LONDON, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Addressing a meeting for the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Ambassador Barnabe Kikaya bin Karubi urged British Parliamentarians to recognise the positive steps that have been taken to safeguard and secure the Democratic Republic of the Congo's mining industry for the benefit of its people.
In recent years, British Parliamentarians have become increasingly concerned at who is benefiting from the mining industry in the DRC and the subject has been debated heavily in both Houses of Parliament. The Congolese Ambassador took this opportunity to reassure members of the APPG about the partnership approach taken by the DRC Ministry of Mines towards extraction of natural resources in the DRC.
Seeking to address the UK Government's concerns, the Ambassador assured the Parliamentarians that the DRC government wants a strong and well regulated mining industry, actively encourages transparency and continues to encourage a strong, ethical and pro-business culture.
Members from both Houses of Parliament were informed by His Excellency Barnabe Kikaya bin Karubi that the mining industry is rigorously regulated. The Ambassador took the opportunity to explain the Mining Code that the DRC operates, impressing that it offers a transparent framework for the exploration, development and mining of mineral resources.
Parliamentarians were informed that there is significant competition between international investors for the natural resources in the DRC and that Mining companies are subjected to high levels of due diligence.
The Ambassador laid the blame for inaccurate speculation over the beneficiaries of asset transfers on over-enthusiastic NGOs who occasionally found themselves injecting unnecessary controversy to gain publicity for their work. He insisted that at no point have friends, business partners or acquaintances of the President benefited from secret sales. The discussion focused on how far the DRC has come in recent years from a war zone to operating a profitable industry and a country that has been applauded by the IMF and the World Bank.
To close the meeting Ambassador Barnabe Kikaya bin Karubi reassured those present that he would continue to engage with the UK Government to ensure that rumours put about by critics of the current Government were dispelled. He left pledging to remain in dialogue with British Parliamentarians so that they could work together to increase their understanding of the mining industry in the DRC.
