Roman Grynberg in the Mail and Guardian:
Africa must disregard outsiders' self-serving advice about managing its natural resources
Despite the fervent desire of African policymakers to add value to raw materials, whether it is copper, gold or coffee, it has simply never materialised.
Allowing raw minerals to be sent overseas for beneficiation does not help an African country achieve transformation or diversification of its economic base.(Gallo)
Early attempts at downstream processing or beneficiation in Africa usually failed because few understood the extent of the challenge and cost in penetrating the value chain But even where it has succeeded, beneficiation has been heavily criticised because it has proven to be at best an expensive exercise that has led to nothing but disconnected export enclaves that have not established a development process.More here
