DR Congo’s $349 Million New IMF Loan Rekindles Old Governance Questions

DR Congo has secured $348.5 million in new funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support economic reforms, strengthen resilience, and promote sustainable growth.

The approval for the loan came after the IMF board completed the third review of the Extended Credit Facility and the second review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. 

The new financing includes $258.2 million under the ECF and $90.3 million under the RSF, bringing total disbursements to the DRC since January 2025 to more than $1.03 billion.

The funding comes as DR Congo faces security pressure in the east, lower copper prices, humanitarian needs, political tensions, and Ebola outbreak, all of which have increased uncertainty around public finances and economic policy.

Good or Bad News?

Securing an IMF loan would generally be good news for DR Congo – or any developing country. Typically, DR Congo utilises its IMF loans primarily to rebuild its foreign exchange reserves and support its national budget, finance critical infrastructure projects, absorb external economic shocks, and strengthen its overall balance of payments. Having an active IMF programme also helps to unlock additional development aid and attract foreign investment as other international investors and multilateral lenders see it as a signal that the country’s economy is being responsibly managed.

A major question, however, is whether a country as resource-rich as DR Congo should depend on IMF loan if it had managed judiciously revenue accruing from its resources over time.

Rich in Minerals, Poor in Governance

DR Congo is one of the most resource-rich countries on earth, estimated to hold $24 trillion in untapped mineral wealth. The country possesses the largest copper reserves in Africa and is the world’s second-largest producer of the industrial metal after Chile. It is also rich in cobalt, coltan (tantalum), gold, diamonds, lithium, uranium, among others.

DR Congo exported $19.8 billion worth of copper in 2024, representing 56.7 per cent of the total exports from Africa. It increased its copper export by nearly 10 per cent to 3.4 million tons in 2025, up from 3.1 million tons in 2024.

However, poor public finance management, corruption and opacity have historically ensured that revenue from the country’s mineral wealth does not support infrastructure, social spending and resilience. Massive corruption allegations have tainted successive administrations since the time of Mobutu Sese Seko, who treated the state treasury as his personal bank account and embezzled an estimated $5 billion-$15 billion during his 32-year reign.

Mining activities in DR Congo are dominated by foreign interests, particularly the Chinese and Americans. The Kamoa-Kakula mine is jointly owned by Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines, China’s Zijin Mining, and the Congolese government, for instance.

The US and DR Congo signed a bilateral partnership agreement on December 4, 2025 that granted American investors preferential access to the DR Congo’s rich reserves of copper, cobalt, lithium, and tantalum. The agreement has already spurred multiple US-led mining deals, with Orion CMC, backed by the state-owned US International Development Finance Corp., announcing a preliminary deal to acquire stakes in Glencore Plc’s Congolese copper-cobalt mines.

But apart from official corruption, the country continues to struggle to fully collect its fair share of revenues due to structural governance issues. A 2025 high-profile report from the DRC Court of Auditors exposed a total revenue shortfall of $16.8 billion between 2018 and 2023, with major mining companies collectively under-reporting an estimated $10 billion of that total. The result was tens of millions of dollars lost in mandatory local community development levies.

It is this history of resource mismanagement that has elicited the negative reactions trailing the news of the funding, pointing to a growing trust deficit between the government and the people.

Vaughan Giose does not believe the loan will be put to judicious use. On Facebook, he asked: “How many Lamborghinis will be bought?”

Thamsanqa Zwane said, “The amount of resources the fund is gonna milk even the land itself will surrender.”

For Mokhitla Nete, “It’s unfortunate for the country that is so rich with minerals to get loans from the IMF and cannot sustain herself.”

Shaun O’Driscoll simply said, “More money to steal.”

Matondo Imhotep said, “Sad news. That money will probably end up in politicians’ pockets and keep the country stuck in debt forever. Black people are really jokers.”

Moving Ahead

As it is for DR Congo, so it is for most African countries. Borrowing in itself is not bad, but borrowing without impact only perpetuates a debt cycle.

Beyond borrowing, governance reforms are key. Countries on the continent must improve public finance management, strengthen anti-corruption rules and transparency, and ensure revenue supports infrastructure, social spending and resilience rather than short-term gaps.