Written question asked by Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party) on Thursday, 2 March 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 March 2006. It was answered by Ian Pearson (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 March 2006 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the level of government control and accountability of the OKIMO mining authority in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The recent report by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s Parliamentary Commission into contracts signed during the DRC's civil war (the Lutundula Commission) concluded that the gold production company OKIMO (Office des Mines d'Or de Kilo-Moto) had been poorly managed. As a result, the report said that OKIMO had not provided the revenue to the Congolese state that it should have.We, and international partners and non-governmental organisations, continue to press the Congolese authorities to ensure that the DRC's enormous mineral wealth be used transparently and efficiently for the benefit of the Congolese people.

Secondary information