It’s long been an axiom of global economics that having bountiful natural resources can be as much of a curse as a blessing. Globally traded natural resources can distort prices in a developing nation, divert investment from other sectors that need capital and, above all, provide a tempting target for corrupt political officials who want to get their hands on easily monetizable assets.
But it’s too simple to think that resources are always a curse. Some nations have been able to manage their natural endowments for the benefit of all. (One thinks of Norway’s record of managing the development of its hydrocarbons.) . . . The trick to managing resources well, as Botswana has done with its diamonds, is keeping high-value-added processes in the country rather than doing little more than export raw materials and letting the rich make the most of them.
Uganda is a coffee bean producing country. As you drive around the countryside, you see beans out in the sun to dry. Yet if you consume coffee in Uganda, it comes from abroad. There is talk of constructing a roaster in country.
Oil was recently discovered in western Uganda, in the Albert Nile region. This area is also the protected home of most of the country’s diverse wildlife, including elephants, hippos, crocs, giraffe, lions, and a wide variety of antelope. The area is also a birding paradise. Hopefully, this oil discovery will not be a curse. Uganda’s 30-million population could use a break. And its animals still need protection.
