IN THE STOPE
CLAUDE BAISSAC
UNPACKS AFRICAN RISK
Resource nationalism gone wrong has been a curse for the African
continent, Claude Baissac, CEO of consultancy fi rm Eunomix, tells
Leon Louw in an exclusive interview.
Claude, you have often said that there is a cognitive dissonance
regarding the mineral potential in Africa. Can you explain?
We need to clearly distinguish the mineral resource potential of a
country from its policy and economic potential. Both are required
to turn that resource into socially and environmentally sustainable
wealth. Too often still, countries view their endowment as wealth.
That is a mistake. A resource endowment has no more value
than, say, a geographic position, a climate or a topography. I am
not denying the emotional, aesthetic or spiritual value of such a
resource. But from a material wellbeing standpoint latent natural
potential is of no value if the conditions for its use are not present.
This is where governance comes into play. And governance is
as important as the resource itself. If this weren’t the case, the
Simandou ‘scandale geologique’ would not exist. If this weren’t
the case, countries rich in vast natural resources would not be
amidst the poorest in the world. The examples are numerous, from
Guinea to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These
countries are poster children for the infamous resource curse.
Copper has been a mainstay for the Zambian economy, but the government’s reliance on this resource has often plagued the country.
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African Mining November 2019
www. africanmining.co.za