Oil

Growing demand
As world economic growth continues, crude oil demand is deemed to rise to 90.6 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2010 and 103.2 million b/d by 2020. Dependency on energy deposits from unstable countries in the Middle East and rapidly depleting national reserves have forced many countries to look for alternatives elsewhere. With roughly 30% of world oil reserves, Sub-Sahara Africa has become a crucial oil-supplier. Africa's major exporters are Nigeria (2.5 million b/d) and Angola (2 million b/d), followed by Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Chad, Côte d´Ivoir and Cameroon.

Corruption and mismanagement
Corruption and mismanagement of revenues contributes to the dissatisfaction of populations and to political instability. This is especially the case in Sub-Sahara African countries with their fast-growing oil industries. Moreover it seems that developing countries that heavily depend on natural resources even have lower growth rates than those who don't. They also tend to be more violent and less democratic.
Other risks in connection to natural resources are deflation, volatile state income, corruption, inequitable service delivery, internal strife, economic ‘bubbles' that are disconnected from society, deceptive expectations, and environmental degradation. Several internal wars in Africa are driven by competition about control over resources. Every month, thousands of people are displaced because of the destruction of their traditional livelihoods by resource extraction and deforestation.

Overcome the downside of dependence
Accountable governments can overcome the downside of resource dependence. Also the international and business communities can play a decisive role. Unfortunately, the international rules for free trade are merciless and do not allow for discrimination against products that have been produced in environmentally destructive ways or that are used to finance violent conflict. Many of the larger private companies have started to develop policies aimed at mitigating the downside effect of their operations. But there are still many companies that chose to abuse the weaknesses of Sub-Sahara African states to develop their business, often with fatal consequences.

Restricting companies
The space for companies to take advantage of Africa's weak governance systems must be restricted. This must be done both through binding regulation and through pressure from investors and the public. They must develop conflict sensitive policies, contribute to the creation of an enabling environment for the rule of law, protect the environment, respect human rights, and ensure that their operations have sustained economic impact. What can we do?

Democratic control over the economy must be strengthened through the empowerment of parliaments and of civil society organisations. Accountable governance can be achieved through financial transparency. International civil society organisations can hold individual companies responsible for their impact through research and publications. We can also team up with the poor and those who fall victims to violence, empower them to defend their cause, and bring their voice to the international arena. rights, and ensure that their operations have sustained economic impact.