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Natural Resource Governance Lacking Across Sub-Saharan Africa

Natural Resource Governance Lacking Across Sub-Saharan Africa

Many African nations have laws designed to promote accountability in the oil and mining sector, nevertheless they suffer from troubling gaps in natural resource governance, according to a new index released on Wednesday.

Revenue Watch’s Resource Governance Index measures the quality of governance in the oil, gas and mining sector of 58 countries worldwide.

The index was launched symbolically in Accra, Washington and London.

A statement issued in Accra and copied to Ghana News Agency said researchers surveyed 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, many of which are highly dependent on natural resources.

It said oil, gas and minerals made up more than 80 per cent of exports in Gabon, Nigeria, and Zambia in 2010.

It indicated Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and South Sudan rely on oil revenues for more than two-thirds of their budgets, yet no country in the region earned a satisfactory score for resource governance.

Dr Daniel Kaufmann, President of Revenue Watch said: “The Index research reveals a governance deficit in how transparent and accountable countries are with their natural resources.”

Read more at businessghana.com