Africa must break ‘commodities addiction’

The slump in commodity
prices has offered the
perfect opportunity to African
countries “addicted” to the
commodity
sector to be
rehabilitated,
according
to former
Zimbabwean
finance
minister
Tendai Biti.
Delivering
a keynote
address at the Investing in
Africa Mining Indaba in Cape
Town recently, Biti said African
countries had little choice but to
break their dependence on the
commodities sector.
“The minerals community,
for at least 24 countries on
the African
continent, has
been a drug,” he
said. “And once
you are dependent
on a drug you
get addicted.
Now, because
we are in the
middle of slump,
it is time for
rehabilitation.”
He said mining in the boom
years had not managed to
create a base for sustainable
development and average
Africans had not seen much
benefit from the large-scale
mining operations.
“If there is a lesson in the
current slump, it’s the need for
diversification,” he said, citing
countries such as Rwanda and
Kenya as examples thanks to
their ability to tap into other
industries and not only mining.
He said those countries intent
on keeping the focus on mining
would have to shift the paradigm
to include better distribution of
mining wealth across countries.
He said there were many
opportunities in Africa in the
energy and transport sectors,
as well as in agriculture,
fisheries and even information
technology.
INSERT & CAPTION
If there is a lesson in the
current slump, it’s the
need for diversification.
– Tendai Biti