Africa is rich. Yet this wealth does not always translate into industrialization commensurate with its potential. For decades, the continent has exported minerals, cocoa beans and other raw materials, before importing processed products at prices that are often far higher. This economic model deserves to be profoundly rethought.
The ambition displayed by Ghana constitutes, in this respect, a strong political signal. By focusing on the local processing of bauxite, manganese, lithium, iron, gold and cocoa, Accra intends to retain more added value on its territory, create jobs and strengthen its industrial fabric.
But ambition alone will not be enough. Banning or restricting exports of raw materials without having operational factories, reliable energy, suitable infrastructure and substantial financing could produce the opposite effect to the one sought. Local processing must be based on a coherent industrial strategy, and not merely on the desire to close trade borders.
This is precisely where the credibility of this initiative is at stake. Ghana will have to demonstrate that it can process its resources at competitive costs, attract the necessary investment and guarantee outlets for its finished and semi-finished products.
THE DRC FACING ITS RESPONSIBILITIES
For the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this ambition should serve as a wake-up call. First in the world in several strategic minerals, the country has considerable assets for developing processing industries, particularly in the copper, cobalt and lithium sectors.
Yet possessing resources does not automatically mean mastering value chains. Mining sovereignty cannot be limited to exploiting deposits, collecting royalties or negotiating contracts. It must also be measured by the capacity to process minerals locally, develop technical skills and create sustainable jobs.
It would, however, be illusory to believe that a general export ban is, by itself, the solution. The DRC, like Ghana, must first consolidate its energy and logistics infrastructure, improve the business climate and encourage industrial investment. The state, the private sector and technical partners each have a role to play.
TRANSFORMING TO DEVELOP
The issue goes beyond Ghanaian and Congolese borders. It concerns an entire continent that aspires to weigh more heavily in the global economy. Industrialization cannot be decreed: it must be prepared, financed and built over time.
Africa must no longer regard its natural resources solely as export products, but as the foundations of a productive economy. Every tonne of ore processed locally, every industrial unit created and every technical skill developed can help to durably change the structure of its economies.
Ghana’s gamble will therefore be judged less on the strength of its announcement than on the results obtained. For the DRC and the rest of the continent, the lesson is clear: true wealth lies not only in what the ground contains, but also in the ability of African nations to transform what they extract from it into prosperity for their populations.
MB
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