By – Chalamba Kshetri
“ Do not talk to me of Gold.. it brings more dissension, misfortune and unexpected plagues in its trails then benefits “
– Paul Kruger
We know Africa is a vast Continent with its blessed resources. From this territory that the World famous “ Coffee” or
“Ghanian Coffee” shape it’s the lineage from. The widely consumed “Coca-Cola” products were manufactured or traced from Cocoa-plant in the spot of the African landmass. There are 54 Countries in the African Peninsula. But all of the respective Countries did not have the luxury to utilize or enjoyed their own resources fully. This is due to the fact that
Africans were not well informed or wise enough to safeguard their resources. The Westerner and other Powerful Nations took this advantage of their not so conscious essence which resulted in hunting their resources, exploration, utilization, meddling in political and economic activities.
Leaving behind all the developmental way, the Africans were the scapegoats of Conûicts, CivilWar, Poverty, Disease, and Political Chaos. As I see, the Westerner engineered this whole upbringing. They manufactured the turmoil and strife situation in Africa with the sole perspective of ‘Proût’. This is looting! The looting of the Resources. It is against Human Rights and should be challenged to a wide extent. Let’s discuss the vastness of African Resources to know the presence of the African Continent.
Realities & Description of African Resources –
As a matter of fact, Africa is the second largest Continent though vast in size, it contains only about 10 percent of the world’s population and can be claimed to have underpopulated.Africa contains an enormous wealth of mineral resources, including some of the world’s largest reserves of fossil fuels, metallic ores, and gems and precious metals. The richness is being catapulted by a great diversity of biological resources that includes equatorial rainforest, of Central Africa and World famous population of wildlife of the Eastern and Southern portions of the Continent. Africa’s two most proûtable mineral resources are gold and diamond.
It produces 22 percent of the world total production of gold. Africa also dominates the global diamond market. The Continent produces 55 percent of the world’s diamonds. Botswana, SouthAfrica, Angola, are some of Africa’s largest produces of diamonds. Unfortunately, several African conûicts and civil wars have been caused and funded by the
diamond industry. Diamonds that come from these regions are known as “Conûict Diamonds “ or “ Blood Diamonds “
Forestry is an important addition to African landmass. Forest products account for 6 per cent of Africa’s Gross DomesticProduct(GDP)more than any other Continent. This is a result of Africa’s abundant forest size. The export of forest products like high-quality woods of Mahogany, Okoume, which brings signiûcant revenue. These woods are found in the Congo Basin, Cameroon, Central Africa, Israel and the European Union.
Africa’s ûshing industry also provides income to more than 10 million and has an annual export value of $2.7 billion. The Great Lakes and the Nile Rivers hugely support freshwater ûsheries. West Africa is one of the most
economically imported ûshing zones in the world, producing 4.5 million tons of ûsh every year. Africa is home to select
deposits of oil and natural gas, which are drilled for energy and fuel. The Continent produced 12.5 percent of the World’s total oil production and 6.45 percent of the world’s total natural gas production in 2017. Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Angola dominate Africa’s oil industry.
Oil and Natural Gas production have also been connected to civil conûict. In Nigeria, Guerrilla Groups have attacked oil infrastructure and stolen oil from pipelines since the early1990s.These groups primarily ethnic minorities claimed that foreign that foreign oil companies have exploited their labour while keeping most of the wealth. They also charge that out-of-date
equipment has severely polluted air, soil and water resources.
Will Africa ever benefit from its Natural Resources?
Whether Africa will ever beneût from it’s Natural Resources is a question that is more relevant now than ever, as new
discoveries of Coal, Oil, and Gas across East Africa look set to transform global energy markets. And African people hope that the exploration of resources would benefit them. Will their hope bore fruit?
According to estimates by former World Bank Vice President for Africa, Obey Ezekwesili, In Nigeria, the Continent’s
biggest oil produces at least $400billion of oil revenue has been stolen or illegally extorted since their Independencein 1960.
Ghana also started producing oil in 2010 and there is further exploration all along the African Coastline. Only ûve of
Africa’s 54 Countries are not either producing or looking for oil. From Algeria to Angola and from Petroleum to Platinum, Iron Ores to Oceans, the exploration for Africa’s resources has often caused problems rather than created prosperity.
Meanwhile, much of proûts from resource exploitation leave the Continent entirely in the hands of foreign-owned
Companies which pay low rates of tax. Few African countries process their own raw materials rather, the value is added elsewhere to the beneût of others. Foreign-owned resources extraction companies are often criticised for providing little in the way of local employment and contribution to World economies. But on the other side, not all African Countries is
Heinous. There lies also a stable and transparent economic country with the exception of diamond-rich Botswana which has been praised as a Country for doing things right. It has also managed to retain some of the profits from processing its raw materials, something most African countries have failed to do. But the voices of the African people, the resource-rich Continent lamented that – whether Gold, Ivory or the very bodies of its inhabitants served not to enrich its people but to impoverish and enslave them. My inner tendencies some how told me that, Africa is the most Unluckiest Continent on the Planet. No Wonder the World is full of Surprises!
