Diamonds and oil in Africa: A blessing or a curse; The cases of Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Gabon

Abstract

Currently, many economists are suggesting that Africa’s governments should focus on its natural resource policies to overcome poverty. Achim Steiner, Under Secretary General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations in 2006, states that “Africa’s wealth of natural resources has always been an asset and has sustained its people during good and hard times. But their true value, the sheer scale of the wealth from Africa’s freshwaters and landscapes to its minerals and marine resources, has been invisible in economic terms. Only now are we getting glimpses, only now are the economic figures coming to the fore.”1 Now is the time for African countries wealthy in natural resources to enhance overall economic growth and increase their position on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). To provide investment appropriately it is important to analyze a few countries in order to better understand their current situation and the possible implications their experiences have for their economic future. For the purpose of this report, the countries Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with respect to the diamond industry will be studied as well as the countries Nigeria and Gabon with respect to the oil industry will be examined.