'Government and mining houses must break bread'

Resources are not so much Africa’s curse as the continent’s inability to extract what lies beneath its core. “Most of the investment on the continent is foreign-based,” says James Fungai Maposa, consulting manager for the industrial unit at Frost & Sullivan. “This is where the funds lie for the exploration and ultimately the set up of a mine. Finding a midway between the needs of these companies and that of governments is often where the problem arises.” According to the Build Africa Forum, an initiative aimed at crafting solutions for Africa’s infrastructure challenges, public private partnerships are key to Africa’s development. “For sustainable long-term operations where everyone’s needs are met government and mining houses must break bread and find mutual solutions while at the same time finding some common purpose.”