Tanzania plans to sell a portion of its gold reserves to finance infrastructure investment, Planning and Investment Minister Kitila Mkumbo announced on Monday in London.
He said the move follows a directive from President Samia Suluhu Hassan to the central bank.
“Governments are no longer interested in providing aid to Africa so we are reorganizing ourselves,” the minister said.
The Bank of Tanzania has been instructed to carry out the partial sale of the country’s gold reserves, according to Bloomberg.
Details regarding the amount to be sold, the timeline, and operational procedures have not yet been disclosed.
Data published last week by the central bank indicate that Tanzania’s gold reserves stood at approximately $1.3 billion at the end of December 2025.
The decision comes amid a declining global environment for official development assistance, according to Ecofin Agency.
Several Western countries have recently reduced aid commitments, redirecting budgets toward domestic priorities, particularly defence and security.
In the United States, an initiative launched by former President Donald Trump led to the closure of USAID, a key instrument of bilateral cooperation for more than sixty years.
In the United Kingdom, the government announced in early 2025 that the aid budget would be gradually cut from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income by 2027 to fund higher defence and security spending.
Similar reductions have been implemented in France, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany, according to media reports.
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For Tanzania, the timing is sensitive, as the country has recently faced criticism from the European Union following the disputed October 2025 presidential election that returned Samia Suluhu Hassan to power.
In November 2025, the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution calling for the suspension of a €156 million aid program.
The European Commission, however, stated that dialogue with Tanzanian authorities would continue without announcing a final decision.
While operational details of the planned sale remain pending, the initiative highlights the central role of gold in Tanzania’s economy.
The country is one of Africa’s leading producers of the metal, with output estimated at 52 tonnes in 2023, according to the World Gold Council.
Bank of Tanzania data show that gold accounted for 22.5% of national exports that year, valued at roughly $3.05 billion. The mining sector contributed nearly 9.9% of gross domestic product and around 15% of tax revenues.
Authorities have strengthened oversight of the gold sector in recent years. In September 2023, a program was launched to purchase gold from local miners for the central bank to bolster foreign exchange reserves.
One year later, a new measure required mining companies and traders to sell 20% of their gold export proceeds to the Bank of Tanzania.
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Image Credit: Bloomberg
