- President Félix Tshisekedi has dismissed the chairman of Gécamines, the largest public mining company in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- The president stated that reforming and cleaning up the mining sector is an absolute priority for him.
President Félix Tshisekedi has dismissed the chairman of Gécamines, the largest public mining company in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The president stated that reforming and cleaning up the mining sector is an absolute priority for him.
Albert Yuma Mulimbi, a close ally of former DRC President Joseph Kabila, had led Gécamines since 2010. He was one of the last remaining associates of the former president to retain a position within Mr. Tshisekedi’s government. Mr. Alphonse Kaputo Kalubi has been appointed as the new chairman of Gécamines and Mr. Thambwe Ngoy as the company’s Managing Director.
Mr. Mulimbi had drafted the DRC’s new mining code in 2018. He claimed to have pulled the company out of bankruptcy. Mr. Mulimbi’s dismissal has been welcomed by several figures, including Peter Pham, the former US Special Envoy, as a “break” with the Kabila regime and a fresh start for the DRC’s mining sector. He served as a director at the Central Bank of Congo. He is the chairman of the Federation of Congolese Enterprises, a private organization that brings together all major private sector companies in the DRC.