review some 60 mining contracts, drafted under nebulous conditions during the country's 1998-2003 war and deemed unfair to the state.

Many mining deals were signed during the war, which left four million dead, or during a transition period, which included rebel leaders in government until elections last year.

'The government will no longer do any nonsense in governing its mines,' said Mines Minister Martin Kabwelulu.

Despite boasting a tenth of the world's copper reserves, as well as an abundance of gold, diamonds, tin and cobalt, the Congolese population has drawn little benefit from its resources.

'The experts will have the delicate task to confront the declared value (of the mining deposits) with a realistic value and to propose a correction,' Kabwelulu said in the capital Kinshasa Monday.

Rocketing metal prices and increased stability in the war-torn country has attracted international mining giants but advocacy groups say the central African country is selling its resources short.

The commission has given itself three months to present a report on its findings to Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga, but experts said the task was much more daunting and would take longer.

'This is a larger scale than anything that I'm aware of in other countries,' said Peter Rosenblum, a lawyer for the Carter Centre, who is advising the commission.

The new government, elected last year in the country's first democratic polls in more than 40 years, is relying on increased revenues from mining to implement an ambitious development programme.