memorandum: Strategic Recommendations for the Eradication of Gold Trafficking and the Restoration of State Control over Cameroon’s Gold Industry

REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON

MEMORANDUM

To: Mr. Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh

Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon

Subject: Strategic Recommendations for the Eradication of Gold Trafficking and the Restoration of State Control over Cameroon’s Gold Industry

Your Excellency,

I respectfully take the liberty of submitting this memorandum in the spirit of patriotism and constructive support to the efforts currently being undertaken by the Government of the Republic of Cameroon to address the alarming revelations concerning gold trafficking and the massive loss of national wealth associated with it.

Recent reports have exposed what appears to be one of the most significant resource governance scandals in Cameroon's modern history. 

According to figures reported through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), Cameroon officially declared only 22.3 kilograms of gold exports in 2023, while authorities in the United Arab Emirates reportedly recorded imports exceeding 15 tonnes of gold originating from Cameroon. Additional reports indicate that between 2021 and 2025, approximately 44 tonnes of gold linked to Cameroon were traced in Dubai, whereas only 148 kilograms were officially declared through national channels.

The decision of the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Mr. Fuh Calistus Gentry, to request the cooperation of the Minister of Finance in obtaining information from the authorities of the United Arab Emirates is commendable and necessary. However, with utmost respect, I believe that such efforts, while important, can only reveal part of the truth.

Dubai is not the beginning of Cameroon’s gold scandal. Dubai is only the destination.

To know who trafficked Cameroon’s gold, the investigation must not stop in the UAE. Dubai can identify the importers, buyers, refiners and companies that ultimately received the gold. Cameroon, however, possesses the means to identify those who produced it, transported it, protected it, authorized it, concealed it and allowed it to leave the country. 

Gold does not fly from the bush to Dubai by itself. It passes through mining sites, local administrations, security checkpoints, transportation networks, border crossings, airports, customs services, financial channels and, in many cases, systems of influence and protection.

The fundamental questions therefore remain within Cameroon:

• Who extracted the gold?

• Who purchased it?

• Who financed the operations?

• Who transported it?

• Who cleared it through borders and airports?

• Who signed or ignored the documentation?

• Who provided protection?

• Who benefited financially from the scheme?

Dubai may expose the last hand that received the gold.

Cameroon can expose the first hand that stole it from the Republic.

Conclusion

Your Excellency,

This scandal, while deeply troubling, presents a historic opportunity.

For decades, gold trafficking has deprived Cameroon of resources capable of transforming the lives of millions of citizens. The present revelations have exposed a system that has enriched a few while impoverishing the nation. If approached with determination and courage, this moment can become a turning point in the governance of Cameroon’s mineral wealth. The objective should not merely be to identify who bought Cameroon’s gold abroad. The greater objective should be to identify why Cameroon’s gold was able to leave the country in the first place and to ensure that such losses never occur again.

Dubai is a lead.

Cameroon is the crime scene.

By following the trail from the mining pit to the foreign refinery, the Republic has an opportunity not only to punish wrongdoing but also to establish a transparent, accountable and prosperous gold sector capable of benefiting future generations of Cameroonians.

For this reason, if you are pleased with my memo or approach and would like to explore this matter further, I will be more than happy to respectfully submit ten solid recommendations for your consideration.

Dr. David Makongo

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