Fiscal Policy Notes on Mining Paper AMI 2023

This study examines how African countries are addressing the long-standing paradox of abundant mineral wealth coexisting with limited socio-economic development. Despite subsoil assets valued at approximately $45,000 per square kilometer, translating mineral resources into inclusive growth remains a major challenge. The African Mining Vision (AMV), adopted in 2009, alongside the Country Mining Vision (CMV) Guidebook (2014) and the African Minerals Resource Governance Framework (AMGF) (2017), were developed to strengthen governance, fiscal regimes, and revenue management in the extractive sector.

Central to the AMGF are 48 guiding questions on fiscal regime design and 48 on revenue management, designed to help countries align policies with sustainable development objectives. This study applies the AMGF framework to assess fiscal regimes in Liberia, Uganda, Ghana, and Zambia using a traffic light evaluation system, where progress is categorized from insignificant (red) to extremely satisfactory (dark green). Findings reveal varying levels of advancement across the four countries, highlighting progress in certain areas but also persistent weaknesses in revenue-sharing arrangements and public revenue management. The study underscores opportunities for reform to ensure resource wealth contributes more effectively to broad-based economic transformation.