The head of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state mining company will no longer exercise control over the business, despite being reappointed to the post, the president’s spokesman said.
Albert Yuma, who was named president of Gecamines’s board in 2010, retained the position in a May 29 order signed by President Felix Tshisekedi. Nongovernmental groups have criticized the lack of transparency at Gecamines and Yuma of overseeing corruption -- allegations he rejects. Yuma is a close ally of former President Joseph Kabila, whom Tshisekedi succeeded after elections in December.
International mining companies have an uneasy relationship with Yuma because he’s committed to renegotiating Gecamines’s joint ventures to secure better terms for the state, and supported legislation to increase royalties and introduced taxes. Miners operating in Congo, the world’s largest source of cobalt and the fourth-biggest copper producer, include Glencore Plc and China Molybdenum Co.