Mining & Trade News

The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) says it cannot disclose the buyer of gold from the country’s reserve after selling around 600kgs of gold it purchased from local small-scale miners.

In an interview with Mining and Trade Review, Spokesperson for RBM Boston Maliketi Banda said the Central Bank is not allowed to disclose the buyer under the commercial agreements.

“We have so far sold around 600kgs bringing in over US$74 million. Under the commercial agreements we cannot disclose the buyers. However, these are established buyers of gold on the global market,” said Banda.

The Malawi government established the structured gold market in May 2021 that started buying gold from Artisanal Smallscale Miners (ASMs) as one way of curbing market challenges faced by the ASMs and bringing in sanity into the system which was flooded with foreign buyers.

Banda has, meanwhile, disclosed that RBM has secured MK400 million to resume buying of ASM gold which was paused for months due to shortage of funds.

Commenting on the development, Desk Officer at the Secretariat for Malawi Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (MWEITI) Leonard Mushani said transparency and accountability are utmost pillars of MWEITI and that they will ensure that they acquire the information of the entire gold selling deal to appear in the next MWEITI report.

Mushani said:  “Unfortunately, we cannot respond on behalf of the RBM at the moment but we can only speak for MWEITI to say gold purchases and sale are part of MWEITI disclosures and we report such information in our MWEITI reports which you can access through our website.”

“You may wish to know that the information you have asked for since its recent will be covered in the next MWEITI report which will be published before December this year.”

“All that information will be disclosed as we usually do. If we can get that information, we will be able to share where necessary.”

However, National Coordinator for Natural Resources Justice Network, Kennedy Rashid said by not disclosing the buyer and some of the information contained in the deal, Government is leaving important information gaps which is an embarrassment to the sector understanding that Malawi is a champion of transparency under MWEITI.

Rashid said such details are important to ensure public understanding, especially where public institutions and national resources are involved.

He said: “From a transparency and accountability perspective, the disclosure of only the quantity of gold and revenue realised, without providing information on the buyer, the nature of the transaction, and whether the gold was sold in processed or unprocessed form, leaves important information gaps.”

“As champions of transparency under MWEITI, we believe that disclosure should go beyond financial figures and include sufficient information to allow citizens and stakeholders to understand the full value chain of extractive transactions.”

“Transparency helps build public trust, strengthens accountability, and reduces the risk of speculation or perceptions of impropriety.”

Rashid  admitted that the specific disclosure obligations of the RBM and Export Development Fund (EDF) would depend on the applicable legal and policy frameworks governing the transaction.

“However, where public resources or state-linked entities are involved, proactive disclosure of relevant information should be encouraged in line with good governance principles. Addressing these information gaps would help reassure the public and demonstrate Malawi’s commitment to responsible resource governance and the principles of the EITI,” he said.

RBM  is buying unprocessed gold from ASMs of 90 to 99% quality at around MK500,000 per gram.

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