It's time to make Africa's minerals a blessing.

Petroleum mine

How best can Africa use its minerals. The continent has an abundant mineral supply. But its often caught in the so called paradox of plenty, or the mineral curse. For example, even though Nigeria has plenty of oil, power blackouts are still rampant. Even though DR Congo has plenty of coltan, which is used in the making of mobile phones and laptops, most of its residents cannot afford the basic mobile phones and cannot partake in the information revolution. One way that Africa can develop is to ensure that it negotiates favorable terms for its mineral resources. In this, its often been said that the huge obstacle is not even the lack of finances, it is the lack of  human capital in the minerals field. For example, most of the contract in negotiations goes to foreign law firms, as there are not many African lawyers with the expertise to negotiate the complex mineral contracts.

We could create a fund similar to what countries like Botswana have done. Botswana has used the mineral resources, especially from diamond, to improve the public infrastructure for the country. Even though the country was severely ravaged by AIDs, the infection rates have gone down as a result of the investments in the health sector from the diamond proceeds. Crucially, Botswana continues to attract teachers and doctors from the rest of Africa and the world, and the country is one of the few countries in the world to have a budget surplus. Its former President, Festus Mogae, was awarded the Mo Ibrahim leadership prize because of his exemplary leadership, his commitment to democracy and human rights, and for using the proceeds from the diamonds to grow a prosperous Botswana economy.

Norway is another example. It is estimated that Norway has a sovereign wealth fund that could total at least $100,000 per each citizen, this is all thanks to the way the country has been able to make use of its mineral resources. Another country we could adopt from is United Arab Emirates (UAE), known for its tourism. Realizing that oil would run out in the next thirty years, the UAE government sought to increase the amount of investments in other sectors, and today, its flagship city- Dubai, is known for tourism, finance, amongst other economic pursuits. The mineral resources in Africa are not limitless. They will run out one day. Its time that African countries were able to adopt firm measures that would see the countries benefit from the vast mineral resources.

It's time to make the abundant minerals in Africa to be a blessing rather than a curse. I believe that it can be done.