Managing Africa’s resources: time to stop the ‘dig and export’ model, improve governance, create linkages

Abstract

Mr. Kojo Busia, Head of ECA’s African Minerals Development Center hailed the findings of the report which supports the case put forth by the AU's African Mining Vision. It is a case for mineral-endowed countries to move from being structurally enclaved economies to much more integrated, diversified economies with upstream, downstream, side-stream and spatial-stream linkages that can broaden their tax base and enhance states’ accountability to citizens. Meanwhile, Ms. Bience Gawanas, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on African Affairs, gave merit to the work put in the report stating that it was timely, in the context of the Secretary-General’s reform, which lays emphasis on "the prevention rather than the management of conflict" – a phenomenon which she stressed, is commonplace in resource blessed countries. She noted that with the prevailing phenomenon of illicit financial flows from Africa, "there is great reason to advocate effective governance in the continent’s natural resource sectors," as tAGR V contends. The Head of ECA’s Macroeconomic Policy Division – Mr. Adam Elhiraika pinpointed the main recommendations of the report which address the challenges mentioned. These are a call on the states concerned to: strengthen their institutional and regulatory framework, enhance transparency and accountability in resource-based sectors, prioritize resource based development planning and make it more inclusive, develop links for structural transformation through value addition and route-in the private sector in planning process.