Gabon : A Country Of Crisis Essay

In order for Chad’s economy to succeed in the future, major reforms on oil revenue transparency are necessary. As a result of social and political conflicts, Chad has historically been characterized by division and warfare. Since the discovery of oil during the 1960s, these conflicts have only been exacerbated. The oil pipeline that began construction in 1999 as a result of this discovery inadvertently fueled the tension that had been created. The revenues that were generated from the pipeline were not allocated with transparency, which caused dissent on a global scale. This project was supposed to be an example for all oil-dependent developing countries that agreement and control of revenues could help grow a country’s economy. Ultimately, the methods used to control the revenues in Chad have been inefficient, and are in need of further reforms such as improved national dialogue and access to information.

Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest

Iceland and Gabon are very unique countries with different statuses. Iceland has a very small population but is highly developed and a model of efficiency socially, politically, and economically. Whereas Gabon has the potential to be one of most developed African countries, with their discovery of oil and the associated profit, but the population trends of the transitional period of development and the social and political endeavours attached to such a change have hindered the countries progression. As a result of this, Iceland has a better economy, quality of life, and social and political structure while Gabon is developing these benefits slowly but with success with signs of development problems in population and infrastructure that

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the eleventh largest country in the world and has over $29 trillion in unexploited minerals and natural resources (News about Congo). Given this fact, how is it that the DRC ranks 172 in economic freedom? The simple answer is the country is afflicted with inadequate security, shoddy governance, and a long-lasting humanitarian crisis. It is imperative that the United States (U.S.) understands the framework surrounding the operational environment, strategic implications, and how they can use its instruments of national power as a strategy to affect the DRC. Social redistribution is a method that will assist in achieving U.S. strategic goals due to the ineptness and limited capacity

Burkina Faso’s energy resources are limited to four (4) hydropower installations. All the hydrocarbons need to fuel the country are imported from the neighbouring countries having access to the sea, because Burkina Faso does not have any domestic oil resource (Ouédraogo, 2010). Burkina Faso is among the poorest countries in the world and the GDP is evaluated to $12.88 billion in 2013 (World Bank, 2013). Only 18% of the population has access to electricity including 40% in urban area and 3% in rural area. Burkina Faso has the highest electricity’s price in Africa; and is approaching 35 US cents the kWh due to the high price of the fuel imports (Briceño-Garmendia and Domínguez-Torres, 2011).

transparent criteria” (Lyngaas). So while bureaucracy is underutilized, nationalism is very difficult for the struggling Gabonese. The people of Gabon find their identity through various ethnic groups and tribal affiliation. But in terms of nationalistic symbolism for a period “Gabon d’abord” was prominent; the phrase means Gabon before Africa and was known for emphasizing placing the country before pre-national kinship groups (Weinstein 140). Economically, Gabon has been considered to be of “upper middle income status” even though the social inequality, limited market presence, and corruption still characterize the country with the rest of the LDC’s (Hermes). Currently Omar Bongo is president and the country is labeled as a “State Unitary

Commodity price is having a negative impact on economic growth, especially on major countries that derive more than 75% of their export earnings from commodities

Djibouti has few natural resources and little industry; therefore, it is heavily dependent on foreign assistance to help support its balance of payments and to finance development projects. (“The World Factbook,” 2011). The

75% of the rest of the region is covered in tropical forests. These forests provided lumber as a major natural resources for a long time. Lumber brought Gabon revenue until people discovered minerals and other resources they felt were more valuable. Manganese is a much desired resource and Gabon is one of the world’s largest manufacturers it. Gold and diamond are other resources extracted. Many iron ore reserves can be found in the Northern parts of the region. Perhaps the most important natural resource in Gabon is Petroleum. A large chunk of Gabon’s income comes from petroleum. In the late 20th century the resources accounted for over 70% of the exports. Prices of the resources change frequently, but petroleum has consistently kept the country afloat. Gabon exports many resources to other African countries. However, exporting its goods to the U.S. and France is how most of the revenue is gained. Crude oil is mainly exported to the U.S. Some natural gas goes to the U.S. and France, but much of it helps generate electricity for the country. Water power is the major source of electricity though. The Gabonese raise cattle for beef and dairy. They also raise sheep, pigs, and goats. Fishing is involved in villages by the Atlantic Ocean and rivers. Much of food the Gabonese eat in the urban areas is

All my following data that I am about to present, was discovered at the Central Intelligence Agency, in the World Fact book section of the website. Niger’s labor force is 5.8 million as of 2014, with an unemployment rate of 5.1%. Their poverty line is at 63%, with a population of 17.83 million people since 2013. Inflation is at 2.3% and their budget surplus is at -12.6% of GDP in 2014. Niger’s export partners consist of Nigeria with 54.2%, South Korea with 26.2% and Ghana with 6.7%. The commodities they import are foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum and cereals. These overall are not very good statistics, I am also not going to generalize poor countries by this one country’s statistic, for it is only an example of

South Sudan’s economic development, as measured by the country’s ability to promote economic growth, contrasts drastically with that of its political realm. By and far, South Sudan’s economic growth has seen rapid development, led by the extraction and commercialization of it’s oil reserves. Of key importance, one must note that the intricacies of South Sudan’s ability to extract oil is highly associated with the easing of military tensions. And indeed, with the recent “lifting of threats by the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, to shut down the South Sudan oil flow…in Juba,” (“SOUTH SUDAN: Oil Production Up,” 2013) GDP has increased, indicating a (theoretical) increase in overall standard of living ("Top Growers," 2013.) Although the adoption of foreign technologies and investments has widely been acted as a means of realizing the full gains of oil extraction, the SPLM have proceeded with extreme caution in developing South Sudan’s oil industry (Bream, Boxell & England, 2005). The underlying logical remains that the SPLM recognized corporate exploitation and corruption faced by other developing nations that signed contracts over their natural resources, often leading to increased domestic poverty and foreign ownership of domestic economies. In this sense, the South Sudanese economy should see healthy economic growth, as it controls its own markets and has agency over its own economic growth. However, South Sudan’s economic growth has seen considerable limitations as a

In this video, I learnt about Cameroon and how they use palm oil to strengthen their economy. In recent years, many forests have been destroyed in order to manufacture palm oil for the entire world. The people have not benefitted tremendously, as there are still many individuals and families living in poverty. The wages that the workers make can put food on the table, but not much more. The video highlighted the government’s main interest, which were the economy and not the people. They allowed big corporations to acquire land that was owned by indigenous people in order to them to benefit financially. Many children have to work for the corporations as well, in order to make enough money for their families. Communities are finding themselves

The oil-rich Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, located on the northern coast of South America, was for many decades considered among the wealthiest nations in the entire continent. While having the largest proven oil reserves in the world has often proved a tremendous boon for Venezuela, the very black gold that has been the cause of its success has also proven to repeatedly be its kryptonite. Over half of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product stems from petroleum exports – which equates to approximately 95% of total exports. It is really not too hard to imagine what drastic consequences shifts in global oil prices could have on the economy.

The Chad Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project is one of the largest investments in the private sector in Africa that costs approximately US$3.7 billion. The project is being funded by the World Bank and the International Financial Corporation. The involvement of these two major financial institutions is a demonstration of the rationale that the project will generate revenue that will enable the Chad and Cameroonian governments to invest more in programs that focus on reducing poverty like rural employment, education, and health. The involvement of the International Financial Corporation will be geared towards accomplishing three major roles. These are long-term financing, stabilizing role, and uplifting the quality and standard of mitigation plans and environmental assessments.

Most children in the Niger delta have little or no education, due to lack of funds from their parents who have lost their lands and have no jobs because of limited opportunities. The Niger delta government and the oil companies have refused to look into the situation; instead they favor their close relations neglecting the masses. Corruption in the Niger delta has led some youths in taking drastic measure in order to put food on their table. For example, Ikechukwu Efe an indigene of the Niger delta said that some of his friends created their own “oil refinery”, which is made up of crude oil in metal barrels with controlled heat from fire woods. This is a dangerous process in refining crude oil but the degree of poverty in the state left his friends with no choice. If only the government of the Niger delta have created jobs with the wealth of the state Ikechukwu’s friend would not have to put their lives in danger. Until corruption is put to an abrupt the people of the Niger delta will continue to live in poverty.