Mining: What Africa Should Do

Published on 12th August 2013

Liberation of African countries from colonialism has not helped the continent’s rural populations to escape poverty. This is because the current Central Governments in most of the countries have made themselves the owners of natural resources like minerals and never consult the communities in whose areas the minerals exist. The leaders are allowing foreign investors to exploit these natural resources at throw-away prices that don’t change the lot of the government and affected communities.

Respective African governments don’t build local relevant capacities to carry out prospecting and exploitation in order to spur self-reliance and desist from chronic dependency on foreign aid. Enabling local populations to own and manage exploitation of natural resources and other economic growth potentials within their habitats is key to unleashing economic growth. Dependence on foreign aid as the main source of tax revenues for governments in African countries is counterproductive and unsustainable.

Since the majority of populations in African countries are the poorest rural communities, measures to overcome extreme levels of poverty on the continent should focus on them. These own majority of the rural lands which are also gifted with natural resources like minerals, fertile lands and wildlife, among others.

To ensure that exploitation of natural resources in the rural areas contributes to optimal and sustainable economic growth and poverty alleviation in African countries, respective policies should focus on ensuring that African countries earn majority of the wealth generated and most of it invested as seed capital to stimulate economic growth and poverty alleviation in rural areas.

Central Governments should issue rural communities (through their local governments or other authorities) the rights of natural resources development and/or exploitation within their rural lands and enable them to negotiate for deserved share in accordance  with the market value of the type of natural resource involved and quantity produced. The Governments would then benefit in the form of taxes generated by the rural communities and the alien investors involved in the development and exploitation of natural resources in the rural lands.

Rural communities shouldn’t be pegged on aid and care from the foreign companies exploiting natural resources on their lands. The ongoing alien exploitation of mineral resources at peanut taxes and donations to affected rural communities should cease.

By Dr Antipas T. S. Massawe
Mining Engineer, Dar es Salaam.


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