Africa’s vast natural resources present significant opportunities alongside ongoing challenges. Although the continent holds 30 - 50 percent of the world’s mineral reserves, hydrocarbons, forests, arable land, and renewable energy potential, many African nations still make limited progress in development. This research critically examines the governance structures that have influenced resource extraction and management since 2020, situating the discussion within broader debates on the resource curse, institutionalism, political settlements, sustainability transitions, and climate governance. Drawing on recent peer-reviewed research, it argues that Africa’s resource development depends not only on resource abundance but also on institutional strength, fiscal transparency, community participation, climate issues, and strategic industrial policies. The study reviews current evidence on extractive governance, illegal financial flows, artisanal mining formalization, renewable energy transitions, sovereign wealth funds, and regional integration within the African Union’s development strategies. It concludes that sustainable change requires integrating natural resource governance into a comprehensive model that promotes ecological resilience, intergenerational equity, regional cooperation, and economic diversification.
References
[1]
Afolabi, J. A., Taiwo, A. S., & Adebayo, S. N. (2024). The Nexus between Illicit Financial Flows and Tax Revenue: New Evidence from Resource-Rich African Countries. Scientific Annals of Economics and Business, 71, 381-398. https://doi.org/10.47743/saeb-2024-0019
[2]
African Development Bank (2023). African Economic Outlook 2023. African Develop-ment Bank.
[3]
African Union (2022). Africa Mining Vision Implementation Report. African Union.
[4]
Ali, W., Rana, K., & Dash, D. P. (2026). Resource and Energy Transition with Digital Governance for Global Decarbonomics. International Economics, 186, Article ID: 100696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inteco.2026.100696
[5]
Bansah, K. J. (2023). Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Formalization in Ghana: The Government’s Approach and Its Implications for Cleaner and Safer Production. Journal of Cleaner Production, 399, Article ID: 136648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136648
[6]
Bebbington, A., Hinfelaar, M., & Sanborn, C. (2017). Political Settlements and the Governance of Extractive Industry: A Comparative Analysis of the Longue Durre in Africa and Latin America. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2986786
[7]
Botlhale, E. K. (2024). A Sovereign Wealth Fund as an Alternative Driver of Growth and Development in Botswana. Critical African Studies, 16, 255-272. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681392.2024.2312183
[8]
Breakey, H., Wood, G., & Sampford, C. (2025). Understanding and Defining the Social License to Operate: Social Acceptance, Local Values, Overall Moral Legitimacy, and “Moral Authority”. Resources Policy, 102, Article ID: 105488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105488
[9]
De’Nyok, M. E. (2023). The Causality of a Political Fragility on Transitional Post-Conflict States in Africa’s Democratization Perspectives. Open Journal of Political Science, 13, 313-323. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojps.2023.133020
[10]
De’Nyok, M. E. (2025). The Impacts of State Instability on Services Delivery in Post-Conflict South Sudan. Open Journal of Political Science, 15, 146-187. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojps.2025.151011
[11]
De’Nyok, M. E., & Adea, M. (2024). The Roles of Service Leadership in South Sudan Transitional Governance and Institutional Performances. International Journal of Science and Business, 33, 139-154. https://doi.org/10.58970/ijsb.2320
[12]
El Hamad, W., Pupovac, S., & Moerman, L. (2024). Transparency and Public Accountability: Does the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Deliver? The Extractive Industries and Society, 19, Article ID: 101514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2024.101514
[13]
Fofana, M. (2022). Natural Resource Rents and Economic Growth Paradox, the Analysis of Resource Curse and Its Transmission Channels in West Africa: The Role of Public Expenditure Policy. International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 11, 185-205. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarems/v11-i3/14573
[14]
Fonjong, L., Matose, F., & Sonnenfeld, D. A. (2024). Climate Change in Africa: Impacts, Adaptation, and Policy Responses. Global Environmental Change, 89, Article ID: 102912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102912
[15]
Guo, Y., & Dong, S. (2020). Study on Rural Environmental Governance Countermeasures from the Perspective of Environmental Governance Modernization. Learning & Education, 9, 58-60. https://doi.org/10.18282/l-e.v9i2.1399
[16]
Hilson, G., & Maconachie, R. (2008). “Good Governance” and the Extractive Industries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 30, 52-100. https://doi.org/10.1080/08827500802045511
[17]
International Monetary Fund (2017). Uganda: Technical Assistance Report-Implementing Fiscal Regimes for Extractive Industries: Technical Notes. IMF Staff Country Reports, 17, 1. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781484332368.002
[18]
Laisani, J., Dacosta, F. A., & Mulaba-Bafubiandi, A. F. (2023). A Competitive Framework for Mineral Beneficiation and Value Addition in Zimbabwe. International Journal of Membrane Science and Technology, 10, 3773-3785. https://doi.org/10.15379/ijmst.v10i2.3234
[19]
Li, G., Zakari, A., & Tawiah, V. (2020). Energy Resource Melioration and CO2 Emissions in China and Nigeria: Efficiency and Trade Perspectives. Resources Policy, 68, Article ID: 101769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101769
[20]
Muhirwa, F., Shen, L., Elshkaki, A., Hirwa, H., Umuziranenge, G., & Velempini, K. (2023). Linking Large Extractive Industries to Sustainable Development of Rural Communities at Mining Sites in Africa: Challenges and Pathways. Resources Policy, 81, Article ID: 103322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.103322
[21]
Nalule, V. (2023). Mining Law and Governance in Africa Transformation and Innovation for a Sustainable Mining Sector. Taylor & Francis. https://www.routledge.com/Mining-Law-and-Governance-in-Africa-Transformation-and-Innovation-for-a-Sustainable-Mining-Sector/Nalule/p/book/9781032256603
[22]
Natural Resource Governance Institute (2021). 2021 Resource Governance Index. Natural Resource Governance Institute. https://resourcegovernance.org/publications/2021-resource-governance-index
[23]
Odijie, M. E. (2018). The Need for Industrial Policy Coordination in the African Continental Free Trade Area. African Affairs, 118, 182-193. https://doi.org/10.1093/afraf/ady054
[24]
Osawe, A. I., & Uwa, O. G. (2023). Natural Resource Governance and Conflicts in Nigeria. British Journal of Multidisciplinary and Advanced Studies, 4, 17-35. https://doi.org/10.37745/bjmas.2022.0103
[25]
Pryor, S. C., Barthelmie, R. J., Bukovsky, M. S., Leung, L. R., & Sakaguchi, K. (2020). Climate Change Impacts on Wind Power Generation. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1, 627-643. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0101-7
[26]
Smith, B. (2015). Resource Wealth as Rent Leverage: Rethinking the Oil-Stability Nexus. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 34, 597-617. https://doi.org/10.1177/0738894215609000
[27]
UNCTAD (2020). Africa: UNCTAD Report. Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical Series, 57.
[28]
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (2021). Bridging Africa’s Financing Gaps through Better Planning. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. https://www.uneca.org/stories/bridging-africa%E2%80%99s-financing-gaps-through-better-planning
[29]
World Bank (2021). The Changing Wealth of Nations 2021: Managing Assets for the Future. World Bank Group.
