2023-10-23 17:19:26
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Maitre Lubumbashi, October 20, 2023. The Institute for Research in Human Rights (IRDH) is alerted by trade unionists in the mining sector of a new case of legal-political manipulation against the company Ruashi Mining SAS (belonging to the Chinese group Jinchuan [75 %] and at Gécamines [25 %]). These maneuvers which are suffocating the company have just forced its general director, Mr. WANG TAO, to flee from the Democratic Republic of Congo (RCD) to China, since Saturday October 14, 2023. This affair extends the list of recurring attacks to the proper functioning of the mining industry in the provinces of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba. She recalls the unpunished theft of 120 tons of copper ingots belonging to Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM)Indeed, Mr. WANG TAO had resisted “legal maneuvers” to pay the sum of USD 8,314,922.33 to Mr. Pascal Beveraggy, via his companies NB Mining SA and Octavia Limited. A union representative from the Ruashi Mininga company told IRDH that:“The company’s asphyxiation is certain, its bank accounts are blocked. On October 16, its copper production was sold at auction in Lubumbashi. And yet, this production, pre-financed by the Swiss raw materials trader Trafigura, is already sold to the car manufacturer MERCEDES.” For Ruashi Mining’s lawyers, the bailiffs, Maîtres Jacques Badibanga Sombamanya, Jacques Ngoy Lwamunyevu and Patrick Banza Yamba, had neither an enforceable title nor authorization from the president of the competent court, before carrying out the precautionary seizures on the assets of Ruashi Mining.“The public sale of October 16, 2023 is not justified, insofar as the bailiff who carried out the seizure on August 22, 2023 notified Ruashi Mining SAS of a report of withdrawal of its seizure”.The bailiffs claimed to carry out the seizure on the basis of the decisions rendered under the file numbers VE 48/CPHJ/GMB which became VE.013/CPHJ/HK.023/MU 1917 and VE/48/CPHJ/GMB/MU 1917. And yet , the Order under MU 1917 made by the Commercial Court of Kinshasa/Gombe, had been retracted by the Order under MU 1969 made by the president of the same Commercial Court of Kinshasa/Gombe, of November 24, 2022. It is On the strength of this latest judgment, on September 25, 2023, the same bailiffs, Maîtres Jacques Ngoy Lwamyevu and Patric Banza, Yamba Patrick, proceeded to retract their various seizure reports and their conversions. For its part, the company Astalia Investment Limited finds it suspicious that the bailiffs ignore its opposition to the public sale of copper from Ruashi Mining which owes it USD 64,188,503.61. His lawyers showed the IRDH (i) the certificate of non-appeal in cassation number 033/2023, (ii) the report of the protective seizure of tangible movable property in the hands of a third party (Ruashi Mining), of September 29, 2023 and (iii) the act of conversion from seizure to seizure of sale, of September 29, 2023. They say that this behavior is a flagrant violation of their client’s rights. For trade unionists, the legal action is politically motivated. It aims to block any payment intended for subcontractors MCK and Astalia Investment Limited.“The real conflict is between Moïse Katumbi and one of his former workers, Mr. Pascal Beveraggy. As in the 2018 elections, he found another opportunity to make easy money. To do this, he takes on board gluttonous politicians who scam Ruashi Mining, under the pretext of seeking electoral campaign funds, for the Sacred Union, in support of the head of state. Undoubtedly, MCK is the official sponsor of the TP Mazembe Football team of the December 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Katumbi Chapwe. And, since the Katumbi-Kabila conflict, Mr. Beveraggy supports Saint Eloi Lupopo led by Governor Kyabula Katwe. The latter two joined President Tshisekedi, after Joseph Kabila lost power, in 2018. In addition to the case under examination and the unpunished theft of 120 tons of copper cathodes perpetrated by the general of the 22nd Military Region, in complicity with senior political authorities in the province, IRDH finds other complaints of fraud more worrying in this pre-electoral campaign period. Here! (i) A certain Madame Rachidi Jocelyne would collect money from mining companies, in the name of the Sacred Union; (ii) the general director of the Regulatory Authority for Subcontracting in the Private Sector (ARSP), Mr. Miguel Kashal Katemb Miguel would force mining companies to contract with companies on a list that he would give them. It should also be noted the questioning of his role in the CTS company, accused of having diverted mining royalties intended for the construction of the Kipopo Road to Poleni/Inakiluba.(iii) On Monday October 16, other soldiers attempted to divert 60 tonnes of copper cathodes, at the Baya village, on the Kasumbalesa Road; With a view to peaceful elections, the IRDH urges the President of the Republic, HE Felix Tshisekedi Tshilombo to order an end to the abuses of Justice by crooked politicians, to the detriment of the mining industry. The suffocation of the Ruashi Mining company is detrimental to the social situation of its workers and exposes the city to social protests. That the President of the Superior Council of the Magistracy instructs the heads of the competent courts to prioritize the judicial security of mining companies. Investments depend on the business climate. Contact: Maître Tshiswaka Masoka Hubert, Director General of IRDH. Telephone: +243851103409, Email: [email protected]
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#preelectoral #campaign #suffocate #mining #industry #Congo #Indépendant