Recently updated on October 18th, 2018 at 02:02 pm
Alex Ndubuisi Nwegbu, Director General of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), has been elected and sworn in as President of the Organization of African Geological Surveys (OAGS) for the next three years.
OAGS started in South Africa ten years ago as an initiative of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) through the African Mining Partnership (AMP).
Its mandate involves delivering on some strategic objectives, including capacity building for industry players, sharing knowledge, achieving financial stability, and constructive engagement with development partners towards effective utilization of African resources in order to develop the continent’s economy.
During his acceptance speech in Cape Town, Alex Ndubuisi Nwegbu stated:
“It is on that basis that I would like to say that I am honoured to stand before you to accept the responsibility on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to lead the new executive. I also stand here on behalf of the executive committee to say thank you in electing us to serve in our new capacity.”
Government institutions, political leaders, civil society groups and private sector companies now commonly agree that without prudent exploitation and utilization of natural resources in Africa, the continent stands to remain at the bottom of global economic development ladders, while continuously feeding other regions of the world with requite raw materials to develop their own economies.
According to latest data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) an estimated $50 billion is lost annually by African countries due to opaque dealings involving foreign mining companies and their local collaborators, especially through unstructured, illegal and unreported mineral exploitation transactions across the continent.
However, Nwegbu, while speaking exclusively with BusinessDay on the sidelines of the Cape Town mining conference, said his vision is to return Africa to the path of growth through the formulation and implementation of strategic policies on effective mineral resource governance and utilization.
In 2008, the African Mining Vision (AMV) was adopted by African Union (AU) ministers in charge of mineral resources.
