Africa’s Development Dilemma: Prosperity at What Cost?

By Danilo Desiderio

In a March 19, 2025 Fox News interview, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi pointed to a shifting geopolitical landscape in Africa, noting that declining U.S. diplomatic and aid engagement is opening the door for China’s growing influence on the continent.

A recent analysis by two senior fellows at the Brookings Institution, published in Arab News, suggests that resource-rich African nations could reinvigorate ties with the United States by leveraging their vast reserves of critical minerals. The proposal calls for agreements requiring U.S. firms investing in Africa’s mineral sector to carry out significant value-added processing within host countries—creating mutual benefits and positioning the U.S. as a more equitable partner in Africa’s development.

The April 2024 report from the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the strategic importance of Africa’s critical minerals amid rising global demand driven by the clean energy transition. However, it also warned that competition for these resources could exacerbate corruption, human rights abuses – including child labor – and intensify regional instability if not carefully managed.

To mitigate these risks, the report stressed the need for robust traceability systems to prevent smuggling and ensure minerals are sourced and traded responsibly. Without such safeguards, valuable resources risk fueling conflict and undermining governance.

Meanwhile, the African Policy Research Institute (APRI) identified 65 green mineral cooperation agreements across some 30 African countries in its report, “Mapping Africa’s Green Mineral Partnerships.” Yet, the report found a troubling lack of transparency surrounding these deals, urging public disclosure to allow independent scrutiny of their impact on economic equity, democracy, and human rights.

The Environmental Cost of Mineral Wealth

While Africa’s mineral wealth offers a powerful engine for industrial growth, the environmental costs of extraction and processing cannot be ignored. Mineral beneficiation processes often release toxic pollutants into air, water, and soil.

Chemicals used in processing threaten aquatic ecosystems and human health, while emissions from smelting and crushing operations degrade air quality. Tailings – the waste byproducts of mining – pose long-term contamination risks to land and water sources.

These dangers are not hypothetical. In February 2025, an acid leach incident at a Chinese-owned copper mine in Zambia released 50 million liters of acidic effluent into the Mwambashi River.

The spill caused mass fish deaths, devastating local fisheries and livelihoods. It also contaminated farmland, threatening food security for over 700,000 people in Kitwe and surrounding areas.

Toward Sustainable Development

This tragedy underscores the urgent need for strong environmental protections in mineral processing. As Africa positions itself as a key player in the global supply chain for clean energy technologies, it must balance economic ambition with ecological responsibility.

The path forward demands rigorous environmental oversight, enforceable regulations, and transparent governance across the entire mineral value chain. African leaders face a defining challenge: to harness the continent’s natural wealth without sacrificing its environmental integrity.

The Zambia incident serves as a sobering reminder that sustainable development requires collaboration – not just between governments and corporations, but with communities whose lives depend on the land and water we all share. The future of Africa’s prosperity hinges on ensuring that growth does not come at the cost of irreversible harm to the environment or the people who call it home.

Danilo Desiderio serves as the CEO of Desiderio Consultants Ltd in Nairobi, Kenya, specializing in African customs, trade, and transport policies. He is a customs and trade expert at the World Bank and a senior associate to the Horn Economic and Social Policy Institute (HESPI).