In December 2019, members of the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA) had the opportunity to visit ITSCI mine sites in the Great Lakes region. Representatives of the U.S. government, PPA Secretariat, and downstream companies toured mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. The PPA is a joint government, industry, and civil society effort to advance conflict-free mineral sourcing, and ITSCI and its implementing partner, Pact, are among its members.
Vincent Gbolo Songe, ITSCI’s Program Manager for the DRC, provided the delegates with on-the-ground perspectives into how ITSCI functions daily at Nzibira trading point in South Kivu’s Walungu territory to ensure responsible sourcing and the significant impact it has on miners’ lives. In Rwanda, the PPA delegates were accompanied by ITSCI Rwanda Program Manager Ildephonse Niyonsaba as they explored the mine site of ITSCI member company Piran Rwanda.
Since its establishment in 2010, ITSCI has facilitated due diligence and risk mitigation processes with companies throughout the 3T minerals supply chain. Visits like PPA’s ensure that downstream companies grasp the complexity of risk management in their supply chains through tangible insights into on-the-ground conditions.
PPA delegation with the South Kivu Governor