Speaking during the high-level dialogue on mineral resource governance in Africa conference in Gaborone this week, Masisi expressed his stern worries over how the blessing of mineral endowments has turned into political malediction for many African countries.
“Allow me at this juncture to recognise the prevailing challenges faced by many African countries due to the "resource curse," where natural resources, particularly minerals, have sometimes led to internal divisions rather than fostering national development and unity” he said.
The resource curse refers to a situation whereby a country has an export-driven natural resources sector that generates large revenues for government but leads paradoxically to economic stagnation and political instability. The curse is a political anomaly that has plagued African soils since the pre-independence epoch till to-date with many countries still tussling over the equitable distribution and sharing of mineral revenues.
Under the right circumstances, a natural resource boom can be an important catalyst for economic growth, development, and the transition from cottage industry to factory production. The rise of Botswana’s industrial muscle can be linked directly to mineral revenues since emerging industries built initial business cases around mining procurement.
Masisi said the nuances behind Africa’s resource curse are rooted in different layers of neo-colonialism and systematic injustice imposed by foreign forces. All this according to Masisi, has conspired to complicate Africa's rise from the resource curse.
“The paradox of Africa holding significant natural resources yet lagging in development is indeed a complex and critical issue. The challenge of limited value addition and industrialisation in Africa's resource sector is multifaceted and has deep-rooted historical, economic, and systemic dimensions”, he said.
According to Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora Secretary-General of International IDEA, an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to supporting democracy worldwide, the resource curse is prevalent in Africa due to weak financial systems that exclude mere citizens from the economic fruits of the economy
“When you don’t develop a modern taxation system, nurturing a sense of citizenship and weaving the threads of a social contract that binds together citizens and authorities become exceptionally tall orders. In many countries blessed with immense natural wealth citizens do not exist, only clients” he said.
“In some cases, this is attributable to exploitative royalty agreements, corruption, and outright theft. Yet in many places, the cause is a much more complex web of weak oversight, inadequate governance, and policy choices: from the offshoring of high-value processing in resource supply chains, to poorly” he further added.
According to a report issued by the African Union there is strong evidence that resource abundance increases the incidence of civil conflicts and wars and stimulates violence, theft, looting, and fighting between rival groups. The report further adds that since many African states are highly dependent on oil, gas, and mineral exports, they are unusually prone to resource-related conflicts
