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The Bank of Uganda has launched a three year pilot programme to purchase gold directly from local miners, marking a significant policy shift that brings the central bank into the domestic gold market for the first time and signals a deliberate effort to strengthen Uganda’s foreign exchange reserves whilst formalising a sector that has long operated at the margins of the official economy.
Test purchases began on 17 April 2026, with the bank paying for gold in Uganda shillings based on international market prices. Gold is delivered to approved refineries for assaying and then refined locally or processed to meet international standards before being added to Uganda’s reserves. The arrangement applies exclusively to licensed and prequalified miners, with a chain of custody system developed alongside the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to track gold from mine to final storage, verify origin and limit illicit trade in line with regional certification requirements.
The Bank of Uganda has obtained a Mineral Dealer’s Licence and is registered with the Financial Intelligence Authority to meet anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations. The three-year pilot will test pricing mechanisms, logistics, storage and compliance systems before any expansion of the programme. The initiative was developed with input from the Ministry of Finance, the Uganda Revenue Authority, the National Environment Management Authority, the Solicitor General, the Financial Intelligence Authority and the Uganda National Mining Company, a breadth of institutional involvement that signals the seriousness of the government’s intent. By buying directly from miners and refining locally, authorities expect to increase value addition, reduce gold smuggling and bring more of Uganda’s gold trade into the formal economy, outcomes that matter as much for development as for reserve management.
