The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has said it remained opposed to the sale of gold reserves by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to finance debt cancellation, 'The Times of Zambia' reported on Wednesday.
The chairman of the mines and mineral resources committee, Syamukayumbu Syamujaye, was quoted as saying his committee felt that the proposed sale "would outweigh" any benefits because it would result in mine closures. Syamujaye also questioned the recent sale of 25 mt of gold reserves by the Bank of England.
"This act by the Bank of England is an act of sabotage on the efforts of HIPC countries (Highly Indebted Poor Countries) to redress their indebtedness," Syamujaye said. He added that the decision had resulted in a crisis in the mining industry in the SADC region and that the fall in the gold price would affect investment, employment, economic growth and export earnings of regional gold producing countries.
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