Why Africa Is Rich In Minerals | But Poor 3 Thoughts
Why Africa Is Rich In Minerals
Why Africa Is Rich In Minerals But Poor? Africa is one of the continents that has maybe the most natural riches. Most of the highest quality diamonds in the world come from African mines, and the continent itself also has large deposits of tantalum, gold and many others. But why isn’t Africa rich and why most of the countries here are dealing with high levels of poverty?
They call it the Curse of Riches.
Albeit the African landmass is honored with gold, jewels, oil, Colton, bauxite, uranium, iron mineral and other important assets, its occupants have long numbered among the world’s least fortunate. While a couple of sub-Saharan African countries are doing moderately well, most are buried in neediness.
That a mainland’s plentiful normal assets can in such countless cases affect its kin’s personal satisfaction over such countless years is one of the extraordinary secrets encompassing the gathering of 49 countries found south of the Sahara desert.
Numerous Worldwide Associations
Numerous Worldwide Associations It is especially vexing to the numerous worldwide associations, unfamiliar legislatures and private gatherings that have been attempting since the period of freedom to advance territorial turn of events, food creation, training, better lodging, medical services, further developed foundation, occupations and financial development.
Albeit over fifty years have passed since the finish of frontier times, African legislatures frequently still seem dumbfounded with regards to lifting their kin from outrageous neediness. Change can appear to be incomprehensible.
Everybody appears to have a pet clarification for this shocking peculiarity, referring to inescapable defilement, useless vote based foundations and equity frameworks, insatiable worldwide enterprises, obscure nearby and global elites, clumsy or ineffectual worldwide guide organizations, asset wars pursued by homegrown state armies as well as outside militaries and the remnants of expansionism – or the approach of another sort of imperialism driven by players like China and Israel.
Tom Burgis, a writer who covered Africa for the Financial Times for quite a long time, presents a solid defense for this multitude of causes in his new book, “The Looting Machine: Warlords, Oligarchs, Corporations, Smugglers, and the Theft of Africa’s Wealth.” Burgos goes a bit farther, contending that every one of us bears liability regarding what is happening each time we negligently fill our vehicles with gas, purchase gold or a jewel wedding band, taste a bubbly beverage in an aluminum can, or utilize a cellphone.
Most of the African countries were colonial states
Many of the natural resources in Africa were acquired by states that controlled African colonies. So one of the reasons why we have poverty in Africa is that most of the resources were mined and sent to other countries. African people didn’t really benefit from any of these resources because the political and economic control was not theirs.
Many African countries were French or British colonies, so it’s easy to see why we have Africa poor nowadays since these colonial powers acquired many of their resources throughout the years. Then, after foreign powers left, all that remained were the elite that had literally no division between commercial and political power.
The wealth sources here were mines and oil fields, so that’s why we saw and still see a lot of corruption in many African states. On top of that, multinational companies are holding a lot of political and economic power in post-independence African countries. This is one form of modern colonial power and one that leads to even more poverty in Africa.
The Elite Has Major Control
The Elite Has Major Control In some African countries, the elite formed a government and they can easily impose their own rules. These governments can be very oppressive, and they can actually stop people from behaving a certain way. They created their own rules, and they don’t require the consent of their people.
Angola and Nigeria are great examples here. Aside from that, there are other issues here which include bribes and foreign control. There is a lot of interest in keeping Africa poor because the workforce remains cheap and mining the natural resources in Africa remains a simple thing to do. On top of that, most foreigners that invested in Africa get a good return, and they don’t really pay taxes or help Africa in any way.
On top of that, it’s important to note that mineral exports from Africa are at least 7 times more than the aid received from foreign countries. It’s easy to see that while most of the African riches are going out of the continent, there’s not a whole lot of stuff going the other way around.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is a combination of issues that continue keeping Africa poor. We believe that things might change in the long run, especially with some African countries developing better internet infrastructures and bringing businesses online. Still, there’s no denying that most of the natural resources in Africa are under foreign control or local barons that continue to increase their personal wealth, while the entire continent has to suffer. Curated by Ishmael Osekre and Bright Ofori.
