UGEITI report exposes Shs11.7 trillion gap in mineral export figures

What the report says

Uganda’s latest Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative report has highlighted major inconsistencies in official mineral trade records, according to The Independent Uganda. The report covers financial year 2023/24 and is centered on a striking mismatch in reported mineral exports: one section places total exports at about Shs11.8 trillion, while another table, attributed to Uganda Revenue Authority data, lists mineral exports at just Shs119.2 billion. The publication says the gap is close to Shs11.7 trillion and is not explained in the report.

The biggest discrepancies concern gold, which the report describes as Uganda’s leading extractive export even though domestic production remains very low. The article says gold export records from different government sources do not align, and that the report also shows imports and exports recorded by several refineries that are difficult to reconcile. The publication notes that the report raises questions about tracing gold from production to refining and export, and about the implications for taxation and public revenue.

Lawrence Muwonge, a Uganda Revenue Authority extractives official quoted in the report, said informal and artisanal mining makes it difficult to verify production and sales at the source. He also said it is hard to establish where refiners buy their gold. The article adds that Uganda is increasingly seen as a regional gold refining and trading hub, which may help explain some cross-border flows, but the report does not resolve the underlying data conflicts.

The piece matters because reliable mineral data affects revenue collection, sector planning and public trust in how Uganda tracks valuable resources. The publication does not present the inconsistencies as proof of wrongdoing, but as evidence that the system for measuring mineral trade remains weak.