Zimbabwe’s sole authorised gold buyer, Fidelity Gold Refinery, has launched a new Gold Trade Enforcement Unit (GTEU) with sweeping powers to protect and regulate the country’s gold value chain.
The unit was established under the newly amended Gold Trade Act (Chapter 21:03), following changes introduced through Section 48 of the Finance Act (No. 2) of 2024.
The amendments included the insertion of Part A in the Act, providing the legal foundation for the GTEU’s creation.
Fidelity Gold Refinery will oversee the operations of the enforcement unit. Speaking on the development, Fidelity’s General Manager, Peter Magaramombe, said:
In terms of the amendment, the Managing Director of the National Gold Refinery appoints the Head of the Unit. The GTEU comprises Fidelity staff and Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers appointed by the Police Commissioner-General.
The officers, now officially designated as Gold Trade Enforcement Officers, are certified by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development and issued official certificates as proof of their authority. Said Magaramombe:
The Gold Trade Enforcement Unit has been entrusted with a critical and multi-faceted mandate to safeguard Zimbabwe’s gold economy and ensure adherence to established regulations.
GTEU will support miners in safeguarding gold at mining sites and curbing unauthorised trading by ensuring that all gold is sold exclusively to licensed dealers or authorised individuals.
The unit is also tasked with combating gold smuggling to protect Zimbabwe’s strategic reserves and foreign currency earnings, while promoting transparency and contributing to the formalisation of the gold trade.
The GTEU can carry out comprehensive inspections at mining sites, including checking security systems, verifying prospecting activities, auditing records and accounts, collecting assay samples, and accessing digital storage devices for machine-readable data.
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