This week, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo published an agreement granting an unknown Emirati company exclusive rights to export gold mined by artisans in the country at preferential tax rates for 25 years, raising criticism that the agreement will not address any of the issues it was supposed to resolve.
The agreement with Primara Group, which now holds a majority stake in joint projects with exclusive rights to export gold mined by artisans, features a "exclusive preferential tax rate" of 0.25 percent.
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo stated that the agreement, concluded in late 2022 and announced last Monday, would be a means to eliminate the informal or artisanal mining sector in the country, as gold smuggling results in millions of dollars in lost tax revenues each year.
The government asserts that the informal mining sector helps finance armed groups destabilizing the mineral-rich eastern regions of Congo. Analysts, along with a coalition of 14 Congolese and international organizations advocating for transparency in the mining and financial sectors, have highlighted concerns regarding the contract's duration and tax rate.
