Organised crime syndicates rip off Africa of gold wealth by the tonne
A miner carries ore at Manzou Farm, owned by Grace Mugabe, wife of former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe, in Mazowe in April 2018, a month after illegal gold miners seized the farm after Mugabe was ousted from power. PHOTO | AFP
Incomplete data, poor record-keeping, and illegal channels define artisanal and small-scale gold mining in East and Southern Africa, robbing the sector of an opportunity to grow, warns a report by the Global Initiative, which monitors transnational organised crime.
The report, Illicit Gold Markets in East and Southern Africa, says that the increase in illicit activities in gold-rich markets has undermined the potential for this precious commodity to be a catalyst for development in these regional African markets.
