Gold flows through Uganda are set to increase

Subject

Uganda's gold trade.

Significance

In late February, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni officially opened a gold refinery at Entebbe, although it has operated since 2014. The 20-million-dollar facility -- set up by the joint Belgian-Ugandan African Gold Refinery (AGR) -- is the second dedicated gold refinery opened in sub-Saharan Africa (the other is in Johannesburg). Once fully operational, the Entebbe site will process up to 150 kilogrammes of gold per day from across Central and Eastern Africa.

Impacts

• With Uganda’s nascent oil industry not yet on line, increased gold exports are welcomed and require little infrastructure for high volumes.
• Scrutiny from the international community, especially human rights groups, will increase as gold exports rise.
• A repeal or weakening of the Dodd-Frank Act would reverse progress in managing Great Lakes conflict minerals.