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.
KeywordsResource CursePolitical SettlementExtractive GovernanceSustainable TransitionEcological ModernizationGovernance ChallengesIntegrated Model of Sustainable Resources TransformationFiscal Governance Accountability
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
African Development Bank (2023). African Economic Outlook 2023 . African Develop-ment Bank.
African Union (2022). Africa Mining Vision Implementation Report . African Union.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Li, G., Zakari, A., & Tawiah, V. (2020). Energy Resource Melioration and CO 2 Emissions in China and Nigeria: Efficiency and Trade Perspectives. Resources Policy, 68, Article ID: 101769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101769
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
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
Natural Resource Governance Institute (2021). 2021 Resource Governance Index . Natural Resource Governance Institute. https://resourcegovernance.org/publications/2021-resource-governance-index
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
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
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
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
UNCTAD (2020). Africa: UNCTAD Report. Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical Series, 57 .
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (2021). Bridging Africa’s Financing Gaps through Better Pl anning . United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. https://www.uneca.org/stories/bridging-africa%E2%80%99s-financing-gaps-through-better-planning
World Bank (2021). The Changing Wealth of Nations 2021: Managing Assets for the Future . World Bank Group.