The Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to relax a requirement for miners to be confined to the site where they work, which was introduced as part of measures to contain coronavirus.
Last month campaigners called for an end to the system of mandatory on-site confinement, put in place by copper and cobalt mining companies.
DR Congo’s Mines Minister Willy Kitobo Samsoni plans to meet representatives of companies to agree a moratorium on the practice of confining workers to mine sites.
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In a statement the minister said “that he would engage with mining companies and deliver a moratorium to them, in order to end confinement, while taking into account their individual needs”.
Mr Samsoni insisted all mining firms must find solutions to protect the economy and “workers who have been separated from their families for a long time”.
Mining of commodities, like cobalt and copper, accounts for a third of the DR Congo’s economy, while generating more than 90% of its export revenues.
However, the fears of the coronavirus pandemic causing a global recession have led to big falls in the prices of commodities mined in the DR Congo, which is a setback to the country’s economy.
BBC
