César Chelala

The Boom that only Oils the Wheels of Corruption

Oil profits in Africa have been used almost exclusively for the enrichment of the countries’ leaders, and as a consequence most of the population remains poor and unprotected.

August 5, 2004

The boom that only oils the wheels of corruption in Equatorial Guinea

When oil was found in 1996 in Equatorial Guinea, the former Spanish colony in West Africa was one of the poorest countries in the world. Today, this small and sparsely populated country of 465,000 inhabitants has an offshore production of 350,000 bpd, making it the third largest sub-Saharan producer of oil, behind Nigeria and Angola. According to the African Development Bank, a year after oil was found, gross domestic product went up 76 %.

June 7, 2004

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