The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), Mr Alexander Kofi-Mensah Mould, has cautioned African leaders and policymakers against allowing the continent’s emerging critical minerals boom to become another resource curse.
He called for a new approach anchored on strong governance, value addition and inclusive development to ensure that Africa’s mineral wealth translates into sustainable economic transformation.
Mr Mould made the call while delivering the opening remarks at the High-Level Conference on Governance, Critical Minerals and Conflict in Africa, organised by the Open Society Foundations (OSF) in Accra.
The three-day conference brought together government officials, policymakers, development partners, researchers and civil society actors to explore ways Africa can responsibly harness critical minerals to promote peace, strengthen democratic governance and drive development.
Mr Mould said Africa is entering a critical phase as minerals such as lithium, cobalt and graphite become increasingly important to the global economy, particularly in the transition to cleaner energy, advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies.
He described critical minerals as “the new oil, the fuel of the green transition and the foundation of tomorrow’s economy,” but stressed that Africa must first determine how it wants to benefit from its resources.
“Before we ask what the world wants from Africa, perhaps we should ask a more important question: What does Africa want for itself?” he said.
The MiDA CEO noted that rising global demand for critical minerals presents Africa with a major economic opportunity but warned that natural resource wealth alone does not guarantee prosperity.
He cited the experiences of resource-rich countries, explaining that while some have used their resources to build strong institutions, diversified economies and improved living standards, others have suffered conflict, inequality and instability.
“The difference was never simply the resource. The difference was governance,” he stated.
Mr Mould stressed that effective governance requires more than mineral extraction, adding that countries must build institutions that promote transparency, accountability and public trust while ensuring communities benefit meaningfully from resources found within their territories.
He warned that when communities feel excluded from the benefits of natural wealth, economic opportunities can become sources of frustration and instability.
“When people feel excluded from the benefits of their own natural wealth, opportunity can give way to frustration, and frustration can all too easily give way to instability,” he said.
The MiDA boss urged African countries to move beyond exporting raw minerals and instead develop industries, technologies and businesses capable of capturing more value across the mineral value chain.
He argued that Africa’s success should not only be measured by the volume of minerals extracted and exported, but also by the jobs created, skills developed and local enterprises strengthened.
“Can Africa move beyond measuring success by what leaves our shores, and begin measuring success by what we build within them?” he asked.
Mr Mould said Africa’s mineral future should not be viewed as a choice between foreign investment and local ownership, but as an opportunity to create partnerships that expand African participation, leadership and capacity.
“The future is not a choice between international investment and African enterprise. Rather, it lies in building partnerships that create value for all while steadily strengthening African capability, ownership and leadership across the entire mineral value chain,” he said.
He also emphasised the human dimension of the critical minerals debate, noting that behind every mineral deposit are communities and young people whose futures depend on decisions being made today.
“Ultimately, this conference is about far more than minerals. It is about people,” he stressed.
Mr Mould urged participants to develop practical solutions that will ensure Africa’s mineral resources become a foundation for peace, prosperity and shared progress.
He said future generations would not judge African leaders by the resources they inherited, but by how responsibly and wisely those resources were managed.
“Future generations will not judge us by the abundance of the resources we inherited. They will judge us by the wisdom, integrity and foresight with which we governed them,” he said.
