Africa must not repeat past mistakes with critical minerals - Goosie Tanoh

The Senior Presidential Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy Policy, Augustus “Goosie” Tanoh, has urged African countries to take greater control of their critical mineral resources by developing local industries and value chains instead of repeating a history of exporting raw materials with limited benefits to local economies.

He said the growing global demand for critical minerals presents Africa with a major opportunity to transform its economies, but warned that the continent could lose out if it fails to strategically manage its resources.

Tanoh made the call in Accra on Monday, July 27, 2026, at a three-day high-level conference on governance, critical minerals and conflicts in Africa organised by the Open Society Foundations.

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The conference, which runs from July 27 to 29, brings together policy analysts and stakeholders from across Africa to examine how the continent can leverage its mineral wealth to promote economic development, peace, democratic governance and shared prosperity.

According to Tanoh, Africa must learn from previous experiences in which the extraction of natural resources generated significant value for external economies while providing limited industrial and economic benefits to the communities and countries where the resources were found.

He said the continent must now focus on using its mineral endowments to develop industries, create decent jobs and strengthen peace and stability.

“The question is whether Africa will use them to build its own industries, create decent jobs, and strengthen peace, or be a collaborator and bystander,” Tanoh said.

He argued that the growing global appetite for minerals critical to modern industries and emerging technologies should prompt African countries to rethink how they participate in the global mineral economy.

“Rather than simply exporting raw minerals, countries should develop the capacity to process them locally and use them as inputs for manufacturing and other productive activities,” he emphasised.

Tanoh also stressed the importance of regional cooperation, saying individual African countries may struggle to develop complete mineral value chains on their own.

He said collaboration among countries, particularly through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), could help create regional value chains that support mineral processing, manufacturing, technology development and industrialisation.

Such cooperation, he noted, could allow African countries to leverage their combined markets, resources, skills and infrastructure to retain more value from the continent’s mineral wealth.

The Senior Presidential Advisor said the governance of critical minerals must also be linked to broader questions of economic justice, community development and accountability.

He said the benefits of mineral resources should be shared more equitably, particularly with communities that host mining operations and bear the environmental and social consequences of extraction.

Tanoh further stressed that Africa’s approach to critical minerals must prioritise long-term development, ensuring that resource wealth translates into sustainable economic opportunities and improved livelihoods for citizens across the continent.

MA