Oil could relieve African poverty

National Catholic Reporter, July 4, 2003 by Dennis Coday

WASHINGTON -- As foreign companies invest billions of dollars for petroleum production into the region, sub-Saharan African governments should seize the opportunity to alleviate poverty, says a yearlong study of oil development in Africa by Catholic Relief Services.

The study estimates that the sub-Saharan oil industry will make more than $200 billion over the next 10 years, money governments could invest in education, health, water and other vital social programs.

The report says most oil-exporting countries fail to improve the lives of ordinary citizens: In Nigeria, where oil revenues over the last 25 years topped $300 billion, the average daily income is still less than a dollar. Such failures suggest that mismanaged oil revenues exacerbate poverty, the report says.

To prevent a Nigeria-like scenario from unfolding in other off-rich nations, CRS, which supports church and civil society programs in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Congo and Angola, is pushing for greater financial transparency and government accountability.

The United States imports 17 percent of its oil from Africa. By the end of the decade, the percentage is like to reach nearly a quarter. U.S. companies like ChevronTexaco and ExxonMobil expect to invest up to $25 billion in African oil in the next decade.