Foreign owners of property nationalized in 1973 by former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who have never been compensated despite their requests, are invited by the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to come forward within 90 days, said Monday. July 26 a government source.
The "Zaïrianization" is a measure of expropriation without compensation of foreign entrepreneurs decided in 1973 by Mobutu.
Mostly Belgian, Greek and Portuguese, the holders of the debts resulting from this measure have entrusted the monitoring of the recovery of their debts to agents acting on their behalf, according to the union of the public company which manages the debts of the DRC.
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"The Minister of Finance brings to the attention of the external creditors of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have lodged requests for compensation in the context of
" Zairianized "
property
through certain agents and who consider that they have never been paid to please themselves. demonstrate to the finance ministry
,
”
wrote Bertin Mawaka, chief of staff to the Congolese finance minister, in a statement.
“They are granted a period of ninety
(90)
days
from July 26 to November 6, 2021 to do so. After this period, no complaint can be received ”
by the Congolese government, warned Bertin Mawaka.
This appeal comes twelve days after the prosecution at the Constitutional Court decided to overturn the measure it had taken the day before placing under house arrest former Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo (2012-2016), suspected of having hijacked public funds intended to pay these creditors. Justice accused the former prime minister of having
"paid more than $ 110 million to fictitious creditors, victims of the" Zairianization "of foreign companies"
when he was in government. His defense considered that the case was
"fundamentally political"
because the establishment of the list of creditors and the certification of these claims were carried out several years before thearrival of Augustin Matata Ponyo to the government.