WORKSHOP D- INEQUITABLE RESOURCE SHARING
COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE Johannesburg, South Africa
59th Workshop D - 4 September 2013
INEQUITABLE RESOURCE- SHARING: A THREAT TO DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
Moderator: Dr. Mark Robinson, MP (Queensland)
Discussion Leaders: Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, MHR, Speaker of the House of Representatives (Nigeria) Senator David Smith (Canada) Hon. S.K. Devamany, MLA (Malaysia) Mr Axel Schimmelpfenning, Senior Resident Representative in South Africa (International Monetary Fund)
Summary
Delegates urged Parliamentarians to ensure that transparency, accountability, knowledge-sharing, good governance and effective leadership were the principles by which a nation managed its resource wealth. Resource extractive industries have to operate with consideration for social and ecological issues, while legislation has to address corruption issues. The CPA should continue to build the capacity of Parliamentarians for effective and responsive representation to mitigate the effect of inequitable distribution of resources.
Utilizing good governance to overcome inequitable resource distribution
Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, MHR, stated that many Commonwealth
266 | The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue Four
member countries had embraced democracy and had made significant progress.
However, many of these nations are still battling poverty, disease, ethnic militia groups, terrorism, pervasive corruption and perceived marginalization. Hence, all nations have to deal with the challenge of how to end a system which has made few people very wealthy while the majority suffer in poverty and disease. He added that the unfair distribution of resources manifests itself in four different ways.
These include: the unequal distribution of a nation’s natural resources; excluding ethnic groups from the governance process; the uneven distribution of political appointments; and concentrating capital resources with a few, creating distinct classes of “haves and
have-nots”. He stressed that when resources were distributed equitably among the groups that comprised a nation, coupled with the opportunity to improve livelihoods, peace and progress would ensue.
Mr Tambuwal elaborated that the only weapon democratic states have to combat the problems caused by the inequitable distribution of a nation’s resources is good governance. Parliamentarians, therefore, have to ensure that transparency, accountability, knowledge-sharing, good governance and effective leadership are the principles by which a nation manages its resource wealth. Policies should be developed to ensure that resource wealth benefits resource owners, and resource extractive industries should operate with consideration for social and
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124