The Gabonese economist Cédric Achille Mbeng Mezui has just published Geoeconomics of strategic minerals in the Congo Basin. Prefaced by professors Rabah Arezki and Rick Van Der Ploeg, this essay explores the potential of Africa, described as a “true El Dorado in terms of natural resources”. The author focuses particularly on the Congo Basin, a region home to some of the most strategic minerals in the world. It demonstrates how this basin could build a dual ecosystem where industry and technology would serve the “3S”: economic security, territorial security and personal security.
To achieve this, African countries will have to rely on strategic and responsible exploitation of minerals present on the continent. Elected financier of the year 2017 by Financial AfricaMr. Mezui quotes Julius Nyerere in the preamble: “Unity will not make us rich, but it can make it difficult to despise and humiliate Africa and African people”. This quote reflects the pan-Africanist orientation of the author who, far from a purely emotional or poetic exaltation of unity, articulates his thought through a numerical dialectic.
The author also relies on the words of Canadian historian Michel Brunet: “In history, it is first the number that counts: first, the number, second the number and third the number. Then it is possible to address other questions. » With an African population expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, the continent still has a lower density than most developed economies. The author also cites the Indian economist Pal Sanchal, who demonstrates that by doubling population density, we can obtain an increase in labor productivity of around 13 to 21%.
This book offers an in-depth reflection on the economic and strategic issues of African natural resources, highlighting their role in the development of a prosperous and secure future for the continent.
“Geoeconomics of strategic minerals in the Congo Basin”, VA Editions
Price: 19 euros
France
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