• Manono’s territorial administrator Cyprien Kitanga suspended an illegal tax of at least $110 per mining truck imposed by security agents from ANR and DEMIAP.

• The tax, known as “assistance,” had been collected from coltan and cassiterite transporters without legal basis.

• Kitanga warned that any official defying the suspension would face disciplinary sanctions for insubordination.

Manono’s territorial administrator, Cyprien Kitanga, on October 17, 2025, suspended an illegal tax that security officers had been collecting from mining transporters in the Tanganyika province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The decision followed a meeting between Kitanga and regional mining operators. Security agents from the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) and the Military Detection of Anti-Patriotic Activities (DEMIAP) had been charging truck drivers at least $110 per vehicle, under a levy locally called “assistance.”

Under the scheme, ANR officers collected $100 per truck, while DEMIAP agents imposed an additional fee ranging between $10 and $50. Kitanga said the charges lacked any legal basis and directly discouraged mining investment in the territory.

“These collections have no foundation in law and represent an obstacle to the region’s economic recovery,” Kitanga stated. He ordered all agencies involved to comply immediately with the suspension and warned that any defiant official would face sanctions for insubordination.

Manono, located in Tanganyika province, is regaining economic momentum amid renewed mining activity. The area hosts one of the world’s largest untapped lithium deposits, a critical mineral for the global electric vehicle battery industry.

Besides lithium, Manono’s subsoil contains cassiterite (tin ore), coltan, wolframite, and tourmaline—minerals that make the region strategically important for the DRC’s mining sector and for international supply chains seeking alternatives to Chinese and South American sources.

This article was initially published in French by Ronsard Luabeya

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum