The 19th-century scramble for Africa saw great imperialistic powers rush to the continent to exploit natural resources. Today, the scramble continues as Africa is still a vital arena of strategic and geopolitical competition among the United States, France, Britain, China, and India. The key question for many is: will the exploitation of Africa's rich resources benefit  the continent ?

Oil is perhaps the most important lure. It attracts more than 50 per cent of all foreign direct investment (FDI). In 2006, annual FDI  rose to a historic high of USD38.8 billion, exceeding record levels of 2005 — a growth of 78 percent from 2004. According to the U.N. World Investment Report, FDI cash was concentrated in a few industries, notably oil, gas and mining and six oil-producing countries — Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, and Sudan — hogged around 48 percent of it.

European firms represent roughly two-thirds of the total FDI in Africa. More than half of European investment originates from the U.K. and France, going mainly to countries with which they have historic ties. French oil companies such as Total, locked out of the Middle East through France's opposition to the Iraq war, have made large investments in Francophone countries such as Cameroon, Chad, and Gabon.

Africa is becoming strategically important to the U.S. because of its oil production (a cheap and reliable alternative to oil in the volatile Persian Gulf), and China's increasing regional influence. West Africa already supplies about 12 percent of U.S. crude oil imports, a share that is projected to rise to 25 percent by 2015. As is often the case with oil, military involvement follows. In February 2007, the U.S. set up an Africa command (Africom) base. It has established bases in and signed access agreements with Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Gabon, and Namibia. 

Despite its big backyard, China is generally resource-poor. Africa offers the natural resources vital to fuel its rapidly growing economy. China looks to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia for copper and cobalt, to South Africa for iron ore and platinum, and to Gabon, Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) for timber. For oil, it has been wooing Nigeria, Angola, Sudan, and Equatorial Guinea. China is the second largest consumer of crude oil after the U.S, and was responsible for 40 percent of the global increase in demand between 2001 and 2005. Indeed, it imports 25 percent of its crude oil from Africa.

Beijing has charmed African rulers with arms sales, debt cancelaltion and soft loans.President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visited 10 African countries, consummating the relationship at the China-Africa summit in October 2006, when Beijing rolled out the red carpet to almost 50 African heads of state and Ministers.

The global demand for natural resources will increase FDI and, as exports grow, improve balance of trade figures. One of the main concerns however is the scramble's fuelling of corruption, environmental degradation, internal dissent, reduction of a state's incentive to impose a free and just taxation system, and spending on the military.

Africa is being fragmented into many pieces by developed countries keen on exploitating Africa’s rich resources. A recent OECD report indicates that the world's major donors, 22 member countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), provided USD 103.9 billion in aid in 2006, falling by 5.1 percent from 2005. This figure includes USD 19.2 billion of debt relief, notably exceptional relief to Iraq and Nigeria. Excluding debt relief, other forms of aid fell by 1.8 percent.

The fall was predicted. ODA was exceptionally high in 2005 due to large Paris Club debt relief operations (notably for Iraq and Nigeria) which boosted ODA to its highest level ever at USD 106.8 billion. In 2006, net debt relief grants still represented a substantial share of net ODA, as members implemented further phases of the Paris Club agreements, providing a little over USD 3 billion for Iraq and nearly USD 11 billion for Nigeria. Excluding debt relief, ODA fell by 1.8 percent. Preliminary data show that bilateral net ODA to sub-Saharan Africa rose by 23 percent in real terms, to about USD 28 billion. However, most of the increase was due to debt relief grants, excluding debt relief for Nigeria, aid to sub-Saharan Africa increased by only 2 percent.

Charities and NGOs working on the issue believe that even governments that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are reluctant to investigate allegations against western companies of corruption or complicity in human rights abuses.

In Equatorial Guinea — where U.S. companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron are active — the regime of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has been accused of torture, electoral fraud, and corruption. Despite this, President Nguema was welcomed at the U.S. State Department by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in April 2006 and described as a "good friend."

The environmental impact is also alarming. The clearing of forests for timber exports increases vulnerability to erosion, river silting, landslides, flooding, and loss of habitat for plant and animal species. Gas flaring from oil production, where unusable waste gas is burned off, pumps large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It is estimated that flaring in the Niger delta emits 70 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

The environmental and social impact of extractive industries is already acknowledged as a key factor in conflicts in Sudan and Nigeria. There is a fear among NGOs that access to natural resources will fuel the kind of violent conflict seen in Sierra Leone, the DRC, and Liberia. A number of initiatives have been launched in an attempt to deal with the resource 'curse.'

Africa's biggest challenge is to compete in the global economy. It is a known fact that economic strength depends on  command over natural resources and quality of the labour force. Besides the ability to cope with complex production techniques and technological changes that are cropping up in thr global arena, Africa requires not only a healthy and an educated citizenry, but policies supporting the poor — such as credit being more widely available particularly to the rural people, investment in rural roads, and support for small-scale enterprises.

It is no time to sit and cry that Africa is under assault. It is no time to watch as other nations 'eat' the African cake. African elites ought to figure out how they can take advantage of the new scramble for Africa to reap profit.