#africanews #dubai #gold
It's not news that for centuries the African continent has been subjected to massive exploitation of both human and mineral resources. It's also not news that the West, particularly Europe, has been responsible for this exploitation for their own benefit, which has had undesirable effects on the African continent. However, it would surprise you to know that a recently carried out report revealed that it's not only the West that has and is still exploiting Africa. According to the report, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is stealing billions of dollars from Africa by smuggling gold worth that amount every year. Detailed research has revealed that Africa is the world’s largest producer of gold, with Ghana, South Africa, Mali, and Burkina Faso leading production as of 2022. The precious metal is also a source of income for millions of artisanal miners as well as a source of revenue for many governments, especially those such as Burkina Faso whose main export product is gold.
However, according to the report, large amounts of gold are smuggled out of the continent, and Dubai has been singled out as the hub where the smuggled gold is sent to and traded. Did you know that in 2022 alone, 93 percent of illegal gold extracted and smuggled to the UAE, originated from Africa? And, the amount stands at four hundred and thirty-five tons of gold valued at approximately $35 billion. This means that about 40 percent of Africa's gold production and 12 percent of the global gold production is lost to the UAE. So, what does this tell you? Africa is surrounded on every side by exploiters. The rest of the world sees the continent as their backyard that is filled with treasures that they can have access to any time and anyhow they like. African mineral resources are its treasures and every country wants a piece of it.
Sometimes, these countries will say they want to access these minerals legally, that's why they hold summits with Africa every now and then where they can sign deals and agreements with the leaders of the African countries. However, another fact is that most of the time those deals and agreements are usually beneficial only to the foreign country. The deals grant them easy access to exploit African minerals but the government gets little in return plus environmental pollution and degradation.