Oil can fuel the engine of the economy, with other industries creating jobs. But over the years, easy money from oil has distorted investment decisions, allowing Nigeria to neglect other industries. Some 95 percent or more of its foreign-exchange earnings come from oil, and with the current stratospheric prices, Nigeria might think it has no reason to look beyond oil. Its reserves are about 36 billion barrels, and at the current rate of production, it has enough oil to last another 40 years.
After that, what? Better management of oil revenues is one solution. Reflecting on the destructive role sudden wealth can play, policymakers have tried monitoring oil revenues. But the effort hasn’t borne any fruit. Take for instance Chad. When oil was discovered in the Chad basin and the Chad-Cameroon pipeline was built, the World Bank insisted on conditions to ensure that revenues would be deposited in an escrow account, with funds only used for approved development expenditures. However, with conflict in Darfur and the presence of hundreds of thousands of refugees on the border, Chad now ignores those commitments some of the time, and spends more on defense. Rising oil revenues, thanks to rising prices, means there are limits to the absorptive capacity in Chad for more development expenditure. A waste of those resources is, then, inevitable.
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Sub-Saharan Gas Monetization Taking Root Outside Niger Delta, Zeus Conference to Discuss - MarketWatch
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Comprehensive Development Framework
The Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) encompasses a set of principles to guide development and poverty reduction, including the provision of external assistance. Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) underpinned by the CDF are the way forward to enhance country ownership and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. We intend to continue to direct the energy of our institutions to make this a reality.
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Hierarchy or the Market| The Foundation for Economic Education: The Freeman, Ideas on Liberty
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The War On Terror, the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline, and the New Identity of the Lake Chad Basin - Journal of Contemporary African Studies
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The World Bank
The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. We are not a bank in the common sense. We are made up of two unique development institutions owned by 185 member countries—the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA).
Each institution plays a different but supportive role in our mission of global poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards. The IBRD focuses on middle income and creditworthy poor countries, while IDA focuses on the poorest countries in the world. Together we provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, communications and many other purposes.
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Full Marx if you can see history repeating itself | Business | The Observer
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allAfrica.com: Ghana: Government Prepares to Battle the 'Oil Curse' (Page 1 of 2)
"At this point we acknowledge that we lack the know-how to manage this enormous resource but we are blessed with the experience of others," said Francis Ackah, engineering manager of the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC), the agency which oversees the country's petroleum resources.
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Let them eat ethanol
Now, the law of supply and demand has dictated that the market for biofuels should reduce the production of corn for food by 25 percent in the U.S., triggering a rise in corn prices that has encouraged speculators to hoard crops...
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globeandmail.com: High time to lose patience in Kenya
[the 'blessings' of cut flowers]"...thanks to tourism, horticultural exports (cut flowers and green beans) and the high salaries of expatriates working for...agencies headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya's growth used to be twice the continent's average."
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Africa's Problem (present-day World Bank racism)
The lesson of Calderisi's screed "The Problem with Africa": it is now 'politically incorrect' and therefore appropriate to blame 'Africa's problems' on weak Africans under the influence of 'tribal culture'. A good lesson in how not to study 'Africa'.
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Africa rejects EU Economic Partership Agreement
The Europeans cannot be happy about this upsurge of 'democratic, affirmative action'. Elite in Europe and the U.S. typically want upsurges of election-based 'democracy' hitched to economic dependency and stagnation.
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An African call for a moratorium on agrofuels
Burning food is not an answer to the 'fossil fuels' crisis.
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