Madagascar gold smuggling will fuel corruption

Significance

The same month, customs officers in the Seychelles seized more than 20 kilogrammes of gold in transit from Madagascar. These follow a series of seizures of smuggled Malagasy gold in a number of countries in the past several years.

Impacts

• The lengthy mining code reform process will hinder investment in and expansion of the gold mining sector.
• Continuing revelations of gold smuggling will fuel popular perceptions of high-level corruption.
• Concerns over project implementation and corruption may lead to reductions in development aid from Madagascar’s bilateral partners.