In a message to commemorate the Africa Day, local governance advocacy organisation, the Center for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) has called on African governments and multinational corporations to prioritize responsible and sustainable mineral development.
CNRG expressed deep concern over the persistence of the resource curse, where Africa’s mineral wealth often leads to conflict and suffering rather than prosperity.
“Africa continues to gather crumbs from its mineral resource endowments whilst the real value is realized outside the continent,” CNRG said.
Reflecting on the African Mining Vision (AMV), adopted 15 years ago, CNRG noted that the goals of transparent, equitable, and optimal exploitation of mineral resources remain largely unmet.
“Africa is rich in valuable natural resources that should be leveraged to drive economic growth and integration and improve the lives of all Africans. However, we continue to see too many examples of extractive projects that harm local communities and the environment with insignificant benefits accruing to the public,” said CNRG
The organization urged for stronger legal and regulatory frameworks, increased transparency, and greater community involvement in mining decisions.
“CNRG’s research has documented widespread human rights abuses, environmental degradation, and revenue leakages associated with mining operations in several African countries. The organization is urging governments to strengthen legal and regulatory frameworks, increase transparency, and ensure local communities have a meaningful voice in decisions about resource extraction,” said the advocacy group
The organisation added “We are deeply concerned with the unfair and often opaque pricing of minerals. International regulatory bodies like the Kimberley Process have only saved to regulate diamond trade whilst turning a blind eye to diamond pricing which is heavily skewed in Favor of buyers. This is worrisome given the depletion of the continent’s non-renewable assets. The current and future generations have nothing to show for these resources whose extraction brings so much ruin.”
CNRG stressed the need for Africa to invest in downstream industries, such as manufacturing electric vehicle batteries, to capitalize on its rich mineral deposits and drive mineral-led industrialization. This would mitigate the current trend of exporting raw minerals with minimal local economic benefit.
