Albert Yuma Mulimbi (born July 30, 1955) is a Congolese businessman, economist and former chairman at the

state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...

mining company Gecamines. An

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

dignitary, he is the chairman of the Congolese Employers Federation, Democratic Republic of the Congo's biggest business lobby group. In late April 2019, ''

Jeune Afrique ''Jeune Afrique'' (English: ''Young Africa'') is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It is also a book publisher, unde ...

'' reported that Yuma was recommended by former DRC President

Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician who served as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2001 and January 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, Presi ...

, whose coalition controls the majority in the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, to the incumbent President

Félix Tshisekedi Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo (; born 13 June 1963) is a Congolese politician who has been the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 24 January 2019. He is the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) ...

as a potential

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

.Bujakera Tshiamala, Stanis (April 23, 2019)
RDC : Joseph Kabila renonce à imposer Albert Yuma à la primature
. ''

''. His candidacy was rejected in favour of

Sylvestre Ilunga Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba (born 1947, Katanga Province, Belgian Congo) is a Congolese politician who was appointed as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2019, formally establishing his government in August 2019. ...

. In December 2021, Albert Yuma was ousted from the presidency of Gécamines.

Early life

Yuma was born on July 30, 1955 in Kongolo,

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

province. Having spent much of his childhood in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, he later earned a Master of Applied Economics from the

University of Louvain A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

(UCLouvain).

Career

Yuma joined UTEXAFRICA, a textile and real estate development company now known as

TEXAF TEXAF or Societe Financière et de Gestion TEXAF (previously UTEXAFRICA, Congotex UTEXLEO, UTEXCO) was a major textile manufacturer of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since the 2007 liquidation of its textile manufacturing division, it has bee ...

, in 1983. He serves as its co-managing director and is also a major shareholder, where he derives most of his wealth. Since late 2010, he has served as the chairman of Congo's parastatal mining enterprise

Gécamines La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines) is a Congolese commodity trading and mining company headquartered in Lubumbashi, in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a state-controlled corporation founded in ...

. Under his leadership, he attempted to grow the company in spite of its international competitors. For example, he spearheaded a lawsuit in the

International Court of Arbitration ICC International Court of Arbitration is an institution for the resolution of international commercial disputes. It operates under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce and consists of more than 100 arbitrators from roughly 90 cou ...

against

Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Inc., often called Freeport, is an American mining company based in the Freeport-McMoRan Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is the world's largest producer of molybdenum, is a major copper producer and operates the world's ...

after Freeport sold its 80% stake in the Tenke Fungurume mine to

China Molybdenum CMOC or CMOC Group Limited (), previously known as China Molybdenum Company Limited, is the largest molybdenum producer in Mainland China and among the world's largest companies in the field. It is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Sha ...

, as it had failed to warn Gécamines, which owns 20% of the mine. As of September 2016, he planned to cut costs by reducing the workforce. Yuma is the chairman of Texico, the manufacturer of police and army uniforms in the DRC, and deputy chairman of Texafrica, the manufacturer of uniforms for infrastructure workers. Additionally, he is the co-owner of Afritex, a wrapper factory in Kinshasa. In 2015, after he had failed to purchase the

Orgaman Group The Orgaman Group (French: ''Groupe Orgaman'') is a food production and distribution company based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ownership The Orgaman Group is owned by the Damseaux family of Belgium. Its chief executive officer is Je ...

from the Damseaux family because their asking price was too high, Yuma also invested in food production. He also serves on the board of directors of the

Central Bank of the Congo The Central Bank of the Congo (french: Banque centrale du Congo) is the central bank of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The bank's main offices are on Boulevard Colonel Tshatshi in La Gombe in Kinshasa. The bank is engaged in developing p ...

. In addition, Yuma serves as the chairman of the Congolese Employers Federation (FEC), and as the Vice-President of the

International Organisation of Employers The International Organisation of Employers (IOE) was created in 1920 to advocate for employers and the business community in the tripartite governance structure of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Today, from its headquarters in Genev ...

. Since 2012, he has also served as the chairman of the Permanent Conference of African and French-Speaking Consular Chambers (CPCCAF), an organization of francophone African chambers of commerce. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors of the Belgian-Congolese-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, and the council of the

. Yuma has been alleged to siphon money from Gécamines toward supporters of

. In 2018 the US State Department revoked Yuma's visa for corruption. He has been accused of diverting up to $8.8 billion of revenue from Congo's mining industry In December 2021, Albert Yuma was ousted from the presidency of Gécamines.

Awards

*: Commander of the Order of the Crown

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuma Mulimbi, Albert Living people 1955 births People from Tanganyika Province Université catholique de Louvain alumni Democratic Republic of the Congo businesspeople Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people