Authorities in Madagascar concede gold smuggling is still booming despite laws introduced at the start of the year to make it easier to take the precious metal out of the country legally.
The government launched a one-stop shop in February, aiming to simplify export permits after a review of the gold mining sector.
But only 12 kilograms of gold have passed through the system. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Mines estimates that one tonne of gold is being smuggled out of Madagascar every month.
Insiders at the ministry blame the new system's failure on a tax having to be paid on the gold. That levy was abolished in August in amendments to the finance bill for 2024.
Slow renewal of licences for the gold counters – the intermediaries between the gold collectors and the one-stop shop – has also been given as the reason for the initial hiccups.
‘Encouraging people to use legal channels'
Nevertheless, Ernest Lainkana Zafivanona, Madagascar's director general of customs, believes the new set-up will prevail.
"I think that the one-stop shop should be an incentive for people who want to export gold," he told RFI. "It simplifies procedures.
"It's always costly when you're caught, because you lose all the gold, which means that smuggled gold is systematically seized by the state. The controls should encourage people to return to the legal channels."
A 2022 report by the U4 anti-corruption resource centre identified systemic issues in Madagascar’s gold sector. These include corruption, illegal resource exploitation, gold laundering and poor coordination among state institutions.
"Some links in the chain are not playing their role," said the report. "Corruption, illegal exploitation of natural resources and gold laundering ... are identified as drivers of the increase in illicit practices in the gold sector.
"A lack of communication between state institutions, the poor distribution of roles between institutions, the practice of exploiting gold outside of authorised locations and counterfeiting in the gold sector were also identified," the report added.
Clean-up
Clément Rabenandrasana, national coordinator of the Extractive Industries Civil Society Organisation, was one of the authors of the report along with Ignace Harris and Daniel Rabemazava.
"The one-stop shop is a first step towards cleaning up the industry," Rabenandrasana told RFI. "But there is still a lot to be done.
"There are authorities and influential people behind the traffickers so showing political will mean fighting corruption in the gold sector.
"We need to identify the perpetrators of all the trafficking and punish them, and apply the law severely."
Rabenandrasana suggests setting up local smelting facilities near artisanal mines to improve traceability and ensure miners receive fair prices.
"This will enable better control of gold flows, to the benefit of gold miners, who don't even know the international price of gold," he added.
"It will also benefit the local authorities because if the industry is organised illegally, they won't collect any taxes. It's very important to trace the chain so that they can collect royalties and contribute to local development."
This story has been adapted from the original version in French by Guilhem Fabry in Antananarivo
