The natural resources sector is plagued by corruption, and the government’s management of the country’s natural wealth lacks transparency (Transparency International, Mar. 2014). State-owned companies dominate the extractive industries sector, and the process of allocating exploration and exploitation licenses is arbitrary and lacks transparency (ICS 2015). Revenue from the natural resources sector has generally been siphoned by the ruling elite to the detriment of both the population and the environment (BTI 2016). The mining and the oil sector, in particular, suffers from rampant corruption, and a culture of secrecy and informal dealings, which has in turn allowed for the embezzlement of public resources (Transparency International, Mar. 2014). Likewise, illegal and informal logging in the country accounts for almost 90 percent of all logging activities, and 94 percent of licensed forest land was issued illegally to a company instead of individuals between 2010 and 2012 (U4, Apr. 2015). Several of these logging permits were issued to the benefit of the Congolese political elite (U4, Apr. 2015).
The secrecy surrounding mining contracts has led to banks canceling loans accorded to state-owned mining companies, including the African Development Bank and the World Bank (Transparency International, Mar. 2014). In one instance, the IMF completely withdrew a loan worth USD 532 million in 2013, as the Congolese government at the time refused to disclose details surrounding the dubious sale of 25 percent of a state-owned copper project (BTI 2016). The government in power between 2008 and 2011 were accused of selling mining concessions for USD five billion under market price in return for kickbacks (CatC 2012). While the national assembly commission found that government officials pocketed USD 23 million in kickbacks from a USD six billion mining-for-infrastructure deal with China (CatC 2012). It should also be mentioned that the current Congolese civil war is reflected in the natural resources sector; rivalries over the control of resources have escalated, as warring groups have used the country’s natural wealth to consolidate economic bases and trading networks (Transparency International, Mar. 2014).
The Democratic Republic of the Congo was accepted back as a candidate for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in 2008; however, the country failed to accomplish all validation requirements, particularly full disclosure and reliability of figures (HRR 2014). Nonetheless, the government stepped up its efforts on reporting in the mining and oil industries which gained the country compliant status in 2014 (HRR 2014).