The Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) intends to improve the management system in the extractive sector of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). To this end, the organization has entered into a new strategic partnership with the Congolese-based PROMINES project, which is funded by the World Bank and the UK's Department for International Development (DFID).
The new DDI project is aimed at assisting the government of the DRC in formalizing the mining miners sector, improving management efficiency and creating a foundation for the social and economic development of the miners' mining communities.
In particular, this program provides for the introduction of a sustainable procedure for the regular registration and re-registration of miners. It organizes associations for miners and provides them with technical, business and pilot development assistance to improve the economic and social status of their communities.
The project will be implemented in the provinces of Maniema, South Kivu and Province Orientale for individual prospectors engaged in the extraction of gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten.
As DDI's executive director Dorothée Gizenga explained, "The new project in the Congo goes beyond diamonds only, as we and our partners believe that our knowledge and successes in this area can now be applied to other minerals."