Parliament orders RBM to stop buying gold

Parliament has ordered the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) to stop buying gold from unlicensed miners.

Cluster committee on Natural Resources, Mining and Agriculture described the ongoing operations as a breach of the Mines and Minerals Act.

Chairperson of the committee Werani Chilenga has since challenged the Ministry of Mining to immediately issue out licenses to gold miners, if the reserve bank is to continue buying the mineral.

Few weeks ago President Dr. lazarus Chakwera said his administration will present a bill in Parliament to establish a Mining Regulatory Authority to regulate the development, management, and utilisation of Malawi’s mineral resources.

“Our next step with the National Mining Company will be to capitalise and operationalise it, which the Ministry of Mining will inform you about in due course. I am therefore directing the Ministry of Finance to begin taking steps in that direction during this upcoming financial year,” Chakwera said.

He also said already the government has operationalised the Reserve Bank of Malawi’s function as a structured market for the country’s minerals.

Among other things, the central bank will be buying gold from artisanal miners as mandated by the RBM Act of 2018.