President Chakwera says Malawi Gold hits at accumulated total value of K22Bn
Malawi President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has disclosed that Malawi has currently accumulated Gold worth K22Billion since Government designated the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) to start buying product.
Responding the questions from members of Parliament, Chakwera started by clarifying the reasons why his Government decided to start purchasing gold through
RBM.
He said the decision to establish a structured market for gold in Malawi followed confirmation of the existence of gold deposits in the country which were being illegally externalized, with no export proceeds declaration.
He said amid applause from Members of Parliament that recognizing that gold is a national treasure as well as the need to sanitize the sector and capture new sources of foreign exchange generation, his administration took a strategic move to operate the structured market for gold.
The President said that since the start of the project, RBM has purchased a total of 187 kilograms of smelted and assayed gold at a total cost of MK19.2 billion, and with a total value of MK22.1 billion.
“The gold is currently being held within RBM and undergoing further refining process and casting into gold bars to be part of the official reserves. In this regard, the Honourable Members may wish to note that the gold will not be sold until we have accumulated substantial stocks and international gold prices improve beyond the current levels,” he said.
The president said his Government will not ne selling the Gold soon because and that this should not be a cause of concern, though, since the advantage with gold is that when it is held by the Bank, it still forms part of the official reserves, thereby improving the foreign exchange position of the country.
“Coming to the issue of whether the gold will be sold in raw form or processed, I wish to clarify that the gold will be purified to 99.99% grade and be held by the
Reserve Bank of Malawi as gold bullion. I am pleased to update the Honourable Members that the process of purification already commenced. RBM is now at a stage where the gold will be purified to the said grade by
the end of the 1st quarter of 2024,” He said.
The president said the process of Gold purification is being done locally with a local gold refining company located at Kamuzu International Airport.
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