The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) believes that the mining and hydrocarbons industries in Africa can do more to create jobs and push economic growth, while also promoting social inclusion and preserving the environment. But African countries also have to have the right policies to encourage the development of these sectors.

In a statement from the seventeenth Unctad African Oilgasmine Conference and Exhibition (which took place last week in Khartoum, Sudan), the international agency pointed out that US Geological Survey places Africa first or second in terms of reserves of many metals and minerals. These include bauxite, chromite, cobalt, diamonds (industrial), ilmenite, manganese, phosphate rock, platinum-group metals, rutile, soda ash, vermiculite and zirconium. The continent also holds 8% of global oil and gas reserves.

“The benefits the extractive industries could bring to developing countries include revenues for host countries through production sharing arrangements, royalties and income taxes,” the international agency stated. “The development of the extractive industries could also generate wider economic benefits and promote inclusive growth and sustainable development.”

Unctad noted that some 12-million young people enter Africa’s labour market every year, but only about 5-million find jobs. Currently, mining, oil and gas combined employ only about 1% of the continent’s labour. But these sectors also stimulate the creation of many more indirect jobs. “The extractive industries, given their capital intensive nature, may not generate many direct jobs, but their linkages with the broader economy may help generate additional jobs. Through these linkages the sector is connected with the suppliers of inputs; outputs are processed into value-added products; demand is generated for locally produced goods and services; and an enabling environment is created for new industries using skills and capabilities acquired from the extractive industries.”

A study by the International Finance Corpora-tion, carried out in Ghana, found that for every one job directly created by the mining industry in that country, another 27 indirect jobs could be created in the broader economy. To give a developed world comparison, a recent survey of the oil and gas industry in the US established that this sector was responsible for 9.3-million jobs. These included 3.1-million jobs in the retail sector and 500 000 jobs in health services.

“Such jobs are not created automatically,” cautioned Unctad. “Targeted polices, such as developing linkages, removing entry barriers to specific industry value chains, building the necessary infrastructure to attract investment, improving access to finance and developing workforce skills needed, are crucial to expanding job opportunities and increasing employment.”
African countries should not focus their attention only on large-scale mining. “Artisanal mining, as a labour-intensive mining process, is, for example, well known to generate more direct and indirect jobs than large-scale mining,” highlighted the agency. “In Africa, artisanal mining is estimated to create about 8-million direct jobs, which support over 45-million people.”

Unctad’s Oilgasmine Conference and Exhibition was held from November 23 to 26. It took place within the framework of the new sustainable development agenda that was adopted this year, and which supersedes the Millennium Development Goals, in particular, Sustainable Development Goal 8.