A Second Letter to the Secretary-General at the Presidency: Why the Gold Scandal Demands a Whole-of-Government Investigation
If the figures presented in this letter are accurate, one question immediately arises: why was a matter with potential implications for national revenue, border security, international trade and governance addressed only to the Minister of Finance? A discrepancy of this magnitude extends far beyond taxation. It concerns the integrity of state institutions and would ordinarily require coordinated action across government.
Escalating such a matter to the Prime Minister, Head of Government, or the Secretary-General at the Presidency could have strengthened inter-ministerial coordination, ensured broader oversight, and underscored the seriousness of the allegations. A scandal of national significance deserves a whole-of-government response, not the appearance of being confined to a single ministry.
A national issue beyond smuggling
This letter raises an issue far greater than smuggling. It exposes a possible collapse of state control over Cameroon’s gold—from the mine site to the border, from customs declarations to international markets.
According to the figures cited, Cameroon officially recorded only 22.3 kilograms of gold exports in 2023, while international trade statistics attributed more than 15 tonnes of gold imports to Cameroon—almost 700 times the quantity officially declared. The potential fiscal loss is estimated at approximately 165 billion CFA francs. These discrepancies have also been highlighted by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
However, international import figures must be carefully reconciled. Investigators must determine how much gold was genuinely mined in Cameroon, how much may have entered through neighbouring countries, whether Cameroon was used as a transit point, and which companies, officials, exporters and intermediaries certified its alleged Cameroonian origin. But whatever the final explanation, a discrepancy of this magnitude represents a national emergency—not an accounting mistake.
What the Minister of Mines has raised
The minister identifies several grave issues:
Cameroon may have lost enormous quantities of gold through undeclared exports. The country may have been deprived of taxes, royalties, customs duties and foreign-exchange earnings. Official production, collection and export figures appear dangerously disconnected from international trade records. Above all, the identities of those who exported or imported the gold remain unknown to the Cameroonian public.
The minister is therefore justified in requesting cooperation from the United Arab Emirates to obtain the names of the individuals and entities behind the transactions.
But requesting names from Dubai is only the beginning.
Where the Minister of Mines must accept responsibility
The Ministry of Mines cannot present itself merely as the institution that discovered the problem. It is the ministry responsible for developing and implementing government mining policy and supervising the sector.
It must therefore explain:
Who produced the gold? Which licences were active? Which sites were inspected? Who recorded production? Who collected the state’s share? Who issued certificates of origin, transport documents and export authorisations?
Gold does not move from a mining pit to Dubai by magic. Before export, it passes through miners, licence holders, buyers, collectors, transporters, laboratories, regional officials, certification structures and administrative authorities.
If approximately 15 tonnes were attributed to Cameroon while the state recorded only a fraction, then mining supervision, production reporting, traceability and enforcement were profoundly inadequate.
The Minister of Mines must therefore order a complete audit of mining titles, production records, gold collectors, purchasing offices, certificates of origin, weighing systems and all semi-mechanized operations. The ministry must publish the beneficial owners of companies operating in the sector and explain how unlicensed or noncompliant operators were allowed to function.
Where the Minister of Finance must accept responsibility
The Ministry of Finance, through Customs and the relevant tax and treasury services, carries direct responsibility for controlling exports, collecting duties and recording Cameroon’s international trade.
It must explain how gold allegedly worth hundreds of billions of CFA francs could leave—or be internationally declared as having left—Cameroon without corresponding customs records, tax payments and foreign-exchange receipts.
Were customs declarations falsified? Were quantities understated? Were products misclassified? Were airports, borders or private airstrips used? Were customs officers compromised? Were export proceeds repatriated through the banking system?
The Minister of Finance must not merely write to the UAE. He must immediately audit Customs, tax records, banks, authorised exporters, freight handlers, airport cargo manifests and suspicious financial transactions.
Who else must answer?
Responsibility cannot stop with two ministers.
The Directorate General of Customs must account for border and export controls.
The tax administration and Treasury must identify unpaid taxes, royalties and foreign-exchange proceeds.
The police, gendarmerie and intelligence services must explain how organised smuggling networks could operate on such a scale.
The regional governors, divisional officers, local mining officials and administrative authorities in producing areas must explain what they knew and what action they took.
The airports authority, cargo handlers, airlines and border services must provide passenger, cargo and flight records.
The banks and financial-intelligence authorities must trace payments, suspicious transfers and the proceeds of illegal exports.
The licensed companies, gold collectors, buyers, intermediaries and their beneficial owners must be identified, investigated and, where evidence exists, prosecuted.
The judiciary, Parliament, Audit Bench and anti-corruption institutions must ensure that this investigation is not buried through political influence.
What Cameroon must do now
Cameroon needs more than arrests, suspensions and public declarations. It needs a completely new gold-governance system.
Every gram of gold must be recorded electronically from the point of production to the point of export. Mining sites must use tamper-resistant weighing and digital reporting systems. Each shipment must have a verifiable certificate of origin, tax record, ownership record and export permit connected to one national database accessible to Mines, Customs, Finance, the central bank and law-enforcement agencies.
No gold should be exported without independent assay, certification, payment of all taxes and proof that export proceeds will return through the regulated banking system.
Cameroon should establish a transparent national gold-purchasing and refining framework, strengthen local processing, reserve meaningful opportunities for Cameroonian companies, train young people in geology and mineral processing, and require mining communities to receive enforceable development benefits.
Royalties must be publicly disclosed and a defined share should return directly to producing communities for roads, schools, healthcare, water, electricity and environmental restoration.
The investigation must also be independently supervised, time-bound and followed by a public report naming the companies, networks, quantities, destinations, fiscal losses and administrative failures involved—while respecting due process.
The central question
This letter must not be used to give the appearance of action while shielding the system that allowed the scandal.
The real question is not simply: Who exported the gold?
The deeper questions are:
Who authorised the mining? Who protected the operations? Who signed the documents? Who failed to inspect? Who allowed the borders to be crossed? Who received the money? And why did the Cameroonian people receive almost nothing?
Cameroon’s natural resources must no longer enrich private networks while mining communities remain poor and young people remain unemployed.
Gold beneath Cameroonian soil belongs to the nation. Its extraction must create jobs. Its taxes must finance development. Its royalties must transform communities. Its value must strengthen Cameroon—not disappear into foreign markets and private accounts.
A country that cannot account for its gold cannot claim to control its economy. And a government that investigates smugglers but refuses to investigate the officials who enabled them will not solve the scandal—it will only reorganise it.
Dr. David Makongo
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