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The United States Institute for Peace (USIP) has stated that foreign mineral extraction in Africa poses a significant threat to the region's prosperity.
The Country Director of the institute, Dr. Chris Kwaja, made this remark while speaking to reporters on Friday in Abuja.
Kwaja made his comments during the Early Career Scholars Conference, which focused on the “USIP Africa-China Project - Early Career Scholars Project” in Abuja.
Rocketparrot News learnt that the conference aims to investigate China’s involvement in African affairs, particularly in terms of economics, peace, security, and diplomacy.
Kwaja highlighted that the illicit activities of foreign firms in Africa, especially concerning critical minerals, represent serious security threats to the well-being of African nations.
He pointed out that foreign companies often engage artisanal miners to extract these critical minerals, frequently operating outside governmental regulations.
“Foreign companies are increasing their influence in Africa as a countermeasure to Western interests,” he noted. While these companies are prominent in the mining sector, the environmental and health repercussions of their operations have not been adequately recorded.
“This is a matter that both policymakers and academics should prioritize.”
He added that as these companies participate in the extraction of critical minerals, they often do so with little to no compliance with existing rules and regulations in African economies.
Kwaja emphasized that non-compliance with environmental protection standards has regrettably become a characteristic of foreign participation in Africa’s critical mineral industry, which should alarm African leaders.
He urged for the establishment of regulations and effective supervision, as well as stricter laws to oversee mining operations, particularly legal frameworks intended to safeguard host communities.
