The Paradox of Plenty: Why Southern Africa’s resource wealth isn’t working for its youth

📅 Published: August 26, 2025

📰 Source: nehandaradio

Curated by AllZimNews.com

This paradox—where abundance breeds exclusion rather than inclusion—should no longer be treated as an unfortunate irony.

It is the predictable outcome of a postcolonial political economy that has, in many ways, replicated the extractive logic of colonialism.

Instead of disrupting the old patterns of accumulation, successive governments have often rebranded them under the banner of nationalism, indigenisation, or “empowerment. ”
The result has been the entrenchment of elite-driven growth, with little benefit for the region’s largest demographic: its youth.

The much-discussed “resource curse” is not a myth.

It is a structural condition, particularly potent in economies where natural wealth is not accompanied by strong institutions, developmental statecraft, or inclusive economic planning.

In Southern Africa, mineral resources continue to be exported in raw form, with negligible beneficiation or value addition taking place locally.

This limits job creation and perpetuates dependence on volatile commodity cycles.

The extractive industries themselves are capital-intensive and technologically driven, offering few employment opportunities relative to their output.

Moreover, the overwhelming control of these industries by foreign multinationals—often in joint ventures with politically connected elites—means that profits are routinely expatriated, while environmental degradation and social displacement are left behind.

In countries like Mozambique, where natural gas discoveries initially promised transformation, the picture has been grim.

Youth in Cabo Delgado—the epicentre of extraction—remain unemployed, disempowered, and disillusioned.

Similar trends are observed in Zimbabwe’s platinum belt, Botswana’s diamond sector, and Angola’s oil economy.