The Democratic Republic of Congo told local units of Glencore Plc, China Molybdenum Co., Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and four other mining companies to relocate their head offices as newly demarcated provinces fight over tax revenue and control of mineral projects.
The companies, all headquartered in Lubumbashi, the capital of Haut-Katanga province, must move to Kolwezi town in neighboring Lualaba, where their mines are based, Mines Minister Martin Kabwelulu said in an April 14 letter, a copy of which was seen by Bloomberg and confirmed by the ministry.
“The objective is to move the administration of these companies closer to where they mine and consolidate the decentralization process by building stronger relationships between the mining companies and the relevant provincial authorities,” Kabwelulu’s chief of staff, Valery Mukasa, said by phone from the national capital, Kinshasa.
Congo was divided into 26 administrative regions from 11 in July 2015, as part of a decentralization drive stipulated in the 2006 constitution to strengthen local government across the sprawling central African country, which is about the size of western Europe.
While governors were elected for each territory in 2016, other aspects are lagging behind, with many new regions lacking the infrastructure, revenue and human resources to staff and run a provincial administration.
For the rest of this article, click here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-24/miners-told-to-move-congo-hqs-as-provinces-compete-for-revenue