Blessing or a Curse? A Critical Reflection on the Strategy for African Mining Paper and Discussion of its Effects on the Political Economy of (Informal) Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is the perfect example of the resource curse. Despite 80 years of diamond, gold and gemstone mining, the country ranks low on global development. This thesis examines the main recommendations in the World Bank's Strategy for Africa Mining paper (1992) in order to determine how they affected the (informal) ASM sector in Sierra Leone and therefore shaped its political, social and economic structures in the long-run. In the literature review, topics on the distinctive features of ASM in sub-Saharan Africa, informality, formality, hierarchy, gender- and power relations are discussed. Using thematic analysis (deductive approach), this thesis identified four themes on economic growth, African agency, modernisation and formalisation in the strategy report. These re-occuring themes and the focus on LSM gave an incomplete understanding of ASM. This resulted in Sierra Leonean authority grouping all types of illicit mining activities altogether. Economic liberalisation policies...Show moreSierra Leone is the perfect example of the resource curse. Despite 80 years of diamond, gold and gemstone mining, the country ranks low on global development. This thesis examines the main recommendations in the World Bank's Strategy for Africa Mining paper (1992) in order to determine how they affected the (informal) ASM sector in Sierra Leone and therefore shaped its political, social and economic structures in the long-run. In the literature review, topics on the distinctive features of ASM in sub-Saharan Africa, informality, formality, hierarchy, gender- and power relations are discussed. Using thematic analysis (deductive approach), this thesis identified four themes on economic growth, African agency, modernisation and formalisation in the strategy report. These re-occuring themes and the focus on LSM gave an incomplete understanding of ASM. This resulted in Sierra Leonean authority grouping all types of illicit mining activities altogether. Economic liberalisation policies and formalisation efforts implemented in the African mining sector paradoxically led to mass unemployment and the proliferation of informal ASM in Sierra Leone. Several trends and patterns in the contemporary (informal) Sierra Leonean ASM sector are examined and linked back to the main recommendations in the strategy report.Show less

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Blessing or a Curse? A Critical Reflection on the Strategy for African Mining Paper and Discussion of its Effects on the Political Economy of (Informal) Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in Sierra Leone