Where does Uganda source the millions of dollars’ worth of gold it exports annually? This question often dominates discussions involving artisanal miners, gold traders, government officials, and civil society groups. But the answers remain as varied as they are perplexing.The issue resurfaced on Nov. 28 during the unveiling of Uganda’s third Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) report published by the Uganda National EITI Secretariat (UGEITI). The report strives to highlight the country’s efforts to improve transparency and governance in its oil, gas, and mineral sectors.Uganda joined the EITI four years ago as part of a global initiative to promote accountable management of natural resources in resource-rich nations.However, just like its two previous studies, the latest report by UGEITI uncovers significant gaps in the country’s gold production and export data. This inconsistency raises fresh concerns about the traceability and accountability of Uganda’s gold trade, despite the commodity being a major contributor to the country’s export earnings.UGEITI said it identified a number of gaps in the data currently available for the sector including the amount of gold being produced in Uganda, estimates of the informal mining sector’s contribution to local gold production as well as the amount of gold which could be coming from outside the borders.For instance, during the period under review (2021/2022), the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) recorded gold exports from local refineries and exporters valued at Shs 6.3 trillion, compared to imports reported by one refinery of just Shs 1.3bn., one of the biggest gold refineries in the East African region, exported 2,421kg of gold valued at Shs 578 billion. Aurnish Trading Ltd exported 3,636kg worth Shs 758 billion, Bullion Refinery Limited shipped out 11,080kg, totaling Shs 2.3 trillion while Metal Testing and Smelting Co. Ltd exported 10,044kg, valued at Shs 1.9 trillion.Simba Gold Refinery Ltd exported 2,836kg, worth Shs 651bn while Thaba exported 627kg worth about Shs 130bn.Thaba was also the only company which imported 7,202kg of gold worth about Shs 1.38 billion.To explain these discrepancies, some officials suggest that the reported gold could be entering the country through undocumented means, possibly from neighbouring countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. (ICE ADDIS ABEBA)

Fonte notizia: The Indipendent