The discovery of natural resources marks a point in a country’s history where either great development and economic prosperity can occur, such as in the United Arab Emirates, or, paradoxically, economic ruin (Coyle & Ralph, 2009: 153). The resource curse has burdened many African countries from the Central African Republic to Sudan. This essay briefly analyses the causes of the resource curse, policy initiatives to mitigate this harm and ultimately what democratic institutions Mafurania requires in order to ensure these policy initiatives are implemented and enforced. Through case studies of many African countries, such as the DRC these causes of the resource curse have been identified. This essay will look at the prosperity of Botswana …show more content…
This prevents a disproportionate increase in the price of the currency, and ensures a softening of the effects of a volatile resource market (“The twilight of the resource curse?”, 2015). A ban on borrowing, especially at times of high oil prices, is required to create independence from foreign debt (“The twilight of the resource curse?”, 2015). An independent auditing organisation, to prevent corruption and ensure transparency of oil tenders needs to be created (“The twilight of the resource curse?”, 2015). It should be funded at a rate pegged to the revenue of the oil industry to guarantee its funding. Additionally it should not be comprised of government appointees but rather a transparent and independent human resource organisation should higher all employees on a meritocratic basis. Finally, all oil production should be taxed at the highest rate (“The twilight of the resource curse?”, 2015). This money needs to be spent on sectors that create employment and the potential for future growth of the economy (“The twilight of the resource curse?”, 2015). This includes education and trades, modelling after Singapore and South