Africa: Time to Improve State Participation in Africa's Extractive Industries

12 October 2012
analysis

The rise in commodities prices over the past decade (referred to by some economists as the 'commodities super-cycle') has led to a renewed debate on the role of the state in Africa's mineral resources sector. Governments are increasingly exploring new channels through which state ownership and/or control of strategic mineral assets can be optimised.

Calls for greater state involvement in mining sectors have come in various forms, ranging from outright nationalisation and expropriation of natural resources, to simple restrictive measures on the control or use of natural resources by corporations. Demands for increased state intervention in the 'commanding heights of the economy' are often invoked as a political strategy by populist leaders who ride popular sentiments that foreign participation in the extractive industries has little impact on domestic socio-economic development.

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