Harare, 23 May 2017 (ACBF) – African parliamentarians have a key role to play in advancing a new developmental approach on the governance of natural resources. In line with this thinking, members of the Pan African Parliament (PAP) have agreed to work to speed up the implementation of a new paradigm shift in natural resources governance being championed by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), International IDEA and other non-state actors within the context of the AU’s African Mining Vision (AMV).
The AMV, one of the important pillars of the AU Agenda 2063, hopes to achieve “a transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socio-economic development” of the continent.
As such, the New Developmental Approach to Natural Resources Governance in Africa being supported by the ACBF is not an alternative to the AMV, but rather a refinement and reinforcement of the continental mining framework. Its goal is to ensure transparency, accountability and community inclusiveness in managing Africa’s natural resources for meaningful socio-economic transformation.
Not surprisingly, the New Developmental Approach came from the realization that Africa suffers from the “Paradox of Plenty”, where the abundant endowments of natural resources on the continent have not led to equivalent levels of prosperity for African citizens, nor even a broad-based development or a resource-based industrialization.
As a result, according to the ACBF, a transition to a new developmental approach to natural resources governance (NRG) is imperative if African countries are to achieve socioeconomic transformation and meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
This is where African parliamentarians have a critical role to play in ensuring that instruments and approaches like the AMV and the New Developmental Approach are domesticated in legislation and budget processes in their countries.
In the last two years, the ACBF, in collaboration with the African wing of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), has been pushing for a new approach that involves African parliamentarians in the promotion of transparency in NRG as well as inclusive, equitable, and sustainable share of the income thereof.
According to the ACBF, the success in delivering a good NRG and the effective use of the income generated is underpinned by political will, the rule of law, and developed democratic institutions with strong capacity. Hence parliamentarians must play a lead role.
So far, the ACBF and IDEA efforts have come on the back of several recent preparatory high-level panel meetings that have created a platform for collective reflection and consensus-building amongst representatives of political parties and other key stakeholders in Africa on their role in advancing the New Developmental Approach.
The last such meeting in Pretoria on 5 May 2017 brought together a diverse group of senior political principals, African parliamentarians, policymakers from key African multilateral institutions, academics and civil society leaders – people who serve as critical voices in shaping scholarship and influencing thinking on Africa’s development trajectory. In all, parliamentarians representing 41 African countries attended the Pretoria meeting.
Held under the auspices of the Pan African Parliament (PAP), and co-organized by the ACBF and International IDEA, the 5 May meeting sensitized participants, especially those from PAP (some of whom confessed that they were hearing about the AU’s African Mining Vision for the first time), to the New Developmental Approach and laid the foundation for further interventions in the future.
The parliamentarians highlighted the importance of knowledge and training to provide them with the relevant skills to effectively play their role in resource governance, which includes reviewing national mining laws for international companies, education and awareness for citizens and civil society organisations, and oversight of corporate social responsibility and activities of mining companies. The ACBF undertook to provide the training requested by the parliamentarians.
As the principal vehicle for transformative democratic developmental governance in Africa, PAP (inaugurated in 2004) has a major role to play in advancing the New Developmental Approach, as its members can prompt their countries’ parliaments to institute model laws and ensure budgetary allocations in support of building capacity for implementation.
Since 2013 when the ACBF’s African Capacity Report (ACR 2013) highlighted the fact that “there is no inherent curse in natural resource endowments”, the Foundation has been emphasizing the point that it is rather the lack of capacity to effectively govern and hold each other to account for the utilization of the natural resources that compromise Africa’s ability to achieve optimal outcomes.
As such, in the next 5 years, the ACBF has committed itself to enhancing capacities towards good governance of Africa’s natural resources, as, to this day, the continent continues to rely on natural resources for economic growth and the livelihood of its people.
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For more information, please contact:
Abel Akara Ticha – Senior Communication Officer
The African Capacity Building Foundation
Harare, Zimbabwe
+263 7+263-4 304663, 304622, 332002, 332014; Ext. 279
Email: A.Ticha@acbf-pact.org
About the African Capacity Building Foundation
Established in 1991, ACBF builds human and institutional capacity for good governance and economic development in Africa. To date the Foundation has empowered people in governments, parliaments, civil society, private sector and higher education institutions in more than 45 countries and 6 regional economic communities. ACBF supports capacity development across Africa through mobilization and leveraging of resources for capacity development; grants, investments and fund management; knowledge services; promoting innovation in capacity development and capacity development advisory services. The establishment of ACBF was in response to the severity of Africa’s capacity needs, and the challenges of investing in indigenous human capital and institutions in Africa. ACBF interventions are premised on four principles: the centrality of capacity to the development process in Africa; the critical role of a partnership and demand-driven approach in tackling capacity challenges; African ownership and leadership in the capacity development process; and a systematic, sequenced and coordinated approach to the capacity development process that pays attention to capacity retention and utilization. For further information go to: www.acbf-pact.org
