BY PROF. SOSPETER MUHONGO
CENTRAL banks hold gold for a variety of reasons, to trade it for financial purposes or to adjust the level of the reserves, to deposit it to earn interest, or to use it as collateral for market loans.
All the leading central banks have large positions in gold and are among the principal global holders of bullion.
Importance of Gold reserves in National Central Banks
*Strengthening of values of national currencies
*Counteracting rising inflation
*Gold is the most trusted treasure capable of surviving numerous economic turbulences (e.g. Libya has 117 tons of gold in reserve)
Prof Dr. rer. nat. Sospeter Mwijarubi Muhongo (Officer, Ordre Palmes Academìques) FGSAf, FAAS, MASSAf, FASI, FASSAf, FTAAS, FGIGE, FTWAS, HonRFCAGS, HonFGSA, HonFGS, CGeol, EurGeol,MP is a Tanzanian geologist and member of the Tanzanian Parliament.
2022 - Top 10 countries with the largest GOLD reserves
1. USA: 8,133 tons
2. GERMANY: 3,359
3. ITALY: 2,452
4. FRANCE: 2,436
5. RUSSIA: 2,299
6. CHINA: 1,948
7. SWITZERLAND: 1,040
8. JAPAN: 846
9. INDIA: 754
10. NETHERLANDS: 612
NB: See below breaking news from India - it added 12.5 tons of gold in July 2022
2022 - Top 10 AFRICAN countries with GOLD reserves
1. ALGERIA: 174 tons
2. SOUTH AFRICA: 125
3. LIBYA: 117
4. EGYPT: 80.73
5. MOROCCO: 22.12
6. NIGERIA: 21.37
7. MAURITIUS: 12.44
8. GHANA: 8.74
9. TUNISIA: 6.84
10. MOZAMBIQUE: 3.94
Burundi: 0.03 tons
Kenya: 0.02 tons
From:
Sospeter Muhongo
>Former Vice President of the Commision of the Geological Map of the World (CGMW)
>Co-Author of the Geology and Mineral Map of Africa
>Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of the Journal of African Earth Sciences, published by Elsevier.
Date:
Saturday, 6.8.2022