The political bureau member of Cameroon’s Renaissance Movement (MRC) has sharply criticized the government’s press briefing on gold reserves.

During a press conference held in Yaoundé on July 15, 2026, the acting Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (Minmidt), Fuh Calistus Gentry, officially denied any theft or disappearance of gold belonging to Cameroon’s state reserves.

This public statement, delivered alongside Communication Minister René Emmanuel Sadi, aimed to defuse the controversy surrounding fiscal revenue losses estimated at nearly 2,000 billion FCFA.

The Cameroonian government clarifies that the current crisis stems not from embezzlement but from widespread underreporting by private operators. Mining companies are systematically underdeclaring actual gold extraction volumes.

State revenue plummeting due to gold trafficking

The country is experiencing a severe decline in revenue from synthetic mining taxes and export duties. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) report revealed a staggering discrepancy for 2023, with Cameroon declaring only 22 kg of gold exported against 15 tons recorded by UAE customs authorities.

The National Mining Company (Sonamines) estimates that approximately 44 tons of gold have bypassed formal channels between 2021 and 2025. To combat this trafficking and clean up the gold sector, Minister Fuh Calistus Gentry announced immediate reforms, including the deployment of a permanent field team comprising Sonamines, the General Tax Directorate (DGI), and the General Directorate of Customs (DGD).

Me Sikati’s explosive reaction to government claims

Cameroon’s Minister of Mines is Fuh Calistus, who replaced his predecessor Gabriel Dodo Ndoke after his mysterious death. During yesterday’s press conference, the minister emphatically stated that “there has been no disappearance of gold belonging to the state.”

SOME CAMEROONIAN MINISTERS ARE TRUE MAGICIANS

The government claims no gold belonging to the state has vanished. Yet the gold trafficking scandal dominates national and international headlines. The minister didn’t deny gold has disappeared—he merely implied that state-owned gold hasn’t vanished.

I must ask: Who then owns all the gold whose disappearance has been exposed? Cameroon’s Mining Code clearly states that subsoil minerals and gold belong to the Cameroonian state. Perhaps the minister believes—despite clear legal provisions—that gold in Cameroon belongs to private individuals. In reality, these officials serve personal interests, not the nation.