Central Africa's extractive industry must create jobs and wealth : Chadian minister
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2014-03Author(s)/Corporate Author (s)
United Nations. Economic Commission for Africa.;Metadata
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Central Africa is a mineral-rich sub-region, but the contribution of extractive industries to the development of other economic sectors is limited. This is one major finding at a meeting of experts in N'Djamena – Chad, to scrutinize a document drafted by ECA to serve as a reference framework for national extractive industry policies in the sub-region. Countries of the sub-region need to diversify mining production to minimize the industry’s vulnerability to external shocks as well as strengthen the nexus between the mining sector and the other sectors through greater investment of mining revenues in the latter sectors. Other measures recommended include geological knowledge of the mineral potential to correct the huge information asymmetry that often penalizes producing countries in their negotiations with potential investors; increased added value through more use of natural gas, processing of minerals and greater local participation in the industry’s downstream activities as well as harnessing fresh opportunity windows opening up to the African mining sector in terms of funding and expertise, particularly partnerships between States, mining companies and multinationals.