Africa’s Natural Resources: 3 Things Governments Need to Get Right

Africa has about a third of the world’s mineral resources, but most of its citizens remain desperately poor and don’t receive the benefits of their natural resource wealth. These resources could generate substantial social, economic and political benefits for Africa, but only if they are pursued in a transparent and accountable way that respects peoples’ fundamental human rights.

Oxfam has been working on extractive industries in West Africa for more than 10 years, and we’re expanding our work into a total of 15 countries in Africa this year. In February we met in South Africa and heard about the challenges our partners are facing across the continent. 

 

There is incredible variety: Oxfam partners are working in countries that are just discovering and beginning to develop resources, like Mozambique, Uganda, and Kenya, as well as countries with a long and often troubled history of natural resource extraction like Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa. We want to highlight three key priorities of their work in Africa, and three key trends we’ve seen emerge over the past several years.

 

 Read more: http://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/2015/04/africas-natural-resources-3-things-governments-need-to-get-right/