By Kitab Unango, SSMJ Juba, Friday (November 8, 2024) - To address the pervasive smuggling of gold and other valuable minerals across their mutual border, Sudan has requested South Sudan to collaborate in combating this escalating issue. Omer Osman, Director of Exploration in Sudan’s Ministry of Minerals, emphasized the need for joint collaboration, stressing that the unchecked smuggling of minerals was creating economic and security issues for both nations. Speaking to journalists on Mond
By Kitab Unango, SSMJ
Juba, Friday (November 8, 2024) - To address the pervasive smuggling of gold and other valuable minerals across their mutual border, Sudan has requested South Sudan to collaborate in combating this escalating issue.
Omer Osman, Director of Exploration in Sudan’s Ministry of Minerals, emphasized the need for joint collaboration, stressing that the unchecked smuggling of minerals was creating economic and security issues for both nations.
Speaking to journalists on Monday in Juba during the two-day summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), Osman said, “We have an open border where there is rising smuggling of minerals. This is the major problem that is facing us. We have to discourage people from smuggling gold across the border.”
The summit, which brings together member countries, focuses on regional issues of peace, security, stability, and development, and the growing problem of mineral smuggling has taken center stage at this year's discussions.
Dr. Cosmas Pitia, undersecretary of the Ministry of Mining in South Sudan, recognized the magnitude of the issue, acknowledging the regular smuggling of gold from South Sudan to Uganda, Kenya, and Sudan, as well as across the porous borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“We have records of that; we see that a lot of gold is being smuggled across the boundary,” he disclosed. This practice, he noted, has become a multi-faceted issue, implicating not only economic concerns but also regional security.
Gold smuggling has become an entrenched challenge along the Sudan-South Sudan border, which stretches nearly 2,000 kilometers and has over ten official crossing points.
This length and the region’s remote geography make it challenging to enforce border controls, allowing smugglers to exploit the porous and poorly monitored zones.
The Great Lakes Region, which includes 12 countries such as Sudan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, is known to be rich in minerals. However, these resources have historically fueled instability due to illegal exploitation and black-market trading.
By smuggling minerals like gold, smugglers avoid taxation and regulation, reducing revenue for the respective governments and financing illicit networks that destabilize the region.
With South Sudan’s gold market lacking an organized legal framework, both Osman and Pitia agree that organized cross-border initiatives could offer a sustainable solution to monitor and control mineral movement in the region.
Mineral smuggling has negatively impacted Sudan and South Sudan in recent years, costing them significant revenue that could have gone toward infrastructure, education, and healthcare.
According to the African Development Bank, both countries have a high dependency on natural resources, and the gold trade, in particular, has the potential to drive economic growth if properly regulated.
However, smuggling has undermined this potential, exacerbating poverty and fueling economic challenges.
Osman highlighted that smuggling along the Sudan–South Sudan border often includes unregistered middlemen who move small quantities of gold across the border, aggregating large amounts over time.
These operations are sophisticated, involving local networks that work discreetly and without attracting law enforcement attention.
Often, the generated profits find their way into black-market circuits in neighboring countries, where they can easily refine and resell gold without verification.
This situation has become a major concern for ICGLR, which is working to implement a regional certification mechanism to combat illegal mineral trade.
The certification program, which has seen success in some parts of the DRC, requires all minerals to be tracked and verified from the mine site to the point of sale.
However, implementing a similar system between Sudan and South Sudan will require a high level of cooperation, including improved border infrastructure and resource sharing between the two countries.
Dr. Pitia noted that the illegal cross-border movement of minerals is not solely a Sudan-South Sudan problem but also involves Uganda, Kenya, and the DRC.
"The minerals are often carried across multiple borders," he said, stressing the need for a multi-country effort to tighten controls and monitor suspicious activity.
He also hinted that South Sudan could benefit from more structured gold trade regulations, which would incentivize local mining operations to operate transparently rather than seek the black market trade.
To counter this problem, Pitia and Osman proposed developing joint patrols along vulnerable border regions, increasing the presence of security forces, and possibly establishing joint border posts.
They also emphasized the importance of intelligence sharing to track and monitor suspected smuggling routes.
By working together, they argued, both countries could benefit economically, especially as they continue to rebuild and diversify their economies following years of conflict.
Both Sudanese and South Sudanese officials agreed that enhanced monitoring technologies could serve as deterrents, highlighting the need for better infrastructure at the crossing points.
Furthermore, fostering public awareness campaigns in border communities could discourage locals from engaging in smuggling activities, which often seem profitable but are harmful to the overall economy.
Despite the challenges, Osman and Pitia expressed optimism that their nations could find common ground to address this long-standing issue.
“This is about more than just gold; it’s about ensuring that the resources of our region are used to support our communities, not to undermine them,” Osman stated.
Both officials pledged to bring the smuggling issue to the forefront of the ICGLR agenda, seeking support from other member countries and international organizations to put their plans into action.
As both Sudan and South Sudan seek to stabilize their economies and foster development, addressing mineral smuggling could be a critical step.
The collaborative efforts proposed between the two governments signal a positive shift toward improved security and economic resilience across their shared border.
If successful, these efforts may serve as a model for addressing illegal mineral trading across Africa’s borders, ultimately contributing to regional peace, stability, and prosperity.