DAKAR, Senegal (AFP) — The people and governments of Africa are losing out massively to overseas mining conglomerates and private investors, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said Thursday.
"The mines, one of Africa's riches, seem to symbolise the curse of our continent," said Mamadou Makhtar Gueye, director for economic integration.
"There needs to be a standardisation of practises, so that states can negotiate with investors from a position of strength.
"The potential is there," he added after a seminar organised in conjunction with the US branch of the international development charity Oxfam.
"It's a question of judicious exploitation for the benefit of the people, the states, (and) in the spirit of environmental protection, for the investors, provided the balance is just and equitable."
Oxfam America's regional director, Mamadou Biteye, said: "Superprofits are generated, but they don't go towards financing priority development sectors".
With major investments to come in Senegal on top of existing interests in Liberia, global steel giant Arcelor Mittal is just one of the companies Biteye has in his sights.
"In the majority of cases, less than five percent of revenues stays within the country concerned and the (mining) contribution to gross domestic product is in the region of one percent," Biteye added.
The Dakar conference, which runs through until Saturday, aims to adopt a mining code for member states aimed at securing a higher share of investor profits.
Gueye said the non-governmental organisation's plans were to be "saluted".
ECOWAS has 15 member states: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
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