The Democratic Republic of Congo's General Finance Inspectorate (IGF) launched a new wave of control missions on June 4, 2026, focused primarily on mining revenues. The operation involves 118 finance inspectors and covers nearly 200 public and private entities.

According to the IGF, the mission aims to assess the mechanisms for collecting revenue from mining operations, identify weaknesses in the oversight framework, and propose corrective measures to improve the sector's contribution to the public treasury.

The focus is expected to be on the traceability of financial flows, from export operations through to the actual collection of public revenues. The objective is to strengthen oversight of the declaration, collection, foreign exchange repatriation, and payment of dues owed to the state.

While mining revenues form the main component of the campaign, the mission is not limited to the extractive sector. It also includes a review of the salary payment status of government employees and civil servants, as well as controls on non-tax revenues and public assets.

Inspectors are also to be deployed at strategic points to strengthen oversight of tax and customs revenues. The IGF described the operation as one of its most significant control mechanisms of the year.

Revenue Traceability

According to IGF deputy head Emmanuel Tshibingu, the mission is a continuation of actions undertaken since the start of the 2026 fiscal year. He stressed the rigorous standards expected in the investigations, the quality of the analyses, and the relevance of the reports produced, which are intended to serve as decision-making tools for public authorities.

The operation follows directions agreed at the 87th Council of Ministers meeting on April 24, 2026, at which President Félix Tshisekedi highlighted shortcomings in the mining revenue collection chain, from export operations through to public revenue collection.

The head of state had called for the launch, within 30 days, of a comprehensive audit of named entities covering compliance with export revenue repatriation obligations, the governance of joint ventures, and state mining assets.

The Council of Ministers' summary also pointed to opacity surrounding certain joint ventures, the non-repatriation of a portion of mining foreign exchange earnings, and losses linked to fraudulent imports. It called for a firm, traceable, and technically enforceable public response.

High Volumes

The audit drive comes as DRC mining exports have reached elevated levels. According to the April 24 Council of Ministers summary, copper exports rose from 3,100,234 tonnes in 2024 to 3,403,006.63 tonnes in 2025. Cobalt exports reached around 220,000 tonnes in 2024.

In February 2025, the DRC temporarily suspended cobalt exports before introducing a quota system starting in October of the same year. Those measures are part of a broader drive to better control volumes, flows, and the economic benefits of the sector.

For the IGF, the challenge now is to give the state a clearer picture of the revenues actually generated by the extractive sector and their effective contribution to public finances.

The institution points to results from its previous control operations. In 2025, it says it generated around $690 million in savings related to public debt repayments. It also says it detected 38,597 ghost workers and 1,007 duplicate entries in payroll files, with an estimated monthly impact of 15.786 billion Congolese francs.

The new mission will therefore need to establish whether the country's mining performance is in fact translating into stronger public revenue collection. Its findings could serve as the basis for corrective measures in mining revenue governance, state asset management, and monitoring compliance with foreign exchange repatriation obligations.

Ronsard Luabeya