Exploited, Poor and Dehumanised: Overcoming the Resource Curse in Africa

Abstract

Despite its huge wealth of natural resources, the African continent remains largely underdeveloped with majority of its population poor and living in dehumanizing conditions. While these resources would naturally be expected to spur growth and development, the opposite has been the reality for Africans. The Continent has been afflicted by natural resource-based conflicts resulting from either scramble for scarce resources or the fight for control and management of abundant resources. This is what is often referred to as 'natural resource curse’. This paper critically discusses the challenge of natural resource curse in Africa and offers some recommendations on how best the African countries can overcome the challenge and utilise their resources to promote growth and development for their people.

Keywords: Resources, Promote, Growth, Natural resource