Windhoek — Hopes for Africa's economy have been raised before, particularly when the continent enjoyed boom times prior to the financial crash of 2008, much in part to a commodities "super cycle" that saw sustained high prices for its raw materials. However, prices for Africa's minerals are well down on those heady days while few countries have yet to escape the extractive model by managing to add value to their commodities. Now, however, there is a growing determination to achieve this, with Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Namibian President Hage Geingob last week calling for value to be added to their countries' minerals before they are exported.
"The problem of investors or foreigners who come to Africa is that they come on their own terms. From now on, Africa must tell investors when they come, they come on our terms," said Geingob, speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa that ended in Cape Town on Friday. "Why should my diamonds go out in raw form?" Geingob questioned.
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