-- Africa's Energy Potential. Hearing, March 14, 2000.

U.S. House. Committee on International Relations. Subcommittee on Africa, Committee Hrg. No. 106-121.

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?IPaddress=wais.access.g

po.gov&dbname=106_house_hearings&docid=f:65579.pdf

http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house/house09.html Subcommittee Chairman Royce:

"Today the Subcommittee will look at the development and use of energy resources in Africa. This is an important issue. In order to improve the lives of their citizens, African nations need to develop affordable energy that is reliable and is environmentally friendly. Some African countries are major exporters of energy resources which brings them significant political and economic challenges. Foreign oil and gas companies face their own task of being part of the solution in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. Energy development can also raise diplomatic questions. Energy revenue can be less than a blessing economy-wise. Academic studies suggest that an oil boom leads to a weaker performance in other sectors of an economy. Once a government feels flush, the pressure to reform is relieved and the non-energy sectors of the economy wither. This has largely in the past been the Nigerian experience. New offshore production doubled Equatorial Guinea's GDP overnight. This small country just now successfully manages this boom. Other Africa countries confront similar economic and political challenges. Resource management issues are all the more pressing because Africa is developing an increasing amount of its energy resources. With technology allowing for ever deeper offshore drilling, West Africa is now considered to be one of the world's top regions for petroleum prospects. An American oil company recently made a billion barrel discovery off the Nigerian coast. Another company has announced a $8.5 billion investment in Nigeria, which is the largest industrial investment in the history of the continent. Meanwhile, interest in oil exploration is spreading to East Africa. Africa has more than petroleum though. Some 17 African countries hold potential as major natural gas producers. A liquefied natural gas plant off the Nigerian coast recently came on line. This is one of the biggest industrial projects in Africa. In the works for Nigeria is another project to supply natural gas to Ghana, Benin and Togo. Natural gas is increasingly seen as the energy of the future, being cleaner and cheaper than other energy resources. Developing Africa's natural gas should help African countries overcome their heavy dependence on the environmentally destructive practice of burning wood to produce energy. Africa's hydroelectric potential is nearly limitless. Congo alone has the potential to light up half the continent. The U.S. has a significant interest in Africa's energy development. Our country would be better off if African countries developed their economies while protecting the environment. We have an interest in seeing that energy resources do not fuel African conflicts and we are major consumers of African produced oil, some 15 percent of America's oil imports are from Africa. Given Africa's potential, this figure promises to grow. Analysts suggest that West Africa could soon rival the Persian Gulf in terms of strategic significance to America. The U.S. has an obvious interest in greater oil exploration and development in Africa, especially in light of the recent hike in prices Americans are paying at the pump. This interest gives us even more reason to be attentive to Africa's many energy challenges. Today the Subcommittee will hear from the U.S. Department of Energy which is spearheading U.S. Government energy efforts in Africa, and a private witness, who will share his views on energy issues in Africa."

-- Promoting Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: learning what works. August 2000.

Basu, Anupam; Calamitsis, Evangelos A.; Ghura, Dhaneshwar.

International Monetary Fund, Economic Issues No. 23.

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues/issues23/index.htm

"Conclusions: Both domestic and external factors contributed to sub-Saharan Africa's poor overall economic performance in the 1980s and early 1990s. Key constraints to growth included inappropriate economic policies, inadequate human capital development, and low levels of private investment. But for the first time in a generation, there is evidence of economic progress in an increasing number of countries in the region. Since 1994 aggregate economic performance has been improving, reflecting the implementation of sound macroeconomic and structural policies, often in the context of comprehensive adjustment and reform programs supported by the IMF and the World Bank.

Overall, however, progress has remained relatively slow, and hence reform efforts will need to be intensified to accelerate growth and reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. The lessons learned from the successful experiences of many countries in recent years offer some useful policy guidance for further progress in the region. Recent developments have highlighted the critical importance of peace and security for sustainable growth and development. But, to be successful, Africa's own reform programs will need to be supported by more adequate external assistance and debt relief."

-- TRADE AND TRADE POLICIES IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA.

International Monetary Fund 2000 20.00 pa 60p I (IMF Occasional Paper No. 196)

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.cfm?sk=3716.0

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/nft/op/196/index.htm

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/pubs/ord_info.htm

"SUMMARY: This paper analyzes trade and trade policy developments in the countries of eastern and southern Africa during the 1990s, covering regional and multilateral integration issues, and the interaction between trade policies and macroeconomic conditions."

-- Trade in African Diamonds. Hearing, September 13, 2000.

U.S. House. Committee on Ways and Means. Subcommittee on Trade.

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/trade/106cong/tr-23.htm

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/trade/106cong/tr-23wit.htm

"In announcing the Hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Crane stated: 'This Hearing will provide the Subcommittee with an opportunity to review the options available to curtail conflict diamond trade that are World Trade Organization (WTO) consistent and do not impact legitimate diamond trade. We must break the link that makes diamonds a rebel's best friend, but we must also not harm legitimate diamond trade that is a vital link to the world's economy.'

Focus of the Hearing:

The focus of the Hearing will be to evaluate options available that are administrable and WTO consistent and will effectively curtail conflict diamond trade without impacting legitimate diamond trade. The Subcommittee is interested in receiving testimony on possible approaches to this issue, including testimony on current and developing technology that can determine the country of mining of a cut and polished diamond."

LESS FOREIGN AID AND POOR TRADE TERMS HURT AFRICA'S ECONOMIES BUT SOME COUNTRIES REGISTER SOLID GROWTH New report shows foreign aid continues to fall as well as foreign direct investment WASHINGTON, February 15, 2001-On the eve of a joint trip to Africa by World Bank President James Wolfensohn and IMF Managing Director Horst Köhler to meet many of the continent's heads-of-state, a new World Bank statistical report on Africa shows that growth in the region slowed significantly after 1998, with average per capita GDP falling by almost 1 percent in 1998-99. The report also reveals how official aid to Sub-Saharan Africa has been falling from US$32 per head in 1990 to US$19 by 1998 despite evidence of its effective development results in those countries with sound social and economic policies.

Afrique: énergie, commerce, diamants TRADE AND TRADE POLICIES IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA. International Monetary Fund 2000 20.00 pa 60p I (IMF Occasional Paper No. 196).

Ou va l'Afrique?  politique où l'on risque "un retour de manivelle". Devant tant de difficultés du "Trade no aid" de Clinton, la solution de l'abandon de l'Afrique à elle ...

COMPLEMENTS:  US and Africa  AFRIQUE SUBSAHARIENNE