The Centre for Extractives and Development Africa (CEDA) was established in 2014 as an extractive and development policy and advocacy organization to support national and subnational policy alternatives on extractives and environmental governance, climate change and sustainable development. CEDA’s focus is to develop evidenced based research and advocacy to support policy development and implementation in the extractives, energy and climate change space.
- CEDA believes that African countries must have a new strategy that focus on how the decisions to extract natural resources are made, appropriate policy frameworks that allows appropriate assessment of cost and benefits of resource extraction, and well-considered investments and spending strategies that ensures revenues are used to comprehensively improve lives of people and communities.
- CEDA aims to undertake relevant evidence-based research and public policy advocacy to promote efficient management of the natural resource endowment of the continent for the public good.
- Statement of Need
Africa is one of the most resource endowed regions in the world, in terms of both hard (precious metals) and soft (oil and gas) natural resources. Collectively, it has the largest concentration of gold, bauxite, chromite, diamonds, cobalt and platinum-group metals. Its share of minerals like copper, iron and coal is also significant. The continent also has enormous oil and gas deposits, including emerging producers like Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Senegal. The rate of discovery of new oil reserves has been the greatest in the Gulf of Guinea over the past ten (10) years. While many of these resources are being exploited, their contribution to Africa’s socio-economic development remains questionable. Despite the boom in natural resource extraction and exports since the 1990s, the quality of lives of citizens has declined or stagnated over time while corruption has increased. The process of extraction and sometimes the struggle over the control of these resources have often been a source or exacerbation of violent conflict and the suppression of basic freedoms and community livelihoods.
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