DRC Orders Sweeping Mining Audit to Tackle Corruption

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has launched a comprehensive audit of mining revenues and state assets, as President Félix Tshisekedi intensifies efforts to curb corruption in the country’s most strategic sector.

Under the directive, authorities have been given 30 days to conduct a full review of mineral export earnings, with the aim of identifying unpaid revenues, contractual irregularities, and systemic weaknesses in existing mining agreements.

The DRC holds some of the world’s largest reserves of critical minerals, including cobalt, copper, lithium, gold, and coltan—resources that are central to global clean energy and electric vehicle supply chains. This has placed the country at the heart of intensifying geopolitical competition.

Despite its vast mineral wealth, the country continues to grapple with high levels of poverty, with longstanding concerns over governance failures and revenue leakages in the mining sector.

In recent months, the government has signed separate mineral cooperation agreements with both the United States and China, reflecting growing global competition to secure access to strategic resources.

As part of the reform drive, Tshisekedi has also ordered the integration of customs systems, port authorities, the central bank, and commercial banks into a unified, traceable platform to monitor all mineral exports and imports in real time.

The move is expected to strengthen transparency, improve revenue collection, and restore investor confidence in one of Africa’s most resource-rich economies.

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