Accra, July 28, GNA-Senior Presidential Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy, Augustus “Goosie” Tanoh, has called on African countries to harness their vast critical mineral resources to drive industrialisation, create decent jobs and transform their economies, rather than remaining exporters of raw materials.
He said the continent’s growing strategic importance in the global energy transition presented a once-in-a-generation opportunity for economic transformation but stressed that African governments must adopt deliberate policies to ensure they derive greater value from their mineral wealth.
Mr Tanoh made the remarks at the opening of the High-Level Conference on Governance, Critical Minerals and Conflict in Africa, being held in Accra from July 27 to 29.
The conference, organised by the Open Society Foundations, brought together government officials, civil society organisations, researchers, mining communities, development partners and private sector representatives to deliberate on the governance of Africa’s critical minerals.
“The overwhelming central emerging task before us is clear: the world definitely will use Africa’s minerals. The question is whether Africa will use them to build its own industries, create decent jobs and strengthen peace, or be a collaborator and bystander,” he said.
According to Mr Tanoh, Africa was endowed with substantial deposits of critical minerals that were essential for renewable energy technologies, electric vehicles and digital manufacturing.
However, he noted that the continent continued to export the resources in their raw form while importing higher-value finished products, limiting the economic benefits available to African countries.
He urged African leaders to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to develop regional mineral value chains that promote local processing, manufacturing and intra-African trade.
Mr Tanoh said Ghana’s 24-Hour Economy policy aligned with that objective by integrating mineral resources with affordable energy, manufacturing, technology, transport and skills development to build a competitive industrial economy.
“Africa has had many mineral booms before. Too often, the export earnings grew while the factories, technologies and skills were built elsewhere on other continents to benefit other people. This time, the measure of success must be different,” he said.
He stressed that the pursuit of industrialisation must be underpinned by transparency, environmental stewardship and meaningful community participation, arguing that Africa’s mineral wealth should serve as a catalyst for sustainable development rather than a source of conflict and inequality.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba