Equity in extractives: Stewarding Africa’s natural resources for all

This report from the Africa Progress Panel (APP) provides an analysis of Africa's natural resources and provides a series of recommendations and actions to ensure improvement in their use and development.

Excerpt

This report does not offer easy answers. There are none. >The surge in resource wealth brings with it complex challenges and very real risks. Yet it also brings an unrivalled opportunity. Effectively harnessed and well managed, Africa’s resource wealth could lift millions of people out of poverty over the next decade. It could build the health, education and social protection systems that empower people to change their lives and reduce vulnerability. It could generate jobs for Africa’s youth and markets for smallholder farmers. And it could put the region on a pathway towards dynamic and inclusive growth.

Contents

PART I: THE NATURAL RESOURCE PARADOX: RESOURCE WEALTH AMID HUMAN POVERTY

  1. A decade of unprecedented growth – and uneven development
  2. The great divergence: wealth and wellbeing in resource-rich countries
  3. From national to local – employment, environment and social impacts

PART II: THE COMMODITY “SUPER-CYCLE” AS AN ENGINE OF GROWTH

  1. Riding the crest of the natural resource wave
  2. Booming resource wealth promises strong revenue flows
  3. Foreign investment: a source of growth and an institutional challenge

PART III: THE COSTS OF MISMANAGEMENT

  1. Managing state companies and concessions
  2. “Aggressive tax planning” drains the public purse
  3. Public spending: the price of inequity and inefficiency

PART IV: UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

  1. Transparency and accountability: empowering Africa’s citizens
  2. Using natural resources to expand opportunity: fair taxation, equitable spending and stronger linkages
  3. Managing social and environmental impacts

PART V: SHARED AGENDA FOR CHANGE THAT BENEFITS ALL

  1. Recommendations for Immediate Action
  2. African Governments
  3. Regional Organization and Initiatives
  4. Wider International Community
  5. International Companies

Sources

The Africa Progress Panel (APP), (2013). Equity in extractives: Stewarding Africa’s natural resources for all. Africa Progress Report 2013. Retrieved from website: https://africaprogressgroup.org/

Originally sourced from EG Justice