The US and the EU must work with African governments to harmonize gold export taxes to reduce smuggling and promote conflict-free gold, says the investigative and policy group The Sentry. Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR) and Cameroon are the states that most urgently need to tackle the issue, says The Sentry’s report published in February. Uganda and Cameroon have substantially lower gold taxes than exist in the DRC or the CAR, which makes it much more profitable to smuggle gold to those countries, the report finds. The report estimates that $4 billion in high-risk gold from central and east Africa flows to international markets every year, including to the US, India, the Middle East, Europe and China. The trade in conflict gold will never be eliminated, but better due diligence by governments and the private sector can reduce it significantly while promoting the responsible artisanal gold trade, The Sentry argues.
SOURCE: THE AFRICAN REPORT
More Stories
The Marshall Nature Reserve Gives a Different Glimpse of the Sudanese Capital
The Journey of Moving Tanzanians Around
Correcting Kinshasa’s Commodity Crisis
Can African Leaders Rate Themselves?
First Black African to Win Grand Tour Stage
Financing Dangote’s Fertiliser Dream Tougher than Expected
This is a Moment for the Women of Kenya
US Support in Somalia Couldn’t Have Come at a Better Time
A Symbol of Sudan’s Resistance
Families of Trapped Miners in Limbo
Google Translate Announces an Addition of 10 Languages Spoken in Africa
All Four Tourists Reported Missing in the Fish River Canyon have been Accounted For