Written question asked by Claire Curtis-Thomas (Labour) on Thursday, 25 May 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 June 2006. It was answered by Hilary Benn (Labour) on Thursday, 8 June 2006 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to improve the governance of the Democratic Republic of Congo's natural resource wealth.

Answer: Improving the management of natural resource and improving revenue generation in the DRC is one of the main features of DFID's Country Engagement Plan for DRC. DFID funded the non-governmental organisation Global Witness to conduct research on natural resources in the Great Lakes region, and we have now developed a plan for long term involvement in the sector.DFID and the World Bank have been leading support to the implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in DRC—which aims to improve revenue transparency between government and mining companies.DFID is also involved in the development of the World Bank's plans to support implementation of the DRC's forestry code—to ensure it provides for a sustainable timber business in DRC, and protects the livelihoods of forest dwelling communities and the environment.We are now developing a large programme of support to the minerals sector. This is likely to include continuing support to the implementation of the EITI, support for efforts to improve the regulation of companies involved in minerals extraction, and developing partnerships with the private sector to provide services to mining communities.

Secondary information