FOCUS 13
IF YOU LOOK AT THE GAP BETWEEN RICH AND POOR IN WEST AFRICA, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MASSIVE CHALLENGES ABOUT MONEY COMING INTO THE COUNTRY.
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frica’s oil and gas boom shows no sign of reaching a crescendo just yet. The East Coast is teeming with fresh activity in gas, while the West Coast markets have
been steadily maturing over the past 15 years. Sub-Saharan and South Africa look set to repeat these successes as they open up to early-stage licensing. But what’s the overall picture in terms of sustainability?
How are Africa’s governments using their newfound wealth for the benefi t of their respective nations? Anthony Lobo, Partner and Head of Oil & Gas, KPMG in the UK, believes that thinking differs from coast to coast. “I think there’s defi nitely a view with East Coast Africa that the countries are looking at what’s the right model for maximising the wealth for the nation,” he says. “In terms of West Coast Africa, have had production and wealth fl ow into their countries for such a long period of time that they’re constantly looking at some of the existing challenges that are there.”
Opportunities and challenges
Oliver Kemp is CEO of Build Africa, an international development charity that focuses on supporting the education and livelihoods of children and young people. He believes that directing the stream of wealth coming into the continent is both an opportunity and a challenge. “If you look at the gap between rich and poor in West Africa, you can see that there have been massive challenges about money coming into the country,” he says. “You can look at countries across West Africa, and see that gap, and see what problems that’s created. We predominantly work in East Africa, and I think that people see that opportunity. You can talk to rural people working out on the edge of Lake Albert and they see that there’s potential. There’s a black goldmine sitting underneath them. They’re thinking, ‘How come this wealth isn’t coming to us?’ These are rural people earning under a dollar a day.”
A cooperative approach
When one considers the possibility of each party drawing upon the other’s profi ciencies and resources, an interesting paradigm begins to emerge: a three-way forum between the NGOs, the IOCs and their accompanying consultancies, and the governments. Should oil companies and NGOs therefore be focusing on building government capacity, enabling those governments to make a greater contribution to the forum? “I think so,” says Kemp. “There are a whole variety of different models, and you’ve seen a number of NGOs now applying quite a private sector model establishing private schools and building private health clinics in Africa.
© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member fi rm of the KPMG network of independent member fi rms affi liated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
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