A gold-mining site in Faka, Ngauro area, Eastern Equatoria State | Credit | Jale Richard/Eye Radio

The Central Equatoria Business Union has called for the establishment of a centralized national gold-selling board to regulate the sector.

The Union organized a three-day conference it referred to as Juba Economic Forum to discuss challenges facing the country’s economy.

During the forum, the participants discussed the role of the banking and finance sector; the oil, mining, and natural resources sectors as well as media and the role of information communication technology in economic transformation.

Among its 19 resolutions and recommendations, the Union says the body intends to work closely with the Ministry of Mining and other institutions to improve the mining sector.

Parek Maduot is the Chairperson of the Steering Committee of the Juba Economic Forum.

He says that once established, the government will generate revenues by taxing traders in artisanal gold.

“The Central Equatoria Business Union to work together with the Ministry of Mining and other government institutions to establish a national gold selling board where everything is consolidated,” said Maduot.

“Artisanal miners can have their gold be sold in a centralized market as many countries do under the supervision of the Central Bank and other concerned institutions instead of allowing them to be exploited by other players who take advantage of them.”

In July 2020, the Bank of South Sudan announced plans to purchase crude gold locally in a bit to boost the country’s economy.

It further said President Salva Kiir by then had approved $4 million while the board of the bank approved an additional $1.5 million to build its mineral stockpile and acquire the crude gold.

Though the idea was criticized by economists, the Bank of South Sudan said the plan was to enable them to acquire gold from local miners, refine and store it.

In 2019, the South Sudan government suspended the operation licenses of gold mining companies in a bid to stop illegal operations.

However, the 2012 Mining Act criminalizes black market gold sales but despite this legal framework, South Sudan’s gold remains ungoverned and poorly regulated.