Making Natural Resources Work for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development in Southern Africa

The exploitation of the region’s abundant natural resources has been at the heart of the high rate

of economic growth since the economic and financial crisis due mainly to buoyant commodity prices.

However, the impressive growth trends have not been accompanied by an improvement in human

development conditions as poverty; inequality and unemployment remain high in Southern Africa. The

growth has thus been described as jobless, poverty-insensitive and non-inclusive for its failure to be

accompanied by a clear transition from natural resources wealth to economic well-being where the

growing national output is reflected in rising productive employment, improved skills levels, access to

services and a reduction in poverty and inequality.

This report on Making Natural Resources Work for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable

Development in Southern Africa addresses the theme of the 20th

Session of the Intergovernmental

Committee of Experts (ICE) of Southern Africa. The main objectives of the report are to: (i) provide

member States with an overview of the state of natural resources exploitation in the region; (ii) identify

the resources value chains and operating challenges; and (ii) provide policy advice on how to deepen

the role of the sector in addressing poverty, unemployment and inequality in Southern Africa. The

report consists of five sections. Section 1 provides an overview of the importance of natural resources

to the economies of Southern Africa and isolates the various dimensions of inclusive growth. Section 2

reviews the various natural resources sectors focusing on current production activities and activities

along the value chains and identifies the challenges in each case. Section 3 outlines the possible

strategies towards strengthening the role of the exploitation and utilization of the resources in inclusive

growth and uses examples to illustrate how other countries have used natural resources revenues to

diversify economies and strengthen growth, create jobs and provide economic opportunities for

citizens. Section 4 presents the conclusion to the analysis. This is followed in Section 5 by sectoral

recommendations for member States and for the SADC Secretariat and development partners..

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